A Hell of a Bird (The Shepherd's Boy/Breaking the Wall): Advanced Piano (Doctor Who, Heaven Sent)

My arrangement of Murray Gold's orchestral chaconne "The Shepherd's Boy" during the climactic montage from “Heaven Sent” (Doctor Who, s09e11), for solo piano (advanced ability). But this really is my own too, not just a pure transcription. I added a few special layers in the iterations after the key change. You'll recognize two of them. Spoilers :)

For those unfamiliar with the story this music goes with: the Doctor, who has been stuck alone for a long time in a prison designed for him, is slowly and painfully breaking through a harder-than-diamond wall, by a repeating cycle, because he is trying to save his dearest friend. So in a sense the music is all about perseverance and friendship/love.

About the name: Some have called this "Breaking the Wall", and some "This Time There's Three of Us" (from "The Day of the Doctor"), which contains a short passage similar to what we hear in this piece. At the time I arranged this, the soundtrack name was not available, so I named it "A Hell of a Bird" because in this montage the Doctor lives out the Grimm tale of the bird chiseling away the diamond mountain; he is the Hell of a Bird. And I still like that name, because he’s not just a shepherd’s boy telling himself to be the Doctor. He’s also the bird actually doing the hard work.

Thanks to my friend Kristen for recording the video!

[d.dukat_music]

adding clara's theme into this was simply DEVASTATING--reminds everyone musically not just of the grief the Doctor is fighting through, but what, or who, precisely he is grieving. incredible arrangement and performance as well

[starryjeongyeon]

omg the inclusion of clara''s leitmotif 😭😭😭😭😭💕💕

[longanddeadly]

Personally I think 12th Doctor is one hell of a doctor.

[blakeamazing]

the youtube algorithm is not being nice to you, because this should have millions of views at this point. I mean, c'mon youtube

[LuigiRosa]

Personally, I think that's a hell of a performance!

[dorianlanspeary]

is it just me, or do some of us get sad over this song because of the story? this is the best piano one

[musicOrator]

This piece, and kind of the entire episode's narrative, reminds me of J. S. Bach's great Chaconne for solo violin (Partita No. 2 in D Minor), which has earned effusive praise through history, including from Johannes Brahms and Joshua Bell. I like the original orchestral version of this music, but I think, like Bach’s Chaconne (for solo violin, or a piano transcription, like Busoni’s), there is actually something meaningful about that this music is carried by, and expressed by, only one musician. To me it's like how the Doctor persevered against his prison (including his own grief) all alone; how all by himself he was trying to answer: “How long can I keep doing this, Clara? Burning the old me, to make a new one?” So it’s a Chaconne for Solo Doctor.

[Jim_The_Fish]

4:12 I never noticed it was there. That subtle hint of Clara’s theme in The Shepherd’s Boy. That makes this song hit even harder now. This was absolutely amazing. Be proud of yourself. Holy crap. I’m in awe.

[augusta]

I want to rewatch heaven sent again because of this masterpiece of a cover

[dclaiche]

Absolutely LOVE the little weaving in of Clara's theme toward's the end!

[eleanorevans]

holy heck

I'm late to the party, but this is the best arrangement of The Shepherd's Boy I've ever heard by a long shot, you managed to capture every detail of the original piece perfectly!

definitely going to have to try and learn this myself

[riotpaladin]

I know I'm two years late to this, but this is amazing.

And hearing the way you blended in Clara's theme gave me chills.

[bertmchaggis]

Absolutely beautiful! Murray Gold would be proud you did such an amazing job with his work

[alastairjking]

Congratulations! That's a wonderful transcription with a few DW musical Easter eggs in there too. Great job articulating all of those notes - way beyond my abilities - a really committed performance. Bravo!

[alexclark]

I almost found myself yelling "ARRGHHHH" and wanting to punch glass at the crescendo at the very end. Such a masterful performance of great interpretation of this! As so many others stated the inclusion of Clara's theme rounds it out perfectly. Well done!

[musicOrator]

When I memorized this, I had enough trouble memorizing the rhythm of the bass (pinky) part during the modulation section (measures 38-49), that I did something I usually don't: wrote words for it. I tried to make them fit what is happening in the original montage. So if you'd like that reminder, or want to use my words to memorize it yourself, here they are (starting with the F chord/deceptive cadence) (measure by measure; I put them in as a card each in Anki):
m. 38, F: "Shepherd's boy says." Dies, prints. The door's dead-end.
m. 39, C: "It's 2 mill-i-on years into the future."
m. 40, G: Hits wall, "And then the shepherd's boy says" (stricken).
m. 41, Dm: And events in the cycle, they accelerate.
m. 42, Am: He jumps out, and falls into the sea. (fire, puzzle).
m. 43, F: Slams the door, digs, "I'm in 12."    "I confess"     "I'm in (m. 44) Hell."
m. 44, low C: (Hell.") 'Are you still scared?' The word BIRD. "I'd say twenty mill."
m. 45, G: Realizes. Fist, punch, "Ow!" "seconds in eternity?"
m. 46, Dm: "And he SAYS: 'There's this mountain of pure diamond.'"
m. 47, B-flat: (" ') It takes an ho-ur to climb it and an ho-ur to go a-round (m. 48) it."
m. 48, last F chord: (" ')-round it.'" The Veil strikes; teleporter prints. Coughing, cough. (Clips even faster)
m. 49, Gm: Plucking, the stool, SMASH dives through; plunging in. Then the fi-re-place (m. 50 downbeat)

[thedoctor]

This is just absolutely, positively amazing! I've never been blown away by such subtle cues in the score, such as the leitmotif used to signify Clara's theme in the underlying chord progressions. Absolutely wonderful wonderful job!

[Lei_Aili]

Absolutely beautiful. This brought me to tears, especially the part with Clara's theme. Broke my heart in the best way. You are an incredibly talented musician. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world.

[TheTomBobson]

Simply astonishing... The best solo arrangement there is on the internet.

[robhutton]

Gorgeous cover! Love the nod to Claras theme in there as well. . .to remind us of what the Doctor was fighting for when we first heard this beautiful piece of music. Fantastic job!