Hermann Regner, one of the most successful music teachers of the 20th century and pupil of Carl Orff, was dedicated to the fusion of instrumental education and contemporary music. Thanks to his practical compositions, he helped children, young people and amateur musicians gain access to modern music. 'Teddy Music' is a collection of 10 easy pieces for piano duet. A teddy bear leads the musician through the colourful collection in amusing illustrations. The pieces have been written for pupils and teacher, with the pupil's part being very easy and designed for the first or second year. The teddy bear can do a lot of things: he dances, swings, rides, dreams, tells stories and occasionally gets annoyed. A cheerful collection for the first steps in piano duet playing.

Songs and Dances of Atlantis for Piano Duet (Book 1)
Twenty elementary to intermediate piano duets - four hands on one piano.

The legend of Atlantis is one of the oldest and most enduring mysteries which remain in popular culture to this day. It has captivated the imaginations of people for centuries. Songs and Dances of Atlantis (Book 1) is a collection of ten easy to moderate piano duets which celebrate this famous legend.
These duets would be ideal for any piano recital event especially in schools or colleges. They could be useful in the piano lesson for both sight-reading exercises and ensemble practice. Of course, ensemble playing is an essential element of musical development, though most piano students rarely get the opportunity to make music with others. Ensemble playing encourages the performers to listen to each other as well as themselves and it encourages them to ?keep together? rhythmically. Perhaps most importantly, it enables students to share musical decisions and work towards a common musical goal. Apart from that, playing duets can be great fun and can add an extra dimension to the piano lessons.
Most of the pieces contain short passages that offer opportunities for improvisation in the Primo part though rhythmic and harmonic guidelines are provided for those who require them. The Primo and Secondo parts are traditionally printed on separate sheets and the melodic material is shared between both parts. Book 2 contains a few easy pieces but pushes the boundaries a bit further and requires rather more advanced technical skills.
Book 1 contains the following pieces: (1) Song from the Northern Forest, (2) Ancient Song from Crane River, (3) Hymn to the Golden Sky, (4) Lullaby of the Sea Gypsies, (5) Song from Dragon Island, (6) Dance to the Temple Spirits, (7) Evening Song from the Cloud Lakes, (8) Round Dance from Ikrania (9) Slow Dance from the Eastern Hills and (10) Children?s Dance to the Sun. The audio demo features numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.

English.

Carl Orff devoted much of his life to the development of a philosophy of Music for Children, based on his belief that music is the natural outcome of speech, rhythm and movement. His ideas and pioneering work have had a major influence on music and dance education throughout the world and today that work continues under the guidance of leading teachers and educators in many countries. The five basic German volumes of Music for Children by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman were published between 1950 and 1954. Editions have since been published in Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ghana, Great Britain (including a special Welsh edition), Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latin-America, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the USA. In 1952 the first edition in translation appeared an English language adaptation by Doreen Hall and Arnold Walter for their Canadian and American students. A few years later, Margaret Murray independently developed a version (1957-1966), essentially to fulfil the needs of United Kingdom teachers. Inevitably the considerable growth of Orff-Schulwerk in the United States led to the publication of the American Edition (1977) to satisfy the requirements of a different educational system and national heritage. Orff-Schulwerk: Music for Children has proved itself to be a stimulating source of material for music teaching. Carl Orff's fundamental educational ideas have revitalized music education in nursery schools, at all levels of primary and secondary education and in special music schools, based on the concepts that: - music, dance and language are inter-related and animated through rhythm. - when children discover, invent, improvise and compose, their experience of music is intensified. These creative activities are complementary to those of interpreting and listening to music. - all who take part are encouraged to contribute, not only vocally but also instrumentally. - the Orff approach to music education is many sided. it is concerned with practical music-making, it provides fundamental experiences and it lays the foundation for a comprehensive musical training. - movement games and activities for body awareness in space, time and flow, lead to movement improvisation and dance forms. - music and dance have been notated in many different ways in history. Various ways of writing down sounds and music, as well as playing from and interpreting different kinds of sources are being explored. Today, countless teachers and institutions are using these ideas. More and more teachers look for ways of involving their students in active music making. In particular, they seek to challenge their pupils' creativity by the use of music, dance and speech - as media of human expression - as a foundation of all education. A prerequisite for work in Orff-Schulwerk is the artistic and pedagogical training of teachers. The Orff Institute was founded in 1961 as a Department of the 'Mozarteum', in Salzburg, Austria. Training offered includes a four-year diploma course, a two-year post-graduate course, and a one-year-course in English. At the opening of the Orff Institute in Salzburg in 1963, Carl Orff ended his speech with a quotation from Schiller: 'I have done my part, now do yours.' That challenge has been taken up by teachers worldwide. Murray Edition English adaption, with additional material, by Margaret Murray. Besed on, and containing all the rhythmic and instrumental material from the main five volumes of the original German edition. Contents of this fifth volume: Songs and pieces making further use of the modes introduced in Vol. 4, with the addition of the more usual forms of the minor scale with the sharpened seventh. The settings of short dramatic scenes concludes the book.

