Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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The Faber Music Piano Anthology series of deluxe bumper books have proven one of the popular publishing successes of recent years, and certainly these robust collections combine excellent value for money with a compelling mix of piano music for late intermediate to advanced players.
With more than a dozen titles now in the series, the anthologies cover a wide range of musical styles and tastes. Some home in on specific genres, such as pop ballads, jazz standards, and piano duets, while others mix core and lesser-known classics, piano arrangements, and relaxed contemporary solos.
For a look at previous titles, you can explore the series here, but let’s now turn to the latest addition, a seasonal chilled Winter Piano Anthology…
Chilled and Cozy
Hands up if winter is your favourite season? I’m not seeing many hands in the air! But here’s a season which has certainly proven inspiring for composers through the ages, as the list of evocative titles included here testifies:
- The Boar’s Head Carol (Traditional)
- Don Oíche Úd I mBeithil (Traditional Irish)
- Ode to Joy (Ludwig van Beethoven)
- Winter Solstice Song (Béla Bartók)
- Silent Night (Franz Xaver Gruber)
- Sleep for Mama (Icelandic Folk Song, arr. Víkingur Ólafsson)
- What Gently Flutters (Dustin O’Halloran and Bryan Senti)
- The Gloucestershire Wassail (Traditional English)
- Une vaine crainte (Traditional)
- Winterzeit I (Robert Schumann)
- Largo (from Winter, The Four Seasons) (Antonio Vivaldi)
- The Skaters’ Waltz (Émile Waldteufel)
- Gabriel’s Message (Traditional)
- Still (Ola Gjeilo)
- Frost (Gabriel Ólafsson)
- Cold (Mvt. 3) (Erland Cooper)
- A Faint Qualm for the Future (Luke Howard)
- Lo, How A Rose E’re Blooming (Michael Praetorius)
- Sans Day Carol (Traditional)
- The Cold Song (Henry Purcell)
- Last Light (Niall Byrne)
- Nostalgia (Hania Rani)
- Under Giant Trees (Agnes Obel)
- The Sun Was Low (Natalia Tsupryk)
- Englabörn (Jóhann Jóhannsson)
- Greensleeves (Traditional)
- Arctic Night (Amy Beach)
- Words Of Amber (Ólafur Arnalds)
- Winter Morning (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
- Lighthouse (Angus MacRae)
- Snow Again (Lambert)
- Communion (Stephan Moccio)
- Nocturne Op.3 (Taichi Chishaki)
- Christmas Time Is Here (Vince Guaraldi Trio)
- In the Bleak Midwinter Variation (Olivia Belli)
- Otis (Lambert)
- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (J.S. Bach, arr. Myra Hess)
- L’Harmonie des Anges (Johann Friedrich Burgmüller)
- Igloo – acoustique (Jean-Michel Blais)
- The Snow it Melts the Soonest (Traditional)
- The Little Drummer Boy (arr. Michele McLaughlin)
- Little Girl Blue (arranged by Nina Simone)
- It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (arr. Chad Lawson)
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (arr. Olivia Belli)
- My Friend the Forest (Nils Frahm)
- Quiet and Simple (Benjamin Britten)
- Prelude No.22 in B flat minor (J.S. Bach)
- Je te veux (Erik Satie)
- Bring the Light (Büsra Kayıkçı)
- Chanteurs de Noël (Sergei Lyapunov)
- Ave verum corpus (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
- Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (arr. Alexis Ffrench)
- The Snow is Dancing (Claude Debussy)
- Winter Pastoral (Frank Bridge)
- Meditation (Lento) (Cécile Chaminade)
- Allegro non molto (Winter, The Four Seasons) (Antonio Vivaldi)
- Weihnachtsbaum (No.3, Die Hirten An Der Krippe) (Franz Liszt)
- Des pas sur la neige (Claude Debussy)
- January (Fanny Mendelssohn)
- Berceuse for the Infant Jesus (George Crumb)
Beyond some standard and less familiar Christmas pieces, the collection takes a widescreen view of winter scenery and moods. Many of the pieces are classical and Romantic, but adding to the impressive variety, some touch on jazz and even avant-garde modernism. I particularly enjoyed the many excellent contemporary compositions.
Digging in, I am struck by how little of this music I own in other anthologies, despite having a large collection of music. It seems to me a particular strength that the publishers are able to unearth and present pianists with such a delicious and widely imaginative range of new music.
Being such a highly eclectic mix, there is something for everyone, and players will want to pick-and-mix their choices of select pieces suitable for their level. To that end, they are presented in approximate order to difficulty, making it an easy book to revisit and find your bearings with each year as the nights start to draw in.
Although Faber Music suggest that the anthology is aimed at intermediate pianists, few pieces here would suit players before around Grade 5 level, and most are closer to Grade 8, so I would caution that the book might disappoint those below around Grade 6 level in terms of offering an immediate variety of accessible repertoire to explore.
The Anthology
Each Faber Music Piano Anthology enjoys a luxury presentation, and the Winter Piano Anthology is no exception.
First impressions are certainly striking: the thick card cover has a soft matt finish, with added internal flaps listing the content alphabetically. Within, the pages are high-grade paper (albeit snow white) and the printing quality is consistent and superb.
The binding of these books is famously durable; some comment that they are hard to keep open flat on the music stand, but it’s possible to fully bend back the spine to overcome this without it damaging the book at all.
Turning to the quality of the scores, it is obvious that considerable thought and effort goes into selecting an imaginative range of music, and ensuring that the accuracy and engraving are of a high standard.
The music notation is generously sized and spaced, without being excessively so. Though not billed as scholarly urtext editions, the scores appear reliable. Limited fingering suggestions are included in most pieces, which is helpful for independent learners, and for reference in lessons.
While some publishers include blank pages to avoid awkward turns in the middle of a piece, Faber here insert black-and-white images and photographs where space accommodates. They even include some two-page image spreads. These add to the overall impression that the publication has been put together with care and pride.
To sum up, I love the aesthetics of this Faber Music series, and this new volume is as excellent as they all are.
Closing Thoughts
With their Winter Piano Anthology, Faber Music have again hit the bullseye, offering an essential collection that gathers an impressively diverse and inspiring array of evocative pieces to satisfy all tastes, including many that pianists are unlikely to already have elsewhere.
At a time when I was wondering what else Faber could possibly add to this impressive series, three more potential titles now occur to me! As for this one, I anticipate it will annually beckon from the music cupboard, and give musical enjoyment every winter for many more years to come!
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