SKU: UT.CH-157

ISBN 9790215320369. 9 x 12 inches.

Vals d'la Masca; Il racconto della Montagna; Sequenze sotterranee

The Alpinia Suite was commissioned and composed for the festival <> and is dedicated to my friend and colleague Elio Galvagno. It was performed for the first time on August 30, 2011, in the Church of San Giovanni in Saluzzo, by an ensemble of professional and student guitarists from all over Europe. This piece was written to commemorate the first ascent of mount Monviso, by William Mathews, Frederick Jacomb, Jean Baptiste Croz and Michel Croz, exactly 150 years before, on August 30, 1861.
The first movement is a small Waltz. I imagined a Masca (a sort of alpine pixie, a teasing sprite), dancing all around the house and playing tricks, mostly harmless and funny. The Masca is a legendary and very important character in the folklore of my valleys, and all rationally inexplicable events of everyday life are ascribed to her - such as objects that cannot be found anymore, holes in flour sacks, salt in sugar bowls...
The next two movements are a homage to the Mountains. The Tale is a sort of journal, a bright and peaceful chronicle of a hike uphill, in which the beauty of the place is highlighted by an easy harmony and a sweet melody. After this, Underground sequences evokes that same world in a darker and nocturnal way; the faster pace and the choice of repeated and varying patterns are meant to show the transformation of the former environment into something more complex and tormented. Here mountains are a metaphor of human life, warts and all: their sundrenched slopes and their green pasture grasslands, but also their icy and dangerous northern sides, which demand calm, training and caution.
(G. Signorile).

SKU: LO.30-2205L

UPC: 000308113617.

Flute/Piccolo, Oboe/English Horn, Clarinet, Bassoon, 2 F Horns, 2 Trumpets, opt. Piccolo Trumpet, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Rhythm (Electric Bass, Drums), 2 Percussion, Harp, Violin 1 & 2, Viola, Cello, Bass (String Reduction included).

SKU: FJ.B1804

UPC: 241444416808. English.

Take your audience on a forbidden tour of a former grand house that now sits in darkness. Anxious articulations, daunting dynamics, and spine-chilling sound effects will have everyone on the edge of their seats. Only six notes, but be careful... no one really knows what evil lurks behind the boarded-up windows and creaky staircases!

About FJH Starter Series

Introduction to Beginning Band - Ideal for the first several months of instruction. These pieces are a comfortable length for students (about a half page of music) and are playable with as few as five instruments. All instruments are limited to a 6-note diatonic range. Several supplemental exercises are included to help teach different elements of each piece. Grade .5