SKU: CF.BPS115

ISBN 9781491152010. UPC: 680160909513.

The Gauntlet is a piece written to sound bold and exciting while also being accessible to young performers with a limited range. Simple yet bold rhythms add excitement, heightened by the fact that every section has an opportunity to play melodic content. The interesting “development” section provides a contrast to the opening and helps to build the suspense before the return of the main theme. The percussion helps to drive the energy of the piece by providing a variety of colorful sounds including a gong solo at the end to signal the knight’s triumph.
A knight gallops over the rise of the hill into battle, determination shining in his eyes. He must charge through the treacherous lines and survive in order to preserve his kingdom and his honor. The pounding of the battle drums echoes the desperate pounding of his heart. Swords clash and the hooves of the horses strike the muddy ground. He must run this torturous gauntlet. Will he succeed before it is too late?The Gauntlet is a piece written to sound bold and exciting while also being easy for young players to perform due to the piece’s limited range (comprised of the first seven notes in most method books). Simple but bold rhythms add an air of excitement. This is heightened by the fact that every section has an opportunity to play melodic content, even the low brass. The interesting “development” section provides a contrast to the opening section and helps to build some intrigue and suspense before the return of the main theme. The percussion helps to drive the energy of the piece by providing lots of colorful sounds including a gong solo at the end to signal the knight’s triumph.

SKU: CN.R10194

The story of a sleepless night, Dreams and Fancies uses musical episodes to depict definite pictures: the three accented pulses of the main theme signifying a kind of fate, a demented waltz which breaks down, a love theme in the middle, then a wild jazz party. The end is a huge climax - a grand ceremony in which the lovers marry, but haunted by the three accented pulses of the first theme, representing a dark fate.

This is a story of a sleepless night: fancy is the old English word for a musical fantasy. There are musical episodes, some of which are associated with definite pictures: the three accented pulses of the main theme signifying a kind of fate, a demented waltz which breaks down, a love theme in the middle, then a wild jazz party. The themes all come together as the music becomes more exciting towards the end with thematic interjections appearing as flashbacks. The end is a huge climax - a grand ceremony in which the lovers marry, but haunted by the three accented pulses of the first theme, representing a dark fate. Musically the piece is unifying in two ways. Firstly, all the themes are built from the opening 15 bars. Secondly, the pulse of the music remains virtually constant with each beat around 76 per minute. This means that the tempi need to relate to each other: a difficult task for the conductor!

SKU: MH.1-59913-072-6

ISBN 9781599130729.

Program Notes: It was a happy coincidence that the commission for SINFONIA XVI: TRANSCENDENTAL VIENNA came from the Henry David Thoreau School located in Vienna, Virginia. Thoreau is one of the magic names in American culture: Henry David Thoreau, one of the leading figures of the Transcendentalist movement, centered in 19th-century New England, left us a body of unique philosophical and poetical writings. To utter the words, Walden Pond, is to invoke an America long past in physical actuality, but still present in the minds and hearts of many American citizens. The name, Vienna, of course, summons thoughts of the Old World: culture, fine food, wine, civilized cities. While contemplating the form that SINFONIA XVI should take, I found myself thinking of two pillars of Viennese culture: expressionism and the waltz. Musically speaking, expressionism reached a zenith in the works of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg. It was Berg, in particular, that I wanted to invoke in the outer movements of my composition. I knew I would also have to include a waltz, and an invocation of the mysterious forces that are contained in both expressionism and transcendentalism. Thus was the structure of the work generated. The outer movements with their vision of the night sky and the stars, Aldebaran and Sirius, frame the central movements, which are essentially two versions of the same material, and are quieter and less dramatic. The outer movements are symmetrical, and share both pitch and rhythmic materials. Accordingly, I see the work as a ternary form, with the central movements forming a unit within the outer frame: A (Movement 1) B (Movements 2 & 3) A' (Movement 4). Harmonically, the work can be summarized by the two pitch-series which occur in the opening bars of Movement 1: the initial 12-note row, with a tonal center on F-sharp (measures 1-6), and the subsequent D-minor Dorian 7-note row (beginning in measure 14). Aspects of these materials occur in all four movements, but they are most strongly present in Movements 1 and 4. Note that the 12-note row is not subjected to the usual serial procedures, but instead is treated as a signifier and is left unchanged. Since the fourth movement takes up where the first movement leaves off, I can conceive of one interpretation of SINFONIA XVI as an evocation of Thoreau himself contemplating two of the brightest stars on a clear, cold night. Aldebaran is an orange, first-magnitude star, located in the constellation Taurus; Sirius, the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the sky, and is located in the constellation Canis Major. Thoreau interrupts his star-gazing to entertain some inward thoughts, waking dreams, as it were, then returns his gaze to the splendid night sky and all its treasures. Although many other interpretations of the material are possible, it is important to remember that the abstract materials of the piece -- pitch, rhythm, structure -- are what count the most. Ensemble instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 4 Flute 1, 4 Flute 2, 3 Oboe, 1 Eb Clarinet (opt.), 4 Bb Clarinet 1, 4 Bb Clarinet 2, 4 Bb Clarinet 3, 3 Bass Clarinet, 3 Bassoon, 3 Eb Alto Saxophone 1, 3 Eb Alto Saxophone 2, 2 Bb Tenor Saxophone, 2 Eb Baritone Saxophone, 3 Bb Trumpet 1, 3 Bb Trumpet 2, 3 Bb Trumpet 3, 2 Horn 1, 2 Horn 2, 3 Trombone 1, 3 Trombone 2, 3 Euphonium B.C., 2 Euphonium T.C., 5 Tuba, 2 Timpani, 3 Percussion 1, 3 Percussion 2, 3 Percussion 3, 3 Percussion 4.

SKU: YM.GTW01101608

ISBN 9784636112993. 8.25 x 11.75 inches.

Welcome to the Tokyo III jazz club serves as the opening song from the album The world! EVAngelion JAZZ night =The Tokyo III Jazz club=, which is a jazz arrangement of the TV/movie soundtrack of the Evangelion series by Miho Hazama, now arrenged for wind orchestra. Why not try a fullfledged JAZZ arrangement with superb solos for alto saxophone and trumpet?
Instrumentation: Conductor×1; Piccolo×1; 1st & 2nd Flutes×2; 1st & 2nd Oboes×2; 1st Bassoon×1; 2nd Bassoon×1; Clarinet in E♭×1; 1st Clarinet in B♭×3; 2nd Clarinet in B♭×3; 3rd Clarinet in B♭×3; Alto Clarinet in E♭×1; Bass Clarinet in B♭×1; 1st Alto Saxophone in E♭×1; 2nd Alto Saxophone in E♭×1; 1st Tenor Saxophone in B♭×1; 2nd Tenor Saxophone in B♭×1; Baritone Saxophone in E♭×1; 1st Trumpet in B♭×1; 2nd Trumpet in B♭×1; 3rd Trumpet in B♭×1; 4th Trumpet in B♭×1; 1st & 2nd Horns in F×2; 3rd & 4th Horns in F×2; 1st Trombone×1; 2nd Trombone×1; 3rd Trombone×1; Bass Trombone×1; Euphonium×2; Tuba×2; String Bass or Electric Bass Guitar×1; Electric Guitar×1; Drums×1; Triangle×1; Xylophone & Glockenspiel×2; Vibraphone×1
Performance time: Approximately 6 minutes 17 seconds
Difficulty Level: 5.