SKU: BT.PMC3603

Four poems sharing a common motif of 'Night' provide the texts for my choral cycle Nocturnes, the American Choral Directors Association's commissioned work for its 2005 national convention. For Rilke's atmospheric Sa nuit d'ete,several melodic themes are supported by dense, colorful harmonies in both the choral and piano parts, leading to a climactic section where all are combined and stated simultaneously. Neruda's Soneto de la Noche, from his CienSonetos de Amor, speaks of an eternal love that transcends death while reaffirming life. My a cappella setting of this gorgeous poem is predominantly quiet, serene and folk-like, utilizing direct harmonies accompanying long,lyrical vocal lines. Agee's wondrous Sure on this Shining Night is set much like a song from the American musical theater, a genre for which I have held a life-long esteem. Rilke's poignant Voici le soir recalls the opening bellsounds and jazz-tinged chords of the first movement and serves as an epilogue, quietly concluding this cycle of night songs as darkness descends. --Morten Lauridsen.

SKU: BT.MUSM570368679

Isthmus denotes a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger ars of land. The title is a metaphor for an effort to bond artistically my experiences of living in Cyprus, my birthplace, and in the USA, my recently adopted homeland. Having lived in a small, partitioned island for my formative years and in England for eleven years, water has always had a double meaning: it has at once served as a gateway to other cultures but also as a border, a violent and absolute interruption of a continuum. While in the USA, or indeed in a now connected Europe, it is possible to travel on land for days without having to encounter a border, in the countries where I lived for most of my life, that was not possible. As an artist, this notion of establishing boundaries and consciously trying to break them is very close to me, as my music deals both with modernity but also with tradition and, similarly, with metaphor and reality. As a Cypriot, the sea, the world of antiquity, the mysteries of the oracles, the notion of borders and the pastoral are all very central to my way of thinking. In Cyprus, different layers of history are frequently superimposed on a single building that might still preserve its Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman features in its layers of stone and architecture. Similarly, ancient ruins or the barbed wire of modern conflict often interrupt placid fields. An isthmus, therefore, can be seen to symbolize my artistic struggle to join strikingly different experiences and notions in a cohesive way. Similar to an isthmus, in this short piece, I connect these experiences with the purpose of creating a distinct and unique sonic context, connecting technology and tradition, the pastoral with the urban, the musical with the extra-musical and the abstract with the concrete. For example, the choir does not always sing in the traditional sense, but the singers imitate various natural sounds, such as water, air, crickets or birds, to create a vivid visual impression for the work. Scandinavian herding calls blend with field recordings from the seas of Cyprus and the lakes of Upstate New York, communicated within clearly defined, singular acoustic sources and spaces through wireless speakers. The text used is both onomatopoeic, articulating an imaginary language, but also literal, with a setting of the poem, “To make a prairie” by the iconic American poet Emily Dickinson and a tiny fragment from Callimachus’ “Hymn to Demeter.” Technology is used sparsely and very intentionally to articulate the expressive qualities of pastoral imagery, creating one unified synthetic timbre with the choristers’ sounds. This piece is dedicated to the wonderful singers of the Georgia Institute of Technology Chamber Choir with special thanks to Professors Hsu and Ulrich, without whose support this composition would not have been possible. Practical notes: A choir of no less than 24 singers is sought with 4 additional soloists (2 Sopranos and 2 Altos). Each singer must have their own wireless speaker, secured either in the music folder or as a strap inside their shirts. All sounds must match in volume the sound from the speakers, creating one unified timbre. The speakers should not be noticeable to the public. The four soloists are placed offstage at the beginning of the work. From 1:35’ onwards they enter the hall and take their positions, ideally at the four corners of the hall. If the hall is too large, the singers can find alternate positions, but these should always be antiphonal. The four soloists sing predominantly in the “kulning” style and the antiphonal aspect is very important to the work. There are two sound files for each section (SATB) that are triggered by each singer’s mobile device. The first occurs at the start of the piece, and the second, about a minute before the end. The sound files are able to be purchased separately, on CD, or are available directly from UYMP.

SKU: CA.3124550

ISBN 9790007058272. Language: German/English.

