Editions Musica Ferrum

Echoes of the Orient

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

In the last three years, I have reviewed five collections of intermediate piano music by the UK-based Malaysian piano teacher Angeline Bell, during which time she has quickly established her name as an educational composer. Her accessible pieces have also begun to feature on streaming sites and on the radio, where their warm, relaxing vibe is proving popular.

Bell’s sixth and latest publication is Echoes of the Orient. The score again appears from Editions Musica Ferrum, with cover artwork by Rebecca Harrie to match Bell’s previous Notebooks, but this time there is also a CD recording of the music by upcoming concert artist Katie Yao Morgan on the ARC Music Productions label, distributed by Naxos World.

These pieces were composed with early advanced performers in mind, and evoke Bell’s nostalgic reflections and personal recollections of growing up in East Asia. As such, this is a very different collection to its predecessors, so let’s take a look…

Ben Crosland’s Jazz Beans!

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Ben Crosland’s Magic Beans for elementary players was one of the very first (and remains one of the best) music books to be reviewed on Pianodao, and in that review (which you can read here) I mentioned other Beans books in the series, Cool Beans and Easy Beans, concluding:

“To summarise, the ‘Beans’ publications establish Ben Crosland as a major voice in educational composing. The whole series is outstanding, and ‘Magic Beans’ easily lives up to the very high standards set by its predecessors.”

Crosland has subsequently concentrated on developing his career composing reflective contemporary pieces in the style popularised by Ludovico Einaudi and others.

Returning with new educational publications, Crosland’s Jazz Beans! series marks a welcome reappearance of three books which were previously published as Get Set Jazz, freshly baked for the Beans series. Suitable for Easy (Grades 0-2), Intermediate (2-4), and Advanced (4-7) players respectively, let’s find out how they taste…

Forest and Seaside Notebooks

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Composer Angeline Bell first emerged in late 2022 with two distinctive and nicely contrasted piano collections from Editions Musica Ferrum, specifically My Lyrical Notebook and My Quirky Notebook. My review of both books was among the first, and in my conclusion I noted:

“With these two collections, Angeline Bell has certainly burst onto the scene with music that has the same explosive energy as the flora and fauna erupting from the pianos on her book covers. On the strength of these, her debut publications, she can be greeted as a major talent.”

Since then, Bell has brought us the super My Garden Notebook, which I reviewed here, and which was nominated in the contemporary category for The Art of Piano Education Awards in 2024.

Bell has more recently produced another two collections in the same series, underlining the point that she is as prolific as she is imaginative. My Seaside Notebook and My Forest Notebook build on the success of the earlier publications and offer selections of her compositions that, while still intermediate, are a little more advanced overall.

Both these publications appear in Musica Ferrum’s traditional house style, with well-engraved notation presented on luxury cream paper, and thick card covers that mix professionalism with characterful, colourful, homespun charm. Let’s investigate…

Alan Bullard • Aspects of Blue

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Alan Bullard is probably best known to Pianodao readers as the co-author (with Janet) of the brilliant Pianoworks series of adult method and repertoire books, which I have reviewed here and use with my students on a near-daily basis.

Bullard is also respected as the composer of a set of 24 Preludes, reviewed here, which have found their place in the repertoire for more advanced players at around Grades 7-8 (including on the ABRSM syllabus).

Now he’s back with Aspects of Blue, his first publication with the adventurous boutique publishing house Editions Musica Ferrum, and arriving in their gorgeous house style.

We are told,

“These seven piano pieces, of intermediate difficulty, represent different aspects of the twelve-bar blues structure, which originated in the southern states of the USA in the mid-nineteenth century. Each is based on the twelve-bar blues chord sequence, but responds to it in a different way, with stylistic reference to the past as well as the present, providing a contrasting set of pieces which can be played complete or individually.”

Intrigued? Let’s investigate…

Angeline Bell’s Garden Notebook

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Angeline Bell’s Lyrical and Quirky Notebooks were a highlight of 2023, and so much so that in my review of them here I concluded,

“With these two collections, Angeline Bell has certainly burst onto the scene with music that has the same explosive energy as the flora and fauna erupting from the pianos on her book covers. On the strength of these, her debut publications, she can be greeted as a major talent.”

Editions Musica Ferrum recently published Bell’s third Notebook, My Garden Notebook. This latest collection is suitable for players from elementary to early intermediate, around UK Initial to Grade 4. and offers:

“24 easy and melodious piano solos inspired by nature.”

Time to find out whether this new collection lives up to the inspiration of its predecessors…