(M.J.E. / Composer listings / Agnew / Errors)

Piano music by Roy Agnew
Complete edition published by The Keys Press
Edited by Prof. Larry Sitsky

List of probable errors in the edition

Compiled by Michael Edwards

Introduction

After many years during which most of Australian composer Roy Agnew's piano music has been out of print, it is currently being reprinted in successive volumes in a complete edition by The Keys Press, edited by Prof. Larry Sitsky.
This is something I welcome, since Agnew is one of my favourite composers, and I think it is regrettable that his music has been neglected in more recent years; but at the same time, I believe the new edition, for reasons that I cannot determine, contains many dozens of mistakes. In the case of pieces where I also have the original edition, I was able to verify surmises I made by studying the new edition without initially comparing it with the original, and I found that in almost every instance I was completely correct. This gives me the confidence to identify many mistakes I believe I have found in pieces of which I do not have the original edition, although such surmises of course have to be more tentative, because I cannot verify them.
On this web page I am going to list these probable mistakes and discuss my reasons for supposing them to be mistakes.
Larry Sitsky has made deliberate alterations to the music, and these are usually marked in the score with various typographic devices as editorial alterations or additions, although in some cases not as clearly or precisely as I would have liked. While I do not always agree with what he has done, and in most cases see no reason whatever to alter Agnew's original version, I have to accept that this is a Sitsky edition of Agnew, not an "urtext" of Agnew. I will therefore not be focusing on these deliberate changes, and will refrain from discussing my opinion of them, and will concentrate on those changes or mistakes which I feel sure are unintentional. (Where the markings to identify what is editorial seem unclear, though, I will discuss that. I accept, with a few misgivings, the inclusion of editorial alterations; but in such cases I think it is very important that it be easy to distinguish what the editor has done from what the composer did. This edition fails in that regard in a few instances, in my opinion.)
Whether Prof. Sitsky was, or is, aware of these mistakes I'm sure I've found, I cannot be sure, and it greatly puzzles me, because I would have thought that routine proof-reading before the music went to the printer would pick them up. I feel sure that many, even most, of these mistakes are typesetting mistakes rather than editing mistakes on Prof. Sitsky's part. Support for this idea can be found in the fact that there are a number of mistakes which are purely typographical ones, such as improper vertical alignment of notes, and the overall appearance of the scores suggests that the typesetting may not have been done as carefully as it might have been. Even a brief glance at the original and new editions of a score, without studying any detail at all, makes the difference in typesetting style obvious. Even so, proof-reading surely should have picked up most of the actual errors, if not the shortcomings in typesetting style.
In a very few cases the original edition has mistakes too, and I will include and discuss these too, regardless of whether the new edition perpetuates the mistake or corrects it. I will in each such case mention that it was in the original edition. In short, I will mention anything I am aware of in any editions that will contribute to a more accurate edition, should that be produced one day.
What mystifies me about this situation is that Larry Sitsky is beyond doubt one of Australia's foremost musicians and musical scholars, and he has made a speciality of Roy Agnew's music, and his authority on the subject cannot be contradicted lightly. Yet I must contradict much of what appears in this new edition; the mistakes just make themselves too obvious.
What may make this seem even more audacious of me is the fact that I have no formal musical qualifications whatsoever, and I am not in the least known in the musical world at large. Yet I have a considerable familiarity with a huge range of music from over the last two centuries or so, and a particular familiarity with much of Agnew's music, so I believe I am in a position to assert the presence of these mistakes. And I will give full reasons for each instance, and I believe my reasoning will stand on its own merits - not on my own qualifications or reputation, neither of which I have.
In some cases, I am not sure that something is a mistake, but feel only that it possibly is. I have included all such doubtful cases too, and have indicated that they are doubtful. But if a corrected version of this music is ever printed one day, I believe there is enough doubt about these marginal cases that they should at least be investigated and preferably compared with the original editions, which seem, at least in the ones I possess myself, to be almost completely free of errors; and of course the composer's manuscripts, if available, would be a very valuable source to compare them with.
In yet other cases I feel certain there is a mistake, but two or more possible corrections seem plausible. In such cases I may suggest a reading which seems most likely, and may also mention one or two alternatives. In all cases I will fully back up my statements with reasons.
But of course before any corrections are done, the composer's manuscript and/or original editions should be consulted to resolve the matter. Needless to say, this would be an extremely time-consuming task, taking perhaps dozens of hours, comparing the original sources and the new edition literally bar by bar, for page after page; but, in my opinion, for a reliable edition to be produced of this music, it is a task that simply must be done. I see no way around this, no short-cuts.

The items in the following list fall broadly into two categories: errors I have discovered by comparing the new edition with the old one (which I sometimes surmised from the new edition alone, before making the comparison with the old edition, which bolsters my feeling of competence to compile this list), and errors in pieces where I do not have access to any other edition, where for strong musical reasons I feel sure a misprint has occurred.
Following on from this, the pieces themselves fall into two categories: those where I own an earlier edition, and those which I am seeing for the first time in the new edition. Given that many of my comments are based on a comparison with the earlier editions, I would like to list the early editions I have, so that anyone who wants to pursue the matter can tell exactly what I am referring to when, in the following notes, I refer to "the original edition".


Original editions consulted in compiling this list

     Sonata Počme                       Allan & Co. Prop. Ltd.       1936
     Capricornia (Sonata Legend)        Augener Ltd.                 1949
     Australian Forest Pieces           Nicholson & Co., Limited     1913
     Youthful Fancies                   W. H. Paling Pty. Ltd.       1936
     Poem no. 1                         Allan & Co., Pty. Ltd.       1922
     Poem no. 2                         Allan & Co., Pty. Ltd.       1922
     Toccata Tragica                    Allan & Co., Pty. Ltd.       1922
       (There is another version of this piece published by Curwen called
       Počme Tragique, which was not available to me.)
     Three Poems                        Augener Ltd.                 1927 
     no. 4 of Four Preludes             Oxford University Press      1927
     Three Preludes                     Augener Ltd.                 1927
     Etude                              J. Curwen & Sons Ltd.        1924
     A May Day                          Oxford University Press      1927
     Rural Sketches                     Augener Ltd.                 1927
     Two Pieces ("An English Dance",
       "A Country Lane")                Oxford University Press      1927
     Contrasts                          The Arthur P. Schmidt Co.    1927
     Deirdre's Lament                   Allan & Co., Pty. Ltd.       1922
     Rabbit Hill                        Oxford University Press      1928
     Dance of the Wild Men              Allan & Co., Pty. Ltd.       1921
     Toccata                            J. & W. Chester, Ltd.        1933
     Drifting Mists                     Augener Ltd.                 1931
     Whither, and Exaltation            Augener Ltd.                 1931
     Noontide                           W. Paxton & Co., Ltd.        1935
     Holiday Suite                      W. H. Paling Pty. Limited    1937
     Album Leaf                         Augener Ltd.                 1949
     Sea Surge                          Augener Ltd.                 1949
     Two Pianoforte Solos
       ("In Meditation",
       "Looking Back")                  W. H. Paling & Co., Ltd.     undated

So I will now present my itemized list of errors, and give full reasons for each item. I do this not in a spirit of being carping or fault-finding, but in a cooperative spirit, in the hope that it will one day contribute to a corrected version of this music being printed one day, unlikely though that may seem.
Items were occasionally difficult to describe clearly in words - but if you check them in the actual edition itself as you read them, I think they should be reasonably easy to follow. The list is designed to be read in conjunction with the actual scores, and will be meaningless to anyone who doesn't have a copy of Agnew's music. It would be good if I could include actual musical notation for the more complicated instances; but, since I don't have the resources for doing this, nor the knowledge of how to do it, I will have to make do with a careful description in words. I apologize if some of my descriptions seem very wordy and detailed; but there was no other way. In such cases (fortunately very few) I have given priority to clarity over brevity.
Please note: in the limited-edition Sonatas volume (which I hope won't remain a limited edition of only 250 copies permanently), where bar numbers are provided, I refer to passages by identifying the bar number. However, bar numbers are not provided in the other volumes, so I will identify passages by giving in turn the page number, system number, and bar number within that system. In numbering bars I have counted only complete bars, and ignored incomplete bars containing an upbeat. This situation usually occurs only at the start of a piece.
In the following list, I've marked each item with either an asterisk or a question mark: the asterisk marks items I feel almost certain are mistakes; the question mark denotes items where I do not feel sure, but it seems uncertain enough that it should at least be looked into more closely, and compared with the original sources. Where I feel sure there is a mistake, but not sure of how it should be corrected, and have suggested two or more possible alternatives, I have marked the item with an asterisk: it does not indicate that I am certain about the preferred version I suggest, but merely that I am certain there is a mistake.
In referring to musical notes, I do not have musical symbols available for use in this list: therefore I use the symbol "#" for sharps (as in F#), the letter "b" for flats (as in Bb), "x" for double-sharps (as in Fx), and "bb" for double-flats (as in Bbb). A note-name without these symbols is always to be taken as natural (as in D - that is, D natural). If I need to emphasize that a note is natural, as against sharp or flat, I will say something like "D-nat.", since I cannot even approximate a natural sign with any characters available to me.
I will deal with the Sonatas volume first, then work through the other volumes of shorter piano works in order. I will provide links on this page at various points to go straight to particular volumes or pieces, including a complete list of Agnew's piano works and full links right now.

Michael Edwards,
Victoria, Australia.

E-mail me about this music.

NOTE:
Click here if you need an explanation for the strange appearance of the e-mail address which will appear when you click on the e-mail link, or if you don't know what you need to do to make the e-mail address work properly.

List of volumes

The 6 Sonatas (limited edition volume)
Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci) Fantasie Sonata Sonata (1929) Sonata Počme
Sonata Ballade Sonata Legend (Capricornia) "Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)
Volume 1
Australian Forest Pieces
   1. Gnome Dance 2. When Evening Shadows Fall 3. Forest Nymphs at Play
   4. Night in the Forest 5. By a Quiet Stream 6. The Forest Grandeur
Youthful Fancies
   1. The Merry-Go-Round 2. The Gurgling Brook 3. The Sunlit Glade 4. Sleeping Child
Volume 2: The Complete Poems
Two Poems (1922)
   1. 2. (To the Sunshine)
Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica)
Three Poems (1927)
   1. 2. 3. [G#-minor-ish]
Volume 3: The Complete Preludes
Four Preludes (1925)
   1. 2. [G# minor] 3. (The Wind) 4.
Three Preludes (1927)
   1. [A major] 2. [Eb minor] 3. [B major]
Volume 4
Etude A Dance Impression A May Day An Autumn Morning Capriccio
Volume 5
Pangbourne Fields
Three Lyrics
   1. The Falling Snow 2. A Quest 3. The Happy Lad
Rural Sketches
   1. The Shepherd on the Hill 2. The Fairy Dell 3. A Starry Night 4. At the Fair
Volume 6
Two Pieces
   An English Dance A Country Lane
Contrasts
   1. A Child's Dream 2. Country Dance 3. Winter Solitude 4. Elegy 5. April on the Hills
Volume 7
Deirdre's Lament Elf Dance Rabbit Hill Rhapsody
Volume 8
Dance of the Wild Men The Windy Hill Toccata
Volume 9
Drifting Mists
Whither, and Exaltation
   Whither Exaltation
Before Dawn
Noontide
Trains
Volume 10
Holiday Suite
   1. Spiders 2. Holidays 3. Lullaby 4. The Party 5. March of the Soldier Ants
Album Leaf
Sea Surge
Two Pieces
   In Meditation Looking Back
Volume 11: Previously Unpublished Pieces
Nocturne Will o' the Wisp I Will o' the Wisp II
Volume 12: Piano Duets
Green Valley The Village Fair

[ last / first volume of shorter works ]

The 6 Sonatas (limited edition volume):
Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci); Fantasie Sonata; Sonata (1929); Sonata Počme;
Sonata Ballade; Sonata Legend (Capricornia); "Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)

Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Note: In this piece, there are passages which are repeated almost note for note; when errors occur in corresponding bars in both passages, they are discussed in adjacent entries, or even in the same entry when that is convenient, breaking the normal pattern of going through the bars in order.

* Bar 14, crotchet 4, r.h.:
Error: Lower B should be Bb.
Reason: Compare with l.h., where the B is flat; also compare with the same chord in the next bar. The melody voice as a whole moves in octaves, so the B-nat. doesn't fit for that reason, also. If the B were intended, it would probably have been written as Cb.

* Bar 17, crotchet 3, l.h.:
Error: Probably Gb-Ab (major 9th) should be an Ab octave - or possibly a Gb octave.
Reason: The surrounding l.h. notes are octaves, and the maj. 9th doesn't seem to fit the texture of the passage as a whole.
Ab seems the more likely alternative, because it continues the pattern of root-position dom.-9th chords. But a case could be made for Gb, since the chord Gb E Gb Ab Bb C Eb makes sense too. After all, this chord must be slightly different from the preceding chords anyway, whichever way you read the bass, since the presence of the E in the r.h. means that, even with the Ab in the bass, the chord would not be a pure dom.-9th chord like the preceding chords.

