Over the past few years I have been engaged sporadically in the somewhat obsessive activity of making MIDI transcriptions of various classical pieces. It occurred to me that it would be a good idea to collect a selection into one place.
MIDI transcription is a frustrating business - it takes ages to get one working properly on your own system, but when it is finally complete you have to reflect on the fact that on someone else's system it will sound totally different. It is not just a question of the instruments sounding different, but also the dynamics, the balance and even the piano pedalling. So the result is somewhat hit-and-miss. This is why I aim to start including mp3 versions of some of these pieces. But all that aside, this is all music which I like very much, and I hope that in these pages perhaps you might discover something interesting and unfamiliar. Playing the mp3 rather than MIDI will allow you to hear these pieces as they were intended; if you have broadband, the mp3 files should stream without any problems. MIDI transcriptions will have this button: Please keep coming back, because as I complete new transcriptions, so I will add them here. |
ALL THE MIDI TRANSCRIPTIONS ON THIS PAGE ARE COPYRIGHT LANGDON JONES ©2002 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
These transcriptions cover some 500 years of music. With the later works there is no problem of interpretation, but with the early music one has to decide on an approach to take. My own view is that there is nothing more boring than those transcriptions of early music which set all the lines to the GM 'recorder' instrument (particularly as there aren't many good recorder soundfonts in existence). There are still arguments in the musical world about the value of authenticity in performance, but one thing is certain: using MIDI, authenticity is impossible! In these transcriptions my aim has been a musical performance - even if that involves adding a drumkit! Certainly not authentic, but in my view preferable to some live performances of early music I have heard. |
Farnaby - Allemande. A piece by the English composer, Giles Farnaby | ![]() |
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Richard Walthew - Holiday Waltzes. Walthew was an Edwardian English composer, and produced some interesting works. This is a charming set of six waltzes for piano. | ![]() |
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No. 1 | ![]() |
No. 2 | ![]() |
No. 3 |
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No. 4 | ![]() |
No. 5 | ![]() |
No. 6 |
Walthew - Improvisation for Piano. In contrast to the previous set, this is a large-scale piece for the piano (in everything save length), with a touch of Elgarian nobilmente | ![]() |
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Engelman - Galliarda Liricel. Another piece from the same collection. | ![]() |
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Susato - Pas e medio. Another piece from the Danserye |
Engelman - Paduana Stepan. This piece is given a more elaborate orchestration, together with some added percussion. | ![]() |
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John Adson - Royal Wind Music. This has been given a rather more pompous orchestration than it probably had originally. |
Schoenberg - Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke. A set of six aphoristic piano pieces by this 20th century composer. |
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No. 1 | ![]() |
No. 2 | ![]() |
No. 3 |
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No. 4 | ![]() |
No. 5 | ![]() |
No. 6 |
Engelman - Paduana Soldat. Another one from the same collection. | ![]() |
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Susato - Allemande no. 5. Another one from the Danserye. This one is notable for its very attractive folk-song-like tune. | ![]() |
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