Violoncello Octet - Advanced/Intermediate - Digital Download. This arrangement of the "Allegro" movement from Henry Purcell's Sonata for Trumpet would be a fabulous addition to any music library and could be performed for concerts, recitals and church services. It is suitable for high school and college students but professional musicians would also enjoy playing this selection. This selection is one of the arrangements from The Regis Bookshar Trumpet Ensemble's extensive music library, many of which are being made available for the first time. They have performed the Trumpet Quintet version of this composition quite often for numerous weddings and other special occasions. The original composition was written in D Major but Regis Bookshar has transposed it to Bb Major, making it a little easier for many modern musicians. Included are a score and a complete set of parts (13 pages). The 17th century composer, Henry Purcell, is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers of his generation. His Sonata for Trumpet and Strings in D Major, composed in 1694, was probably written for the London Theatre, where a fine tradition of trumpet playing had developed. Purcell almost certainly had in mind either John Shore or his brother, William, the most renowned trumpet players in England at the time. The trumpets of the time were normally tuned in D and there were no valves on the Baroque trumpets, so they were limited in the number of notes that they could play. The term "Sonata" here probably means no more than "a piece of incidental music" and looks forward to the style that would become the solo concerto where soloist and strings are pitted against each other but also looks back to an older type of instrumental music which emphasized equality between members of the ensemble. The music is in three movements and looks forward to the "fast-slow-fast" plan popularized by Vivaldi's concertos. Regis Bookshar thought that it would be wonderful if other instrumentalists, besides trumpet players, could also have the opportunity to play the "Allegro" movement from Purcell's Sonata for Trumpet, so he has created other arrangements of this selection. This particular arrangement is for a Violoncello Octet, consisting of 8 Violoncellos, but there are Quintets, Sextets, Septets and Octets readily available for a wide variety of instrumental ensembles. Please take the time to look for other versions of this piece. You may find something else that may suit your needs. I would also encourage you to search for other arrangements by Regis Bookshar as well, as there are numerous arrangements in a wide variety of styles also available for purchase. You may find something else which might interest you. Please continue to check back periodically because new arrangements are added as often as possible. I'm certain that this exciting arrangement of Purcell's "Allegro" from his Sonata for Trumpet will continue to entertain both performers and audiences alike for years to come.

"Bella ciao" ("Goodbye beautiful") is an Italian protest folk song that originated in the hardships of the mondina women, the paddy field workers in the late 19th century who sang it to protest against harsh working conditions in the paddy fields of North Italy. The song was modified and adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance by the Italian partisans between 1943 and 1945 during the Italian Resistance, the resistance of Italian partisans against the Nazi German forces occupying Italy, and, during the Italian Civil War, the Italian partisan struggle against the fascist Italian Social Republic and its Nazi German allies. Versions of "Bella ciao" are sung worldwide as an anti-fascist hymn of freedom and resistance.

For Violoncello and Piano (early Intermediate).

This arrangement was modified in its edition and violin indications. A very clean piano part was written. Very good edition of the entire score.

The M�ditation is an instrumental entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Tha�s. In the first scene of Act II, Athana�l, a Cenobite monk, confronts Tha�s, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devot�e of Venus, and attempts to persuade her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the M�ditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the M�ditation, Tha�s tells Athana�l that she will follow him to the desert.

The piece is in D major and is approximately five minutes long (although there are a number of interpretations that stretch the piece to over six minutes). Massenet may also have written the piece with religious intentions; the tempo marking is Andante religioso, signifying his intention that it should be played religiously (which could mean either strictly in the tempo or literally with religiously-founded emotion) and at walking tempo, or around 60 BPM. The piece opens with a short introduction, with the solo violin quickly entering with the motif. After the violin plays the melody twice, the piece goes into a section marked animato, gradually becoming more and more passionate (Massenet wrote poco a poco appassionato). The climax is reached at a place marked poco piu appassionato (a little more passion) and is then followed by a short cadenza-like passage from the soloist and returns to the main theme. After the theme is played twice, the soloist joins the piano while playing harmonics on the upper register as the piano quietly play below the solo line.