* Bar 27, last chord in r.h.:
Error: The lower C needs a natural sign (to agree with upper note of the octave).
Reason: The outer notes of this series of chords in the r.h. move in octaves both before and after, so a false relation here doesn't make sense. If it is intended though, a confirming sharp sign would seem advisable.
Another possibility might be that both C's should be sharp, in which case the natural sign for the top C should be changed to a sharp sign. (Compare with bar 175, next paragraph.) But the E included in the chord seems to suggest C, because it would continue the pattern of parallel maj. 3rds. At this point both hands are independently following streams of parallel chords based on the whole-tone scale, and C would definitely fit this pattern better than C#.

? Bar 27, last chord in r.h. :
Error: Possibly a G# or Ab has been omitted from the chord.
Reason: All the preceding and following chords in the r.h. are augmented triads, which suggests that maybe this one should be too.

* Bar 175, last chord in r.h.:
Error: Both C's need natural signs.
Reason: This would agree with the parallel passage in bar 27, where one of the C's is natural, and probably both should be. See the previous but one entry for a fuller discussion of this point. If, in spite of this, both C's should be C# here, then no change needs to be made here.

* Bar 29, second-last quaver in r.h.:
Error: The G needs a natural sign.
Reason: All the preceding r.h. chords are augmented triads, following the l.h. parallel major triads; it seems this last r.h. harmony should be an augmented triad, too. This is supported by bar 177, which is exactly parallel, where the G is given a natural sign.

*? Bar 32, crotchet 1 in r.h.:
Error: The C probably needs a sharp sign.
Reason: C# seems to fit the harmony better than C. Compare with bar 180, which is parallel, and presumably meant to be the same, and which has the sharp sign. The following C would then need a natural sign, of course.

*? Bars 46 and 193:
Error:
Reason:

*? Bars 46 and 193: These bars are obviously closely parallel, apart from being in different keys. This suggests to me that maybe the inner r.h. voice may be wrong in one of them: perhaps, in 193, the 2nd and 3rd notes should be Gb-F, not F-Fb, to agree with 46; or, if I've got it the wrong way round, then the 2nd and 3rd notes in 46 should be D-Db, not Eb-D. (This version seems less likely to me.)

*? Bar , :
Error:
Reason:

*? Bar 50, last quaver, r.h.: Quaver rest needed to complete the inner voice. (It appears in the parallel bar 199.)

*? Bars 51 and 199: These bars are obviously parallel: indeed, situated in quite lengthy passages which are parallel. Because some of the parallel bars appear to be exact, and others only approximate, and because I can't be sure whether these particular bars are intended to be exactly or only approximately the same, any claim about possible errors in one or both of these bars is tentative only; but my feeling is that there may be a couple of errors here, which perhaps could be checked with the original source.

If my hunch is right here, it would seem that either bar 51 should

become: or else bar 199 should become:

(The points of difference are in the l.h.: two notes in the inner voice, stems pointing down, are one note-degree different, after transposition has been taken into account, and the composition of the chord in the second-last quaver is different. Also (I feel sure about this one, at least), the first D in the l.h. in bar 199 should be Db, to agree with bar 51 and to preserve the Db-major tonality.)

*? Bar 71, crotchet 1, r.h.: Minim should be G#-D-F#. (This would parallel the tenor line exactly the way the surrounding r.h. chords do. It seems that there is intended to be a series of parallel chords here of 4 notes each: the 3 notes in each r.h. chord plus the top notes in the l.h.)

*? Bars 82-84, l.h.: Several crotchet stems omitted. (This is a passage Larry Sitsky rearranged. However, assuming that it should be effectively the same as Agnew's version, merely redistributed between the two hands, the lower l.h. notes all need crotchet stems added to give them the right duration (except where they tie into a following quaver); but many of these crotchet stems are missing, thinning out the passage too much. A few of the upper l.h. notes need crotchet stems, too, for similar reasons.)

*? Bar 83, quavers 1 and 2, l.h.: The first G should be natural (tied to the G in the previous bar), and the second G, flat. (Compare with the rest of the bass-line, which moves in even crotchets; also, compare with Agnew's version given in the Appendix.)

*? Bar 83, quaver 8, l.h.: The final E should be flat, not natural. (Similar reasons as in preceding paragraph.)

*? Bar 93: The meaning of the footnote doesn't seem clear to me: Did the editor add the triplet notes out of nothing, or convert crotchet chords to triplet figuration? Or is the footnote possibly saying that he merely added the triplet signs?

*? Bar 101, crotchet 1, r.h.: Db should be natural (to agree with l.h.). The following quaver D would then need a flat sign.

*? Bar 102, crotchet 4, l.h.: B needs a natural sign. (This would agree with B in r.h., and make the l.h. chord fit into the series of parallel dom. 7ths.)

*? Bar 106, crotchets 1-2, r.h.: First D needs a natural sign, second a flat sign (to make them agree with l.h.)

*? Bar 123, crotchet 3, l.h.: B needs either a natural or a confirming flat. (The former would agree with r.h.; the latter would confirm the false relation.) Perhaps the low E needs a natural, too, because the 8va sign might be regarded as cancelling the previous E natural.

*? Bar 138, crotchet 3, r.h.: A needs a sharp. (Clearly necessary to agree with overall harmonic sense; all the other A's are sharp.)

*? Bar 151, crotchet 1, r.h.: E needs flat sign (to agree with l.h. quaver 2 notes earlier), or else a natural (to confirm disagreement with l.h., which seems unlikely to me).

*? Bar 156, 6th quaver, r.h.: If false relation in bar 157 is correct (unlikely), and intended here also, the upper G needs a natural sign.

*? Bar 157, 6th quaver, r.h.: Upper C should be sharp, not natural (assuming a per. 8ve is intended, as in the preceding parallel bar).

*? Bar 163, crotchet 3, l.h.: Lower Eb in octave semiquaver at end of bar needs a flat sign. (This would agree with the top note, and the E natural in the semiquaver run earlier in the bar needs to be cancelled.)

*? Bars 164-165, r.h.: A 5-note chord is tied between these two bars, but only 4 tie lines are present; the top Ab's need to be tied also. (I presume all 5 notes are intended to be tied.

*? Bar 173, crotchets 1-2, l.h.: In the first crotchet, the lower note should have a tie leading into it (the Db at the end of the previous bar has a tie leading out of it, and the parallel passage in bars 24-25 contains a similar tie); in the second crotchet, the upper D needs a reminding natural sign.

*? Bar 175: Perhaps the word "steady" (in editorial square brackets) needs to be added above the top stave at the beginning of the bar. (It is present in bar 27, which is identical.)

*? Bar 178, crotchet 4, r.h.: The last G should be sharp. (This would agree with the parallel bar 30, and also agree with the same figure an octave higher in the first half of the same bar.)

*? Bar 178, crotchet 4, l.h.: The bass clef should appear before the two semiquavers, not after. (Gb-B and C in the treble make no sense here, and don't agree with bar 30, which places the clef correctly.)

*? Bar 201, crotchet 2, l.h.: Possibly C-E should be Cb-Eb. (This would agree with the first chord in the bar, and also correspond more closely to the parallel bar 53; although this comparison may not be valid, because the bars are only similar, not identical, it is persuasive to me, all the same.)

Fantasie Sonata -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Although I have never seen the original edition of this work, at least advertising for it on the back cover of other Agnew works (published by Augener) gives the title as "Fantaisie Sonata" (extra "i" in "Fantasie").

Note: In this piece, there are passages which are repeated almost note for note; when errors occur in corresponding bars in both passages, they are discussed in adjacent entries, or even in the same entry when that is convenient, breaking the normal pattern of going through the bars in order.

*? Bar 2, dotted minim, l.h.: Perhaps E should be Eb. (This would correspond with the following chord a semitone higher, and many of the chords in this sonata are dom.-7-based. E natural just sounds wrong to my ear.)

*? Bars 12-15, r.h.: Should the upper notes of the trills be 1 or 3 semitones higher? (In the first trill, for example, should be F-F# or F-G#? - and similarly for the other trills.) (Without a doubt, the auxiliary notes should be 3 semitones higher, according to the standard rules of musical notation. But trills of an augmented 2nd are very unusual, and I have seen this notation in other music where it seems that the note a semitone higher is intended. In any case, the notation given here is slightly ambiguous to me.)

xx *? Bars 30 and 224, second-last r.h. chord in each: Lower D needs a natural sign. (D# not only disagrees with the upper D natural, but is contraindicated by the immediately preceding and following Eb's.)

xx *? Bars 45 and 239, quaver 6 in each, l.h.: Upper B needs a flat to cancel the earlier natural. (It is obviously intended that all the l.h. octaves in this passage be Bb.)

xx *? Bars 45 and 239, quaver 9 in each, l.h.: In the earlier bar, the notes are Bb-Gb; in the latter a Bb octave. Should either be changed to agree with the other?

xx *? Bars 46 and 240, quaver 7 in each, r.h.: The earlier bar has F, the later F# (arising from an earlier sharp still in force); naturalize the F# in the later bar. (F would agree with the F in l.h.)

xx *? Bars 46 and 240, quaver 8 in each, r.h.: E needs a natural sign to cancel an earlier Eb (obviously not intended here).

51, quaver 1, r.h.: The ties at the end of the previous bar should be shown continuing into the Eb octave at the start of this bar.

xx *? Bars 59 and 253, second semiquaver group in each, r.h.: Should the Bs be natural? (This would fit in with the overall pattern of the semiquaver tremolos being in major 3rds.)

xx *? Bars 60 and 254, last semiquaver in each, r.h.: Should the B be A (natural)? (This would continue the pattern of maj.-3rd tremolos.)

*? Bar 63, start of bar, l.h.: Arpeggio sign should start at bottom of chord (in agreement with the same chord in bar 257).

*? Bar 67, start of bar, l.h.: Dots missing on F# octave.

xx *? Bars 79 and 273, second group of semiquavers in each, r.h.

xx *? Bar 80, last semiquaver, r.h.: Should G# be F#? (This would continue the pattern of maj.-3rd tremolos.)

xx *? Bar 82, semiquaver 3, r.h.: C needs a flat sign (to continue maj.-3rd tremolos, and to agree with Cb in l.h. at the beginning of the bar).

*? Bar 106, r.h.: In tied chord Eb-A-F, the tie for the top note is missing. (Clearly intended to match similar chords 2 and 4 bars earlier.)

*? Bar 107, second chord, r.h.: Dots on crotchet missing.

*? Bar 109, last quaver, l.h. in top stave: Db should be marked "loco". (Without the "loco", the melodic shape (compared to the preceding and following bars) is spoilt.)

*? Bar 162, first chord, l.h.: Should E be Eb, to make an Ab-min. triad? (No concrete reason, except that it seems right that way to my ear.)

*? Bar 170, just after bass clef, r.h.: E should be Eb. (Agrees with Eb an octave lower, and fits in with the overall harmony in that bar better.)

*? Bar 172: I have to be a bit vague here, because I can't pinpoint it; but there is something about this bar that seems wrong. Perhaps it's the false relations created by E and B naturals against E and B flats. Is it possible that a couple of flat signs have been left out of this bar, or perhaps one or two wrongly inserted?

*? Bar 189: Should this bar consist simply of the single quaver (even though there is no 1/8 time signature)? (The empty space before the quaver makes it look as if something might have been accidentally omitted from the type-setting.)

*? Bar 223, end of bar, r.h.: A treble clef should be inserted at the very end of the bar. (Only so would the following bar make sense, as well as agree with bar 29.) The treble clef at the end of bar 224 should also be removed.

*? Bar 224, dotted crotchet, l.h.: C should be C# (to agree with bar 30; also, C# seems to fit the harmony better than C would).

*? Bar 226 xx

*? Bar 227, quaver 5, l.h.: The low C should be C# (agrees with bar 33, as well with the C# an octave higher immediately following).

*? Bar 245, last quaver, r.h.: The E octaves should be Eb (to agree with bar 51; also fits into the current harmony better; also, E tied into the next bar doesn't make sense with Fb simultaneously sounding).

*? Bar 247, second dotted crotchet, l.h.: F-E should be E octave. (This is better harmonically and texturally, and agrees with the earlier parallel passage at bar 53.)

*? Bar 252, last semiquaver, l.h.: Should the last semiquaver be in square brackets, to indicate an editorial insertion? (The corresponding note in bar 58 is so marked.)

*? Bar 256, start of bar, l.h.: Bb dotted minim missing in bass. (It is present in the corresponding bar 62.)

*? Bar 257: Perhaps this bar should be marked "(the middle notes very softly)" (to match bar 63, so marked).

*? Bar 259, start of bar, l.h.: Arpeggio sign should start at bottom of chord (in agreement with the same chord in bar 65).

