SKU: HL.49018856

ISBN 9790220133244. UPC: 884088675028. 9.0x12.0x0.204 inches.

Although this is technically Cowie's seventh string quartet, it replaces his earlier fourth quartet, which he came to feel no longer fit with his compositional voice. The quartet fluctuates between a slow, luminous sound and fast, agitated music. Unlike much of Cowie's work, this music is abstracted from his usual preoccupation with the natural world, turning instead to look at an inner landscape. The composer describes the emotional force behind his quartet: The year 2009 was a terrible year in which I lost three close friends to cancer and an elder brother to Alzheimer's disease. It was also a year in which my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer; something from which she has thankfully made a great recovery. At times like these, emotions are sorely tested and highlighted. Four people I loved have gone, so this music must remain as testament not to death, but to the magnificent fragility and loveliness of life. It closes with a gentle and almost vaporising 'benediction' a kind of 'amen' if you like.

SKU: BT.DHP-1175816-130

English-German-French-Dutch.

This composition is based on the march from Henry Purcell’s Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, a work written in 1694. In this fantasia, various movements flow from one to the next following the main theme; these movements not onlyelaborate on the theme, but also contrast with it. At times, the thematic material diverges so much, that the work acquires a character of its own; however, the composer often refers back to fragments of the theme. This work was test piece in the 4thdivision of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) in 2017.

Deze compositie is gebaseerd op de mars uit Henry Purcells Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, een werk uit het jaar 1694. In deze fantasia wordt het hoofdthema gevolgd door verschillende in elkaar overgaande delen die voortborduren op hetthema of er een contrast mee vormen. Alhoewel het thematisch materiaal soms zodanig afwijkt dat het werk een geheel eigen karakter krijgt, grijpt de componist toch steeds weer terug op flarden van het origineel. Dit werk was het verplichte werk op deNederlandse Brassband Kampioenschappen (NBK), 2017 vierde divisie.

Die Komposition basiert auf dem Marsch aus Henry Purcells Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, einem Werk, das 1694 komponiert wurde. Auf das Hauptthema der Fantasie folgen verschiedene, ineinander übergehende Sätze. In den Sätzen wirdjedoch nicht nur das Thema weiterentwickelt, sondern sie bilden zugleich einen Gegensatz zu dem Thema. Auch wenn das thematische Material manchmal so stark voneinander abweicht, dass das Werk einen ganz eigenen Charakter erhält, kehrt der Komponistimmer wieder zu Fragmenten des Themas zurück. Das Werk war 2017 Pflichtstück in der Leistungsklasse 4 bei den Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK).

Cette composition se base sur la marche de la Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II (Musique pour les funérailles de la reine Mary II) d’Henry Purcell, une œuvre écrite en 1694. Dans cette fantaisie, le thème principal est suivi de plusieursmouvements enchaînés ; développé au travers de ces mouvements il est également mis en contraste. Bien que le matériau thématique dévie tellement que l’œuvre acquiert son propre caractère, le compositeur ne cesse de revenir sur des fragments du thème.Ce morceau était la pièce imposée la 4e division du Championnat National de Brass Band des Pays-Bas (NBK) en 2017.

SKU: PR.111401970

UPC: 680160490394. 9 x 12 inches. English. Text: William Butler Yeats. William Yeats. Poems by William Butler Yeats.

This work was commissioned by Susan and Elihu Rose. It was written at the request of tenor Robert White, to whom it is dedicated. It was premiered at Alice Tully Hall on February 17, 1993 by Robert White, James Galway, the Lark Quartet and pianist Brian Zeger. It was actually Miss Alice Tully's suggestion that some settings of Yeats would be lovely that prompted me to look at these poems. I was at once struck by their intense lyric beauty and decided immediately to use them for this work. The six poems were chosen from Yeats' 1899 collection The Wind Among the Reeds. Dealing with unrequited love, these particular poems have hints of the mystic preoccupations which were to become more prominent in Yeats' later work. Scored for an ensemble consisting of Flute, Piano and String Quartet, it was my intention that the beauty and clarity of the poetry should be matched by a directness of musical expression which would not overwhelm the poems. The instrumental writing makes no attempt at tone painting but rather provides a colorful but often austere psychological background to the tenor's melodies which are at times almost folk-like in their simplicity. The work is unified as a cycle not only by its tonal structure, but also through harmonic and motivic elements that the individual songs share.