Album for chirdren A woodland legend - Gillock, William

Gillock, William : Album for chirdren　A woodland legend

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Work Overview

Music ID : 45153

Instrumentation：Piano Solo　
Genre：pieces
Total Playing Time：1 min 30 sec
Copyright：Under Copyright Protection

Commentary (2)

Author : Sugiura, Nanako

Last Updated: April 2, 2025

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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

This piece, with its fantastical atmosphere, as its title suggests, evokes "legendary tales of the forest." Within the flow of the music, stillness and movement intertwine, depicting a mystical forest scene. The soft sonorities of the left hand harmonize with the flowing melody of the right hand, creating the impression of a forest, having witnessed history, gently speaking. While the harmony is relatively simple, effective chromatic progressions and contrapuntal elements are incorporated, making it a piece that demands rich expressiveness. The opening is marked "slowly, with much freedom," and it is important to shape phrases with a broad and deep breath. By maintaining a free sense of tempo and grasping the overall flow of the music, it leads to a performance with a narrative quality. While valuing the flow, play each note as if savoring it. The use of the pedal should be approached with caution. Focus on connecting the legato solely with the fingers, and it is advisable to practice so that you can play smoothly even without the pedal. The pedal should be used to add moisture and richness, as if providing hydration, and without being bound by the indications in the score, experiment with subtle changes in pedaling and shallow pedal depths, exploring variations in resonance. In particular, while being careful not to muddy the sound, it is advisable to focus on creating a fantastical expanse of sound. One of the characteristics of this piece is that the bass notes are sustained for a long duration. While fully feeling the resonance, aim for a soft, well-sustaining sound, and practicing the bass line alone can also be effective. By firmly supporting the sound of the low notes and placing the delicate melody upon them, the tranquility and expanse of the forest can be expressed more clearly.

Writer: Sugiura, Nanako

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: March 12, 2018

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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

10. Forest Legend

Although it is a piece of only one page, it is a slow and free composition that should be performed taking approximately one and a half minutes. When performing this piece, it is crucial to ensure that the music does not become vertically segmented, that the listener does not perceive the beat, and that it flows horizontally, much like a string quartet. To achieve this, the performer should make ample use of rubato, ensuring that the tempo is not constantly fixed. As indicated by the performance marking, "Slowly, with much freedom" means "very freely and slowly."

Furthermore, bringing out the top note of chords is also a critical task. It is safe to assume that the melody line is always at the top. Additionally, there are subtle harmonic changes in each phrase. These changes lead to shifts in mood, so care should be taken not to play each phrase identically. For example, measures 1-4 constitute one phrase. Measures 5-8 form the next phrase; although they may appear similar at first glance, in measures 7-8, the left hand descends chromatically. Furthermore, the melody in the right hand is different. If this piece, as its title suggests, is narrating a "legend," then the second phrase (measures 5-8) feels more delicate and reveals a slightly greater emotional aspect than the first phrase (measures 1-4).

If one were to divide this piece into two sections, it could be separated into measures 1-16 and measures 17-end. Within the first section, measures 1-16, the peak is reached in measures 11-12. From measure 9, maintain tension until reaching measure 12. Thereafter, perform so that the mood gradually becomes calmer.

In measures 23-24, a new theme, previously unheard, appears in the right hand's inner voice. Each note has a tenuto marking. While not necessarily indicating a particularly slow tempo, these seven notes should be played with sufficient lyricism, leading to the peak point in measure 25. The peak point in the latter half (measures 25-26) is even more emotional than the peak in the first half. The performance marking "broadly" should be interpreted as "grandly and slightly slowly."

However, the piece as a whole does not demand an extreme forte character, so care should be taken to avoid overly loud dynamics while also preventing the performance from becoming flat.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou