Moonlight In Madrid is the companion sheet music book to Jim Chappell’s 2019 solo piano album by the same name. All seventeen pieces from the album are included, transcribed by the composer himself. The pieces are mostly on the slower, very expressive side, but there is a nice variety of styles that make it a pleasure to play through. None of the pieces are difficult, and I would say that most pianists from an upper-intermediate to an early-advanced playing level should have little trouble mastering this music with a bit of practice and attention to detail.

The books themselves are spiral-bound and printed on a medium-weight paper stock that should hold up well even with years of heavy use. The scores are very well-spaced and easy to read, and include pedal markings, metronome settings, and extensive dynamics. There are a few reaches of more than an octave, but those chords can be rolled and sometimes a note that is too difficult for one hand to reach can be played with the other. There are several places where as many as five ledger lines are used on a note, so pianists who don’t recognize those notes quickly should probably keep a pencil handy to mark what they are. Those are two very small issues with a book where the music is beautiful, expressive and fun to play! I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this songbook (and the album) and highly recommend it. It is currently available exclusively from www.JimChappell.com.

The titles, the keys they are in and the number of pages are:

Moonlight In Madrid - Key of E minor (1 sharp) - 2 1/2 pages
Night In Granada - Key of Am (0 sharps or flats)/ Bm (2 sharps) - 4 pages
Shining Through - Key of E (4 sharps) - 7 pages
The You We Knew - Key of G (1 sharp) - 4 pages
Clearer Waters - Key of D (2 sharps) - 5 1/2 pages
Weak For You - Key of F#m (3 sharps) - 5 1/2 pages
For Cheyenne - Key of Db (5 flats) - 3 1/2 pages
Setting of the Sails - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages
Joy Hymn - Key of F (1 flat) - 4 pages
Shoreline Dreamer - Key of A (3 sharps) - 2 1/2 pages
New Path - Key of E (4 sharps) - 5 pages
If I Miss You - Key of Ab/Fm (4 flats) - 4 pages
Once Upon Our Lives - Key of E (4 sharps) - 6 pages
The Hurt In Her Heart - Key of C#m (4 sharps) - 3 pages
Every Step We Take - Key of F (1 flat) - 5 pages
Laughing in the Rain - Key of Eb (3 flats) - 4 pages
The Long Walk Home - Key of Em (1 sharp) - 4 pages