August Adagios is the companion sheet music book for James Michael Stevens' 2024 solo piano recording by the same name. All ten pieces from the album are included and were transcribed by Dr. Stevens himself. (Dr. Stevens is the Dean of the School of Music at Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee.) An amazingly prolific composer, James notates his music before he records it, and then plays from the sheet music when he records, so these transcriptions are exactly what you hear on the album.

As the title suggests, the pieces in this collection are relatively slow ("adagio") and relaxed with a very expressive quality that makes them fun and interesting to play. Each of the pieces is three pages, and only one has a somewhat challenging key signature ("Enigmas of Romance" is in the key of B major, which has five sharps). The rhythms are not complicated and there are no reaches of more than an octave. The layout of the sheet music is roomy and very well-spaced, making the music easy to read. I would put most of these pieces at an "intermediate" playing level and would recommend them as very enjoyable teaching and recital pieces for piano students - especially adults and older kids who would appreciate the expressive nature of the music - as well as for pianists to enjoy at home. More accomplished/advanced pianists will be able to master this music rather easily and will be able to enjoy playing these lovely pieces without having to work too hard (and who doesn't enjoy that?!?).

August Adagios is available to download both as a complete digital songbook as well as individual pieces from SheetMusicPlus.com and SheetMusicDirect.com. The recording can be streamed or downloaded from Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes as well as many of the streaming platforms. Recommended!

All of the pieces are three pages. The titles and the key(s) they are in are:

Boracat Sunset - Key of G (1 sharp)
Cafe Ukraine - Key of D minor (1 flat)
Diamonds in the Sky - Key of Eb (3 flats)
Enigmas of Romance - Key of B (5 sharps)
Harvest Fields - Key of D minor (1 flat)
Hourglass - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats)
In the Realm of Peace - Key of C (0 sharps or flats)
Momenti d'amore - Key of D (2 sharps)
Peacemaker - Key of Bb (2 flats)
Piano Renoir - Key of C (0 sharps or flats)