Riding the corridors of wind, this thrilling 3-minute sonatina takes you on a musical adventure across stunning terrains of rich woodlands, expansive fields, and diverse wildlife, eventually arriving at the tranquil open sea.

Dreamscape for Strings

Composed for Brass Quintet, Fanfare of Contemplation deliberately straddles the line between consonance and dissonance to bring a fittingly sombre atmosphere to the musical language - the perfect fanfare for any solemn occasion.

Fanfare of Contemplation

A study to highlight the beauty in dodecaphonic music using strict appliance of a basic/primary twelve-note row, its retrograde, inversion and retrograde inversion. Two rhythmic phrases are used in equal measure throughout: the first is the five-bar rhythmic line of the opening twelve-note row, and the second, its five-bar retrograde.

Meanderings

It is the heart which leads us on our journey through life as we grow and take on new layers, realising more complex experiences. Incorporating some minimalist techniques, this orchestral study explores gradual changes to melodic and rhythmic patterns, including repetition, canonic interplay, textural and dynamic variation and transitioning from simple to compound time, shedding new light upon the familiar. Follow your heart and all will make sense.

Follow Your Heart

The English poet and composer Ivor Gurney (1890 – 1937) wrote hundreds of poems and compositions in his short lifetime.

Sleep is the fourth from his set of Five Elizabethan Songs written for voice and piano in 1914. My instrumental arrangement of this beautiful song is scored for string orchestra and two harps, and uses dynamic contrast, with intimate solo moments cushioned by the expressive eloquence of the full ensemble, to evoke the passion and pathos that exudes from the original song.

Sleep (instrumental arrangement for strings and two harps)

Go shed those inhibitions and throw caution to the wind!

Conversation

The Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) composed over 600 songs during his short life.

Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) was composed in 1814 for solo voice and piano, using text by Goethe. My instrumental arrangement for solo clarinet and string ensemble weaves together the melodies of Gretchen and the relentless spinning of the wheel, to evoke her impassioned yearning for her lost love, Faust.

Gretchen am Spinnrade (instrumental arrangement for Clarinet & Strings)

My orchestral arrangement of the third movement from Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83 (III. Precipitato), originally composed in 1942.

Piano Sonata No. 7, OP. 83 (III. Precipitato) - orchestral arrangement

A heart laid bare synth study expressing the emotion felt at the loss of someone close. Melody, harmony and choice of sounds stir up a feeling of deep sorrow and loneliness in grief, but an underlying, essential rhythmic pulse throughout, reflects hope and peace through mourning.

In Memory

A menacing chordal fretless bass line permeates throughout this piece, complimented by steadying hi hats to keep rhythm and pace in check. The electric string section provides an added sense of mystery and passion, peaking during the choruses.

The Changeling

Triplet ostinato patterns dominate throughout, supporting a lonely synth melody in the verses and a church organ and trumpet in the choruses. A romantic French horn motif helps to bring down the tension after each chorus, before being led to the end by our original ostinato theme.

Theme

After a series of rising-note effects atop an electro string chords introduction, a warm, pulsing bass provides the cushion for the feeling of floating mid-air around lush strings and secure harmonies/synth melodies, ultimately bringing a feeling of gently lowering you back down to earth.

Floating

A rhythmic ostinato guitar-like figure sets the tone of this short, moody piece accompanied by bongos and grave strings, occasionally relieved by an ironic musical box motif.

A Darker Side

Originally written November 1981, this is the revised 2015 version.

Nocturne

A solo piano improvisation, in celebration of Piano Day 2017.

Dreaming

Breathe with me whilst listening to this poignant solo piano moment, in celebration of Piano Day 2018.

Breathing

For me it became all about the inner voices when composing and developing this emotive solo piano piece, uploaded in celebration of Piano Day 2019.

Inner Voices

Death represents the ultimate unknown; its certainty prompts people to experience a spectrum of profound and intense emotions as they strive to comprehend and accept its inevitability. This brief composition for solo piano, sensitively expresses some of these feelings, ranging from reflective passages that evoke sadness and loss, to more uplifting sections suggesting acceptance and the process of moving forward in grief.

Prelude - The Inevitable Goodbye

The interweaving and caressing of patterns was the premise of this intimate solo piano piece, uploaded in celebration of Piano Day 2020.

Entwined

Martin Evans is a UK-based pianist and composer. Having started his musical career as a session musician (pianist and arranger), Martin’s focus is now on composing in a variety of genres and include choral, instrumental, chamber, and orchestral pieces, some incorporating fixed media electronics.

Notable composition achievements include his setting of 'Sir Christemas' for SATB voices and piano which made it to the final selection of the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition 2017. This led to a recording of the piece performed by the BBC Singers, broadcast on Radio 3: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p05qrtyc

More recently, he was a finalist in the Charles Wood Composition Competition (2024), shortlisted in the Sir David Wilcocks Carol Competition (2023) and twice recognised in the Japan International Choral Composition Competition (2022 and 2024).

He is a fervent advocate for live music and performance art.

Martin Evans | Composer

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