The St. John Passion ranks alongside the St. Matthew Passion, the Christmas Oratorio, the Magnificat and the B minor Mass as one of the great vocal works from Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig years. In contrast to his other large-scale choral works, however, Bach never gave this work a definitive final form. Rather, for every performance he substantially revised the general concept of the piece and also changed numerous details. All previous editions of the St. John Passion have combined readings from various layers of sources and thus present the work in a form which was never heard during Bach's lifetime. Consequently, the wish often expressed by conductors to perform an authentic version by Bach could not be easily achieved. The present critical, new edition of the St. John Passion fulfills this wish and for the first time makes available the complete music of the second version of the work as it was performed under Bach's direction in 1725. Since a number of movements were replaced by others, including the opening chorus, this version differs most dramatically from the standard version which is well known today. Score available separately - see item CA.3124500.

SKU: CA.3110805

ISBN 9790007047924. Key: A major / b minor. Language: German/English. Text: von Ziegler, Christiane Mariane. Text: Christiane Mariane von Ziegler.

The cantata Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe [It is well that I go forth] BWV 108 for Cantate Sunday is one of the cantatas composed on texts by the Leipzig poetess Christiane Mariane von Ziegler with which Bach concluded his second annual cycle of cantatas after he had abandoned the annual cycle of chorale cantatas at Easter 1725. The text contains two sayings by Jesus which are taken directly from the Sunday gospel reading (John 16:5-15). The quotation opening the cantata was set by Bach as a bass aria with solo oboe d'amore; it breathes tranquility and assurance. The second quotation, however, is set as an extended choral fugue in three sections; it forms the center of the cantata. The free text surrounding the biblical quotations is divided into two arias in which the emphasis is on melodic lines; there is only one single recitative, the original text of which was substantially abridged by Bach. A four-part chorale concludes the cantata. Score available separately - see item CA.3110800.

SKU: CA.3110813

ISBN 9790007047979. Key: A major / b minor. Language: German/English. Text: von Ziegler, Christiane Mariane. Text: Christiane Mariane von Ziegler.

The cantata Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe [It is well that I go forth] BWV 108 for Cantate Sunday is one of the cantatas composed on texts by the Leipzig poetess Christiane Mariane von Ziegler with which Bach concluded his second annual cycle of cantatas after he had abandoned the annual cycle of chorale cantatas at Easter 1725. The text contains two sayings by Jesus which are taken directly from the Sunday gospel reading (John 16:5-15). The quotation opening the cantata was set by Bach as a bass aria with solo oboe d'amore; it breathes tranquility and assurance. The second quotation, however, is set as an extended choral fugue in three sections; it forms the center of the cantata. The free text surrounding the biblical quotations is divided into two arias in which the emphasis is on melodic lines; there is only one single recitative, the original text of which was substantially abridged by Bach. A four-part chorale concludes the cantata. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3110800.

SKU: CA.3110812

ISBN 9790007047962. Key: A major / b minor. Language: German/English. Text: von Ziegler, Christiane Mariane. Text: Christiane Mariane von Ziegler.

The cantata Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe [It is well that I go forth] BWV 108 for Cantate Sunday is one of the cantatas composed on texts by the Leipzig poetess Christiane Mariane von Ziegler with which Bach concluded his second annual cycle of cantatas after he had abandoned the annual cycle of chorale cantatas at Easter 1725. The text contains two sayings by Jesus which are taken directly from the Sunday gospel reading (John 16:5-15). The quotation opening the cantata was set by Bach as a bass aria with solo oboe d'amore; it breathes tranquility and assurance. The second quotation, however, is set as an extended choral fugue in three sections; it forms the center of the cantata. The free text surrounding the biblical quotations is divided into two arias in which the emphasis is on melodic lines; there is only one single recitative, the original text of which was substantially abridged by Bach. A four-part chorale concludes the cantata. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3110800.

SKU: CA.3110849

Key: A major / b minor. Language: German/English. Text: von Ziegler, Christiane Mariane.

The cantata Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe [It is well that I go forth] BWV 108 for Cantate Sunday is one of the cantatas composed on texts by the Leipzig poetess Christiane Mariane von Ziegler with which Bach concluded his second annual cycle of cantatas after he had abandoned the annual cycle of chorale cantatas at Easter 1725. The text contains two sayings by Jesus which are taken directly from the Sunday gospel reading (John 16:5-15). The quotation opening the cantata was set by Bach as a bass aria with solo oboe d'amore; it breathes tranquility and assurance. The second quotation, however, is set as an extended choral fugue in three sections; it forms the center of the cantata. The free text surrounding the biblical quotations is divided into two arias in which the emphasis is on melodic lines; there is only one single recitative, the original text of which was substantially abridged by Bach. A four-part chorale concludes the cantata. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3110800.