Jim Paterson

Archeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient lyre at an excavation on the Island of Skye, Scotland. It has been dated to at least 2,300 years old and is the earliest stringed instrument ever found in Western Europe and signs of Iron Age culture.

Exploring Gothic soundtracks, mixing classical score, alternative rock, metal, choral and electronic music. The dark moods of these soundtracks tell us so much about the characters and their motivations, and convey a poorly concealed obsession with what lurks in the shadows.

The New Water Music, specially commissioned for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames is being released on CD - on 28th May in the UK and 5th June elsewhere. More details, track listing and how to pre-order.

Looking at James Horner's score for Apollo 13, with his solo trumpet theme, the composer totally captures the American pioneering spirit so well portrayed by the cast of Ron Howard's film.

Of all the wonderful music in Mozart's Piano Concertos, the slow movement from Concerto No.21 in C is well-known, from its use in films (Elvira Madigan) and on TV. The second movement arranged for Piano Solo with video - download sheet music, midi or mp3 files.

Of all the wonderful music in Mozart's Piano Concertos, the slow movement from Concerto No.21 in C is well-known, from its use in films (Elvira Madigan) and on TV. Original Orchestral Version - download sheet music score and parts, midi or mp3 files.

The restored version of the 1925 silent movie Ben-Hur will be screened at the Royal Festival Hall with a live performance of Davis' score conducted by the composer on 9th June. More details...

The Skye Boat Song tells the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie escaping to Skye following his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and is based on an older Gaelic melody. Download Piano sheet music or audio files in midi and mp3 format.

This Russian Folk Song dates from the 19th century and is called Korobeiniki (peddlars) of Korobushka. It is best known in the West as the theme to the video game Tetris. Download Piano sheet music or audio files in midi and mp3 format.

Although an accomplished composer of orchestral music (his first film score was The Ladykillers for Ealing), Tristram Cary always had a strong interest in Electronic Music, and he became known as a pioneer creating electronic music for TV, film, stage and other venues.

100 years after the ship sank, things connected to The Titanic are still making a splash. We review James Horner's music for Titanic, now re-released in a couple of special editions to mark the centenary. Though the synth sections seem dated, the score works well dramatically.

We regret to report the sad passing of composer Joel Goldsmith at the age of 54. The son of Jerry Goldsmith, Joel was best known for his television work particularly the various series of "Stargate" based on the film of the same name.

Yes, Kermit and Miss Piggy are back for the biggest comeback of 2012. The Muppets has a witty screenplay, and the song Man or Muppet won the Best Song oscar. All of the songs are winners in a soundtrack which is wonderfully silly, subversive and often hysterically funny.

Harry Gregson-Williams will talk to Peter Golub as part of Sundance London. Magic of the Music is at the O2 on 29th April. Rachel Portman is at the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall talking to Tommy Pearson on 9th May as one of the Conversations with Screen Composers.

A Nocturne is music inspired by night-time, often relaxed and poetic. Frederic Chopin published 18 during his lifetime, and we present his Nocturne No.20 in C# minor which was published after his death. Play, listen and download this music in various formats.

Festival Brikcius is a series of 6 concerts held in the Spring and Autumn of 2012 featuring Cello music in various formats. The opening concert is dedicated to solo cello works by Domenico Gabrielli, Arthur Honegger, Johann Sebastian Bach and Irena Kosíková.

Remembrance Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day is also observed in several other countries on 11th November each year. Here are some suitable music recommendations for the event and similar Memorial Serivces.

This version of Flowers of the Forest is often played as an instrumental lament on the bagpipes.

This melody from the Skene Manuscripts is a traditional Scottish Folk tune which has been adapted in mnay ways. The composer Michael Nyman used it in his film score for The Piano.

This hymn tune was written by the Italian composer Felice Giardini (1716-1796) and it is used to sing various lyrics, including God Bless Our Native Land, Come Thou Almighty King, and Christ for the World we Sing. It resembles the British National Anthem.

O Valiant Hearts by Charles Harris is a hymn tune written to honour the fallen from WWI, and traditionally sung on Remembrance Day.

The Right to Love: An American Family is a documentary film about a gay family who present their daily lives on Youtube. Composer Edwin Wendler approaches the subject with a light yet layered touch, creating a wonderful score.

Austrian born Edwin Wendler has a rich musical background. Now living in California, his skills as a film composer are in increasing demand with a growing but significant list of credits to his name.

