SKU: CF.PL1056
ISBN 9781491153390. UPC: 680160910892. Transcribed by Franz Liszt.
Introduction It is true that Schubert himself is somewhat to blame for the very unsatisfactory manner in which his admirable piano pieces are treated. He was too immoderately productive, wrote incessantly, mixing insignificant with important things, grand things with mediocre work, paid no heed to criticism, and always soared on his wings. Like a bird in the air, he lived in music and sang in angelic fashion. --Franz Liszt, letter to Dr. S. Lebert (1868) Of those compositions that greatly interest me, there are only Chopin's and yours. --Franz Liszt, letter to Robert Schumann (1838) She [Clara Schumann] was astounded at hearing me. Her compositions are really very remarkable, especially for a woman. There is a hundred times more creativity and real feeling in them than in all the past and present fantasias by Thalberg. --Franz Liszt, letter to Marie d'Agoult (1838) Chretien Urhan (1790-1845) was a Belgian-born violinist, organist and composer who flourished in the musical life of Paris in the early nineteenth century. According to various accounts, he was deeply religious, harshly ascetic and wildly eccentric, though revered by many important and influential members of the Parisian musical community. Regrettably, history has forgotten Urhan's many musical achievements, the most important of which was arguably his pioneering work in promoting the music of Franz Schubert. He devoted much of his energies to championing Schubert's music, which at the time was unknown outside of Vienna. Undoubtedly, Urhan was responsible for stimulating this enthusiasm in Franz Liszt; Liszt regularly heard Urhan's organ playing in the St.-Vincent-de-Paul church in Paris, and the two became personal acquaintances. At eighteen years of age, Liszt was on the verge of establishing himself as the foremost pianist in Europe, and this awakening to Schubert's music would prove to be a profound experience. Liszt's first travels outside of his native provincial Hungary were to Vienna in 1821-1823, where his father enrolled him in studies with Carl Czerny (piano) and Antonio Salieri (music theory). Both men had important involvements with Schubert; Czerny (like Urhan) as performer and advocate of Schubert's music and Salieri as his theory and composition teacher from 1813-1817. Curiously, Liszt and Schubert never met personally, despite their geographical proximity in Vienna during these years. Inevitably, legends later arose that the two had been personal acquaintances, although Liszt would dismiss these as fallacious: I never knew Schubert personally, he was once quoted as saying. Liszt's initial exposure to Schubert's music was the Lieder, what Urhan prized most of all. He accompanied the tenor Benedict Randhartinger in numerous performances of Schubert's Lieder and then, perhaps realizing that he could benefit the composer more on his own terms, transcribed a number of the Lieder for piano solo. Many of these transcriptions he would perform himself on concert tour during the so-called Glanzzeit, or time of splendor from 1839-1847. This publicity did much to promote reception of Schubert's music throughout Europe. Once Liszt retired from the concert stage and settled in Weimar as a conductor in the 1840s, he continued to perform Schubert's orchestral music, his Symphony No. 9 being a particular favorite, and is credited with giving the world premiere performance of Schubert's opera Alfonso und Estrella in 1854. At this time, he contemplated writing a biography of the composer, which regrettably remained uncompleted. Liszt's devotion to Schubert would never waver. Liszt's relationship with Robert and Clara Schumann was far different and far more complicated; by contrast, they were all personal acquaintances. What began as a relationship of mutual respect and admiration soon deteriorated into one of jealousy and hostility, particularly on the Schumann's part. Liszt's initial contact with Robert's music happened long before they had met personally, when Liszt published an analysis of Schumann's piano music for the Gazette musicale in 1837, a gesture that earned Robert's deep appreciation. In the following year Clara met Liszt during a concert tour in Vienna and presented him with more of Schumann's piano music. Clara and her father Friedrich Wieck, who accompanied Clara on her concert tours, were quite taken by Liszt: We have heard Liszt. He can be compared to no other player...he arouses fright and astonishment. His appearance at the piano is indescribable. He is an original...he is absorbed by the piano. Liszt, too, was impressed with Clara--at first the energy, intelligence and accuracy of her piano playing and later her compositions--to the extent that he dedicated to her the 1838 version of his Etudes d'execution transcendante d'apres Paganini. Liszt had a closer personal relationship with Clara than with Robert until the two men finally met in 1840. Schumann was astounded by Liszt's piano playing. He wrote to Clara that Liszt had played like a god and had inspired indescribable furor of applause. His review of Liszt even included a heroic personification with Napoleon. In Leipzig, Schumann was deeply impressed with Liszt's interpretations of his Noveletten, Op. 21 and Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 (dedicated to Liszt), enthusiastically observing that, I feel as if I had known you twenty years. Yet a variety of events followed that diminished Liszt's glory in the eyes of the Schumanns. They became critical of the cult-like atmosphere that arose around his recitals, or Lisztomania as it came to be called; conceivably, this could be attributed to professional jealousy. Clara, in particular, came to loathe Liszt, noting in a letter to Joseph Joachim, I despise Liszt from the depths of my soul. She recorded a stunning diary entry a day after Liszt's death, in which she noted, He was an eminent keyboard virtuoso, but a dangerous example for the young...As a composer he was terrible. By contrast, Liszt did not share in these negative sentiments; no evidence suggests that he had any ill-regard for the Schumanns. In Weimar, he did much to promote Schumann's music, conducting performances of his Scenes from Faust and Manfred, during a time in which few orchestras expressed interest, and premiered his opera Genoveva. He later arranged a benefit concert for Clara following Robert's death, featuring Clara as soloist in Robert's Piano Concerto, an event that must have been exhilarating to witness. Regardless, her opinion of him would never change, despite his repeated gestures of courtesy and respect. Liszt's relationship with Schubert was a spiritual one, with music being the one and only link between the two men. That with the Schumanns was personal, with music influenced by a hero worship that would aggravate the relationship over time. Nonetheless, Liszt would remain devoted to and enthusiastic for the music and achievements of these composers. He would be a vital force in disseminating their music to a wider audience, as he would be with many other composers throughout his career. His primary means for accomplishing this was the piano transcription. Liszt and the Transcription Transcription versus Paraphrase Transcription and paraphrase were popular terms in nineteenth-century music, although certainly not unique to this period. Musicians understood that there were clear distinctions between these two terms, but as is often the case these