The Young Violinist's Early Music Collection: Violin & Piano Book

Early music collections at the intermediate level often feel either oversimplified or awkwardly adapted. Huws Jones strikes a genuine balance here, keeping the melodic integrity and stylistic flavor of brawls, galliards, and madrigals while writing piano accompaniments that are genuinely playable and musical. Sixteen pages gives you enough material to build a small program or rotate pieces across several rehearsals without repetition.

A window into the sound world of Renaissance courts and street celebrations. Brawls are spirited and grounded; galliards bounce with courtly energy; madrigals bring intimate, almost vocal expressiveness. The collection moves between formal and folk-like music with genuine historical character.

Intermediate violinists ready to step beyond standard Suzuki or etude books and curious about repertoire beyond the romantic era. Teachers looking to add historical variety to their studio or string class without overwhelming younger students.

• Approach the articulation with period awareness. These dances and madrigals sit between baroque and renaissance styles, so clear articulation matters more than legato singing.
• Listen closely to the piano part. It's not padding; Huws Jones uses it to anchor phrasing and style. The violin line becomes clearer when the accompaniment is solid.
• Check the tempo markings carefully. Galliards move differently than madrigals, and the collection seems to vary the character deliberately across pieces.

Slip individual pieces into winter or spring concerts as palate cleansers between romantic showpieces, or build a small early music showcase by pairing selections from this book with harpsichord continuo or adding other string parts if you have the instrumentation. Several pieces could anchor a chamber music exploration in a broader curriculum.

• Reading and executing baroque/renaissance articulation and phrasing
• Stylistic awareness across dance forms (brawl, galliard) and vocal forms (madrigal)
• Balancing solo line with accompaniment rather than overwhelming the piano part
• Intonation and tone production that matches period conventions rather than 20th-century romantic aesthetics