Known primarily for his work as an orchestrator, Conrad Pope has some major film score credits. His major composing break was scoring My Week with Marilyn looking at a brief period in the life of Marilyn Munroe. In this video he talks about the role.

For The Hunger Games, James Newton Howard avoids bombastic action scoring, and opts for a more subtle approach. His score plays to the dystopian future depicted in the books and director Gary Ross' satirical vision. The result sets the scene for what may be a great film series.

This novelty animation is based on the Prelude of Bach's 1st Suite for solo cello. Circling balls set a row of 8 strings vibrating, and the length of the strings determines the pitch of the note.

Looking back at a favourite film of the 1980s: Gremlins The score by Jerry Goldsmith mixes synthesiser sounds with a traditional orchestra and sound effects, playing distorted Christmas Carols and whacky Ragtime. It's a strange mix but score and movie blend perfectly.

Graeme Revell has been scoring films since Dead Calm in 1989. Starting with thrillers and horror films, his repertoire has expanded to include comic book adaptations, science fiction and fantasy movies.

This new website lets you compare electronic music DJs in terms of Social Media popularity. The site has a great interactive user interface, and the top DJs have a profile spot with music and video feeds.

The player takes on the role of an LAPD detective in 1947, trying to solve a range of crime cases, investigating crime scenes for clues, interrogating suspects, etc. The game is true to its film-noir style setting, both visually and in terms of its music.

A researcher has made violin strings from thousands of strands of spider's silk bundled and twisted together. Composer the difference in tone from silk, steel and nylon strings.

Robert B. Sherman was died at the age of 86. He and his brother Richard wrote the songs for Disney's Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The AristoCats, and other classics of the 1960s and 1970s.

Contributing to a new Water Music suite are Debbie Wiseman, Christopher Gunning, Stephen Warbeck, Jocelyn Pook, Anne Dudley, Graham Fitkin, Gavin Greenaway, Adrian Johnston, John Lunn and Julian Nott, while David Arnold is music director for the London Olympics.

Francis Lai is most famous for his music for "Love Story" and "Un Homme et Une Femme". For a while he also composed for Edith Piaf and accompanied her on the piano. One of his instrumental pieces became the TV theme for the BBC's Panorama.

In this new book the author analyses the composer's success and attributes it to a solid understanding of film music's function, but utilising a more popular sound derived from the Big Bands but embracing the minimalism of pop and jazz styles.

Congratulations to Ludovic Bource, the relatively unknown French composer who has now hit the big time with his old school reinterpretation of hollywood movie scores from the 1930s. It is interesting that music takes on a more prominent role in a silent movie.

Covering early film scores and more recent tracks from War Horse and Tintin, the album also celebrates Williams' collaborations with Itzhak Perlman (Schindler's List) and Yo-Yo Ma (Memoirs of a Geisha), ending appropriately with the World Premiere Recording of Williams' Happy Birthday Variations.

Continuing our John Williams theme we look back at the 2nd Indiana Jones score. Temple of Doom is a frenetic roller-coaster ride, whose score is one of the most complex in the composer's canon. More widely available since 2008 this soundtrack is absolutely worth a closer look.

Cadbury's adverts have always used music in inventive ways (remember the gorilla ad?). The surreal world of their latest ad is enhanced with Michael Kamen's music from the movie "Brazil".

Anthony Hopkins' music includes lyrical works and action pieces, with stylistic influences from 20th century classical composers, with jazz and a cinematic scale aided by great performances from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Well worth a listen.

In War Horse composer John Williams bridges from the idyllic countryside of Devon to the ravages of war-torn France. His multi-faceted score balances sentimentality with a genuine yet understated sympathy for the many characters caught up in this war to end all wars.

The Essential Philip Glass looks at Philip Glass's significant contributions to musical theatre, to film and to concert music, while also exploring his collaborations with artists such as the Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma.

This soundtrack album contains music from the Series 1 which introduced the characters of Sherlock and Watson in the present day world. The album will be available first in the UK from 30th January and in the US from 27th March. Check for details.

With nominations for "The Adventures of Tintin" and "War Horse" John Williams now has a total of 47 nominations for film music beating former Fox supremo Alfred Newman's 45. The composer will soon reach his 80th birthday.

Virtual Symphonies and Choirs are a growing phenomena on to the internet. The latest example is the Little Symphony where people from all over the world play together without actually meeting. Their first video is a performance of Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Nimrod is the deepest most powerful variation from Elgar's Enigma Variations and Nimrod was the knickname of Elgar's friend and publisher A. J. Jaeger. This version has been arranged for organ manuals by Jim Paterson.