*? Bar 262, dotted minim, l.h.: F# in bass needs to be marked with a tie continuing from the previous page (which ends with such a tie). Or, if it is not to be tied, the note needs a sharp sign; but the parallel passage in bars 67-68 includes the tie.

*? Bar 265, l.h.: First crotchet in tenor needs a dot. Second and third notes in tenor voice are positioned on stave one quaver earlier than they should be.

XXup toXX bar 268

*? Bar 286, first l.h. chord: Clearly this chord is tied from the previous bar; but only the lower three notes have ties running into them, not the top Ab.

*? Bars 287-288, beginning of bar, l.h.: This is the first of two bars Larry Sitsky modified. (He expanded 1 bar by Agnew into two bars.) The Appendix gives Agnew's version, which includes a l.h. chord not found in Larry Sitsky's version. Was the dropping of this intentional, or a misprint? If the latter, the following notes, tied together, should be inserted in bars 287-288 to parallel Agnew's dotted semibreve chord:

(In bar 288 this would necessitate a third, bass-clef stave, or else a number of leger lines to accommodate the low Ab. Or perhaps Debussy's device of combining two clefs on the same stave at the same time would do the trick.)

*? Bars 289-292, quaver 7 in each bar, r.h.: The top note of the l.h. dotted quavers is taken by the r.h. in each bar, but the r.h. notes lack the necessary dot.

*? Bars 295 and 314, first note in l.h. in each bar: The bass notes as given by Agnew are B octaves at the bottom of the piano. Larry Sitsky has added an F to both of these octaves; but is it possible that a sharp sign has been accidentally left out, making the F's F#'s instead? (F# in both places seems to fit the harmonic context better than F; surrounding F's are all sharp, and 2 Gb's are present in bar 295.)

Sonata (1929) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

*? Bar 5, quaver 5, middle stave: The minim A should be Ab. (Compare with the same voice in the next bar, and the manuscript for this page reproduced in the Appendix.)

*? Bar 5, quaver 6, middle stave: The quaver Ab should be A. (According to next bar and manuscript.)

*? Bars 5 and 6, l.h. semibreve in each bar: The arpeggio signs should start at the bottom notes of the two chords, not the second-lowest (as shown in manuscript page in the Appendix).

*? Bar 7, quaver 5, middle stave: Gb quavers should be natural. (Gb-F#-Gb makes no sense; manuscript page in Appendix agrees.)

*? Bar 8, quaver 6, middle stave: Lower Eb (quaver) should be natural. (The falling and rising 2nd in this motif is always a min. 2nd; manuscript page in Appendix agrees.)

*? Bar 11, quaver 6, middle stave: Bb (quaver) should be natural. (Same reason as in previous paragraph.)

*? Bar 15, last quaver, r.h.: E should be Eb. (Cb-E is enharmonically wrong; parallelism with preceding and following chords suggests a maj. 3rd here.)

*? Bars 42-43, middle stave: Bb as well as Eb should be tied over the bar-line. (Bar 43, but not bar 42, is included in the manuscript page in the Appendix, but both these notes in bar 43 have continuation ties leading to them.)

*? Bars 43 and 44, quaver 6 in each, top stave: "R.H." is given for both upward arpeggios, but the manuscript page in the Appendix gives "L.H.". Only the second "R.H." is marked as editorial.

*? Bars 54 and 55, quaver 1 in each, r.h.: Top E should be Eb (the bottom E added by the editor is flat); or else, if the false relation is intended (which seems unlikely), a confirming natural would prevent the appearance of a misprint.

*? Bars 60-61, l.h.: Bass clef should be inserted at the end of bar 60, and treble clef at start of bar 61 changed to a bass clef; bass clef at end of bar 61 should be removed. (The l.h. passage in bar 61 only makes sense melodically and harmonically if construed as being in the bass clef.)

*? Bars 97 and 98, crotchet 2 in each, r.h.: The lower C's read as if they are C# (because of the earlier sharp in the C space), in spite of the false relation this causes with the higher octave; but comparison with the B octaves on the following beat suggests that an octave may have been intended, thus requiring that the lower C's be natural. A confirming natural or sharp seems necessary for the lower C's in question.

*? Bar 111, crotchet 5, r.h.: Is there a slight possibility that the E crotchet should be Eb to agree with the l.h.?

xx *? Bar 173, quaver 7, r.h.

xx *? Bar 173:

xx Bar 173

*? Bar 177, B octave in top stave: Should the "8va" apply to this, too, or should be marked "loco"? ("Loco" would seem better from the point of view of the texture of this chord as a whole.)

*? Bar 177, 2nd-last quaver in middle stave: The notes are F#-E#, but the context seems to suggest the entire triplet should be in octaves. Should either of the notes be changed to make an octave with the other?

*? Bars 178 and 179, crotchet 2 in each bar: Because of an earlier E#, the E octave in the bottom stave actually reads as E-E#, reading upwards, creating an aug. 8ve; but it seems from the context that the note should be a per. 8ve, either on E or E# (I would consider E# more likely, judging by all the other E#'s in these bars, and the total absence of E naturals). If so, then either the top E should have a natural in front of it, or the bottom one should have a sharp in front of it.

*? Bars 185 and 186, quaver 6 in each bar, l.h.: There are 2 C's in each chord: one with a sharp, one with no accidental. The one with no accidental needs a natural in front of it to cancel the C# in the preceding chord.

*? Bar 187, 2nd chord, l.h.: An A should possibly be added to the l.h., to match the pattern followed in the immediately preceding and following l.h. chords. If it is placed to the right of the Ab already present, the A in the next chord will need to be flattened.

Sonata Počme -----=== not yet complete ===-----

The original edition of this piece was titled "Sonata Poeme" (without the grave accent in "Poeme")

Note: In this piece, there are passages which are repeated almost note for note; when errors occur in corresponding bars in both passages, they are discussed in adjacent entries, or even in the same entry when that is convenient, breaking the normal pattern of going through the bars in order.

37: There should be a diminuendo in this bar (a hairpin sign, not "dim."), lasting the entire duration of the bar (found in Allan's edition).

xx *? Bars 55 and 176: These bars correspond, yet in bar 55 the word "increase" occurs at the start, whereas with bar 176 it occurs near the end of the previous bar. The older Allan's edition does this too. I'm wondering if this is a mistake, and whether the manuscript should be checked to see whether either position should be changed to match the other.

xx*? Bar 57, crotchet 2, r.h.: The A should be G#. (G# fits the harmony, whereas A doesn't; it agrees with the Allan's edition.) (Although G# fits into the harmony, an intriguing thought occurs to me. I wonder if this could be a mistake, because F# would also fit the harmony, and it would fit the shape of this motif better, too. Comparison with bars 32, 38, 46, 106, 108, 110, 125 (and many others) would support this. I wonder if the manuscript actually gives F#, and the G# is a mistake which crept into the Allan's edition years ago.)

xx *? Bar 178, crotchet 2, r.h.: This bar agrees with the Allan's edition, but the speculation I made about a possible alternative reading in the previous paragraph would apply here also, in a passage which is identical.

*? Bar 71: The hairpin should begin below the r.h. G, not at the beginning of the bar (according to Allan's edition).

*? Bar 72, crotchet 2: The Bb in the treble should be B. (Agrees with parallel passage 2 bars earlier; necessary if the slur is to be regarded as a tie; agrees with the Allan's edition.)

*? Bar 79: The "Ped." and "*" signs are marked as editorial, yet they appear in the Allan's edition, and are thus presumably by the composer.

*? Bar 133, crotchet 3, l.h.: The G immediately after the treble clef should be Gb. (All the other G's in this bar are flat. This also agrees with the Allan's edition.)

*? Bar 141: The hairpin occurs too early, according to the Allan's edition: it should begin above the second F, and end above the B.

*? Bars 148 and 151, crotchet 1 in each, upper stave: All the notes given agree with the Allan's edition, and the version given certainly doesn't sound obviously wrong, but the following thought occurs to me. The downward run in these two bars is parallel, except for being transposed down a tritone the second time. Assuming the passages should be the same, comparison of the 2nd note in each of the two bars suggests that perhaps either the C# in bar 148 should be D, or else the Ab in bar 151 should be G. Would it be worth checking it with the manuscript?

*? Bar 155, crotchet 2, l.h.: Although it is doubtful, the thought occurs to me that just maybe the A in the bass should be Ab. (The surrounding chords are root-position dom.-7ths, and having Ab in the bass would continue the idea of the bass-line moving down by a min. 3rd, a progression that occurs both before and after this bar. This is purely my own speculation; the Allan's edition agrees with the new edition here.)

*? Bar 177, crotchet 4, r.h.: The F# should be F. (F# makes no sense harmonically or melodically, and the Allan's edition supports F, as does comparison with bar 56.)

*? Bar 178, minim 1, l.h.: The F in the minim chord should be F#. (F makes no sense harmonically, and the Allan's edition supports F#, as does comparison with bar 57.)

*? Bar 185, crotchet 3, l.h.: Possibly the G# should be G. (Although I cannot be so definite here as in other cases, the G# sounds wrong to my ear, and doesn't seem to fit the style of harmony that prevails in this passage. G also agrees with the Allan's edition.)

*? Bar 190, crotchet 5, l.h.: G should be Gb. (All G's are flat in r.h.; this also agrees with the Allan's edition.)

*? Bar 190, crotchet 6, l.h.: F-C-F should probably be A-Eb-F. (The dom. 7th effect this creates fits the harmonic idiom better than would the stark per. 4th and per. 5th of F-C-F. This also agrees with the Allan's edition.)

*? Bar 191: There should be a crescendo hairpin (according to the Allan's edition), starting with the first semiquaver, and ending with the last semiquaver.

*? Bar 192: The hairpin is not positioned quite right (according to the Allan's edition): it should start with the 3rd, not the 4th, semiquaver (is that being too fussy? - it's difficult to know where to draw the line); and it should end with the last semiquaver, not the end of the bar.

*? Bar 196: The hairpin is not positioned quite right (according to the Allan's edition): it should start with the 2nd, not the 1st, semiquaver; and it should end with the 2nd last semiquaver, not the 4th last. (There are a few more minute discrepancies in the positioning of hairpins between the two editions, but it would be tedious and pedantic to list them all; I might already have gone too far with that. I cannot believe that the hairpins in bars 191-201 are all supposed to be slightly different, as I seem to have implied, and that a couple of these bars are supposed to lack one altogether. I wonder if all the bars should have one, uniform in position.)

Sonata Ballade -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Sonata Legend (Capricornia) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

The original edition of this work is called "Capricornia (Sonata Legend)", whereas the new edition reverses main title and sub-title.

*? Bar 17, crotchet 2, r.h.: The lower Db should be D. (G major triad requires it; D agrees with the upper octave in the same beat; Augener edition has D. The manuscript page in the Appendix agrees also. It also compares properly with the parallel passage two bars later, despite a slightly different bass line there.)

*? Bar 21, crotchet 4, r.h.: The chord Fb-Cb-Fb should include an Ab too. (The full Fb-major triad occurs in the sample manuscript page included in the Appendix. The Augener edition omits the Ab also, so this mistake is obviously of early origin, and perpetuated in the new edition.)

*? Bar 25, crotchet 4: the word "broaden" should occur one quaver later. (In Augener edition; the manuscript page in the Appendix agrees.)

*? Bar 27, crotchet 3, r.h.: The F octave needs natural signs. (In spite of the 8va sign ending, and possibly terminating the scope of the earlier Fb accidental, the flat might still be read by some as being in force.)

*? Bars 33 and 34, crotchet 2 in each, r.h.: The two grace notes and the F minim following need to be slurred together (in both bars). (Given in Augener edition.)

*? Bar 38, 2nd quaver, r.h.: Lower Bb in this chord was added by Larry Sitsky. Could it be that it was meant to be B (or Cb)? (It would fit the harmony better. Also, it would enable the two low notes to be played by the thumb, which appears to be intended; A-Bb-Eb-Bb would probably be unplayable by pianists with right hands any smaller than Rachmaninov's. Compare with the corresponding chord in bar 40, which does follow what I am saying.)

*? Bar 40, 1st quaver, r.h.: D should be Db. (Agrees with parallel passage in bar 38, and agrees with Augener edition.)

*? Bar 52, crotchet 1, l.h.: The first group of semiquavers goes like this in the Augener edition:

This is not clear from the notation, nor from the end-note on p. 127, which, although referring to Larry Sitsky's alteration, makes it sound as if the original went thus:

*? Bar 57, crotchet 4, l.h.: F should be Fb. (Agrees with all the other Fb's in this bar, and with the Augener edition.)

*? Bar 60, start of bar: "very broad" is not in the Augener edition, but is not marked as an editorial addition either.

*? Bars 60-61, r.h.: Composer's slurring (different from Larry Sitsky's) was omitted (first two notes in each bar slurred together), even though this edition is generally giving both the composer's and the editor's slurring. (Composer's version is given in the Augener edition.)