distinctions could be blurred. Transcription, literally writing over, entails reworking or adapting a piece of music for a performance medium different from that of its original; arrangement is a possible synonym. Adapting is a key part of this process, for the success of a transcription relies on the transcriber's ability to adapt the piece to the different medium. As a result, the pre-existing material is generally kept intact, recognizable and intelligible; it is strict, literal, objective. Contextual meaning is maintained in the process, as are elements of style and form. Paraphrase, by contrast, implies restating something in a different manner, as in a rewording of a document for reasons of clarity. In nineteenth-century music, paraphrasing indicated elaborating a piece for purposes of expressive virtuosity, often as a vehicle for showmanship. Variation is an important element, for the source material may be varied as much as the paraphraser's imagination will allow; its purpose is metamorphosis. Transcription is adapting and arranging; paraphrasing is transforming and reworking. Transcription preserves the style of the original; paraphrase absorbs the original into a different style. Transcription highlights the original composer; paraphrase highlights the paraphraser. Approximately half of Liszt's compositional output falls under the category of transcription and paraphrase; it is noteworthy that he never used the term arrangement. Much of his early compositional activities were transcriptions and paraphrases of works of other composers, such as the symphonies of Beethoven and Berlioz, vocal music by Schubert, and operas by Donizetti and Bellini. It is conceivable that he focused so intently on work of this nature early in his career as a means to perfect his compositional technique, although transcription and paraphrase continued well after the technique had been mastered; this might explain why he drastically revised and rewrote many of his original compositions from the 1830s (such as the Transcendental Etudes and Paganini Etudes) in the 1850s. Charles Rosen, a sympathetic interpreter of Liszt's piano works, observes, The new revisions of the Transcendental Etudes are not revisions but concert paraphrases of the old, and their art lies in the technique of transformation. The Paganini etudes are piano transcriptions of violin etudes, and the Transcendental Etudes are piano transcriptions of piano etudes. The principles are the same. He concludes by noting, Paraphrase has shaded off into composition...Composition and paraphrase were not identical for him, but they were so closely interwoven that separation is impossible. The significance of transcription and paraphrase for Liszt the composer cannot be overstated, and the mutual influence of each needs to be better understood. Undoubtedly, Liszt the composer as we know him today would be far different had he not devoted so much of his career to transcribing and paraphrasing the music of others. He was perhaps one of the first composers to contend that transcription and paraphrase could be genuine art forms on equal par with original pieces; he even claimed to be the first to use these two terms to describe these classes of arrangements. Despite the success that Liszt achieved with this type of work, others viewed it with circumspection and criticism. Robert Schumann, although deeply impressed with Liszt's keyboard virtuosity, was harsh in his criticisms of the transcriptions. Schumann interpreted them as indicators that Liszt's virtuosity had hindered his compositional development and suggested that Liszt transcribed the music of others to compensate for his own compositional deficiencies. Nonetheless, Liszt's piano transcriptions, what he sometimes called partitions de piano (or piano scores), were instrumental in promoting composers whose music was unknown at the time or inaccessible in areas outside of major European capitals, areas that Liszt willingly toured during his Glanzzeit. To this end, the transcriptions had to be literal arrangements for the piano; a Beethoven symphony could not be introduced to an unknowing audience if its music had been subjected to imaginative elaborations and variations. The same would be true of the 1833 transcription of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique (composed only three years earlier), the astonishingly novel content of which would necessitate a literal and intelligible rendering. Opera, usually more popular and accessible for the general public, was a different matter, and in this realm Liszt could paraphrase the original and manipulate it as his imagination would allow without jeopardizing its reception; hence, the paraphrases on the operas of Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Meyerbeer and Verdi. Reminiscence was another term coined by Liszt for the opera paraphrases, as if the composer were reminiscing at the keyboard following a memorable evening at the opera. Illustration (reserved on two occasions for Meyerbeer) and fantasy were additional terms. The operas of Wagner were exceptions. His music was less suited to paraphrase due to its general lack of familiarity at the time. Transcription of Wagner's music was thus obligatory, as it was of Beethoven's and Berlioz's music; perhaps the composer himself insisted on this approach. Liszt's Lieder Transcriptions Liszt's initial encounters with Schubert's music, as mentioned previously, were with the Lieder. His first transcription of a Schubert Lied was Die Rose in 1833, followed by Lob der Tranen in 1837. Thirty-nine additional transcriptions appeared at a rapid pace over the following three years, and in 1846, the Schubert Lieder transcriptions would conclude, by which point he had completed fifty-eight, the most of any composer. Critical response to these transcriptions was highly favorable--aside from the view held by Schumann--particularly when Liszt himself played these pieces in concert. Some were published immediately by Anton Diabelli, famous for the theme that inspired Beethoven's variations. Others were published by the Viennese publisher Tobias Haslinger (one of Beethoven's and Schubert's publishers in the 1820s), who sold his reserves so quickly that he would repeatedly plead for more. However, Liszt's enthusiasm for work of this nature soon became exhausted, as he noted in a letter of 1839 to the publisher Breitkopf und Hartel: That good Haslinger overwhelms me with Schubert. I have just sent him twenty-four new songs (Schwanengesang and Winterreise), and for the moment I am rather tired of this work. Haslinger was justified in his demands, for the Schubert transcriptions were received with great enthusiasm. One Gottfried Wilhelm Fink, then editor of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, observed of these transcriptions: Nothing in recent memory has caused such sensation and enjoyment in both pianists and audiences as these arrangements...The demand for them has in no way been satisfied; and it will not be until these arrangements are seen on pianos everywhere. They have indeed made quite a splash. Eduard Hanslick, never a sympathetic critic of Liszt's music, acknowledged thirty years after the fact that, Liszt's transcriptions of Schubert Lieder were epoch-making. There was hardly a concert in which Liszt did not have to play one or two of them--even when they were not listed on the program. These transcriptions quickly became some of his most sough-after pieces, despite their extreme