Ghost Town Suite: Ten Intermediate Piano Solos.

* Ghost Town Suite: Ten Intermediate Piano Solos, by Heather Morris. The Willis Music Co. (P.O. Box 548, Florence, KY41022), 2006. 31 pp. $6.95. Early to Mid-Intermediate.

Ghost Town Suite is the second collection of solos composed by Heather Morris and published by The Willis Music Company. Morris has composed an engaging set of pieces that is sure to appeal to the youngest intermediate students, as well as teenagers and adults. In the introductory notes, Morris writes of her fascination with ghost towns and provides program notes for each song that conjures up vivid images of sunsets, dancing, mining, fossils and old theaters. Mostly written in ternary (ABA) form, the works contain examples of variation, fanfare (hoedown), waltz, new age, jazz/blues and impressionism, in addition to the use of hymn and folk tunes ("Revielle" and "Jesus Loves Me"). The 10 compositions in this volume provide many opportunities for students to develop their sense of color and musical line. The inherent expressive quality of each composition is enhanced by an edition that is easy to read and contains excellent fingering and expression marks by the composer.

Among the appealing features of this collection is Morris's unique use of harmony, interesting rhythms, and use of texture that ensures involvement by the listener and performer. Melodies are cleverly written to appear in several registers or voices ("Fort Churchill," "Dreams of Home," "Take Your Partners"), and, the textural interest is maintained in the more difficult pieces by adding an inner or second voice to the right hand. Accompaniment figures range from open fifths ("Digging for Gold," "Fossils of a Sea Monster") and ostinato patterns with an added sixth (the "western" bass pattern), to free flowing arpeggio figures ("A Night at the Opera," "Desert Lullaby"). Many of the left-hand accompaniments will be easier for students with larger hands, such as older students, but will work equally well with younger students who have a good sense of physical freedom and can sweep laterally across the keyboard. Despite a few awkward jumps in the accompaniment patterns and the need for more specific pedaling indications (for example, the opening of "Fossils"), many of the works make a welcome addition to not only a Halloween program, but also the general studio recital. Reviewed by Scott Beard, NCTM, Shepherdtown, West Virginia

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