Howard Skempton

This work is based on the traditional modes/scales of Armenia. 'Duduk' is the name of the Armenian oboe that is normally accompanied by drones. Erkoreka cleverly creates the illusion of the drone's pr...

These attractive settings of the ancient Latin Advent Antiphons will be of interest to any choir seeking imaginative material for Advent or Christmas performances. Within a largely diatonic style, Jac...

In this gently uplifting setting of the opening verses of Psalm 25, a psalm of faithfulness and trust, Skempton employs seamless homophony to create a sound-world that encourages the listener to refle...

Featuring sparse textures, quirky endings, and intuitive phrasing, these 24 Preludes and Fugues, in all the keys, bear the hallmarks of Skempton's Minimalist style. This set is well-suited for perform...

Featuring sparse textures, quirky endings, and intuitive phrasing, these 24 Preludes and Fugues, in all the keys, bear the hallmarks of Skempton's Minimalist style. This set is well-suited for perform...

Dos melodías lastimeras.

In this organ voluntary, Skempton has crafted a wash of melting lines using his distinctive harmonic language. Affirmation expands from a singular note into undulating four- and five-part textures. Th...

This is the first of two books of preludes and fugues for solo organ by Howard Skempton. Each book comprises 25 pairs of preludes and fugues based around the 24 major and minor keys. The additional en...

Field Notes is a compact, one-movement chamber work for oboe, violin, viola, and cello. The work is full of harmonic interest with chromatic and melodic passages shared equally between the parts.

La gora di mulino was commissioned for Chamber Music 2000. The Chamber Music 2000 works were designed to be technically easy, but still retain the composers own individuality and musical style. La gor...

Written as a surprise present for the Schubert Ensemble in celebration of their 30th anniversary, this playful piece for violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano has light-hearted references to Stravinsk...

Originally scored for solo piano and full orchestra, Skempton's Piano Concerto has been arranged by the composer for quintet, broadening its reach to smaller ensembles. The work consists of five short...

Originally scored for solo piano and full orchestra, Skempton's Piano Concerto has been arranged by the composer for quintet, broadening its reach to smaller ensembles. The work consists of five short...

This piece owes its title and much of its elegiac but optimistic character to a poem by Mary Webb. Webb's fine lyric verse is echoed in the song-like directness and simplicity of form captured in this...

Written for the Smith Quartet, the title refers to some of the many different meanings of the word 'catch' - fishing, tricks, rounds. The result is a twelve-minute piece played continuously and full o...

Tendrils has been described as a 'masterly display of Skempton's utterly natural art.' It is built out of continuous undulating lines that sustain their effect throughout, the impulse being lyrical an...

Moving On is a single movement work for string quartet. Skempton masterfully combines classical string quartet textures with luxuriant harmonies and a fluid approach to tonality, resulting in an appea...

Moving On is a single movement work for string quartet. Skempton masterfully combines classical string quartet textures with luxuriant harmonies and a fluid approach to tonality, resulting in an appea...

Written for the Smith Quartet, the title refers to some of the many different meanings of the word 'catch' - fishing, tricks, rounds. The result is a twelve-minute piece played continuously and full o...

Tendrils has been described as a 'masterly display of Skempton's utterly natural art.' It is built out of continuous undulating lines that sustain their effect throughout, the impulse being lyrical an...

The pairing of a slowish and a lively movement has long been attractive to composers, certainly since the days of pavanes and galliards. Skempton uses the contrast to great effect here, where if 'Rest...

Six miniatures. 'Progressively laying out aspects of cello technique - double stopping, pizzicato, glacial harmonies - and then combining them, the work builds to a substantial fourth movement and the...

Written the year before the Six Figures, Arioso is a study in scalic and chordal figures, retaining Skempton's signature simplicity and repetitiveness throughout. Grail Transformation and Epiphany bri...