technical demands. Leading pianists of the day, such as Clara Wieck and Sigismond Thalberg, incorporated them into their concert programs immediately upon publication. Moreover, the transcriptions would serve as inspirations for other composers, such as Stephen Heller, Cesar Franck and later Leopold Godowsky, all of whom produced their own transcriptions of Schubert's Lieder. Liszt would transcribe the Lieder of other composers as well, including those by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Anton Rubinstein and even himself. Robert Schumann, of course, would not be ignored. The first transcription of a Schumann Lied was the celebrated Widmung from Myrten in 1848, the only Schumann transcription that Liszt completed during the composer's lifetime. (Regrettably, there is no evidence of Schumann's regard of this transcription, or even if he was aware of it.) From the years 1848-1881, Liszt transcribed twelve of Robert Schumann's Lieder (including one orchestral Lied) and three of Clara (one from each of her three published Lieder cycles); he would transcribe no other works of these two composers. The Schumann Lieder transcriptions, contrary to those of Schubert, are literal arrangements, posing, in general, far fewer demands on the pianist's technique. They are comparatively less imaginative in their treatment of the original material. Additionally, they seem to have been less valued in their day than the Schubert transcriptions, and it is noteworthy that none of the Schumann transcriptions bear dedications, as most of the Schubert transcriptions do. The greatest challenge posed by Lieder transcriptions, regardless of the composer or the nature of the transcription, was to combine the vocal and piano parts of the original such that the character of each would be preserved, a challenge unique to this form of transcription. Each part had to be intact and aurally recognizable, the vocal line in particular. Complications could be manifold in a Lied that featured dissimilar parts, such as Schubert's Auf dem Wasser zu singen, whose piano accompaniment depicts the rocking of the boat on the shimmering waves while the vocal line reflects on the passing of time. Similar complications would be encountered in Gretchen am Spinnrade, in which the ubiquitous sixteenth-note pattern in the piano's right hand epitomizes the ever-turning spinning wheel over which the soprano voice expresses feelings of longing and heartache. The resulting transcriptions for solo piano would place exceptional demands on the pianist. The complications would be far less imposing in instances in which voice and piano were less differentiated, as in many of Schumann's Lieder that Liszt transcribed. The piano parts in these Lieder are true accompaniments for the voice, providing harmonic foundation and rhythmic support by doubling the vocal line throughout. The transcriptions, thus, are strict and literal, with far fewer demands on both pianist and transcriber. In all of Liszt's Lieder transcriptions, regardless of the way in which the two parts are combined, the melody (i.e. the vocal line) is invariably the focal point; the melody should sing on the piano, as if it were the voice. The piano part, although integral to contributing to the character of the music, is designed to function as accompaniment. A singing melody was a crucial objective in nineteenth-century piano performance, which in part might explain the zeal in transcribing and paraphrasing vocal music for the piano. Friedrich Wieck, father and teacher of Clara Schumann, stressed this point repeatedly in his 1853 treatise Clavier und Gesang (Piano and Song): When I speak in general of singing, I refer to that species of singing which is a form of beauty, and which is a foundation for the most refined and most perfect interpretation of music; and, above all things, I consider the culture of beautiful tones the basis for the finest possible touch on the piano. In many respects, the piano and singing should explain and supplement each other. They should mutually assist in expressing the sublime and the noble, in forms of unclouded beauty. Much of Liszt's piano music should be interpreted with this concept in mind, the Lieder transcriptions and opera paraphrases, in particular. To this end, Liszt provided numerous written instructions to the performer to emphasize the vocal line in performance, with Italian directives such as un poco marcato il canto, accentuato assai il canto and ben pronunziato il canto. Repeated indications of cantando,singend and espressivo il canto stress the significance of the singing tone. As an additional means of achieving this and providing the performer with access to the poetry, Liszt insisted, at what must have been a publishing novelty at the time, on printing the words of the Lied in the music itself. Haslinger, seemingly oblivious to Liszt's intent, initially printed the poems of the early Schubert transcriptions separately inside the front covers. Liszt argued that the transcriptions must be reprinted with the words underlying the notes, exactly as Schubert had done, a request that was honored by printing the words above the right-hand staff. Liszt also incorporated a visual scheme for distinguishing voice and accompaniment, influenced perhaps by Chopin, by notating the accompaniment in cue size. His transcription of Robert Schumann's Fruhlings Ankunft features the vocal line in normal size, the piano accompaniment in reduced size, an unmistakable guide in a busy texture as to which part should be emphasized: Example 1. Schumann-Liszt Fruhlings Ankunft, mm. 1-2. The same practice may be found in the transcription of Schumann's An die Turen will ich schleichen. In this piece, the performer must read three staves, in which the baritone line in the central staff is to be shared between the two hands based on the stem direction of the notes: Example 2. Schumann-Liszt An die Turen will ich schleichen, mm. 1-5. This notational practice is extremely beneficial in this instance, given the challenge of reading three staves and the manner in which the vocal line is performed by the two hands. Curiously, Liszt did not use this practice in other transcriptions. Approaches in Lieder Transcription Liszt adopted a variety of approaches in his Lieder transcriptions, based on the nature of the source material, the ways in which the vocal and piano parts could be combined and the ways in which the vocal part could sing. One approach, common with strophic Lieder, in which the vocal line would be identical in each verse, was to vary the register of the vocal part. The transcription of Lob der Tranen, for example, incorporates three of the four verses of the original Lied, with the register of the vocal line ascending one octave with each verse (from low to high), as if three different voices were participating. By the conclusion, the music encompasses the entire range of Liszt's keyboard to produce a stunning climactic effect, and the variety of register of the vocal line provides a welcome textural variety in the absence of the words. The three verses of the transcription of Auf dem Wasser zu singen follow the same approach, in which the vocal line ascends from the tenor, to the alto and to the soprano registers with each verse. Fruhlingsglaube adopts the opposite approach, in which the vocal line descends from soprano in verse 1 to tenor in verse 2, with the second part of verse 2 again resuming the soprano register; this is also the case in Das Wandern from Mullerlieder. Gretchen am Spinnrade posed a unique problem. Since the poem's narrator is female, and the poem represents an expression of her longing for her lover Faust, variation of the vocal line's register, strictly speaking, would have been impractical. For this reason, the vocal line remains in its original register throughout, relentlessly colliding with the sixteenth-note pattern of the accompaniment. One exception may be found in the fifth and final verse in mm. 93-112, at which point the vocal line is notated in a higher register and doubled in octaves. This sudden textural change, one that is readily audible, was a strategic means to underscore Gretchen's mounting anxiety (My bosom urges itself toward him. Ah, might I grasp and hold him! And kiss him as I would wish, at his kisses I should die!). The transcription, thus, becomes a vehicle for maximizing the emotional content of the poem, an exceptional undertaking with the general intent of a transcription. Registral variation of the vocal part also plays a crucial role in the transcription of Erlkonig. Goethe's poem depicts the death of a child who is apprehended by a supernatural Erlking, and Schubert, recognizing the dramatic nature of the poem, carefully depicted the characters (father, son and Erlking) through unique vocal writing and accompaniment patterns: the Lied is a dramatic entity. Liszt, in turn, followed Schubert's characterization in this literal transcription, yet took it an additional step by placing the register of the father's vocal line in the baritone range, that of the son in the soprano range and that of the Erlking in the highest register, options that would not have been available in the version for voice and piano. Additionally, Liszt labeled each appearance of each character in the score, a means for guiding the performer in interpreting the dramatic qualities of the Lied. As a result, the drama and energy of the poem are enhanced in this transcription; as with Gretchen am Spinnrade, the transcriber has maximized the content of the original. Elaboration may be found in certain Lieder transcriptions that expand the performance to a level of virtuosity not found in the original; in such cases, the transcription approximates the paraphrase. Schubert's Du bist die Ruh, a paradigm of musical simplicity, features an uncomplicated piano accompaniment that is virtually identical in each verse. In Liszt's transcription, the material is subjected to a highly virtuosic treatment that far exceeds the original, including a demanding passage for the left hand alone in the opening measures and unique textural writing in each verse. The piece is a transcription in virtuosity; its art, as Rosen noted, lies in the technique of transformation. Elaboration may entail an expansion of the musical form, as in the extensive introduction to Die Forelle and a virtuosic middle section (mm. 63-85), both of which are not in the original. Also unique to this transcription are two cadenzas that Liszt composed in response to the poetic content. The first, in m. 93 on the words und eh ich es gedacht (and before I could guess it), features a twisted chromatic passage that prolongs and thereby heightens the listener's suspense as to the fate of the trout (which is ultimately caught). The second, in m. 108 on the words Betrogne an (and my blood boiled as I saw the betrayed one), features a rush of diminished-seventh arpeggios in both hands, epitomizing the poet's rage at the fisherman for catching the trout. Less frequent are instances in which the length of the original Lied was shortened in the transcription, a tendency that may be found with certain strophic Lieder (e.g., Der Leiermann, Wasserflut and Das Wandern). Another transcription that demonstrates Liszt's readiness to modify the original in the interests of the poetic content is Standchen, the seventh transcription from Schubert's Schwanengesang. Adapted from Act II of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, the poem represents the repeated beckoning of a man to his lover. Liszt transformed the Lied into a miniature drama by transcribing the vocal line of the first verse in the soprano register, that of the second verse in the baritone register, in effect, creating a dialogue between the two lovers. In mm. 71-102, the dialogue becomes a canon, with one voice trailing the other like an echo (as labeled in the score) at the distance of a beat. As in other instances, the transcription resembles the paraphrase, and it is perhaps for this reason that Liszt provided an ossia version that is more in the nature of a literal transcription. The ossia version, six measures shorter than Schubert's original, is less demanding technically than the original transcription, thus representing an ossia of transcription and an ossia of piano technique. The Schumann Lieder transcriptions, in general, display a less imaginative treatment of the source material. Elaborations are less frequently encountered, and virtuosity is more restricted, as if the passage of time had somewhat tamed the composer's approach to transcriptions; alternatively, Liszt was eager to distance himself from the fierce virtuosity of his early years. In most instances, these transcriptions are literal arrangements of the source material, with the vocal line in its original form combined with the accompaniment, which often doubles the vocal line in the original Lied. Widmung, the first of the Schumann transcriptions, is one exception in the way it recalls the virtuosity of the Schubert transcriptions of the 1830s. Particularly striking is the closing section (mm. 58-73), in which material of the opening verse (right hand) is combined with the triplet quarter notes (left hand) from the second section of the Lied (mm. 32-43), as if the transcriber were attempting to reconcile the different material of these two sections. Fruhlingsnacht resembles a paraphrase by presenting each of the two verses in differing registers (alto for verse 1, mm. 3-19, and soprano for verse 2, mm. 20-31) and by concluding with a virtuosic section that considerably extends the length of the original Lied. The original tonalities of the Lieder were generally retained in the transcriptions, showing that the tonality was an important part of the transcription process. The infrequent instances of transposition were done for specific reasons. In 1861, Liszt transcribed two of Schumann's Lieder, one from Op. 36 (An den Sonnenschein), another from Op. 27 (Dem roten Roslein), and merged these two pieces in the collection 2 Lieder; they share only the common tonality of A major. His choice for combining these two Lieder remains unknown, but he clearly recognized that some tonal variety would be needed, for which reason Dem roten Roslein was transposed to C>= major. The collection features An den Sonnenschein in A major (with a transition to the new tonality), followed by Dem roten Roslein in C>= major (without a change of key signature), and concluding with a reprise of An den Sonnenschein in A major. A three-part form was thus established with tonal variety provided by keys in third relations (A-C>=-A); in effect, two of Schumann's Lieder were transcribed into an archetypal song without words. In other instances, Liszt treated tonality and tonal organization as important structural ingredients, particularly in the transcriptions of Schubert's Lieder cycles, i.e. Schwanengesang, Winterreise a...
SKU: CF.YPS217F
ISBN 9781491156551. UPC: 680160915095. 9 x 12 inches.
Hope Remains Within was commissioned by and composed for the Mount Nittany Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Concert Bands. Having heard the students of Mount Nittany perform another work of mine, I was very excited when their director, Johanna Steinbacher, approached me about writing a piece specifically for them. I knew right away that I wanted to write something that would tie in with their non-music curriculum in some way, but I wasn't exactly sure how, or what. Johanna talked to some of her students and learned that, in 7th grade, the students spend a good deal of time studying mythology in their English class. In particular, two clarinet students mentioned how much they enjoyed the story of Pandora. As such, I decided to use that story as the basis of this composition. Hope Remains Within doesn't attempt to re-tell the story, event by event, in musical terms. Instead, my goal was to address what seems to be one of the central issues of the Pandora myth. Though there are some variations, we probably all know the basics as told by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Zeus decides to punish Prometheus for stealing fire from heaven and giving it to humans. He and the other gods create Pandora, a beautiful and deceitful woman, and they give her to Prometheus's brother Epimetheus as a bride. Pandora is herself given a jar (according to many sources, jar seems to be a more accurate translation for what we commonly call Pandora's box) which contained numerous evils, diseases, and other pains. Out of curiosity, Pandora opens the jar and releases all of these evils into the world. But one thing remains in the jar: hope. The issue of hope seems to be one of the big interpretive questions of the Pandora myth. Why does hope remain within the jar? Why doesn't it come out of the jar to help humanity? Is hope being held on a pedestal of some sort? Is hope deliberately withheld from humanity? Why was hope in the jar with all those evils in the first place? I'm not enough of a mythological scholar to claim to have definitive answers to those questions, but these are the questions that I've tried to engage from a musical perspective in Hope Remains Within. I encourage the students and listeners to consider their own ideas of what hope is, and where you can find your own hope when needed. Musically, Hope Remains Within draws one of its main themes from the Prometheus Symphony by Alexander Skryabin (Scriabin). The note sequence F-D-Gb -F, heard near Hope's beginning played by alto saxophones and chimes, comes from the opening measures of Skyrabin's work. Given the important role that Prometheus plays in the Pandora myth, this seemed like an appropriate musical gesture to quote. This Prometheus motive is varied throughout the course of the piece, and even provides closure at the end, recast in a major key. Additionally, I have tried to involve a manageable amount of chromaticism in this piece. I have worked from the key of Bb major, no doubt familiar to every student who has ever played an instrument in a band. But I have added three extra notes: Db, Gb, and Ab, which are drawn from the key of Bb minor. During the piece's slow opening, I have allowed these minor key pitches to mingle freely within the Bb major tonality, adding extra color and (I hope!) beauty. As the piece progresses, though, the tempo increases, and we lose sense of the Bb major key entirely, and these extra notes play a more important role. But finally, Bb major returns triumphantly and all the extra notes are gone, except for a brief memory near the very end. (Ok, there are a couple of E-naturals that sneak in there along the way. I couldn't resist.).Hope Remains Within was commissioned by and composed for the Mount Nittany Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Concert Bands. Having heard the students of Mount Nittany perform another work of mine, I was very excited when their director, Johanna Steinbacher, approached me about writing a piece specifically for them. I knew right away that I wanted to write something that would tie in with their non-music curriculum in some way, but I wasn’t exactly sure how, or what. Johanna talked to some of her students and learned that, in 7th grade, the students spend a good deal of time studying mythology in their English class. In particular, two clarinet students mentioned how much they enjoyed the story of Pandora.As such, I decided to use that story as the basis of this composition. Hope Remains Within doesn’t attempt to re-tell the story, event by event, in musical terms. Instead, my goal was to address what seems to be one of the central issues of the Pandora myth. Though there are some variations, we probably all know the basics as told by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Zeus decides to punish Prometheus for stealing fire from heaven and giving it to humans. He and the other gods create Pandora, a beautiful and deceitful woman, and they give her to Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus as a bride. Pandora is herself given a jar (according to many sources, “jar†seems to be a more accurate translation for what we commonly call “Pandora’s boxâ€) which contained numerous evils, diseases, and other pains. Out of curiosity, Pandora opens the jar and releases all of these evils into the world. But one thing remains in the jar: hope.The issue of hope seems to be one of the big interpretive questions of the Pandora myth. Why does hope remain within the jar? Why doesn’t it come out of the jar to help humanity? Is hope being held on a pedestal of some sort? Is hope deliberately withheld from humanity? Why was hope in the jar with all those evils in the first place?I’m not enough of a mythological scholar to claim to have definitive answers to those questions, but these are the questions that I’ve tried to engage from a musical perspective in Hope Remains Within. I encourage the students and listeners to consider their own ideas of what hope is, and where you can find your own hope when needed.Musically, Hope Remains Within draws one of its main themes from the Prometheus Symphony by Alexander Skryabin (Scriabin). The note sequence F-D-Gb -F, heard near Hope’s beginning played by alto saxophones and chimes, comes from the opening measures of Skyrabin’s work. Given the important role that Prometheus plays in the Pandora myth, this seemed like an appropriate musical gesture to quote. This Prometheus motive is varied throughout the course of the piece, and even provides closure at the end, recast in a major key.Additionally, I have tried to involve a manageable amount of chromaticism in this piece. I have worked from the key of Bb major, no doubt familiar to every student who has ever played an instrument in a band. But I have added three extra notes: Db, Gb, and Ab, which are drawn from the key of Bb minor. During the piece’s slow opening, I have allowed these minor key pitches to mingle freely within the Bb major tonality, adding extra color and (I hope!) beauty. As the piece progresses, though, the tempo increases, and we lose sense of the Bb major key entirely, and these extra notes play a more important role. But finally, Bb major returns triumphantly and all the extra notes are gone, except for a brief memory near the very end. (Ok, there are a couple of E-naturals that sneak in there along the way. I couldn’t resist.).
SKU: IS.G6765EM
ISBN 9790365067657.
This sonata (WeissSW No. 4, Dresden) is one of a new series of eight sonatas by Silvius Leopold Weiss arranged for the first time for guitar and published by Metropolis Music. Sonata XXIV comes from a set of tablature manuscript volumes in the Sächsisches Landesbibliothek in Dresden (Ms. Mus. 2841-â?V-â?1). There are five volumes with a total of 34 sonatas of Weiss for solo lute. The sonatas are ordered by key and further sorted by size or complexity. Sonata XXIV comes from Weissâ??s late â??productiveâ?? period, after 1730. The Sonata has six movements: Prelude, Ouverture (including allegro and largo), Courante, Bourée, Menuet and Gavotte. There is another copy of this Sonata, known as Parte (or Partita) no. 11, in a London Manuscript (British Library Ms. Add. 30387). The London Manuscript seems to be incomplete. It does not include a Menuet and a Gavotte. The Sonata in this Edition is based on the Dresden Manuscript. However, both the Prelude and the Bourée are coming from the London copy. The Dresden Prelude is regarded as spurious, and the London Bourée is more lively and in balance with the other movements. In a few passages of the Ouverture and the Courante I have made some adaptions on the basis of the London manuscript, to create the best of the two versions. In the Ouverture I have omitted the repeat indications. There are two Menuets in the Dresden Sonata. One has been crossed in the original manuscript with the accompanying note: ist nicht von Mr Weis. The other one has been added later, probably by the compiler of the volumes. The original London Prelude of this particular Sonata is composed in a â??simplifiedâ?? style; a common practice for adding preludes to lute sonatas in the 18th century. I have added the original example to my transcribed version. Perhaps it invites others to make their own arrangement. Originally, the Sonata is written in B flat major, a key often used by Weiss as it is appropriate for playing the lute. With the guitar, however, the key is rather awkward. For ease and effectiveness of playing, I have transposed the Sonata a minor third lower to G major. To create more concordance with the baroque tuning of the lute, the G string is lowered by a semitone to F sharp. I suggest using a capodastro to achieve the original pitch. Based on the present standard of A at 440 Hertz, the capo should be placed at the 3rd fret. However, during Weissâ??s lifetime, it was more common in many parts of Germany to use a standard of A at 415 Hertz -â? a semitone lower. So, to hear the pitch heard by Weiss and his contemporaries, the capo should then be positioned at the 2nd fret.
SKU: HL.49023849
ISBN 9783795756758. 6.25x9.5x0.967 inches. German. Claudia Schmidt.
Das Liederbuch enthalt 243 Lieder mit Erklarungen, bearbeitet fur Gesangstimmen (ein bis vier Stimmen) und Gitarrenbegleitung. Der thematische Bogen reicht von Kinderliedern, Volksliedern, franzosischen Chansons uber Spirituals, Folk Songs und Schlager bis hin zu Rock und Pop. Alle Lieder sind als leichte bis mittelschwere Arrangements gut nachzuspielen. Das Buch enthalt Basisinformationen zu jedem Kapitel, begleitende Texte und Erlauterungen zu soziokulturellen Hintergrunden von Autoren und Liedern. Diese Sammlung der besten Lieder und Songs ist mehr als ein Schulliederbuch! Sie ist das ideale Songbook fur Freizeit, Hobby und gesellige Anlasse.
SKU: BT.DHP-1084443-140
9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.
Washed up on the Phaeacian shore after a shipwreck, Odysseus is introduced to King Alcinous. As he sits in the palace, he tells the Phaeacians of his wanderings since leaving Troy. Odysseus and his men fi rst landed on the island of the Cicones wherethey sacked the city of Ismarus. From there, great storms swept them to the land of the hospitable Lotus Eaters. Then they sailed to the land of the Cyclopes. Odysseus and twelve of his men entered the cave of Polyphemus. After the single-eyed giantmade handfuls of his men into meals, Odysseus fi nally defeated him. He got him drunk and once he had fallen asleep, he and his men stabbed a glowing spike into the Cyclop’s single eye, completely blinding him. They escaped by clinging to the belliesof some sheep. Once aboard, Odysseus taunted the Cyclop by revealing him his true identity. Enraged, Polyphemus hurled rocks at the ship, trying to sink it. After leaving the Cyclopes’ island, they arrived at the home of Aeolus, ruler of the winds.Aeolus off ered Odysseus a bag trapping all the strong winds within except one - the one which would take him straight back to Ithaca. As the ship came within sight of Ithaca, the crewmen, curious about the bag, decided to open it. The winds escapedand stirred up a storm. Odysseus and his crew came to the land of the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, who sank all but one of the ships. The survivors went next to Aeaea, the island of the witch-goddess Circe. Odysseus sent out a scouting party butCirce turned them into pigs. With the help of an antidote the god Hermes had given him, Odysseus managed to overpower the goddess and forced her to change his men back to human form. When it was time for Odysseus to leave, Circe told him to sail tothe realm of the dead to speak with the spirit of the seer Tiresias. One day’s sailing took them to the land of the Cimmerians. There, he performed sacrifi ces to attract the souls of the dead. Tiresias told him what would happen to him next. He thengot to talk with his mother, Anticleia, and met the spirits of Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus, Ajax and others. He then saw the souls of the damned Tityos, Tantalus, and Sisyphus. Odysseus soon found himself mobbed by souls. He becamefrightened, ran back to his ship, and sailed away. While back at Aeaea, Circe told him about the dangers he would have to face on his way back home. She advised him to avoid hearing the song of the Sirens; but if he really felt he had to hear, thenhe should be tied to the mast of the ship, which he did. Odysseus then successfully steered his crew past Charybdis (a violent whirlpool) and Scylla (a multiple-headed monster), but Scylla managed to devour six of his men. Finally, Odysseus and hissurviving crew approached the island where the Sun god kept sacred cattle. Odysseus wanted to sail past, but the crewmen persuaded him to let them rest there. Odysseus passed Circe’s counsel on to his men. Once he had fallen asleep, his men impiouslykilled and ate some of the cattle. When the Sun god found out, he asked Zeus to punish them. Shortly after they set sail from the island, Zeus destroyed the ship and all the men died except for Odysseus. After ten days, Odysseus was washed up on theisland of the nymph Calypso.Odysseus, die is aangespoeld op de kust van de Phaeaken, maakt kennis met koning Alcinoüs. In het paleis van de laatstgenoemde vertelt hij wat hij heeft meegemaakt sinds zijn vertrek uit Troje. Odysseus en zijn metgezellen legdeneerst aan op het eiland van de Ciconen, waar ze de stad Ismarus plunderden. Toen