Anno Anna (piano score PDF)

Anno Anna — Greg Harradine

Solo piano score. Listen on YouTube.

Key: A major

Duration: approx. 4:00

Grade/level: 6, late intermediate

6 pages. 86 bars total.

When my son, Raphael, was born, back in December 2020, I composed a piano piece to celebrate his arrival. Our daughter, Anna, was born in August 2022, and I'd been feeling guilty that I hadn't yet written a piece for her! With her first birthday just days away, I felt that now was the time to remedy this unfair situation — and so I composed Anno Anna as a 1st birthday gift.

I used my usual technique of encoding personal details into the music; Anna's name, date of birth, and other facts and figures have generated many of the melodies and harmonies of this piece.

I didn't want to just compose a "nice" or "cute" sounding piece — what people might typically imagine as music for a 1-year-old. I wanted to compose something that summed up Anna's personality, and also the reality of caring for a baby: the many wonderful, life-affirming moments, alongside the, shall we say, less optimal moments too. You'll hear the music change from one mood to the next; as capricious as, well, a baby!