*? Bars 60 and 61, crotchet 4 in each, r.h.: F in each bar should be Fb. (The prevailing harmony requires it, and this is given in the Augener edition. The natural signs look deliberate, but are not flagged as editorial alterations.)

*? Bars 63-64, r.h.: The slurring (composer's, not editor's) might be wrong in these two bars: the two slurs should be joined to form one long one. (Given thus in the Augener edition.)

*? Bar 65, crotchets 1-2, r.h.: The two crotchet chords have 4 notes each: only the top 3 are tied, but the bottom C and Bb need to be slurred together. (Given in Augener edition.)

*? Bar 73, quaver 1: The "Ped." indication is marked as editorial, but it would appear from the Augener edition that it is in fact the composer's indication.

*? Bar 73, last quaver, l.h.: The tenuto marking under the chord B-C#-D is omitted. (Given in Augener edition.)

*? Bar 82, quaver 1, l.h.: The staccato dot is marked as editorial, but it is in fact found in the Augener edition, and thus presumably by the composer.

*? Bars 84-85, r.h.: Bar 84 is at the bottom of a page in the Augener edition, bar 85 at the top of the next. The slur beginning in bar 84 extends only to the low tied F, which reflects the Augener edition - sort of. But the slur in that edition doesn't end neatly on the note F like you might expect, but ends high up in the air as if it were to be continued on the next page; but it isn't continued there, which is probably an oversight. It seems to me that the intention was to continue on the next page and end on the high Eb at the end of bar 85. This agrees with the roughly parallel passage in bars 76-77, where the continuous slur is given in both the old and new editions.

*? Bar 108, crotchets 3-5, l.h.: This isn't a correction, but it might be of interest that I think I know the meaning of the single brackets in front of the F#'s, which the footnote says are of obscure meaning, or a typesetting error. It seems to me that they are simply brackets around the sharp signs (with the closing ones omitted) confirming the F#'s are sharp in spite of the simultaneous F naturals in the r.h. The sharp signs are bracketed because they are not strictly needed, because the first sharp is in force for the entire bar; the bracketed sharps are effectively reminders to guard against an unconscious turning of the F#'s to naturals to match the r.h. I often see this use of brackets around accidentals in chromatic music where false relations occur, although usually the closing one is found, also.

"Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)

* Bars 1-3:
Error: The first system is written with no key signature, and a change to 3 flats is shown at the end. But the 3-flat signature should be present from the start. All the notes are otherwise shown correctly, and even the one accidental present is shown correctly - but of course the absence of the key signature changes the entire harmonic meaning of the passage.
Reason: Most compellingly, the manuscript page shown in the volume shows the 3 flat signature to be present from the start of the piece. Also, some of the harmonies in these bars make less sense if read without a key signature.

* Bar 2, 3rd crotchet in r.h.:
Error: There should be two voices here: the upper one consisting of the "Scotch snap" figure in octaves, Eb-C, and the lower one consisting of a crotchet on the Ab-C shown as part of the semiquaver in the upper voice.
Reason: It is more logical, although to be sure Agnew does not always do this, so this is not in itself a compelling reason. But far more compelling is the fact that the manuscript page reproduced in the volume shows it thus.

* Bar 8, 1st note in l.h.:
Error: The very low Bb should probably be a B-nat.
Reason: While Bb would in itself make reasonable sense, B-nat. is better for a couple of reasons, both arising from a comparison with the next bar: B-nat. would make the melodic shape of the l.h. start with an octave, as in the next bar; and it would also make the harmony a dim.-7th chord instead of a dom. min. 9th, and that would agree with the next bar also. Indeed, the whole passage seems to be based largely on chords of the dim. 7th.

[ Sonatas / next volume ]

Volume 1:
Australian Forest Pieces; Youthful Fancies

Australian Forest Pieces:
1. Gnome Dance; 2. When Evening Shadows Fall; 3. Forest Nymphs at Play;
4. Night in the Forest; 5. By a Quiet Stream; 6. The Forest Grandeur

Note: In much of the advertising in various volumes, the fourth piece in this set of pieces, "Night in the Forest", is omitted from the listing for the set of pieces. However, the piece itself appears in its proper place in the volume.

1. Gnome Dance

* p. 1, bottom of page:
Error: The composer's note, reading "Pedals with discretion", was omitted from new edition.
Reason: The note simply appeared at the bottom of the page in the original edition, not marked with an asterisk or other sign referring to a particular location in the text.

* p. 1, system 3, bar 3 (first-time bar):
Error in both editions: Probably the crotchet rest (in both staves) at the end of the bar should be a quaver rest.
Reason: This mistake occurs also in the old Nicholson edition; I wonder if it is also to be found in the composer's manuscript. At the very start of the piece, before bar 1, there is a D quaver upbeat 2 octaves above middle C; it seems to me that it is intended that it be used in the repeat also. If so, the crotchet rest in the first-time bar should be changed to a quaver rest.
If the repeat of the upbeat is not intended, then the first-time bar should be left as it stands, but an opening repeat sign inserted at the beginning of the first complete bar of the piece, after the upbeat. I consider this reading to be vanishingly unlikely, because the upbeat note is a proper part of the figure (many later bars in the piece support this statement). But, whichever it is, the note-values don't add up properly as the text now stands in both old and new editions.

* p. 2, system 2, bar 2 - 8va sign:
Error in original edition: This 8va sign was left out of the original edition. The new edition correctly restores it, with a footnote explaining.
Reason: The footnote in the new edition explains it. Comparison with the previous bar indicates that the 8va sign should indeed be there.

* p. 2, system 2, bar 3 - beginning of semiquaver run in r.h.:
Error in original edition: The slur begins on the second note in the original edition, but (correctly) on the first note in the new edition.
Reason: This editorial correction is probably right: in the original edition, the phrase began one semiquaver later; but the new version seems better. In both editions, other similar passages have the slur starting on the first note. Is it worth checking the manuscript?

* p. 3, system 5, bar 3 - four semiquavers in lower stave:
Error: Four staccato dots were omitted from the semiquavers in the new edition.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

2. When Evening Shadows Fall

* p. 4, system 5, bar 1 - 2nd chord in r.h.:
Error: Gb should be natural.
Reason: According to the original edition, and G-nat. seems to fit the harmonic progression better, paralleling the bass in min. 3rds. Having two notes change from one chord to the other sounds good, but having only the bass line change sounds rather weak and lame. A comparison with the parallel passage at p. 5, system 3, bar 4 bears this out, in spite of other discrepancies between these parallel passages which I accept as correct nonetheless.

* p. 5, system 5, bar 1 - first chord in l.h.:
Error: The lower G should be changed to Eb.
Reason: Given thus in the original edition, and G doesn't agree with the Gb's in the r.h.

3. Forest Nymphs at Play

4. Night in the Forest -----=== not yet complete ===-----

8/3/4, crotchets 3-4, r.h.: In the Nicholson edition, the Ab is tied to the G#; however, in the new edition, the tie is much higher up, looking merely like a slur applied to the chords as a whole.

5. By a Quiet Stream -----=== not yet complete ===-----

9/1/1, 9/3/2, 10/2/2, l.h.: These three bars are exactly parallel. The new edition gives the l.h. as this each ====== time:

Yet, in the second and third instances, the Nicholson edition gives this:

(Both times, the top minim, in the upper voice, is wrongly given a dot also.) On the first instance it gives this:

which is the same except that the dots on the minim chord have been omitted (probably by mistake). This suggests to me that a more correct reading would be to omit the crotchet rest on each occasion, and to dot the minim chord in the lower part; this would also avoid a break in the l.h. chords which rather obtrusively breaks the continuity of the part (assuming the break is not covered up by the pedal, which I would probably do anyway).

9/1/2, 9/3/3, 10/2/3, l.h.: This is slightly similar to the preceding instance, but my claim here is more tenuous. Once again, the minim rest seems to break the l.h. part up too much. On each occasion, the Nicholson edition has no rest, but gives the preceding chord as a minim, not a semibreve, as it should do if there is to be no rest. Quite possibly the intention is "minim chord followed by minim rest", however much it may not seem right to me. But is it worth checking this with the manuscript, or other sources?

9/5/4, 10/1/4, 10/4/2, r.h.: In the Nicholson edition, these bars (all identical) are given thus:

The use of minims near the end of the bar is strange, and part of the value carries over into the next bar by a quaver; but the meaning of this seems reasonably clear. The new edition reduces these minims to dotted crotchets, to keep their value entirely within the bar. If the unorthodox use of minims is considered undesirable, and was eliminated from the new edition for this reason, it would seem to me that the intent would be better reflected by the use of tied quavers, thus:

This would match the earlier minims in each bar better, which also carry over their usual territory by a quaver, and yet were kept in the new edition.

6. The Forest Grandeur -----=== not yet complete ===-----

*? p. , system , bar - :
Error:
Reason:

11/1/3, 11/3/1, 12/3/3: beginning of each bar, l.h.: In the tenor voice in each of these bars, the original minim shown in the Nicholson edition has been changed to a quaver rest followed by a dotted crotchet; however, whereas most such editorial alterations have been marked as such, there is no such marking here.

11/4/1: The Nicholson edition is obviously in error in giving this passage as:

The note-values don't add up to 4 crotchets (even accepting the final crotchet as a separate voice not to be added to the value of the preceding notes). The correction as given in the new edition is one way of resolving this; but the following seems to me to be more likely:

Perhaps the manuscript itself might resolve it one way or the other; but the rhythm as given in the new edition sounds wrong to me.

12/1/1-2, above treble stave: I think the new edition is probably right here, but perhaps the marking "in time" should appear above the first chord in the next bar. (This is how it is given in the Nicholson edition; but perhaps this is mistaken: above the D# seems more logical.)

12/2/1, minim 2, l.h.: Eb should be E. (In Nicholson edition, and necessary to agree with r.h. and also with other l.h. notes before and after.)

12/4/1, second-last quaver, l.h.: The E at the bottom of the chord immediately following the treble clef needs a natural sign. (In Nicholson edition, and needed to agree with the harmony in that entire bar.)

Youthful Fancies:
1. The Merry-Go-Round; 2. The Gurgling Brook; 3. The Sunlit Glade; 4. Sleeping Child

1. The Merry-Go-Round

Note: This volume gives the title simply as "Merry-go-round".

(No errors found.)

2. The Gurgling Brook

* p. 17, system 5, bar 2 - last half of bar in r.h.:
Error: The 8 semiquavers should go A-Bb-A-Bb-A-Bb-A-Bb, with no D's included.
Reason: As given in the original edition; it also fits better with the generally running-down feeling of the end of the piece.

* p. 17, system 5, bars 2-3 - l.h.:
Error: The tied C's should be D's.
Reason: Found in the original edition, and necessary because of the D Aeolian tonality of the piece.

3. The Sunlit Glade

(No errors found.)

4. Sleeping Child

* p. 20, system 3, bars 4-5; * p. 20, system 4, bars 1-2 - phrasing:
Error: Two phrases are marked in broken lines, indicating an editorial insertion; but the composer's phrasing was omitted.
Reason: According to the original edition, the first of these two phrases ends one note later than the editor's phrasing, and the second starts one note later also - but these are not marked in the new edition.

* p. 20, system 4, bar 1 - 2nd note in r.h. upper voice:
Error: The D quaver should be a C.
Reason: Found in the original edition, and - although this is a subjective opinion - it seems to sound more correct also.

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 2: The Complete Poems:
Two Poems (1922); Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica); Three Poems (1927)

Two Poems (1922):
1.; 2. (To the Sunshine)

1.

* p. 1, system 2, bar 1 - 1st note in l.h.:
Error: The low A should be an F.
Reason: In original edition. Compare with other bars in this piece which have a similar l.h. arpeggio: they all start with an octave.

* p. 1, system 3, bar 2 - 2nd chord in r.h.:
Error: The natural sign in front of the top B should be removed.
Reason: It makes no sense whatever here; Bb would preserve the tendency towards harmony based on the whole-tone scale, as seen in some of the preceding passages. The presence of the tie suggests that the second note should be the same. Compare with the last bar on page 2, which is similar; it keeps the octave on the corresponding chord. Also, the original edition agrees with the reading I propose here.

* p. 1, system 4, bar 1 - crotchets 2 and 3 in r.h.:
Error: A slur should extend from Bb to Ab.
Reason: It is given thus in the original edition.

* p. 1, system 4, bar 3 - lowest note in first r.h. chord:
Error: The C in this chord should be Cb.
Reason: Compare with the previous bar, and also with the corresponding bar on p. 3, system 2, bar 1, where the chord is the same as what I propose here, although transposed.

* p. 1, system 4, bar 3 - lower voice in l.h.:
Error in both editions: The Db tied from the previous bar should have a dot.
Reason: This is necessary to fill out the value of the bar fully, and no crotchet rest is given to suggest that an undotted minim is the proper value. The dot is omitted in the original edition too, but this clearly seems to be a mistake the new edition simply carried over.

* p. 2, system 3, bars 2-3 - bass line:
Error: A slur should extend across Bb, C, Db.
Reason: Found in original edition.

* p. 2, system 4, bar 2:
Error: A crescendo hairpin should extend the length of the bar.
Reason: Found in original edition. All other bars with a similar shape have the sign, also, except for one near the end, which is very soft, and therefore not strictly comparable.

* p. 2, system 5, bar 3 - 2nd last quaver in l.h.:
Error: The E near the end should be Eb.
Reason: Required harmonically (maintains the augmented triad harmony), and also in the original edition.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 1 - lower voice in l.h.:
Error: What looks like a B in the lowest voice in the l.h. is really a Bb tied from the previous bar - the tie has not been extended to this system as it should be.
Reason: Similar to the instance at p. 1, system 4, bar 3, to which it is parallel.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 1 - lower voice in l.h.:
Error in both editions: The Bb discussed in the previous entry should also have a dot.
Reason: This is similar to the instance at p. 1, system 4, bar 3, where the dot is also left out, as discussed above. The absence of the dot in both places is not sufficient to persuade me that it is not a mistake. Leaving them out just makes no sense. Perhaps the composer omitted these dots, and printed editions of the piece perpetuated the omission.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 2 - 4th and 5th quavers in r.h.:
Error: These two notes should be tied together, not slurred.
Reason: Perhaps the slur line is intended to be a tie. But ties usually touch or nearly touch the actual noteheads, and a similar line on the opposite side of beams suggests slurring, not tying.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 3 - last note in lower voice in r.h.:
Error: C should be D.
Reason: The original edition gives D. Compare with corresponding bar, 2nd bar on p. 2, where both editions gives Eb, which is the corresponding note - pitchwise, although it doesn't correspond exactly in enharmonic spelling.

* p. 3, system 5:
Error: The pedal signs are not found in the original.
Reason: If they are editorial additions, they are not marked as such, although the edition claims to distinguish editorial additions with typographic devices. While the first marking seems reasonable, the second one makes little sense as far as I can see, especially letting the penultimate B in the bass merge with the final chord.

2. (To the Sunshine)

Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Three Poems (1927):
1.; 2.; 3. [G#-minor-ish]

1.

* p. 21, system 3, bar 2 - crescendo sign at end of bar:
Error: It should appear above the r.h. stave, thus applying only to the r.h. notes.
Reason: In the original edition.

* p. 22, system 3, bar 1 - quavers in l.h.:
Error: They should be beamed into two groups of 3 and 4 notes respectively.
Reason: In the original edition.

* p. 22, system 3, bar 3 - between the staves:
Error: Two hairpins are missing: a crescendo beginning with the first r.h. C and finishing at the first Ab; and a diminuendo beginning just after the second Ab and ending with the final C.
Reason: In the original edition.

* p. 22, system 4, bar 2 - between the staves:
Error: There should be a "pp" just before the G in the r.h.
Reason: In the original edition.

* p. 22, system 5, bar 3 - "ppp" sign:
Error: It should be above the r.h. stave, thus applying to the r.h. only.
Reason: Found thus in the original edition - in fact, a little way into the bar, not directly above the first notes of the bar. Admittedly, it makes little practical difference, because the l.h. is the only active part beyond the first note of the bar.

2. 3. [G#-minor-ish]

* p. 26, system 2, bar 1 - grace note in r.h. in the middle of the bar:
Error: The grace note needs a sharp sign.
Reason: Fits better harmonically; found in original edition too.

* p. 26, system 5, bar 3 - Ab in l.h.:
Error: It needs a staccato dot.
Reason: In original edition; compare with the preceding and following bars.

* p. 27, system 1, bar 3 - quaver rest below l.h. stave near end of bar:
Error in both editions: The rest should be under the last chord in the l.h., not before it. The new edition obviously carried this over from the old one.
Reason: A matter of proper alignment.

* p. 27, system 2, bar 3 - 3rd semiquaver in r.h.:
Error: The C# needs a G added to it, making a double note.
Reason: Found in the original edition. Comparing this figure with other similar figures in surrounding bars shows that a double note is needed here. On the face of it, I would have considered G# a possibility for the extra note - but the original edition's G-nat. seems to settle it reasonably.

* p. 27, system 3, bar 3 - "pp" sign:
Error: Should be above the r.h. stave, not between the two staves.
Reason: In original edition.

* p. 28, system 4, bar 3 - lower r.h. voice:
Error in original edition: The original edition gives each group of 3 notes here as demisemiquaver, double-dotted quaver, quaver. This is probably incorrect, and the new edition renders it correctly as demisemiquaver, dotted semiquaver, quaver.
Reason: The way the original edition renders it adds up to 3 crotchets, not 2, and thus it won't fit in the bar.
Another interpretation is possible, although very unlikely - and the notation for that interpretation is still not as clear as it might be. If the quavers were considered to belong to a different voice, the remaining notes would add up, and would be similar to the figure in this voice in the immediately preceding bars. The quavers would then need to alternate with quaver rests to complete that voice. But harmonically and texturally this reading would seem to be improbable; and comparison with the passage two bars later in the original edition, which is parallel (in the r.h. at least), rules this out, because there the passage is given the simpler way, and agrees with the new edition.

* p. 28, system 4, bar 3 - last group of semiquavers in l.h.:
Error: The slur should cover all three notes, not just the first two.
Reason: Shown in the original edition, and would fit in with other similar figuration.

* p. 29, system 3, bar 3 - between staves:
Error: "retard" (or "rit") should appear, beginning beneath the second semiquaver in the r.h.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 29, system 4, bar 3 - "pp" marking:
Error: Should appear above the r.h. stave.
Reason: In original edition.

* p. 29, system 5, bar 3 - last semiquaver in l.h.:
Error: The note should be tied to the following crotchet. Also, the natural sign should be removed, making it G#.
Reason: Both these corrections are in the original edition. G-nat. makes absolutely no harmonic sense whatever - even allowing for the fact that Agnew sometimes ends pieces with unusual chords. G-nat. would also destroy the shape of the motif it appears in, which is a very strong motif throughotu the whole piece, and it almost always moves in 2nds, very rarely including 3rds. Because of the ties, this means the piece would end with G in the bass, which completely goes against the strong G#-minor tonality of the end of the piece. And G makes no sense in the chord itself, which includes a G# in the r.h. The whole chord looks clearly intended to be a G#-minor triad with an added maj. 2nd - and Agnew several times ends a piece with a triad plus an added 2nd.

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 3: The Complete Preludes:
Four Preludes (1925); Three Preludes (1927)

Four Preludes (1925):
1.; 2. [G# minor]; 3. (The Wind); 4.

1. 2. [G# minor]

* p. 4, system 3, bar 1 - r.h., first two chords;
* p. 6, system 1, bar 1 - l.h. chord;
* p. 6, system 5, bar 2 - r.h. chord;
* p. 7, system 1, bar 2 - r.h., first two chords:
Error: In each chord just listed, there are notes which are enclosed in editorial brackets. But it is not clear which note is intended to be flagged as an editorial addition, or how many notes are affected.
Reason: The notes in each case are a 2nd apart, and it is difficult in such a situation to select one of them with brackets when they are a 2nd apart. Perhaps footnotes in such cases would clarify what notes were added, and what ones written by the composer.

* p. 6, system 2, bar 2 - C# octave in bass:
Error: The octave dotted minim C#-C# is aligned wrongly with the other notes.
Reason: The octave cannot be aligned precisely without its stem merging with the downward-pointing stem of the higher chord in the l.h. stave; but it should be shift slightly to the right - not to the left.

* p. 6, system 3, bar 1 - C# octave in bass:
Error: This octave is tied from the previous bar, but the ties leading into it are missing.
Reason: Not continuing the tie begun on the previous system is ambiguous.

* p. 7, system 4, bar 1 - semibreve in l.h.:
Error: All five notes are tied from the previous system, but two of the ties are not continued into this bar. Ties should be added for G-nat. and C#.
Reason: Ambiguous without this being done.

3. (The Wind)

? p. 8, system 3, bars 1 and 2 - A-minor triad in each bar:
Error: Possibly the A-minor triads should be A-major ones.
Reason: This would continue the parallel harmony fromm the surrounding passages. Obviously much of the harmony in this piece is based on parallel harmony. Compare with the parallel passage on p. 9, system 5, which, although transposed, continues the parallel harmony in a similar way.

* p. 9, system 3, bar 2 - 3rd-last quaver in l.h.:
Error: The lower G in the octave needs a natural sign.
Reason: Clearly it is supposed to be a per. 8ve, not a dim. 8ve. But the G# from the beginning of the bar is still in force. Compare with the 2nd bar in the piece, which is parallel, although a semitone lower.

* p. 9, system 5, bar 1 - 3rd last note in r.h.:
Error: A natural sign is wrongly inserted.
Reason: A-nat. doesn't make any sense here. The entire passage is parallel dom.-9th harmony, which would require Ab. Compare with the next bar, which is identical. Also compare with p. 8, system 3, which is the same in this matter (although transposed) (although it does have a discrepancy of its own, as discussed earlier).

* p. 11, system 2, bar 1 - 3rd quaver:
Error: The A should be A#.
Reason: The entire r.h. passage is based on augmented triads, and A-nat. doesn't fit. Compare with the passage two bars later, which is the same, although transposed up a min. 3rd - it maintains the augmented triads throughout.

* p. 11, system 4, bar 3 - very low double-note in l.h.:
Error: The notes are given as A-B, but probably should be B-B.
Reason: The overall context indicates that this bass part is generally in octaves - a maj. 9th doesn't make sense.
There may be a question about whether A or B is the correct reading. Considering that most of the harmonies are constructed as dom. 7ths and min. 9ths with extra notes added rather in the manner of Scriabin, that suggests B here far more strongly than A. A would parallel the A in the higher chord, and the overall effect would be weaker, as well as making little harmonic sense.

* p. 12, system 1, bar 1 - 2nd bass note:
Error: A dot should be added to the minim.
Reason: Necessary to complete the value of the bar. There is nothing to suggest this note should be treated any differently from the preceding bass notes, all of which fill out their respective bars entirely.

* p. 12, system 1, bar 1 - r.h. 8va sign:
Error: The 8va sign is too long, and covers three more notes than it should.
Reason: As written, the descending shape of the arpeggio is destroyed. Finishing the sign at the end of the first group of demisemiquavers restores the pattern.

* p. 14, system 3, at start:
Error: The brace at the front of the three staves is missing.
Reason: That there are 3 staves in this system does not seem to suggest any reason for omitting the customary brace, although I have very occasionally seen scores that omit it for 3-stave systems only. (I think, from memory, that Ives' "Concord" Sonata does this. The Agnew edition doesn't though, in any other locations.)

4.

* p. 15, system 4, bar 2 - last chord in r.h.:
Error: The D should have a natural sign in front of it, cancelling the preceding D#.
Reason: This would continue the pattern of parallel dom.-7th chords. The original edition shows it thus.

* p. 16, system 3, bar 4 - 3rd quaver in l.h.:
Error: This note should be Ab, not A-nat.
Reason: This would fit in with the general style based on dom.-7th chords, and would agree with the Ab in the r.h. Shown as Ab in the original edition.

* p. 16, system 4, bar 2 - 3rd quaver in r.h.:
Error: The "+" flagging an editorial alteration should not be here.
Reason: The arpeggio symbol it is above is in the original edition too.

* p. 16, system 5, bar 5 - pedal sign:
Error: The pedal sign is too long.
Reason: In the original edition, it ends underneath the final rest, not at the end of the bar.

Three Preludes (1927):
1. [A major]; 2. [Eb minor]; 3. [B major]

1. [A major]

* p. 17, system 2, bar 5 - first l.h. note, F#:
Error: There should be an extra voice added simultaneous with this F#: an F# dotted minim, as well as the F# quaver belonging to the voice already shown.
Reason: Found in original edition.

* p. 17, system 5, bar 2 - l.h.:
Error: The slur from the A to the B in the upper l.h. voice should not be there, or else should be dotted, indicated an editorial addition.
Reason: It is not found in the original edition.

2. [Eb minor]

* p. 18, system 2, bars 2 and 3 - quavers in l.h.:
Error: The last 6 quavers should have tenuto signs under them.
Reason: In original edition.

* p. 18, system 3, bar 2 - last r.h. chord:
Error: The B-nat. should not be there.
Reason: Not in original edition.

* p. 18, system 4 (Ossia version):
Error: The 6-flat key signature is omitted from the staves! Also, the notes are not positioned precisely on the lines and spaces, so that some are ambiguous as to pitch.
Reason: Pretty obvious.

* p. 19, system 1, bar 1 - two bass notes:
Error: The two notes should both be tied; but only the lower one is.
Reason: That both notes should be tied is obvious from the context, and from the original edition.

* p. 19, system 2, bar 2 - 3rd and 4th A's in r.h.:
Error: The two A's should be tied.
Reason: Shown thus in the original edition - although admittedly it makes little practical difference, considering that another voice plays that A at that point anyway.

* p. 19, system 2, bar 2 - last note in r.h.:
Error: The Gb is marked as tied to the next system, but the Eb isn't. Clearly it should be tied too.
Reason: Shown in the original edition, as welll as suggested by the context.

3. [B major]

* p. 20, system 2, bar 2 - 3rd note in r.h.:
Error: This note is shown as an E-nat. tied from the preceding E#. Clearly the natural sign should be removed.
Reason: E-nat. might make harmonic sense - but it doesn't make melodic sense, and wouldn't be tied from E#. The original edition has both E's sharp.

* p. 20, system 3, bar 1 - last note in r.h.:
Error: The final A might do well with a courtesy sharp sign.
Reason: It's not strictly necessary, but the A-nat. in the bass suggests that it is advisable. The original edition includes it.

* p. 20, system 3, bar 3 - final chord in r.h. lower voice:
Error: It should be a minim, not a crotchet.
Reason: Necessary to fill the value of the bar, and found in the original edition.

* p. 20, system 4, bar 1 - 4th and 5th quavers in r.h.:
Error: The two quavers should be tied.
Reason: Repeated notes seem unlikely here, and the notes are tied in the original edition.

* p. 21, system 5, bar 3:
Error: The bass note is missing. The B octave in the previous bar is tied, but the note it is tied to is missing.
Reason: Although ties are sometimes found, even in Agnew, which end in mid-air, this is not one of them, as the original edition shows. And if Agnew had chosen to use this sort of tie here, he probably would have applied it to the entire chord, not just the bass.

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Volume 4:
Etude; A Dance Impression; A May Day; An Autumn Morning; Capriccio

Etude

* p. 2, system 1, bar 1 - 3rd note in l.h.:
Error: B should be Bb.
Reason: It continues the pattern of parallel dom.-7th chords in the l.h., and is found thus in the original edition.

* p. 2, system 2, bar 2 - middle of bar:
Error: The notes in the two staves are misaligned: the demisemiquaver figure beginning with the rest in the r.h. starts before the dotted crotchet in the l.h., and should be aligned with it.
Reason: A simple matter of correct typography, where simultaneously-sounding notes should be vertically aligned.

* p. 2, system 4, bar 2 - 5th note in r.h.:
Error in original edition: The 5th semiquaver should be a quaver. The Keys Press edition corrects this.
Reason: The notes don't add up properly if this correction is not made. The vertical alignment of the notes suggests that this correction is the only plausible one.

* p. 3, system 1, bar 1, and system 2, bar 1 - last note in r.h. in each bar:
Error in original edition: In both places, the original edition forgot to put a natural sign in front of the D; the new edition corrects this.
Reason: The possibility that these D's should remain sharp (under the influence of a D# accidental much earlier in each bar) is eliminated by the fact that having the last two notes as Eb and D# would be most unlikely.

? p. 3, system 1, bar 2, and system 2, bar 2 - first crotchet in l.h. in each bar:
Error in both editions: The note has a staccato dot in the first instance, but not the second. Possibly they should be uniform (both with the dot, or both without). The original edition contains this possible discrepancy, and the Keys Press edition continues it.
Reason: It seems likely that both passages were intended to be articulated the same way, although it is only circumstantial evidence and is not conclusive. It would be an easy enough thing for the composer himself to omit a dot, so even if the composer's manuscript has the same discrepancy, it doesn't really solve the matter.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 2 - tied B# at beginning of the bar in the bass:
Error in original edition: The original edition omitted the dot; the new edition inserts it correctly.
Reason: Compare with the same situation two bars earlier. Obviously the dot is needed to complete the full value of the bar, and it makes sense harmonically.

* p. 3, system 3, bar 1 - r.h., last group of semiquavers:
Error: The 2nd and 3rd notes in the group should have accidentals to make them C# and Bb respectively.
Reason: To be sure, these two notes appear a little earlier at the same written pitch, but an octave higher owing to the "8va" sign, and the scope of these accidentals is obviously intended to continue past the "8va" sign. It seems to be a moot point whether the scope of an accidental does in fact continue past the end of an "8va" sign or into the start of it; but usually in such a situation the accidentals would be repeated to be on the safe side, and the original edition does so.

* p. 3, system 3, bar 1 - r.h., last group of semiquavers:
Error in original edition: The original edition omits the natural sign in front of the 3rd last note A. The new edition inserts it.
Reason: While in the preceding entry I seemed to be arguing that the end of an "8va" breaks the scope of an accidental, and thus the natural sign would not be necessary if this is so, nevertheless, for the sake of clarity, a natural would usually be inserted here. If it is uncertain to some extent whether "8va" signs end the scope of an accidentals, it seems a good idea to use courtesy accidentals to cover both possible ways of reading the scope of accidentals.

? p. 5, system 2, bar 1 - long note in l.h.:
Error in both editions: It seems at least possible that this note should be C#, not C. If it really is C, cautionary naturals would be advisable. Both editions show the C without any accidentals at all.
Reason: In the previous two bars, identical r.h. figures are underpinned by C# in the bass. While there is no reason why that figuration couldn't continue here and the l.h. shift down a semitone to C, the absence of cautionary naturals in front of the C octave is enough at least to make one wonder what is intended.

* p. 7, system 4, bar 3 - first four notes in r.h.:
Error in both editions: The first four notes should be demisemiquavers, not semiquavers. This error is carried over from the original edition.
Reason: The notes are set against a quaver in the l.h., making semiquavers wrong. Also, considered by itself, the bar as written adds up to more than the time signature allows for (assuming the following groups of three semiquavers to be triplets, even though they are not marked as such in either edition).

A Dance Impression

* p. 8, system 3, bar 1 - upper voice in l.h., second note:
Error: The note is misaligned with the minim in the lower voice which is simultaneous with.
Reason: A matter of correct typography.

? p. 11, system 1, bars 1 and 2 - glissando figures:
Error: The note beginning each glissando is presumably intended to show the duration occupied by the glissando, and thus should be a crotchet in both instances, not the quaver shown.
Reason: As written, the notes in the bar don't add up to the full value of the bar.

* p. 12, system 5, bar 3 - last note in bar (l.h.):
Error: Probably the F should be an F#.
Reason: The whole tonality of the last few bars suggests D-major harmony (decorated with other notes), and even the descending figure at the end, descending through several octaves, uses F# in the higher octaves in this bar and the previous bar. If F-nat. is correct (and I certainly grant that composers sometimes do unexpected things such as this), it is so unexpected that I would consider a courtesy natural sign mandatory here.

A May Day

An Autumn Morning

Capriccio

? p. 23, system 5, bar 3 - inner voices on both staves:
Error: The voice-leading in the inner voices is not all that clear.
Reason: The B and the C# are represented as possibly belonging to the same voice, yet their values overlaps partially, indicating two different voices. I say "possibly belonging to the same voice", because the slur line seems to link them together - yet arguably the the voice with the B continues on to the A# crotchet two beats later, and not to the C# in the r.h.
If this is how the composer wrote it, then so be it; but it looks like a possible typesetting error to me. What makes it even more odd is that the E in the r.h. upper voice is included in the slur too, which would seem to mean a slur linking together notes from three different voices.

* p. 28, system 5, bar 2 - last quaver in l.h.:
Error: Probably the B quaver should be Bb.
Reason: This is the end of a figure that descends through several octaves, and the note is Bb in all the other octaves.
If the flat sign is omitted in the composer's manuscript too (so that this edition is simply following that), a case could be made out that B-nat. was intended though, although I don't find it fully persuasive. It could be reasoned that Agnew wanted the harmonic implication to be different in this last occurrence of the figure, and that B-nat. would change the effect to a G dom.-7th effect, which would lead nicely into the concluding C-major harmony. However, almost certainly a cautionary natural would be placed in front of the B in that case. And I don't find this reasoning fully persuasive because it would tend to destroy the modal basis Agnew so often uses in his more diatonic passages, such as this one. Even the fact that the final harmony uses C, G, and D in the upward run instead of C, G, and E, and introduces the E only in the final chord, backs this up: omitting the E from the harmony until the very end (and keeping the D in the final chord even so) seems to weaken the triadic effect of the passage, and indicates a stronger modal effect.

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Volume 5:
Pangbourne Fields; Three Lyrics; Rural Sketches

Note: Advertising for this volume in the other volumes lists "Three Lyrics" after "Rural Sketches".

Pangbourne Fields

Three Lyrics:
1. The Falling Snow; 2. A Quest; 3. The Happy Lad

1. The Falling Snow

(No errors found.)

2. A Quest

* p. 7, system 5, bar 2 - two G's in l.h.:
Error: The tie between the notes looks almost like a dot.
Reason: Clearly the notes should be tied, and if the dot were only a dot, it would mean nothing here.

3. The Happy Lad

* p. 13, system 1, bar 4 - dotted line on top of r.h. stave:
Error: The dotted line extending the earlier "increase" instruction should probably extend the entire length of the bar.
Reason: This seems to make better sense, considering that the increase is leading up to the climatic point at the start of the next bar. Also, the parallel passage at p. 10, system 1, bar 3 extends it for the whole bar.

Rural Sketches:
1. The Shepherd on the Hill; 2. The Fairy Dell; 3. A Starry Night; 4. At the Fair

1. The Shepherd on the Hill

* p. 14, system 3, bar 2 - 3rd-last quaver in r.h.:
Error: Cb should be C#.
Reason: Cb makes no sense enharmonically here; and even if it were notated as B, it makes no sense melodically either. (Compare with the previous bar, which is very similar.)

2. The Fairy Dell

* p. 18, system 1, bar 4 - lower voice in l.h.:
Error in original edition: The minim lacks its dot; the new edition corrects this.
Reason: The dot is obviously necessary to fill out the full value of the bar, and all other similar bars have corresponding dots.

3. A Starry Night

(No errors found.)

4. At the Fair

? p. 23, system 2, bar 2 - last two chords, tied:
Error: This is not really an error - just a thought that occurs to me. The editor suggests in a footnote that, although the D's are not tied in the original edition, they probably should be, as the new edition does. I don't necessarily assume they should be tied, and feel the original edition is possibly correct.
Reason: Repeating the D keeps the momentum going a bit better, whereas having all the notes tied tends to bring the onward swing of the music to a brief halt, after which it starts going again. I've always repeated the note in playing the piece myself and found nothing wrong with that.

* p. 23, system 2, bar 2 - last note in r.h. lower voice:
Error: The last note is dotted, but should have no dot and a quaver rest following, as in the higher voice. If you want to be really fussy (pedantic?), the A in the lower stave (which has been moved there from the upper stave) should also sound only for 2/3 of its beat. (Because the r.h. is written in 6/8 and the l.h. in 2/4, this would require the use of a triplet in the lower stave, for just the A.)
Reason: Found in original edition.

* p. 23, system 4, bar 1 - pedal marking:
Error: The pedal marking should not extend for the whole bar, as in the preceding 4 bars, but should end on the last l.h. chord.
Reason: I actually prefer the version given in the new edition, and think it's possible that it is the original edition that is mistaken here. But the shorter pedal marking is what is given, in any case.

* p. 24, system 4, bar 2 - last note in r.h.:
Error in original edition: The dot is missing on the final r.h. minim. The Keys Press edition corrects this.
Reason: Clearly the dot is needed to complete the value of the bar - or else a rest - but that would make little sense here.

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Volume 6:
Two Pieces ("An English Dance", "A Country Lane"); Contrasts

Two Pieces:
An English Dance; A Country Lane

Note: This volume represents "An English Dance" and "A Country Lane" as being two entirely separate pieces; but in fact they were published together originally as Two Pieces. In this edition, only in Dr. Rita Crews' introductory notes is this connection apparent.

An English Dance

* p. 1, system 1, bar 1 - r.h., second half of bar :
Error: Slur over the 4 notes G F D C omitted.
Reason: It appears in the original edition. Its removal in the new edition is not marked or annotated as an editorial alteration.

* p. 1, system 1, bar 2 - r.h., G crotchet:
Error: Accent sign over the G crotchet removed.
Reason: Appears in the original edition xx.

* p. 2, system 5, bar 2 - l.h., 5th quaver:
Error: This note, an F, lacks an accent sign.
Reason: Appears in the original edition.

* p. 2, system 5, bar 2 - r.h., G near the end of the bar:
Error: This note lacks an accent sign.
Reason: Appears in the original edition.

