List of Musical Works

DAVID HACKBRIDGE JOHNSON Selected Work List

There are over 500 works in the catalogue.  Below is a selection.  All scores are for sale; for prices and enquiries please use the e mail address in the contact page.

Symphonies
Opus 2    Symphony No. 1 in A minor    Written aged 17.
Opus 6 no.1    Symphony No. 2 in F    Dedicated to my father.
Opus 6 no.2    Symphony No. 3 in A   
Opus 21 no.1    Sinfonia Scientifica (Symphony No. 4)    The last movement is a perilous rondo inspired by the Mandelbrot set.
Opus 21 no.2    Symphony No. 5 ‘March of the Paradigms’   
Opus 105    Symphony No. 6    Dedicated to Carol Fine
Opus 115    Symphony No. 7    A short chamber symphony dedicated to Denis ApIvor.
Opus 116    Symphony No. 8 ‘On Byzantine Hymns'   Dedicated to Mark Henegar
Opus 295    Symphony No. 9   

Tone Poems and Other Orchestral Works
Opus 1 no.8    Kettledrummer    After the painting by Paul Klee.
Opus 1 no. 23    Andrina    After a short story by George McKay Brown.
Opus 1 no.36    Pastorale    
Opus 1 no.38    Serenade No. 2    4 horns, 2 harps and strings.
Opus 25    Les Myrophores    Dedicated to Carol Fine.  The title means ‘the myrrh-bearers’.
Opus 33    Epitaphion for Strings    In memory of Jacky McCabe
Opus 43    Burlesque Overture   
Opus 44    Solalex    Named after a mountainous area of Switzerland.
Opus 103    Communion Antiphon XIII   
Opus 104    Suffolk Suite    Large suite of 4 tone poems based on ancient sacred art from Suffolk.
Opus 110a    Peyrepertuse Consolamentum    Inspired by reading about the Cathars and a visit to their castle at Peyrepertuse.
Opus 111    Two Clerical Episodes    Winner of the South Bank Symphony Orchestra composition competition in 2002 and performed by them conducted by Torkjell Hareide
Opus 114    Lament for Himbert Blanke    Blanke was a Knight’s Templar who died in the early 14th century.  This work was chosen by Steve Martland to be performed by the Goldberg Ensemble conducted by Malcolm Layfield in Wolverhampton, 2003
Opus 129    Ixaxar    Tone poem after Arthur Machen.  Dedicated to Michael Garrett.
Opus 131    Diverse Manners of Ornamenting a Chimney    The title is from Piranesi.
Opus 132    Toccata for Strings   
Opus 135    Sinfonietta   
Opus 232    Fantasia on ‘Of the Father’s Heart Begotten’    Written especially for ‘Christmas Album’ by the Camerata of London.  It can be heard on the MSM label (MSM003) together with arrangements of carols also by Hackbridge Johnson.
Opus 257    Two Motets for Orchestra


Spartan War Manoeuvres Cycle
Opus 118    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 1    2 oboes, 2 cor anglais, 2 percussions
Opus 118a    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 1a    4 saxophones, 2 percussions
Opus 119    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 2    Orchestra
Opus 127    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 3    Horn and Piano
Opus 137    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 4    Orchestra
Opus 138    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 5    Wind Quintet and Piano
Opus 147    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 6    Piano
Opus 151    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 7    2 pianos
Opus 186    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 8    3 pianos (quarter tone tuning)
Opus 187    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 9    5 pianos (quarter tone tuning)
Opus 188    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 10    Oboe and 3 harps
Opus 189    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 11    2 oboes, 2 cor anglais, 3 harps
Opus 191    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 12    2 oboes, 2 cor anglais, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon
Opus 192    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 13    4 bassoons, 4 contrabassoons
Opus 193    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 14    4 contrabassoons, 4 percussions
Opus 194    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 15    4 flutes, 4 alto flutes, 4 percussions
Opus 195    Spartan War Manoeuvres No. 16    3 bass clarinets, 3 guitars


Works for solo (instrument or voice) and orchestra
Opus 18    Shir-ha-maaloth for violin and orchestra   
Opus 46    Aria for Cello and Strings    In a pub in Villars, Switzerland I met cellist Mark Drobinsky who asked me to write a piece.  I wrote it that night and it was rehearsed and performed the following night by Mark with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Saulius Sondeckis.  The premiere was recorded and the work was repeated two days later.
Opus 49    Cello Concerto   
Opus 87    The Ruin for baritone and orchestra   
Opus 140    Rosario for tenor and chamber orchestra   
Opus 173    Mephisto Concerto for piano, woodblocks and strings   

Ballets
Opus 77    Bistea Neptuni Quinotaurus Similis    Based on the history and myths surrounding the Merovingian dynasty.
Opus 81    Shopping Trolleys for Chechnya    Accepted by the SPNM on their shortlist.
Opus 82    Goliathus Goliathus    A day in the life of Uganda’s largest beetle.

Piano Sonatas
Opus 4 no.1    Piano Sonata No. 1 in G minor   
Opus 4 no.2    Piano Sonata No. 2 in Eb   
Opus 4 no.3    Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor   
Opus 4 no. 4    Piano Sonata No. 4 in D    Performed privately in California by Rolf Hind.
Opus 89 no.1    Piano Sonata No. 5 in D (from old fragments)   
Opus 89 no.2    Piano Sonata No. 6 in Eb minor (from old fragments)   
Opus 110 no.1    Piano Sonata No. 7 ‘Peyrepertuse’    The 3 sonatas opus 110 are inspired by events in the Albigensian Crusade.
Opus 110 no.2    Piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Beziers’   
Opus 110 no.3    Piano Sonata No. 9 ‘Queribus’   
Opus 156 no.10    Sonata ‘De Profundis’ (Piano Sonata No. 10)
The last piece in a large cycle         dedicated to the memory of my wife.
Opus 208    Piano Sonata No. 11 ‘On Contemplating Certain Korean Ceramics’    I like pottery very much; this sonata is inspired by celadons of the Koryo dynasty.
Opus 235    Piano Sonata No. 12 in F# minor    Dedicated to Nicholas Austin.
Opus 248 no.1    Piano Sonata No. 13 in A   
Opus 248 no.2    Piano Sonata No. 14 ‘My Favourite Frogs’    Five frog portraits dedicated to Chisato Kusunoki
Opus 248 no.3    Piano Sonata No 15    For John White   Premiered by Maiko Mori
Opus 272 no. 1   Piano Sonata No 16    Dedicated to Jonathan Powell
Opus 272 no. 2   Piano Sonata No 17    Dedicated to Maiko Mori
Opus 286    Piano Sonata No 18


A Selection of Other Piano Works
Opus 1 no.37    Eleven Bagatelles   
Opus 8    Four Preludes   
Opus 34 no.1    Der Gläserne Tag    Performed by Steven Gutman in 1997.
Opus 34 no.2    The Angels Share    A hommage to whisky
Opus 38 no.1    Miniature Suite   
Opus 83    Two Waltz Elegies   
Opus 101    Nicolai Appolonovich Was Lost In Contemplation Of The Strings
                    inspired by a passage from 'Petersberg' by Andrei Bely

Opus 108    Three Skazki    Dedicated to my brother Chris and with Medtner in mind.
Opus 117    Miniature Stories: 12 easy pieces   
Opus 130    Sonatina No. 1   
Opus 136    Two Scottish Ballads    Dedicated to Ronald and Marjorie Stevenson.
Opus 143 -146    Four Scottish Dance Suites   
Opus 148    Tributes    A magnum opus (75 minutes long!) with hommages to Faure, Busoni, Stevenson and others.
Opus 156    Funeral Sentences    A cycle of 10 pieces culminating in the 10th Sonata.
Opus 160    Four Barcarolle Elegies   
Opus 171    Folk Forms    9 movements
Opus 201    Greengages    Performed by the composer in the Cathedral of the Isles, 2006.
Opus 207    Snowscape: Edo   
Opus 209    Laphroaig    Another whisky inspired effort.
Opus 211    Semplice-Variations on Stevenson’s ‘Eins und Alles’.    Dedicated to and played privately by Ronald Stevenson.
Opus 214    Album Leaf    Performed several times and recorded by Chisato Kusunoki
Opus 217    Sonatina Lyrico (Sonatina No. 2)   
Opus 219    Five Coloured Parakeet in the Branch of a Blossoming Apricot Tree    Also played and recorded by Chisato Kusunoki.  The title is taken from a Chinese silk painting.
Opus 224    Calligraphic Poems    Inspired by Japanese calligraphy.  In 6 movements.
Opus 225    Tragedy-Fragment   
Opus 226    Five Preludes    Dedicated to Justin Connolly
Opus 227    Twelve Modal Preludes    Nicholas Austin has recorded one of these.
Opus 228    Promenade-Elegy    Dedicated to Iain Colqhuon
Opus 230    Nocturnes 3 and 4    The third has been recorded by Nicholas Austin.
Opus 236    Tales from the Forest    Easy to intermediate pieces featuring monkeys, tigers, snakes, etc.  Premiered by Chisato Kusunoki
Opus 238    Two Laments    Written after hearing about the demise of the Baiji dolphin in the Yangtze River and the death of gorillas in Virunga National Park.
Opus 239    Fragment from Fourmagnac    Memories of the south of France….
Opus 240    Twelve Etudes in the Minor Keys   
Opus 242    Accursed Leaves from the Necronomicon    Dedicated to Michael Garrett and a hommage to the macabre stories of H.P. Lovecraft
Opus 244    Paraphrase on an English Carol    Dedicated to and performed by Chisato Kusunoki in Bristol Cathedral, 2007.
Opus 245    Piano Album    10 pieces
Opus 247    L’amertume de coeur   
There are many other occasional piano pieces and sets of pieces.

