Bela Hartmann & Mel Williams
EMPEROR RADETZKY OF SHEBA & THE SAILORS OF BRANDENBURG
for 6 hands at 1 piano
Goodmusic GM471
A musical mish-mash for six hands on one piano.
This concisely named musical entertainment has its origins on the high seas, in classical concerts aboard various cruise ships. My wife Julia and I had worked for many years as pianists touring the world through its harbours and had needed some light hearted medley for the last concert of each cruise. Julia's father Mel had a long career as a music teacher behind him which had inspired his expertise in arranging music for the random instrument combinations his pupils could offer. His wonderful inventiveness as well as his great love of musical humour had produced a large number of such arrangements in the past and he kindly offered to supply a medley for us, something that would please everyone, elicit some chuckles and at the same time serve as a quiz for the more knowledgeable amongst the passengers. The resulting piece became a favourite item on our travels, always concluding our concerts with merriment and good cheer.
Our cruises continued after our daughter Eliška was born, and she became an exceptionally well-travelled child, always attending our concerts and eager to join in. After a while I adapted some of our duets to include a simple third part at the top so she could make a guest appearance, easily becoming the most admired member of the trio. As Eliška grew in ability her parts became harder, and eventually it seemed necessary to make Mel's duet medley into a trio medley, with the opportunity to add some new interplay between the parts and some greater sonority. This version is presented here, to enable others to enjoy playing in a group of three, and to participate in the infectious sense of fun that runs through it. Bela Hartmann, September 2023
As the title might suggest, this mish-mash makes use of Johann Strauss II’s Emperor Waltz, Johann Strauss I’s Radetzky March, Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, The Sailor’s Hornpipe and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3.
Duration 3½ minutes
This concisely named musical entertainment has its origins on the high seas, in classical concerts aboard various cruise ships. My wife Julia and I had worked for many years as pianists touring the world through its harbours and had needed some light hearted medley for the last concert of each cruise. Julia's father Mel had a long career as a music teacher behind him which had inspired his expertise in arranging music for the random instrument combinations his pupils could offer. His wonderful inventiveness as well as his great love of musical humour had produced a large number of such arrangements in the past and he kindly offered to supply a medley for us, something that would please everyone, elicit some chuckles and at the same time serve as a quiz for the more knowledgeable amongst the passengers. The resulting piece became a favourite item on our travels, always concluding our concerts with merriment and good cheer.
Our cruises continued after our daughter Eliška was born, and she became an exceptionally well-travelled child, always attending our concerts and eager to join in. After a while I adapted some of our duets to include a simple third part at the top so she could make a guest appearance, easily becoming the most admired member of the trio. As Eliška grew in ability her parts became harder, and eventually it seemed necessary to make Mel's duet medley into a trio medley, with the opportunity to add some new interplay between the parts and some greater sonority. This version is presented here, to enable others to enjoy playing in a group of three, and to participate in the infectious sense of fun that runs through it. Bela Hartmann, September 2023
As the title might suggest, this mish-mash makes use of Johann Strauss II’s Emperor Waltz, Johann Strauss I’s Radetzky March, Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, The Sailor’s Hornpipe and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3.
Duration 3½ minutes