A Country Lane

Note:
The phrasing found in the original edition of this piece is rather unusual: for instance, sometimes a phrase-line ends on a particular note, and the next one begins on that same note; and sometimes a phrase-line ends right on top of a bar-line, and the next one begins at that same point. Although the new edition shows both the composer's and editor's phrasing (in continuous and dotted lines respectively), the composer's lines have been changed to the more conventional style of having a new phrase start on a note other than that on which the previous phrase ended - usually it begins on the next note, as is the usual practice.
Where the composer's phrase-lines begin and end over a bar-line, the new edition represents them as ending on the last note of the earlier bar and beginning on the first note of the next bar, and I have not commented on individual instances of this below. Similarly, when a phrase ends on a note and the next one begins on that same note, I have not commented on individual cases; the note in question is always the first note of the bar, and the new edition always, in such cases, ends the earlier phrase on the last note of the earlier bar, and begins the new one on the first note of the new bar. Indeed, sometimes the phrases in the original edition begin and end neither over the bar-line nor on top of the first note of the bar following, but at a point somewhere in between, which suggests that the two locations were regarded by the typesetters as interchangeable, and that they were careless in choosing the location for ending and starting phrases.
Individual discrepancies between the two editions are discussed below only when they go beyond the differences just described.

* p. 3, system 1, bar 4 - composer's version of phrasing:
Error: The new edition shows the composer's phrasing ending on the second note, and the next phrase doesn't start until the first note in the next bar. But the original edition ends the phrase on the first note, has an extra phrase from the first note to the last, and phrase after that begins on the last note of the bar and extends over the next bar.
Reason: Found in original edition.

* p. 3, system 2, bar 4 - end of composer's phrase-line:
Error: The new edition ends the phrase-line on the second note, but the original edition ends it on the first.
Reason: In original edition. Granted, it makes no practical difference because the two notes in question are tied anyway. I would consider it proper practice to follow the new edition in including all tied notes in a phrase - but it's not what is found in the original edition. (In other places in the original edition, it does follow this practice.)

* p. 3, system 3, bar 4 - below l.h. stave:
Error: There should be a pedal marking beginning under the first A, and ending under the second A.
Reason: Found in the original edition. Arguably, though, it should end under the quaver rest in the lower l.h. part at the end of the bar.

* p. 4, system 2, bar 2 - composer's phrasing:
Error: In the original edition, the two phrase-lines in this bar touch at a point between the last two r.h. notes; the new edition ends the earlier one on the penultimate note and starts the later one on the last note.
Reason: Given that this edition has changed the whole style of phrasing found in the original, no change needs to be made here.

? p. 4, system 2, bar 3 - 3rd quaver in r.h. upper part:
Error in both editions: It is written as D, but possibly it should be F#.
Reason: Compare with the parallel passage at p. 3, system 2, bar 3, which gives F# here. I admit this is a very weak argument, because there are other differences, both harmonic and melodic, between the two passages - but my instinctive feeling favours F# here just enough that I would check with the composer's manuscript if I had access to it. D strikes me as weaker: melodically because it makes the shape of the phrase less smooth, and causes the note D to be duplicated rather ineffectively; and harmonically because it duplicates the D sustained in the accompanying chord an octave lower.

* p. 4, system 3, bar 2 - composer's phrasing:
Error: This is similar to the case discussed in the preceding entry but one, except that the point where the phrase-lines touch is over the fourth note, instead of after it.
Reason: As before; no change needs to be made.

Contrasts:
1. A Child's Dream; 2. Country Dance; 3. Winter Solitude; 4. Elegy; 5. April on the Hills

Note: The advertising for this volume in other volumes transposes the order of "Winter Solitude" and "Elegy" in the listing of titles for this set of pieces.

1. A Child's Dream

* p. 6, system 2, bar 1 - "pp" marking:
Error: The marking should appear above the r.h. stave, not between the two staves.
Reason: Written thus in the original edition. It makes a difference because presumably the way it was originally written is intended to imply that it applies to the r.h., not to both hands as it would do when written in between the staves.

* p. 6, system 4, bar 5 - last chord in r.h. lower voice:
Error: The chord should be a crotchet, not a quaver.
Reason: So written in the original edition; and it is clearly required to properly fill the value of the bar in that voice. Playing it as only a quaver would put an unpleasant hole in the texture of the music at that point. Compare with the parallel passage two bars later.

2. Country Dance

* p. 8, system 4, bar 1 - last two r.h. notes:
Error in original edition: In the original edition, these two notes are wrongly written as quavers. The new edition corrects this.
Reason: The original notation could be correct only if a triplet sign is inserted above the last three notes; but this rhythmic pattern would be at odds with the rhythm in many other similar passages.

* p. 10, system 5, bar 3 - "ppp" marking:
Error: The marking should appear above the r.h. stave, not between the two staves.
Reason: Written thus in the original edition. It makes a difference because presumably the way it was originally written is intended to imply that it applies to the r.h., not to both hands as it would do when written in between the staves. It is also the concluding point of the preceding diminuendo hairpin sign, which is above the r.h. stave.
Granted, it makes little difference, since between the staves is written "ritard and diminish", which would be taken to apply to both hands. (Incidentally, throughout all volumes, Agnew's word "retard" has been replaced with "ritard" in the new edition. But Agnew's word seems fairly clearly not to be a misspelling of "ritard", but simply the English word "retard" itself.)

3. Winter Solitude

* p. 11, system 1, upbeat to bar 1 - between the two staves:
Error: There should be a "p" dynamic marking.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 11, system 1, bars 1 and 2 - melody line:
Error: There should be a phrase line from the first note (upbeat) to the dotted crotchet in bar 2.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 11, system 3, bar 1 - between the two staves:
Error: There should be a "p" dynamic marking.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 12, system 2, bar 3 - A near end of bar in r.h.:
Error: The stem should point upwards.
Reason: Found in the original edition. It may sound a bit pedantic; but this could give the impression that the A belongs to the same part as the E minim at the start of the bar, whose stem also points downwards. If the quaver rest (which belongs to the same voice as the A) were positioned above the quaver beam for the E and F#, it would make the voices a bit clearer, too.

* p. 12, system 2, bar 3 - 2nd note in l.h. lower voice:
Error: It should be E, not D, and the tie should be turned into a slur.
Reason: Found in the original edition. It makes the progression stronger, too.

* p. 12, system 4, bar 1 - first chord in l.h.:
Error: An A minim should be added to the lower voice, which should then read D-A, not just D.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

4. Elegy

* p. 13, system 1, bar 1 - between the two staves:
Error: There should be a "p" dynamic marking.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 13, system 2, bar 2, and p. 15, system 4, bar 1 - last 3 notes in l.h. upper voice:
Error: There should be a slur connecting these three notes in both locations.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 14, system 2, bar 2 - 3rd chord in l.h.:
Error: The low D should be D#.
Reason: Found in original edition. D#-A-C#-F# (with B-C#-F#-B on top of that) seems to fit the general harmonic style better than would D-A-C#-F# - and D# would match the D# an octave higher in the next l.h. chord, which is probably intended to be taken in the same pedalling.

* p. 14, system 2, bar 2 - last chord in l.h.:
Error: It should be a quaver, not a semiquaver.
Reason: Found in the original edition, and necessary to fill out the value of the bar.

* p. 14, system 3, bar 1, and also editorial "ossia" version - first chord in l.h.:
Error: Db should be D-nat.
Reason: Found in original edition. The other triads in the l.h. in this bar are major triads, and thus starting with a Bb-major triad rather than a Bb-minor one seems to make sense. The top notes of this line of triads form a melodic line which is derived from earlier passages, and repeating the first note (Db-C#) spoils this melodic line.
The following bar is very similar, and it correctly gives D-nat. in both the main version and the "ossia".

* p. 15, system 2, bar 1 - first note in r.h. lower voice:
Error: The note should have a tie leading into it.
Reason: It's tied from the previous bar.

* p. 15, system 4, bar 2 - 3rd note, Db, in r.h. upper voice:
Error: The Db probably should be C.
Reason: While Db makes as much harmonic sense as C does, it isn't justified melodically. Compare with bar 5 of the piece, of which this is a scaled-down and reharmonized repetition - but the melodic line is unchanged up to this point other than this single note. To be sure, the melody diverges shortly after this note, but it doesn't seem to weaken the surmise that C would be the correct note.

* p. 15, system 5, bar 3 - "ppp" marking:
Error: The marking should appear above the r.h. stave, not between the two staves.
Reason: Written thus in the original edition, and thus presumably intended to apply only to the r.h.

5. April on the Hills

* p. 19, system 3, bar 1 - slur mark in r.h.:
Error: It should end on the E, not the F.
Reason: Found in the original edition.

* p. 21, system 2, bar 1 - "p" marking:
Error: The marking should appear above the r.h. stave, not between the two staves.
Reason: Written thus in the original edition, and thus presumably intended to apply only to the r.h.

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 7:
Deirdre's Lament; Elf Dance; Rabbit Hill; Rhapsody

Not published yet - details will follow after publication.

Deirdre's Lament

Note: The advertising for this piece in the other volumes misspells "Deirdre" as "Deidre".

Elf Dance

Rabbit Hill

Rhapsody

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 8:
Dance of the Wild Men; The Windy Hill; Toccata

Not published yet - details will follow after publication.

Dance of the Wild Men

The Windy Hill

Toccata

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 9:
Drifting Mists; Whither, and Exaltation; Before Dawn; Noontide; Trains

Not published yet - details will follow after publication.

Drifting Mists

Whither, and Exaltation:
Whither; Exaltation

Note: This volume represents "Whither" and "Exaltation" as being two entirely separate pieces; but in fact they were published together originally as Whither, and Exaltation.

Whither

Exaltation

Before Dawn

Noontide

Trains

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 10:
Holiday Suite; Album Leaf; Sea Surge; Two Pieces ("In Meditation", "Looking Back")

Not published yet - details will follow after publication.

Holiday Suite:
1. Spiders; 2. Holidays; 3. Lullaby; 4. The Party; 5. March of the Soldier Ants

1. Spiders

2. Holidays

3. Lullaby

4. The Party

5. March of the Soldier Ants

Album Leaf

Sea Surge

Two Pieces:
In Meditation; Looking Back

These two pieces were called "Two Pianoforte Solos" in the original edition.

In Meditation

Looking Back

[ previous / next volume ]

Volume 11: Previously Unpublished Pieces
Nocturne; Will o' the Wisp I; Will o' the Wisp II

Note: The title of the 2nd and 3rd pieces is variously represented in the volume as "Will 'O' the Wisp", "Will O' the Wisp", and "Will 'O the Wisp". Considering that the only need for an apostrophe is to represent the missing "f" in "o'" (meaning "of"), the correct rendering would seem to be as given above.

Nocturne

(No errors found.)

Will o' the Wisp I

* p. 7, system 2, bar 2 - 3rd beat, l.h.:
Error: The first semiquaver Gb should be G#.
Reason: Compare with the same figure occurring in the first bar and elsewhere. Gb does not make harmonic sense either. G# would also make the figure exactly parallel with the first instance in the same bar.

? p. 8, 3rd - 6th bars of page - 2nd note in l.h. in each bar:
Error: In two of these bars, the note in question is a dotted minim, and in the other two a crotchet. In one of these latter cases, Larry Sitsky has noted that in the first version the D in question was written as a dotted minim - so why he notated it as a crotchet I don't know: perhaps another M.S. copy of this piece notates it as such. But the whole situation suggests to me at least the possibility that all four of these notes were meant to be dotted minims.
Reason: Consistency of texture over the four bars. In a later parallel passage, once again a crotchet is used twice and a dotted minim twice; but this time Prof. Sitsky tells us that both the crotchets were dotted minims in Agnew's first version.

* p. 9, system 3, bar 2 - 3rd crotchet, l.h.:
Error: The first semiquaver Gb should be G#.
Reason: Similar reasons as in the last entry but one. That this mistake occurs twice, and in analogous bars, does not persuade me that it may be correct after all, at least in those two places. Very likely it is an error, perhaps in the composer's manuscript, which was probably carried over when a parallel passage was copied.

? p. 10, 4th - 7th bars of page - 2nd note in l.h. in each bar:
Error: Possibly each of these notes should be a dotted minim, not just in two cases.
Reason: See two entries back.

* p. 11, system 2, bar 2 - below l.h. stave:
Error: The "8vb" sign is probably too long, and shouldn't cover the three grace notes it does cover.
Reason: The shape of the grace-note figure divided between the two hands would be spoilt if the first three notes in the l.h. were taken an octave lower than written, and it would leave a gap between the two hands that doesn't seem suitable. Moreover, the resulting low pitch of the l.h. grace notes would seem to be at odds with the light airy texture suggested by the figure. In fact, the passage seems to me to give the same scurrying, vanishing effect found at the end of Ravel's "Scarbo", the final movement of Gaspard de la Nuit; observing the "8vb" sign as written would not help give this effect at all.

(Ossia for end of piece:)

? p. 11, system 3, bar 1 - between the staves:
Error: This ossia ending appears to be intended to be parallel to the other ending, except that the figuration is changed a bit. Therefore one might wonder whether the editor intended his addition "sub. p" to be inserted here, as in the other ending.
Reason: Consistency between the two versions, in a matter which appears to be intended to be treated similarly.

Will o' the Wisp II

* p. 16, system 4, bar 1 - l.h. stave at end:
Error: A bass clef should be inserted in the lower stave just before the bar-line, and the bass clef which appears two bars later removed.
Reason: The two chords whose clef would be changed by doing this would make better harmonic sense thereby. Also, as written the two hands would be interlocked and their parts would clash very awkwardly. Also, the parallel passage beginning at p. 13, system 3, bar 4 changes the clef thus.

