Concert band (Piccolo, Flute 1, Flute 2, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, English Horn, Eb Clarinet, Bb Clarinet 1, Bb Clarinet 2, Bb Clarinet 1, Bb Bass Clarinet, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Contra Bassoon, Eb Alto Saxophone 1, Eb Alto Saxophone 2, Bb Tenor Saxophone, Eb Baritone Saxophone,) - grade 5.5

SKU: CN.R10307

Composed by Derek Bourgeois. Arranged by Mikkelson. Score and parts. Duration 15:00. Published by G & M Brand Music Publishers (CN.R10307).

Sea Dreams was written in memory of the composer's wife, Jean. After an introduction, which is not heard again until the end of the piece, the music becomes a rondo allegro, and gradually builds to a big climax. At the very end there is an oblique reference to the Liebestod of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.

Sea Dreams was originally a commission, in 2007, from an American University who wanted me to write a piece in memory of my first wife, Jean, who died in 2006. I set about writing the music and quickly completed the score early in 2008, but, unfortunately, because of the sudden collapse in the worldwide financial markets the commission itself fell through. The music draws on three of the pieces that I had written for Jean in the early days before we were married, namely two violin sonatas (she was a violinist) and the 'Serenade' Opus 22 one of my most popular pieces. However the bulk of the music is new, and the quotes from these early pieces are subtle and merely passing references, not at all like the originals. After an introduction, which is not heard again until the end of the piece, the music becomes a rondo allegro, and gradually builds to a big climax. At the very end there is an oblique reference to the Liebestod of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde. Sea Dreams was premiered by Birmingham Symphonic Winds, conducted by Keith Allen, on Saturday March 20th 2010 at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham, England.

Orchestra

SKU: BT.YKM570369270

Composed by Robert Saxton. Score Only. Composed 2021. 70 pages. University of York Music Press #YKM570369270. Published by University of York Music Press (BT.YKM570369270).

A Hymn to the Thames was commissioned by James Turnbull and the Music Director of the St Paul’s Sinfonia, Andrew Morley. It was begun in 2019 and completed early in 2020. There are four movements played without a break, which follow the Thames from its Cotswold source to the North Sea. As the first performance took place in St ALfege’s Church, Greenwich, this seemed appropriate. The solo oboe represents both a wanderer along the river path and the spirit of the river. The pitch centres of the movements spell out the musical letters of the river (tHAmES—B natural, A, E and E flat) so that the river’s name is projected across the whole work. In addition, the musical letters found in James Turnbull, