These are compositions I have written using Sibelius Software. For more of my compositions and to download the sheet music (all free) go to https://sites.google.com/view/stevelockscompositions

Steve Locks Compositions

Arr. by Heather Harrison
Sung by The Singers, Newcastle upon Tyne at St Georges Church, Jesmond on 18.12.2021

Stille Nacht

"How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well, certainly, there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror."

Performed by Eleni Petridou and Laurent Husbosch

picture: Epiphany II (Adoration of the Shephards), 1998
by Gottfried Helnwein

Spiegel

Orchestral Piece No.3 - String Soloists

Watch out for the loud start an the false ending!
I wrote this from 6th to 11th April 2015.

Merry Mischief For Orchestra

Written in Icelandic in 2013 for the North Icelandic Chamber Choir, the text comes from a folktale. The tale is about a troll who comes to a farm on Christmas Eve. He taps on the window and says compliments in order to trick a young woman into coming outside. However, her answers are clever and she keeps the troll in conversation until dawn, at which point he turns into stone.

Natttröllið

Written for Kammerkór Norðurlands (the North Icelandic Chamber Choir) in 2013, the text comes from an Icelandic folktale. A ghost, sitting in a darkened chapel, bemoans the state in which a young maid finds him, having once been a warrior hero of good looks and great strength. He invites her to kiss him "if she wishes", a throwaway comment she had made as she passed the chapel earlier in the day as grave diggers uncover his remains.

Horfinn Er Fagur Farfi

This is the first movement of my Piano Concerto No.1.
Edgy, tuneful, humorous and dramatic - what more could you want!

Piano Concerto No.1 - I. Andante Moderato

Piano Concerto No.1 - II. Largo

The third movement takes elements from the first movement, twists them, keeps up the momentum, tunefulness and edginess. It moves through drama, light and a moment of darkness, to end in a ripping finale.

Piano Concerto No.1 - III. Finale

A movement for piano quartet (piano, violin, viola and cello) written 4-12th May 2016. The idea came from listening to my daughter's submission for her A-level music composition assessment (for those who don't know what A-level is, it's a school exam for ages 17-18) which was for this instrumental combination and impressed me with many things, but particularly intrigued me with her interesting string articulations (she's got grade 8 violin, whereas I only play the piano). So I've attempted to likewise put in detailed articulation and dynamics for my piece. I pinched the two semiquavers in the high skipping figure from my daughter (first heard in violin bar 13) which was just the start of a phrase she used that I liked, otherwise it's all my own work (I've only pinched 2 notes and an accent and the general inspiration!)
I've tried to develop the ideas. I usually find there is a balance to strive for between too little new material (can make a piece boring) or too much (can make it incoherent) so development is good, as are, I think, episodes interspersed between a theme (which is Rondo form of course). Nevertheless my chosen form of composition is pretty much have an idea, experiment with it then see what it suggests next (I can usually internally "hear" about 4 or 5 seconds ahead), write that bit, then see what I internally hear next. After that there is usually a lot of editing, sometimes moving passages around and about a quarter usually goes in the bin! I wondered if I should have a more formal approach, but I read Aaron Copland's "What to listen for in music" recently and his description of how people usually composed seemed almost exactly what I do. There's always more to learn of course, but the general principles seems to be pretty common.
I've tried to make it tuneful and rhythmic with much interplay between the instruments. I've also attempted to develop themes and motifs (even the opening warming note) - and to thicken the texture or tweak the chords when they return. There is also a little drama and repose interspersed. Originally this was a very short piece in ternary form - which is usually an easy form to write in (finishing at bar 69 with the material from the last bar), however I didn't feel this was long enough and needed some development. The current version is in the form:
- 4 bars intro (that warming initial note also gets used later)
- Theme 1 (bars 5-16)
- Theme 1 re-scored (bars 19-26). Note the held piano pedal under the light strings.
- 28-42 was the original middle section: Bars 28-30, just an element of a new theme which continues to a reworking of Theme 1 leading to a more agitated passage (38-42), some descending semiquavers leading to
- Theme 1 in a fuller treatment (43-69) that was the original end.
- 70-76, theme 2 element developed
- 76-84 agitation taking its springboard from the start of theme 1 figure.
- 84-98 repose, using the opening warming note as the axis of this passage
- 100-118 combines the agitated figure with the long warming notes, which is then foreshortened leading back to:
- 122-132 theme 1 rescored a little
- 133 -147 the figure from 28-30 now gets a fuller treatment combined with elements from theme 1
- 149-163 The rhythm from theme 1 and the semiquaver figures give rise to a more rhythmic and punchy section.
- 164-187 Four bars of wind down, then winding back up to the strenuous figure from 38-42 then working back up to:
- 188 to end: Final recap of theme 1 with fuller scoring and a slightly extended (and cheeky) ending. I particularly liked the effect of non-staccato viola against the staccatissimo violin and cello.

Movement for Piano Quartet

Starts with a few drips, quickly gathers pace, then a downpour. Dies away as it started (reversing the pattern from the start). The sun comes out as the last of the raindrops drip off the foliage.

Rain

Navona Records showcases sacred and secular choral works by composer Jonathan Little on its latest release, WOEFULLY ARRAYED. Jonathan Little’s work has been described as “a music redolent of the past and the future.” His modern interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque techniques of composition—such as modal harmonies and isorhythm—form the basis of his musical voice. The sound is strikingly contemporary, yet also intertwined with choral traditions of the past. Several of these beautiful and moving settings of profound and poignant texts feature intricate “polychoral” techniques: multi-part, multi-divisi, solo, echo and spatial effects.
 
Many of Little’s choral works are designed to be performed cori spezzati—a technique with which different sections of the choir are arranged above and around the audience, adding another dimension to the listening experience. One of these pieces is his Kyrie for 21 individual voices, performed by the Thomas Tallis Society Choir. The other works featured on the album are all world premieres. Vox Futura of Boston performs a Gloria to accompany the Kyrie (both works are part of Little’s ongoing mass project, Missa Temporis Perditi). They also perform the extensive, rapturous title track Woefully Arrayed, from text attributed to John Skelton. The Stanbery Singers perform on the secular section of the album, which includes That Time of Year—a madrigal-like setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73—as well as Wasted and Worn, which is dedicated to the memory of the neglected neo-classical artist John William Godward. Vox Futura returns to round out the album with a reprise of the secular verses of Woefully Arrayed.

Woefully Arrayed

Op. 13 Reprise - abridged version - Jonathan Little, from WOEFULLY ARRAYED

A piece I wrote in 2010 before pursuing degrees in music composition. My house in Indiana became overrun by an annoying frustration of Ladybird Beetles, so naturally instead of calling an exterminator I wrote a fun waltz about the little buggers.

Movement for Piano Quartet

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