[ previous / Sonatas volume ]

Volume 12: Piano Duets
Green Valley; The Village Fair

Published, but details not available yet (i.e., I haven't yet purchased this volume).

Green Valley

The Village Fair

Afterword:
It is quite likely that I have overlooked further errors in some of the pieces, and this list cannot claim to be complete. If I notice further ones I will progressively add them to this list. In such complex and chromatic music it is to be expected that some errors will be subtle and difficult to notice, and only an exhaustive comparison of this edition with the composer's manuscript and the original editions would be likely to pick up all errors.
I intend to bring this list to the attention of Prof. Larry Sitsky (the editor), Dr. Rita Crews (who wrote the introductory notes), and Geoffrey Allen (the publisher). If any of them get to read this, I would interested to hear their response to what I've said on this page, and would be very interested in discussing it further.
I hope that all the possible and probable mistakes I've noted above can be investigated thoroughly one day, and if they are found to be real mistakes (which I am very confident most would be), I hope corrections of them are incorporated in future issues of this edition. (I am so confident of most of my claims that if the same readings were to be found in the composer's manuscript or original editions, I would believe that a mistake had been made there, too, and simply copied over into this new edition.)
While it is a pity that these mistakes have crept through somehow into the first prints of the various volumes, I greatly appreciate the work of all those who have enabled the edition to be published, and I am glad to have this wonderful music available after many years out of print. It has enabled me to obtain for the first time those pieces I have never found in second-hand copies of the original editions.

Michael Edwards,
Victoria, Australia.

Sunday, 30 April, 2000.

E-mail me about this music.

Return to volumes:

The 6 Sonatas (limited edition volume): Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci); Fantasie Sonata; Sonata (1929)
Sonata Počme; Sonata Ballade; Sonata Legend (Capricornia); "Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)
Volume 1: Australian Forest Pieces; Youthful Fancies
Volume 2: The Complete Poems: Two Poems (1922); Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica); Three Poems (1927)
Volume 3: The Complete Preludes: Four Preludes (1925); Three Preludes (1927)
Volume 4: Etude; A Dance Impression; A May Day; An Autumn Morning; Capriccio
Volume 5: Pangbourne Fields; Three Lyrics; Rural Sketches
Volume 6: Two Pieces ("An English Dance", "A Country Lane"); Contrasts
Volume 7: Deirdre's Lament; Elf Dance; Rabbit Hill; Rhapsody
Volume 8: Dance of the Wild Men; The Windy Hill; Toccata
Volume 9: Drifting Mists; Whither, and Exaltation; Before Dawn; Noontide; Trains
Volume 10: Holiday Suite; Album Leaf; Sea Surge; Two Pieces ("In Meditation", "Looking Back")
Volume 11: Previously Unpublished Pieces: Nocturne; Will o' the Wisp I; Will o' the Wisp II
Volume 12: Piano Duets: Green Valley; The Village Fair

More Agnew information on this web site
List of Agnew's works
Key frequencies in Agnew's piano works

NOTE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS PAGE - Wednesday, 6 June, 2001:

This page is obviously incomplete, as will be immediately apparent to anyone who reads it through. Please go here for an explanation about the setback that is responsible for my not completing this page, and why it may never be completed, or why it may happen only very slowly. Not that this makes any real difference to someone who would like to see the page complete - but I feel I should at least explain the situation.
I will leave this page here, incomplete as it is, in case the information already written is useful to some readers researching a topic they may have difficulty finding information about on the Internet.

I have really lost the thread of this page, although I think most sections are complete. The items relating to the Sonatas volume need to be checked over, however, and perhaps reorganized. They were the first items to be written, when I was not so well organized in compiling my lists of errors; also, some of the items are actually incomplete, since they were to include actual samples of music notation - here only the text is given, merely with gaps where the musical notation was to go, and they probably don't make a lot of sense in that form. The problem is that I originally conceived this list as a letter to send to the publisher, in which I would actually write the music examples by hand - and now that I have transformed this to a web page, I'm faced with the problem of how to incorporate music examples. If I had a music notation program I could probably create little files with the actual notation, then convert those to .gif or bitmap files which I could include in the page in the usual way - or, with a lot of fiddling around with the Windows "Paint" program, I could probably create the bitmap files from scratch, although this would be extremely time- consuming. However, I have actually partly done that work, creating bitmap images of basic music notation elements, because I thought that would also be useful for some of the music theory essays I had planned to put on my web site. (The music examples here were constructed in this way, not with a music notation program, although I did get the proper shapes of music notation elements from the demo version of a program, and translated them, very time-consumingly, into actual pixel patterns in the "Paint" program.)
Still, I am a long way from completing that, and it really might be better to let it wait until I have, and learn to use, a proper music notation program. Igor for Windows is expected to be out soon, and I might really get down to trying it out, and using it if I find it to be reliable enough. After that, I hope to really complete this page. I still have hopes that it may be useful to The Keys Press publisher Geoffrey Allen and editor Larry Sitsky if new reprintings are ever done of the volumes, since the present ones are without doubt full of errors, as detailed above.
An alternative to incorporating music notation examples would be to revise the entries in question, and just verbally describe the situation that the notation would have illustrated. While I believe I could do this quite clearly, it would be very wordy, and not entirely satisfactory. However, I might consider it if I'm not able to complete the notation reasonably soon.
A desperate and altogether inadequate alternative would be to include ASCII art examples which attempted a crude imitation of music notation. I once semi-playfully experimented with this, and established that it is possible to create ASCII graphics (just using ordinary printable characters) which crudely but legibly reproduce music notation - but it is not easy to read, and is very space-consuming on the computer screen, and extremely time-consuming to construct. Not something I look forward to tackling, and definitely not to be considered unless I am truly desperate.

Introduction - Front page, which leads to Contents
Web Site of Michael Edwards - Contents

Site Map
Composer listings
Roy Agnew
Errors in Keys Press Agnew edition (this page)

This page started on Sunday, 30 April, 2000;
more or less completed on xxxday, xx xxx, 200x - although updating will continue after that;
last modified on Wednesday, 6 June, 2001.

Piano music by Roy Agnew Complete edition published by The Keys Press Edited by Prof. Larry Sitsky List of probable errors in the edition

Introduction

List of volumes

The 6 Sonatas (limited edition volume): Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci); Fantasie Sonata; Sonata (1929); Sonata Počme; Sonata Ballade; Sonata Legend (Capricornia); "Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)

Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci) -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Fantasie Sonata -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Sonata (1929) -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Sonata Počme -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Sonata Ballade -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Sonata Legend (Capricornia) -----===** not yet complete **===-----

"Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)

Volume 1: Australian Forest Pieces; Youthful Fancies

Australian Forest Pieces: 1. Gnome Dance; 2. When Evening Shadows Fall; 3. Forest Nymphs at Play; 4. Night in the Forest; 5. By a Quiet Stream; 6. The Forest Grandeur

1. Gnome Dance

2. When Evening Shadows Fall

3. Forest Nymphs at Play

4. Night in the Forest -----===** not yet complete **===-----

5. By a Quiet Stream -----===** not yet complete **===-----

6. The Forest Grandeur -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Youthful Fancies: 1. The Merry-Go-Round; 2. The Gurgling Brook; 3. The Sunlit Glade; 4. Sleeping Child

1. The Merry-Go-Round

2. The Gurgling Brook

3. The Sunlit Glade

4. Sleeping Child

Volume 2: The Complete Poems: Two Poems (1922); Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica); Three Poems (1927)

Two Poems (1922): 1.; 2. (To the Sunshine)

1.

2. (To the Sunshine)

Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica) -----===** not yet complete **===-----

Three Poems (1927): 1.; 2.; 3. [G#-minor-ish]

1.

2.

3. [G#-minor-ish]

Volume 3: The Complete Preludes: Four Preludes (1925); Three Preludes (1927)

Four Preludes (1925): 1.; 2. [G# minor]; 3. (The Wind); 4.

1.

2. [G# minor]

3. (The Wind)

4.

Three Preludes (1927): 1. [A major]; 2. [Eb minor]; 3. [B major]

1. [A major]

2. [Eb minor]

3. [B major]

Volume 4: Etude; A Dance Impression; A May Day; An Autumn Morning; Capriccio

Etude

A Dance Impression

A May Day

An Autumn Morning

Capriccio

Volume 5: Pangbourne Fields; Three Lyrics; Rural Sketches

Pangbourne Fields

Three Lyrics: 1. The Falling Snow; 2. A Quest; 3. The Happy Lad

1. The Falling Snow

2. A Quest

3. The Happy Lad

Rural Sketches: 1. The Shepherd on the Hill; 2. The Fairy Dell; 3. A Starry Night; 4. At the Fair

1. The Shepherd on the Hill

2. The Fairy Dell

3. A Starry Night

4. At the Fair

Volume 6: Two Pieces ("An English Dance", "A Country Lane"); Contrasts

Two Pieces: An English Dance; A Country Lane

An English Dance

A Country Lane

Contrasts: 1. A Child's Dream; 2. Country Dance; 3. Winter Solitude; 4. Elegy; 5. April on the Hills

1. A Child's Dream

2. Country Dance

3. Winter Solitude

4. Elegy

5. April on the Hills

Volume 7: Deirdre's Lament; Elf Dance; Rabbit Hill; Rhapsody

Deirdre's Lament

Elf Dance

Rabbit Hill

Rhapsody

Volume 8: Dance of the Wild Men; The Windy Hill; Toccata

Dance of the Wild Men

The Windy Hill

Toccata

Volume 9: Drifting Mists; Whither, and Exaltation; Before Dawn; Noontide; Trains

Piano music by Roy Agnew
Complete edition published by The Keys Press
Edited by Prof. Larry Sitsky

List of probable errors in the edition

The 6 Sonatas (limited edition volume):
Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci); Fantasie Sonata; Sonata (1929); Sonata Počme;
Sonata Ballade; Sonata Legend (Capricornia); "Second Sonata" (Ossianic) (incomplete work)

Symphonic Poem (La Belle Dame Sans Merci) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Fantasie Sonata -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Sonata (1929) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Sonata Počme -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Sonata Ballade -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Sonata Legend (Capricornia) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Volume 1:
Australian Forest Pieces; Youthful Fancies

Australian Forest Pieces:
1. Gnome Dance; 2. When Evening Shadows Fall; 3. Forest Nymphs at Play;
4. Night in the Forest; 5. By a Quiet Stream; 6. The Forest Grandeur

4. Night in the Forest -----=== not yet complete ===-----

5. By a Quiet Stream -----=== not yet complete ===-----

6. The Forest Grandeur -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Youthful Fancies:
1. The Merry-Go-Round; 2. The Gurgling Brook; 3. The Sunlit Glade; 4. Sleeping Child

Volume 2: The Complete Poems:
Two Poems (1922); Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica); Three Poems (1927)

Two Poems (1922):
1.; 2. (To the Sunshine)

Počme Tragique (Toccata Tragica) -----=== not yet complete ===-----

Three Poems (1927):
1.; 2.; 3. [G#-minor-ish]

Volume 3: The Complete Preludes:
Four Preludes (1925); Three Preludes (1927)

Four Preludes (1925):
1.; 2. [G# minor]; 3. (The Wind); 4.

Three Preludes (1927):
1. [A major]; 2. [Eb minor]; 3. [B major]

Volume 4:
Etude; A Dance Impression; A May Day; An Autumn Morning; Capriccio

Volume 5:
Pangbourne Fields; Three Lyrics; Rural Sketches

Three Lyrics:
1. The Falling Snow; 2. A Quest; 3. The Happy Lad

Rural Sketches:
1. The Shepherd on the Hill; 2. The Fairy Dell; 3. A Starry Night; 4. At the Fair

Volume 6:
Two Pieces ("An English Dance", "A Country Lane"); Contrasts

Two Pieces:
An English Dance; A Country Lane

Contrasts:
1. A Child's Dream; 2. Country Dance; 3. Winter Solitude; 4. Elegy; 5. April on the Hills

Volume 7:
Deirdre's Lament; Elf Dance; Rabbit Hill; Rhapsody

Volume 8:
Dance of the Wild Men; The Windy Hill; Toccata

Volume 9:
Drifting Mists; Whither, and Exaltation; Before Dawn; Noontide; Trains

Whither, and Exaltation:
Whither; Exaltation

Volume 10:
Holiday Suite; Album Leaf; Sea Surge; Two Pieces ("In Meditation", "Looking Back")

Holiday Suite:
1. Spiders; 2. Holidays; 3. Lullaby; 4. The Party; 5. March of the Soldier Ants

Two Pieces:
In Meditation; Looking Back

Volume 11: Previously Unpublished Pieces
Nocturne; Will o' the Wisp I; Will o' the Wisp II

Volume 12: Piano Duets
Green Valley; The Village Fair