SKU: PR.110406720

UPC: 680160001316.

I have always been fond of writing works for specific people or organizations. It has been my good fortune during most of my creative career to be asked to compose for many extraordinary performers. The Sonata for Harpsichord Solo is such a case in point: it was written in 1982 for Barbara Harbach, a superb performer, close friend, and collaborator on many musical projects. The Sonata was premiered on March 2, 1984, in a recital given by Dr. Harbach at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. During my formative years as a composer, one seldom heard of the harpsichord as a modern instrument, though while I attended undergraduate school at Boston University, some of us banded together to construct a small harpsichord from one of the first do-it-yourself kits which began to appear in the late '40s. It was also during this time that I heard the Sonatina for Violin and Harpsichord by my teacher Walter Piston and consequently specified that the accompanying instrument for my second violin sonata could either be a piano or a harpsichord. It was not until recently, however, that my interest in the harpsichord as a solo instrument for new music was aroused. This was because of the emergence of so many young virtuosi, such as Barbara Harbach, who are interested in the performance of new music besides the great harpsichord music of the Classical, Baroque, and pre-Baroque eras. The keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti has always intrigued and fascinated me. The brevity, excitement, and clarity of this sparkling music is charming as well as exhilarating. It is this type of Baroque sonata that inspired the conception and form of my harpsichord sonata. The entire work is loosely based on the musical translation of Barabara Harbach's name, especially the conflict of the B (B-flat) and H (B-natural in German notation). This secondo rub or dissonance especially pervades the first movement, which is in a modified sonata form, pitting jagged and tense melodic elements against most lyrical and smooth lines. This second movement is a song-like melody accompanied by rolled chords which may be played on the lute stop of the instrument if this sonata is performed on a two-manual harpsichord. The final movement is an ever-driving joyous toccata which brings the work to an exciting close with a coda made up of accelerating repeated chords. --Samuel Adler.

SKU: PR.44641291P

UPC: 680160614165. 8.5 x 11 inches.

SKU: PR.164001780

UPC: 680160037056.

The American imagist poet Amy Lowell (1874-1925) provided both the title and the substance for this brief descriptive work in her poem Night Clouds. I had been commissioned by the flute/harp duo Chaski to write a piece that had a different sound than most flute and harp pieces. The image of these elusive beasts cavorting through the night, before the appearance of the tiger sun, seemed to me perfectly suited for the flute and harp and would give me the chance to write a work for that combination that did NOT have overtones of nymphs and shepherds. I wanted to make much use of the harp's more violent sounds (beating the strings and the soundboard, for instance) as well as its unusual and idiomatic effects, such as pedal glissandi. For the flute, there are jet-whistle effects, extremes of register, pitch-bending and other decidedly non-pastoral gestures. The work was composed in 1986.   --Dan Welcher.

SKU: PR.114415700

ISBN 9781598064711. UPC: 680160612284. 9x12 inches.

Schocker's first harp Sonata offers three movements (1. Changes; 2. Procession, Remembering; 3.Facing Forward) in approachable form for advancing students Perfect for year-end recitals. For intermediate to advanced. Duration: 8'_______________________________________SONATA NO. 1 for Harp (114-41570)With the same spontaneous gift and gusto that Gary Schocker has offered the flute world, providing a rich library of solo works and chamber music, Schocker has recently turned his creative generosity to harp. The 8-minute SONATA NO. 1 is within the reach of intermediate players, and set in three movements: Changes; Procession, Remembering; and Facing Forward. .

SKU: PR.144404690

UPC: 680160030996.