A Witch's Cat - Piano Solo: Piano Solo

Gillock's cycle of 24 preludes succeeds where many collections fail: each piece is substantial enough to feel like real music, not a stepping stone. Students encounter genuine Romantic harmony and texture while building facility across all keys. The writing avoids twee sentimentality; instead, it offers emotional honesty that makes students want to play through the entire set.

These pieces evoke intimate salon music: reflective, lyrical, sometimes tinged with melancholy. The harmonic language feels both familiar and slightly sophisticated, drawing you into the Romantic era's emotional directness. Each prelude occupies its own small world while collectively building a comprehensive musical journey.

Intermediate and late-intermediate pianists ready to explore key signatures systematically without losing musical engagement. This collection works equally well for students preparing for festivals and competitions, or for anyone building foundation in the Romantic vocabulary that anchors so much classical piano literature.

• Listen carefully to how the melody sits against the accompaniment figure. Gillock frequently layers the primary theme atop a consistent rhythmic or harmonic pattern, so clarity comes from balancing transparency in the left hand with a singing right hand.
• Explore the pedal consciously rather than continuously. Gillock's harmonies often shift subtly, and lifting the pedal on those moments prevents harmonic fog and reveals the voice-leading underneath.
• Let rubato breathe naturally from the phrase shape rather than imposing it uniformly. The Romantic idiom Gillock invokes suggests flexibility, but his notation is precise enough that you'll feel where true flexibility belongs.

Feature individual preludes as recital pieces across a season, or pair several consecutive preludes into a thematic program that showcases tonal contrast. The collection also works beautifully as a curriculum guide: teach one prelude every few weeks to anchor concurrent repertoire study and repertoire knowledge in a methodical way.

• Harmonic function across major and minor tonalities
• Pedal control and voice clarity in Romantic textures
• Singing tone production while managing accompanying figures
• Key modulation and harmonic color
• Musical phrasing and rubato in Romantic style
• Sight-reading fluency through systematic key exposure