This album contains 5 of Johann Sebastian Bach\'s most famous and versatile pieces for saxophone quintet, all very well suited for the beginners who want to get to know the baroque repertoire. They are also suitable for performances at events such as: weddings, Christian and church ceremonies, Easter, and academic recitals or concerts. They can be used in music institutions and by teachers as repertoire material and study methods, either for performance or instrumental technique. This collection includes a totally free bonus for you to enjoy: Martin Luther\'s A Mighty Fortress is Our God, a Renaissance sacred song for choir, which has been adapted for this set. You can also buy each one individually by checking right at the end of each description of each work.

1: Air on the G String - The original piece is part of Johann Sebastian Bach\'s Suite No. 3 for orchestra, in D Major, BWV 1068, written for Prince Leopold of Anhalt. The so-called \"Air on the G String\" dates from one of these latter employments. In the service of the Prince of Cöthen, Bach composed not only the famous Brandenburg Concertos, but also several orchestral suites, from the third of which comes the \"Air on the G String\". This curious title derives from a later arrangement of this piece for violin solo, in which the melody is played entirely on the lower, higher string of the instrument. ID: S0.1189781

2: Arioso - The Cantata 156 (BWV 156) was written for the third Sunday after Epiphany in 1729, and was first performed on January 23 of that year. The text is by Picander, one of Bach\'s favorite librettists. Of the four cantatas written by Bach for the feast, it was the last and only one scored for solo voice. This is a choral cantata, employing a choral melody in several movements. Cantata 156, in fact, employs two different choral melodies and texts in the second and sixth movements. A cantata is a sung symphony consisting of several parts, one of which is the Arioso, which is the initial instrumental part. ID: S0.1189985

3: Jesu, joy of man\'s desiring - This is one of Bach\'s most beautiful cantatas, made famous by the Jesus the Joy of Men chorus. It was originally composed for Advent 1716 in Weimar. Years later, already in Leipzig, Advent was tempus clausum, there was no music in the churches. Bach then reworked it for the Feast of Mary\'s Visitation. It is the final chorale of the cantata \"Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben\". Although it is the 32nd cantata composed by Bach, of those that have survived, it was given BWV 147 in the complete catalog of his works. ID: S0.1190041

4: O Jesulein süss, o Jesulein mild - The Jesulein süß, the Jesulein mild is an original traditional German choral melody for voice and continuous bass arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach around 1735. With lyrics by Valentin Thilo, O Jesulein süss is a sacred melody adapted and catalogued as BWV 493. The first translation is by Dirk van Hogendorp, who made it more of a song for the time of suffering. ID: S0.1190181

5: Minuet in G major - This famous piece has traditionally been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, as it appears in the Notebook for Anna Magdalena , a notebook that Bach gave to his wife Anna Magdalena in 1725 and which was to be filled with the favorite selections of Bach family members. However, recent research has concluded that this minuet, sometimes referred to as BWV Anhang 114. was probably composed by Christian Petzold, a German composer and organist contemporary with Bach. ID: S0.1190377

Bonuses: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, by Martin Luther - Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is a hymn written by Martin Luther probably before 1529. The melody was also considered his work for a long time, but it was created at least with the collaboration of Johann Walter. The song is of great symbolic power for Protestantism.

Nineteen Skeletal Duets for Trombones is a set of duets of easy to moderately difficult specifically for teachers and students in private lessons. The first 15 duets are arranged from Fifteen Safari Duets for Tubas which was composed in 1989 for playing with my tuba students at Berklee College of Music. They are at different levels of difficulty and in various styles so that we always had duets to play no matter what was the ability of the student. The additional four duets were added in 2020 for trombones for this set. The title of each duet is also a name for a bone in the human body, hence the name Skeletal Duets. There is something in each duet for students to learn: the basics of tone production, rhythms, melodic phrasing, jazz, graphic notation, etc. Most are sight readable and some have been performed in concerts. Nineteen Skeletal Duets for Euphoniums are the same duets but in treble clef. Twenty-two Skeletal Duets for Hornsuses the first 19 of the trombone set with three additional duets added. Some of the trombone and horn duets are in the same key so they can be played together.

1. Cranium
This duet presents the cantabile ?singing? style as studied for playing the trombone. I find that this duet helps the student much like the melodies of Borgodni (Rochet) etudes.