Nimrod is the deepest most powerful variation from Elgar's Enigma Variations and Nimrod was the knickname of Elgar's friend and publisher A. J. Jaeger. This version has been arranged for piano by Jim Paterson.

This new recording by violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk focuses on the chamber repertoire of the French Impressionist composers - Violin Sonatas by Camille Saint-Saens, Cesar Franck and Maurice Ravel. The Duo will tour together later this year.

Michael Giacchino returns for the latest Mission Impossible film Ghost Protocol. Both film and score are the best in the series to date, the music swinging nail-biting tension and all-out action, cleverly integrating Schifrin's much-loved television theme.

Today Music Files announced it will discontinue its MP3 Price Comparison Service. We apologise to existing customers, but we have been unable to maintain a service that was sufficiently reliable and commercially viable.

David Whitaker composed film scores for a string of British films and the occasional French film, and is best known for his contribution to the Hammer Horrors including Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.

There's just 24 hours left to hear this programme on BBC iPlayer. It has lots of musical examples, plus the personal observations and anecdotes by Barry's frequest collaborator, lyricist Don Black.

Last year was a good one for film scores, with lots of strong contenders and a great variety of genres in our top 10. Let's hope 2012 is an equally good year for film music!

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra's definitive version of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha. This new boxset comes on 2 CDs with a 116-page book about the opera.

Key composers in the history of ragtime including Ben R. Harney, James Scott, Joseph F. Lamb, Arthur Marshall, Scott Hayden, George Botsford, Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin.

James Scott was a contemporary of Scott Joplin, and considered to be one of the big three ragtime composers. Download piano sheet music, midi file or mp3 file for this ragtime classic.

James Scott was a contemporary of Scott Joplin, and the Frogs Legs Rag was his first major hit. Download piano sheet music, midi file or mp3 file for this ragtime classic.

Sunflower Slow Drag is one of several piano rag which Scott Joplin co-wrote with one of his pupils, in this case Scott Hayden. Download piano sheet music, midi file or mp3 file for this ragtime classic.

A Breeze from Alabama is another piano rag composed by the King of Ragtime - Scott Joplin. Download piano sheet music, midi file or mp3 file for this ragtime classic.

Pleasant Moments is one of a handful of waltzes written by the King of Ragtime - Scott Joplin. Download piano sheet music, midi file or mp3 file for this ragtime classic.

This movement from Mozart's Piano Sonata in B-flat K.333 sees the composer in typical good humour. The music is full of melodic lines and is not too difficult for pianists.

The music in this video is amazing - not just because it was composed by a 17 year old from Korea, but also because it was created on a computer using the Vocaloid SeeU module.

Here is Igor Stravinsky himself in a rare video conducting the end of his Firebird Suite at the age of 82. The Russian born composer was most famous for his ballet scores commissioned by Diaghilev: including "The Firebird", "Petrushka" and "The Rite of Spring".

With his moody soundtrack to A Streetcar Named Desire composer Alex North completely rewrote the rulebook, making an important turning point in the history of film music. His ground-breaking score was the first to use jazz, and was a major influence on later composers.

This remastered boxset has 5 CDs and features the most celebrated jazz film noir scores of the 1950s - just in time for Christmas! Music by Duke Ellington, Henry Mancini, Alex North, Leith Stevens, John Lewis and Elmer Bernstein.

Christopher Young is best known for his horror scores, but his versatile musical ability extends much wider than this. The Rum Diary is a jazz oriented score, and it is a fun-loving score certain to put you in a good mood.

This video has music by ZRI who are re-imagining classical music for new audiences to fall in love with, in this case to reflect Brahms' passion for the tavern dwelling gypsy musicians. The video features some interesting graphics which follow the music.

The Brahms Lullaby or Wiegenlied: Sheet Music for an arrangement for guitar. Free download of the PDF sheet music (including notation, guitar Tabs and Chords), and included midi and mp3 files.

The Brahms Lullaby or Wiegenlied: Sheet Music for an arrangement for easy piano solo. Free download of the PDF sheet music, and included midi and mp3 files.

The Brahms Lullaby or Wiegenlied: Sheet Music for the original song, and a range of parts so that it can be played as an instrumental. Free download of the PDF sheet music, and included midi and mp3 files.

Two sheet music books for piano grades 4-6 tie in with music albums: Nigel Hess Silent Nights - 14 Christmas Carol arrangements, and Debbie Wiseman Piano Stories - the same 22 arrangements played by the composer on her latest album. More details...

