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Parables of Sunlight (new album)

My new album (released February, 2026) includes the title track, The Heart Falls as Light, Immortal Diamond and Wandering on the World, all beautifully performed by Alexandra King, oboe, and the Vivid String Quintet, with Alex Tsang, oboe 2 in Parables of Sunlight. More info in this blog.

Sampler

Excerpts from selected compositions in a range of moods and genres (this is what you hear if you tap or click the play button on the home page).

(List of compositions on sampler.)

Kin (the album)

This album includes Kin (Concerto for Cor Anglais & Bassoon) & the best of my recent work. More: blog.

Lucid Dream

‘Nothing can be loved at speed’ (Leunig). A lucid dream is one where you’re aware that you’re dreaming.

Life’s Golden Tree

‘All theory is grey – life’s golden tree alone is green’ (Goethe). A reflection on life in all its forms. More info in this blog.

The Coffee Ground

Brief snippets from the 4 versions of this piece (4 bassoons, 4 clarinets, 4,8,12… cellos, cello ensemble) (More Info)

Climates of the Mind

A collection of pieces that reflect the changing moods and atmospheres of our internal climates. (More Info)

The Lay of the Last Survivor

(Janneke Ferwerda, soprano, Tijana Kozarcic, harp) The great lament from Beowulf. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Vivace (‘Lively’) from Clarinet Concerto

The world music influences in my music are obvious here. (More Info) (Re the rhythms, see this blog.)

Nostalgia

Nostalgia is ‘… a longing for experiences, things, or acquaintanceships belonging to the past’ (More Info)

Echoes in the Memory

(The version for piano and orchestra; there is also a version for cello or bassoon and orchestra.)

Pobblebonk Dance for guitar

(There is also a version for piano.) The pobblebonk is an Australian frog with a distinctive call. More Info

Of Beauty

This is the 3rd of my three Songs of Joy and Sorrow for soprano and SATB choir, settings of texts by Kahlil Gibran.

Siciliano for harp

played by Tijana Kozarcic. The siciliano is best known from baroque music, but this one is a little closer to its folk origins.

Parables of Sunlight

A piece inspired by the sight of cloud shadows and bright sunlight drifting across rolling green fields… (More Info)

The Lost Man

‘…you must go through the rain-forest… the bewildering midsummer of darkness…’ (Judith Wright) (Lyrics) (More Info)

Piano (or Harpsichord) Concerto

Part of the mostly cheerful first movement, played on piano. (More Info) (Re the rhythms, see this blog.)

Harpsichord (or Piano) Concerto

The same excerpt from the first movement, played on harpsichord. (More Info) (Re the rhythms, see this blog.)

Then I Became (excerpt)

‘Then I became as a bird…’ (version for solo soprano, from 4′; there are also choral and instrumental versions). (Lyrics) (More Info)

Enthusiasm

‘Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm’. More Info (Re the rhythms, see this blog.)

Half-Heard (excerpts)

Song on a haunting poem about Tasmania by Australian novelist Christopher Koch. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Musick, the Mosaique of the Air

A grand but quirky choral and orchestral piece (from Musicks Empire, words by Andrew Marvell. (Lyrics) (More Info)

In diebus illis from Revelations

This is the opening section of an unfinished large-scale work for choir and orchestra. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Et requiem non habebant

‘… and they rest not, day or night’. More from the same choral/orchestral work. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Fame, Gold and Shadow: Prelude

The Fame, Gold & Shadow suite is music for the old English epic poem Beowulf. The Prelude sets the scene. (More Info)

Sylvan for 2 flutes (excerpt)

(or oboes, clarinets, recorders, violins, violas, cellos or orchestra). ‘Sylvan: [n.] … a deity or spirit of the woods’ (OED). ). (More Info)

O Breath, O Fire

Words from medieval Europe, music with a traditional Chinese flavour… (Lyrics) (More Info)

The Flower Shall Flourish

Variations on an English folk song (version for 2 instruments; there is also a quintet version). (More Info)

Sylvan for orchestra (excerpt)

‘Sylvan: [n.] … a deity or spirit of the woods’ (OED). (There are also versions of Sylvan for 2 solo instruments – see below.) (More Info)

Melancholy Waltz

A simple little old-fashioned piano piece (later expanded as Melancholy Waltz from Climates of the Mind). (More Info)

Reflecting

In a reflective frame of mind ideas arise, the imagination has freer rein, there is space for inspiration… (More Info)

A Taoist Hymn

Lyrics from the Tao Teh Ching (Dao De Jing). Do Taoists sing hymns? I don’t know, but if they did… (Lyrics) (More Info)

The River (opening section)

Music for choir and orchestra that begins in sombre mood and ends with exuberant nature imagery. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Daphne Restored (excerpts)

Song with clarinet and viola on an evocative poem by Gwen Harwood based on a Greek myth. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Winter Journey

A journey of the mind (this is the version for wind quintet; there is also a version for piano solo). (More Info)

Miserere for choir (conclusion)

An a cappella choral setting of this well-known psalm, sung in Latin. (Lyrics) (More Info)

Note:
Many of these pieces have not yet been performed by actual musicians – where this is the case, the recordings have been made with realistic sampled and synthesized sounds. Singers and musicians interested in becoming the first real performers are invited to CONTACT me. Neil Buckland

30 second sound samples of all my compositions and arrangements can be heard on the Compositions pages: from the Compositions menu, select a genre (Orchestral Music, Choral Music, etc.) and tap or click the audio play icons below the composition titles.

Many of my songs and pieces appear on YouTube, with attractive and/or interesting videos and imagery. They can all be found on my YouTube channel, or go directly to:

My music is also available for streaming or download from:

and on the following professionally manufactured CD albums:

(details of all CDs, with tracklists and timings)

To order CDs, CONTACT me.

Neil Buckland