2. Stirrup
This duet provides an opportunity to read basic rhythms and articulations. I find that the more advanced students can read in a faster tempo while the less skilled students work best in the slower tempos ? a common choice for all of the duets.
3. Humerus
This waltz helps the student match phrasing in a cantabile setting. There are a few instances where the teacher (playing the first part) plays a phrase then the student plays a similar phrase.
4. Vertebra
This is in a ?rock? style with syncopated rhythms with cantabile melodies. Articulations are especially important in this duet.
5. Axis
Legato scales and syncopated rhythms are the features of this duet. This is a good exercise for legato playing on trombone, especially when the legato tongue is needed versus when the trombonist does not need to tongue when moving across partials.
6. Tibia
This duet alternates in rock style and swing. Articulations and manipulation of ?swing? rhythms are important.
7. Clavicle
The key of A for this duet provides variation for the students.
8. Fibula nd
This duet uses the easiest of rhythms and range, especially for the 2
9. Scapula
This duet is non-metric and uses graphic notation. This was a favorite duet of my students as many had never experienced this notation before.
10. Atlas ndThis is an Invention in the Bach style. This is probably the best duet to play when the 2 part is played by bass trombone.

(student) part.

11. Radius
This duet is in a ?Medium Swing? jazz style. Each part has a chance to play a little bit of a ?walking? bass line. Articulations and manipulation of ?swing? rhythms are important in this duet.
12. Femur
This duet works on double time and half time tempo changes.
13. Patella
This is another duet that includes graphic notation. In this duet ?Free rapid legato lines? are used.
14. Anvil
This gallop displays different types of articulation.
15. Hammer
This duet is in the style of a fanfare.
16. Rib
This duet is a melody, ?Magallon Blues?, that I originally composed when I taught at a summer music camp in Magallon, Spain. In that camp each of the students would practice playing a jazz solo. This duet also has jazz chord changes so you can add piano or guitar. The use of drums is also an added option.
17. Sacrum
This duet is a short arrangement of Mozart?s ?Eine Kleine Nachtmusic?.
18. Ulna
This duet is a short arrangement of the traditional Irish folk song ?Londonderry Air?, more commonly known as ?Danny Boy?.
19. Ilium
This duet is a short arrangement of the Beethoven?s song ?Ode to Joy? which represents the triumph of universal brotherhood against war and desperation.

Gregory Fritze is a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, as well as an active performer. He recently retired from Berklee College of Music where he was Tuba Professor and Chair of Composition, serving on the faculty from 1979 to 2016. He has written over one hundred compositions for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles and soloists. He has won over sixty composition awards both nationally and internationally including First Prize in the 1991 TUBA Etude Contest for Twenty Characteristic Etudes for Tuba, an award from The American Prize for his Petite Suite for Brass Quintet and others. His compositions include works published by several publishers in the United States, South America and Europe that have been performed extensively throughout the world. Many of his compositions are available on ITunes, Youtube and Soundcloud.
His compositions are recorded on Albany Records, MSR Classics, Crystal Records, Mark Records and others. He has been a guest lecturer, conductor and performer at many colleges, universities and music festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan, South America and Europe. He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1954 and has Composition degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University. He now resides in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida.

My first season with the Oregon Symphony was 1962-1963. I was so excited when I was told that I was accepted into the Portland Symphony (now Oregon Symphony), I danced and jumped up and down. I can still see myself. Its was like winning the Powerball. I was only 17 years old. What is equally amazing is that 45 years later I retired from a career that very few people can ever experience. I was bass trombonist my first year in the Oregon Symphony and was principal trombonist my third year. I also traveled with the New York Metropolitan Opera National company for 84 weeks as principal trombonist and was bass trombonist of the Portland Opera for 18 years. I played in the Peter Britt Orchestra for two seasons and also in the Anchorage, AK. music festival. I was a scholarship winner to Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. and the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. I was privileged to perform with Leopold Stowkowski and Erik Leinsdorf. None of this would have been possible without my early training with the Portland, Youth Philharmonic under the leadership of maestro Jacob Avshalomov.

I have met many famous people and have played the world's greatest music. The Oregon Symphony music directors and conductors have been magnificent and have each brought many special talents to the orchestra. I remember special concerts featuring Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose, and many others.

During my time in the Oregon Symphony I developed a hobby of making batons for some of the conductors who visited our orchestra. Most recently, I made batons for Itzhak Perlman, James DePreist, Carlos Kalmar, Riccardo Mutti, Murry Sidlin, Hannu Lintu, Karel Mark Chichon,

Andre Watts, and many others.

Since establishing the Alan Pierce Piano Service in 1976, I have tuned pianos for the Oregon Symphony, Andre Watts, Lawrence Leighton Smith, James DePreist, Murry Sidlin, Norman Leyden as well as for many churches, schools and prominent piano teachers. Most recently I tuned the piano in the home of world famous Janet Guggenheim. One of my most special memories was an all expense paid trip to Scottsdale, Arizona to tune the piano of a prominent surgeon. While in Arizona, I had the chance to spend time with the late James DePreist who had a home in the area. For two summers, I also served as piano technician for the Sunriver Music Festival I am currently the president of the Reno chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild.

Most recently I got to meet Geoge Curran, bass trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. My wife and I traveled two times to hear him perform my Romanza and Scherzo for bass trombone and piano. What a thrill to hear a world famous trombonist perform my music. I am very honored that George Curran recorded my music on his latest CD. (Vital Signs)