The Shakepearean adaptation Titus is one of Goldenthal's best collaborations with Julie Taymor. Mimicking the production's anachronistic mixing of cultures, Goldenthal spins classical, bombastic and jazz styles to create one of his best film scores to date.

Some Christmas gift suggestions for the music-lover: Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Andre Rieu, Alfie Boe, Katherine Jenkins, TV soundtracks for Downton Abbey and Doctor Who series 6, and Now That's What I Call Classical.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical is celebrated on 4 CDs and 1 DVD with the original recordings of Phantom of the Opera and its sequel Love Never Dies, complete with 160-page hardback book and extras.

Tadlow Music's definitive recording of this score has an exquisite attention to detail. The music propels the story while effortlessly evoking the period and the locations.

Good King Wenceslas is a traditional Christmas Carol based an an old Finnish folk melody. This is a light jazz arrangement for solo guitar by Glenn Jarrett - PDF sheet music and audio downloads.

Good King Wenceslas is a traditional Christmas Carol based an an old Finnish folk melody. The carol is arranged for piano and other instruments - sheet music and audio downloads.

The Red Flag is a song supporting the socialist movement and the labour party in the UK. The music is based on O Tannenbaum and our sheet music arrangement is for piano.

O Christmas Tree is an English translation of the German Carol O Tannenbaum. Sheet Music included for piano, guitar, and other musical instruments.

In The Bleak Midwinter is a Christmas Carol based on a poem with music composed by the classical composer Gustav Holst. Sheet Music included for piano, guitar, and other musical instruments.

Il Est Ne Le Devin Enfant is a popular French Christmas Carol, often heard in French or English versions. Sheet Music is included for piano, guitar, and several other musical instruments.

Ding Dong Merrily on High is based on the melody of a French Folk Dance tune. Sheet Music versions are included for piano, guitar, and many other musical instruments.

Carol of the Bells is a choral work composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with an English language version created by Peter Wilhousky. This arrangement is illustrated for clarinet and piano, though alternative parts are included to substitute for the clarinet.

Carol of the Bells is a choral work composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with an English language version created by Peter Wilhousky. We have arranged the carol for piano solo.

Planet Earth Live will get its UK premiere this month with music by George Fenton, and Human Planet Live will go on tour next spring with music by Nitin Sawhney. Debbie Wiseman has also scored some major documentaries this year.

From the start John Williams' The Adventures of Tintin (his first animation score) is character-driven with some whimsical orchestration and a Gallic flavour. Yet before long its rich thematic material and boundless energy will carry you headlong into mystery and adventure.

Like buses two John Williams Soundtrack have arrived in a short space of time. First TinTin and now War Horse which is released at Christmas or in the New Year. See the movie trailer and pre-order the soundtrack now.

You will be horrified as we examine music's dark side, with lots of video examples from Classical, Film and Television through to Musicals and Pop. Prepare to be Scared!

With encouragement from musical veteran Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen Sondheim found his niche in musical theatre contributing to Broadway hits such as West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Modest Mussorgsky was a Russian composer of the Nationalist persuasion. Though he suffered from personal problems and died at the age of 42, his major works include the opera Boris Godunov, the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition and the orchestral work A Night on Bare Mountain.

Continuing our Horror Theme for Halloween, we look at that most iconic horror film score Psycho by Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann's strings-only approach mirrors Alfred Hitchock's black and white palette, proving that less can definitely be more.

Some rare video material, including an interview with John Carpenter where he talks about his Halloween Theme, and Alan Howarth playing the theme live with Zombie Zombie.

As Halloween approaches, mfiles kicks off its Horror season with a look at Ennio Morricone's music for The Thing (1982). A perfect complement to John Carpenter's special effects, the score paints music paints a bleak picture of isolation and er... alienation.

A tribute by author and historian Jeffrey Dane describing his meetings with the composer Miklos Rozsa. To illustrate the article we are pleased to publish a number of rare photos of Rozsa and his home in the Hollywood Hills.

October 22nd is the 200th anniversary of Liszt's birth, and Lang Lang's performance of the composer's music will be broadcast live in high definition to movie theatres across the US. See the other tour dates and check out the album.

The Adventures of Tintin will hit European cinemas in late October and the US in time for Christmas. The soundtrack CD can be pre-ordered now but check our links to hear samples, watch the movie trailer and pre-order the soundtrack.