ze weer op zee waren, brak een storm los, die ze naar het land van de gastvrije Lotophagen bracht. Daarna zeilden ze naar het eiland van de Cyclopen.Odysseus en twaalf van zijn metgezellen kwamen terecht in de grot van Polyphemus. Deze verslond een aantal van hen, maar werd uiteindelijk door Odysseus verslagen: hij voerde de reus dronken, waarna die in slaap viel. Vervolgensstak hij een gloeiende paal in zijn ene oog om hem blind te maken. Odysseus en zijn mannen ontsnapten uit de grot door ieder onder de buik van een van Polyphemus’ schapen te gaan hangen. Eenmaal weer aan boord riep Odysseusuitdagend naar de cycloop en onthulde zijn naam. Woedend wierp Polyphemus rotsblokken in de richting van het schip in een poging het te laten zinken. Nadat ze het Cyclopeneiland hadden verlaten, arriveerden ze bij Aeolus, heerservan de winden. Aeolus gaf Odysseus een zak met daarin alle krachtige winden behalve één - die hem rechtstreeks terug naar zijn thuisbasis Ithaca zou voeren. Toen het schip Ithaca bijna had bereikt, besloten de metgezellen, die nieuwsgierigwaren naar de inhoud, de zak te openen. De winden ontsnapten en er ontstond een enorme storm. Odysseus en zijn bemanning kwamen terecht in het land van de kannibalistische Laestrygonen, die alle schepen lieten zinken, opéén na. De overlevenden vluchtten naar Aeaea, het eiland van de tovenares Circe, die de metgezellen van Odysseus in zwijnen veranderde. Met de hulp van een tegengif dat hij had gekregen van Hermes, lukte het Odysseus om Circe teNachdem er an die Küste der Phäaker gespült wurde, wird Odysseus dem König Akinoos vorgestellt. In dessen Palast erzählt er den Phäakern von den Fahrten nach seiner Abreise aus Troja. Odysseus und seine Männer landen zunächst auf denKikonen, einer Inselgruppe, wo sie die Stadt Ismaros einnehmen. Von dort aus treiben sie mächtige Stürme zum Land der gastfreundlichen Lotophagen (Lotos-Essern). Dann segeln sie zum Land der Kyklopen (Zyklopen). Odysseus und seine zwölf Mannenbetreten die Höhle von Poloyphem, dem Sohn Poseidons. Nachdem dieser einige der Männer verspeist hat, überwaÃ…Nltigt ihn Odysseus, indem er ihn betrunken macht und dann mit einem glühenden Spieß in dessen einziges Auge sticht und ihn somitblendet. Odysseus und die übrigen Männer fl iehen an den Bäuchen von Schafen hängend. Wieder an Bord, provoziert Odysseus den Zyklopen, indem er ihm seine wahre Identität verrät. Wütend bewirft Polyphem das Schiff mit Steinen undversucht, es zu versenken. Nachdem sie die Insel der Kyklopen verlassen haben, kommen Odysseus und seine Mannen ins Reich von Aiolos, dem Herr der Winde. Aiolos schenkt ihm einen Beutel, in dem alle Winde eingesperrt sind, außer dem, der ihn direktzurück nach Ithaka treiben soll. Als das Schiff in Sichtweite von Ithaka ist, öff nen die neugierigen Seemänner den Windsack. Die Winde entfl iehen und erzeugen einen Sturm. Odysseus und seine Mannschaft verschlägt es ins Land derkannibalischen Laistrygonen, die alle ihre Schiff e, bis auf eines, versenken. Die Ãœberlebenden reisen weiter nach Aiaia, der Insel der Zauberin Kirke. Odysseus sendet einen Spähtrupp aus, der von Kirke aber in Schweine verwandelt wird. Mit Hilfeeines Gegenmittels vom Götterboten Hermes kann Odysseus Kirke überwaÃ…Nltigen und er zwingt sie, seinen Gefährten wieder ihre menschliche Gestalt zurückzugeben. Als er wieder aufbrechen will, rät Kirke ihm, den Seher Teiresias in derUnterwelt aufzusuchen und zu befragen. Eine Tagesreise führt sie dann ins Land der Kimmerer, nahe dem Eingang des Hades. Dort bringt Odysseus Opfer, um die Seelen der Toten anzurufen. Teireisas sagt ihm sein Schicksal voraus. Dann darf Odysseusmit seiner Mutter Antikleia und den Seelen von Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroklos, Antilochus, Ajax und anderen Toten sprechen. Dann sieht er die Seelen der Verdammten Tityos, Tantalos und Sisyphos. Bald wird Odysseus selbst von den Seelen gequält, kehrtvoll Angst zu seinem Schiff zurück und segelt davon. In Aiaia hatte Kirke ihn vor den drohenden Gefahren der Heimreise gewarnt. Sie riet ihm, den Gesang der Sirenen zu vermeiden, wenn er aber unbedingt zuhören müsse, solle er sich an denMast seines Schiff es bindet lassen, was er dann auch tut. Dann führt Odysseus seine Mannschaft erfolgreich durch die Meerenge zwischen Skylla und Charybdis, wobei Skylla jedoch sechs seiner Männer verschlingt. Schließlich erreichen Odysseusund die überlebende Besatzung die Insel, auf der der Sonnengott Helios heiliges Vieh hält. Odysseus will weitersegeln, aber seine Mannschaft überredet ihn zu einer Rast. Odysseus erzählt ihnen von Kirkes Warnung, aber kaum, dass ereingeschlafen ist, töten die Männer in gotteslästerlicher Weise einige Rinder und verspeisen sie. Als Helios dies entdeckt, bittet er Zeus, sie zu bestrafen. Kurz nachdem sie die Segel für die Abreise von der Insel gesetzt haben, zerstört Zeusdas Schiff und alle außer Odysseus sterben. Nach zehn Tagen wird Odysseus an den Strand der Insel der Nymphe Kalypso angespült.Ulysse, épuisé par la terrible tempête qu’il a subie, échoue sur le rivage des Phéaciens. Reçu au palais du roi Alcinoos, Ulysse entreprend le récit des épreuves passées depuis son départ de Troie. Arrivés dans l’île des Cicones, Ulysse et ses compagnons mettent la cité d’Ismaros sac puis reprennent la mer. Les vents les emportent chez les Lotophages, un peuple paisible. Ulysse aborde au pays des Cyclopes. Il pénètre dans la caverne de Polyphème accompagné de douze hommes. Après avoir vu le Cyclope dévorer deux de ses compagnons chaque repas, Ulysse ruse pour lui échapper. Il l’enivre puis embrase un épieu taillé, qu’il plante dans l'œil unique du Cyclope endormi,l’aveuglant définitivement. Les survivants sortent ensuite cachés sous le ventre de ses brebis et regagnent leurs bateaux. Faisant preuve d’orgueil, Ulysse crie sa véritable identité au risque de faire sombrer son navire sous une pluie de rochers. Ulysse aborde l’île d’Eolie, au royaume du maître des vents. Eole offre Ulysse un vent favorable pour regagner Ithaque, et une outre renfermant tous les vents contraires. Hélas, la curiosité des marins d’Ulysse aura raison de cet heureux dénouement car, en ouvrant l’outre, les vents contraires s’échappent et déchaînent une nouvelle tempête. Après avoir dérivé plusieurs jours, ils parviennent chez les Lestrygons cannibales qui détruisent l’escadre. Les survivants reprennent la mer avec un unique navire et abordent dans l’île d’Aiaié, séjour de la magicienne Circé. Ulysse envoie des éclaireurs dans les terres. Imprudemment entrés dans la demeure de la magicienne, ils sont transformés en pourceaux. Seul Ulysse échappe au sortilège gr ce l’antidote que lui indique Hermès. Vaincue, Circé s’offre au héros et rend ses compagnons leur forme humaine. Avant de laisser partir Ulysse, Circé lui conseille d’aller au pays des morts consulter l’ombre du devin Tirésias. Après une journée de navigation, le bateau d’Ulysse atteint le pays des Cimmériens. Il s’acquitte des rites appropriés pour pouvoir s’entretenir avec l’ me.