Violin and Piano
Opus 1 no.1    Four Fragments   
Opus 3 nos.1-3    Three Sonatinas   
Opus 9 no.3    Salon Suite    Performed several times by the composer with Vincent Barr, piano.
Opus 40    Violin Sonata No. 1 in F   
Opus 60 no.4    Aria   
Opus 69    Waterfall-Epitaph    Performed by the composer with Yeu Meng Chan, piano at the BMIC.
Opus 79    Violin Sonata No. 2 in C#    Performed by the composer with Yeu Meng Chan, piano BMIC
Opus 113    Violin Sonata No. 3    Dedicated to Michael Garrett
Opus 121    Little Poem    Performed privately by the composer with Yeu Meng Chan, piano.
Opus 122c    Cradle Song   
Opus 141    Canonic Elegy for Denis ApIvor    Performed by the composer with Richard Black, piano at the Cathedral of the Isles, Cumbrae, August 2006.
Opus 155a    Lament for Carol   


Other Chamber Works
These include 7 string quartets (no.2 performed in 1989 by the Dmitri Quartet), Fantasy Quintet (performed in 1989), piano trio, 3 sonatas for solo violin (no.2 performed at the BMIC by the composer), 3 Church Sonatas for 2 violins and organ, cello sonata, flute sonata (performed at the BMIC by Georgina Roberts, fl and David Elwin, pft, 1998), bassoon sonata, clarinet sonatina, flute sonatina, cello sonata  and many other works for 2 or more instruments.  Other performances include The Wrong Sort of Pieces for flute, trombone, cimbalom and piano performed in Huddersfield, Scherzetto for piano trio performed at Exeter University by Gemini, Three Canzonas for trombones performed at Guildhall School of Music.  There are also several works featuring the clarsach – the Scottish harp.

Song Cycles
Opus 22    Flung Gravel Chime: Six Dylan Thomas Songs    Performed by the composer, baritone and Vincent Barr, pft, at the BMIC.
Opus 23    Drei Lieder    Performed by the composer and Yeu Meng Chan, piano at BMIC.
Opus 91    Viking Runes    To be sung in Old Norse – (it’s not so bad to pronounce!).
Opus 93    Deux Chanson de Alfred de Musset   
Opus 95    Three Bird Poems of Richard McDonald    Dedicated to the poet
Opus 96    Two Polyphonic McDonalds   
Opus 139    Three Poems of William Dunbar   
Opus 149    Three Elamite Prayers   
Opus 154    The Green Rose of Love (cycles of six poems by Ezra Pound)    Dedicated to my wife
Opus 203    Four British Folk Songs    For Val Norton
Opus 204    Four Unfoldings    Settings in Old English, Ancient Babylonian etc.!
Opus 213    Two Housman Songs   
Opus 233    Drei Goethe Lieder   
There are other single songs by various poets.

Choral Works
Opus 14    Ah, Sunflower    SATB.  Words by Blake
Opus 15    Sleep, O Sleep my Saviour Jesus    SATB.  Words by DHJ
Opus 16    Missa Sine Nomine    SATB
Opus 17    Four Advent Motets   
Opus 17 no.1    Ecce Virgo    SATB.  Performed by Vocalise conducted by Mark Stone.  Also by Nord Deutsche Rundfunk Chor conducted by Robin Gritton
Opus 17 no.2    Rorate Coeli    SATB.  Performed by NDR Chor conducted by Robin Gritton in Hamburg.
Opus 17 no.3    Tollite Portas    SATB and 3 trombones
Opus 17 no.4    Festina Quasaeamus    SATB
Opus 20    Two All Saints Motets   
Opus 20 no.1    Gaudeamus Omnes    SATB
Opus 20 no.2    Angeli Archangeli    SATB and 3 trombones
Opus 30    My Beloved Spake    SATB and organ.  Written for Paul and Lesley Mason’s wedding.   
Opus 37 no.1    Salvator Mundi    Trebles and organ.  Performed at Swiss Reform Church, Villars,  Switzerland Aiglon College Choir conducted by Jeremy Hibbins.
Opus 37 no.2    Blessed be that Maid Marie    SATB and organ.  Performed at Catholic Church, Villars, Aiglon College conducted by Jeremy Hibbins.
Opus 45    Cantata Pro Pace    SATB
Opus 54    Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis    SATB and organ.  Dedicated to Mark Henegar.
Opus 55 no.1    Why O My Soul    SATB
Opus 55 no.2    The First Nowell    Dedicated to Roland Mason
Opus 66    Missa Aque Serven    Counter tenor, 2 tenors, bass, organ and quartet of viols.  Dedicated to my mother.
Opus 107 no.2    Vox in Rama    Counter tenor, 2 tenors, bass.
Opus 109    Hymn of the XXX Legion    Male chorus, 2 trombones, 2 percussions.  Words from ancient Rome adapted by Kipling.
Opus 133    Noctem Quietum    SATB and organ.
Opus 150    Offertory to Inshushinak    Male chorus and ensemble.  To be sung in Ancient Elamite.

Electonic works
There are many of these which use many unusual instruments and objects to create works.  There is some manipulation of the sound using computer software. 
13 Sound Collages
5 Ferenczi Fragments
The Ghost-Piano Book
Shamanic Ritual Service
Klingon Opera (in progress)

There are also over 100 jazz compositions and arrangements the most significant of which is the Suite: Hommage à Don Redman Opus 196.