It is with the 'Slavonic Dances' Op. 46 that Antonin Dvorak won international breakthrough in 1878. Apart from Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World', and Cello Concerto Op. 104, they are among the best-known works by Dvorak.
Unlike Brahms in his 'Hungarian Dances', Dvorak did not use any original melodies but incorporated characteristic elements of Slavonic dance music in his own melodic invention.

La Feria (The Fair) is a Spanish fiesta! All the sights and sounds of a traditional Spanish street festival.
Paul Lacome wrote mostly operas-bouffes, light comic operas. That same drama and delight comes through in this piece. Originally written for orchestra, there have been many popular arrangements for band. I have arranged it for Clarinet Quartet without losing any of the Spanish tradition or dramatic character of the piece.
The Suite is in 3 sections. The first is entitled Los Toros (The Bulls). The running of the bulls is a tradition of nearly every Spanish fair. This highly energetic and rhythmic section is traditional Spanish fiesta music at its best. The second section is entitled La Reja (loosely-The Gate). This one is in the form of a Serenade. Every fair has a street barred off with a special archway entrance or gate. Inside, tents are set up serving local wine. Strolling street musicians will visit each tent and serenade. This section is scaled back dynamically and also in texture to imitate the solo or duo strolling musician. For the B theme of this section I move the melody to the Clarinet 3 part down low. I like to amuse myself and think of this brief growling melody as a tipsy patron of the tent singing back to the musicians. The street musicians then quickly resume their original song. The final section is entitled La Zarzuela. The Zarzuela is a uniquely Spanish comic opera that is heavy on dance and spoken dialogue. It has much in common with the American vaudeville shows. This section is in the form of a brisk waltz, another high energy rhythmic dance where Clarinet 2 takes the B theme melody.
This piece is of Advanced Intermediate difficulty due to constant movement, articulations, rhythm, and range. Clarinet 1 in particular uses the full range of the instrument.
21 page score, 4 pages @ part, 38 pages total booklet
4:30 minutes
temporary MIDI recording

This is an advancedtranscription of the entire eight movements of Tchaikovsky?s Nutcracker Suiteand this version is for Clarinet Quartet. The Titles include: 1. Ouverture miniature, 2. Marche, 3. Dance of theSugar-Plum Fairy, 4. Russian Dance, (Tr�pak), 5. Arab Dance, 6. Chinese Dance,7. Dance of the Reed Flutes, 8. Waltz of the Flowers. A Score Cover, theConductor?s Score and all Instrumental parts are included in the price. Toview and listen to this suite in its entirety AND PURCHASE AT A DISCOUNTEDPRICE please visit www.lincolnmusicpublications.com. Playing Time approximately: 20:00

Songs and Dances of Atlantis for Piano Duet (Book 2)

Twenty elementary to intermediate piano duets - four hands on one piano.
The legend of Atlantis is one of the oldest and most enduring mysteries which remain in popular culture to this day. It has captivated the imaginations of people for centuries.
Songs and Dances of Atlantis (Book 2) follows on the first book and is a collection of ten fairly easy to intermediate level piano duets which celebrate this famous legend.
These duets would be ideal for any piano recital event especially in schools or colleges. They could be useful in the piano lesson for both sight-reading exercises and ensemble practice. Of course, ensemble playing is an essential element of musical development, though most piano students rarely get the opportunity to make music with others. Ensemble playing encourages the performers to listen to each other as well as themselves and it encourages them to ?keep together? rhythmically. Perhaps most importantly, it enables students to share musical decisions and work towards a common musical goal. Apart from that, playing duets can be great fun and can add an extra dimension to the piano lessons.
Most of the pieces contain short passages that offer opportunities for improvisation in the Primo part though rhythmic and harmonic guidelines are provided for those who require them. The Primo and Secondo parts are traditionally printed on separate sheets and the melodic material is shared between both parts. Book 2 contains the following titles: (1) Song from the Western Hills, (2) Twilight Dance, (3) Shepherd Song from Zanakh, (4) Circle Dance of the Elders, (5) Dance to the New Moon, (6) Midnight Dance from Khortakh, (7) Dance to the Air Spirits, (8) Zaronian Whirling Dance, (9) Slow Dance from the High Hills and (10)Village Dance from Kratah. The audio sample contains numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,7 and 10.

Diversions is a work by Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum for Trombone quartet written in 1998 for the Aurora Trombone Quartet. Elizabeth Raum's writing is influenced by the school of the tone poem in that her music seems often to tell a story.

Diversions consists of several sections, each with its own personality. It opens with a signal call from the first trombone that is answered in turn by each of the others. This leads to the first rather contrapuntal theme combining the Baroque with the Romantic; then a bridge consisting of variations on the signal brings us to the second theme of three muted trombones playing a lively dance-like accompaniment to the open sound of the first trombone. The continuity of the dance is interrupted by occasional asides or "diversions."

Finally, all four instruments, unmuted, join together bringing the piece to a rousing finish. This work of about 6 1/2 minutes in length is appropriate for advanced performers.