SKU: BT.DHP-1084443-010
SKU: CF.YPS105
ISBN 9780825884870. UPC: 798408084875. 9 x 12 inches. Key: Bb major.
Based on our popular New Bennett Band Book series, we have compiled march-style warm-ups in a separate publication so they may be used by all bands wishing to learn from them. These innovative warm-ups and fundamental drills are the ultimate method of teaching and reinforcing the March style.How To Use the March Warm-upsPlaying in a march style can present difficulties for young students. The most prevalent problem is that students have a tendency to play every note too short. Conversely, accented notes are usually played incorrectly with too much tongue. Do marches contain short notes? Absolutely, but these shortest of notes should be reserved for notes that precede an accent or notes that are specifically marked with a staccato. Think of unmarked notes as being separated, but not short and certainly not clipped or stopped with the tongue. Accented notes should be played with more weight using air and more length, and not just a harder tongue. Accents are given to show emphasis to a note and should be thought of in this manner.The warm-up exercises provided in this collection should give you many opportunities to stress the above-mentioned comments on march performance style. The following gives an explanation on the purpose and use of each of these exercises.No. 1 – Basic Chords and ModulationsOne of the challenges of playing marches with young students is successfully performing the key change at the Trio. This exercise presents the three basic chords (tonic, subdominant and dominant) in each of the three keys in this collection of marches. You can also use this exercise to teach and reinforce the style of accented notes. You may want to have your band play major scales in succession by fourths to reinforce the concept of modulation to the subdominant that occurs at the Trio (i.e. the B≤-major scale, then the E≤-major scale, then the A≤-major scale). I might suggest getting the students to try continuing the pattern all the way around the circle of fourths.No. 2 – March Style in B≤ MajorThis exercise contains many opportunities to teach and reinforce the difference between staccato and accented notes. The melody voices move up and down the B≤-major scale, while other instruments play chords commonly found in the marches in this collection. These include diminished chords, secondary dominant chords (i.e. the V of the V) and other common chromatic chords that Fillmore often used.No. 3 – Cakewalk Rhythm in B≤ MajorThe simple syncopated rhythm in this exercise is common to many marches. This drill gives you the opportunity to teach/ reinforce the standard ar-ticulation and natural accent of this rhythmic pattern. Again, this exercise uses an ascending and descending major-scale pattern as the melodic basis, accompanied by chords commonly found in American- style marches.No. 4 – The March Scale in B≤ MajorI call this exercise “The March Scale,†because often in marches (and especially in these marches) the descending half-step is part of the melodic material. These chromatic figures give the melodies of many marches their charm and flow. Thus, I devised this exercise and others like it in E≤ major and A≤ major to familiarize students with these patterns. I would suggest playing the pattern in a variety of ways different from what is written. Here are some other possibilities:• Tongue one, slur three• Slur two, tongue two• Tongue two, slur two• Tongue one, slur two, tongue oneGradually increase the tempo to the march tempo and the articulation style will fall right into place.Another important consideration is the performance of the bass line and the bass-drum part. Too often, the bass drum and bass instruments play their parts with equal emphasis on both beats in the measure. This is incorrect, and frequently makes the marchNo. 5 – March Style in E≤ MajorThis is a similar to exercise No. 2, but with a different rhythmic pattern. Emphasize the difference between accented and unaccented notes. Also, play the exercise with line direction moving the musical line forward. Experiment and play the exercise with different dynamic choices and with hairpins up and down in different ways.No. 6 – More March Style in E≤ MajorExercise No. 6 comprises more rhythmic patterns and harmonic materials in E≤ major to teach and reinforce the march style. This exercise em-phasizes the sixteenth-note rhythm, as notated in the third measure of the exercise. Young stu- dents have a tendency to “crush†the sixteenths; consequently, they lack clarity. It would be a good idea to work this rhythmic figure on a scale pattern with all of the instruments in the band as an additional warm-up exercise.No. 7 – The March Scale in E≤ MajorSee the information for No. 4 and apply it to this exercise. Use all of the various articulations described above as well.No. 8 – March Style in A≤ MajorSee the information for No. 2 and apply it to this exercise.No. 9 – Cakewalk Rhythm in A≤ MajorSee the information for No. 3 and apply it to this exercise.No. 10 – The March Scale in A≤ MajorSee the information for No. 4 and apply it to this exercise.Other Ideas for March PerformanceA rehearsal practice that has worked very well for me is to start out by having the band play the march very slowly at about Œ = 60 in a chorale/legato style. The slow tempo is a fine opportunity to work on clarity of harmonic move- ment and to work on the balance and blend of the tutti band sound. This will pay great dividends toward improving the sound of your band. Gradually increase the tempo to the march tempo and the articulation style will fall right into place.Another important consideration is the performance of the bass line and the bass-drum part. Too often, the bass drum and bass instruments play their parts with equal emphasis on both beats in the measure. This is incorrect, and frequently makes the march.
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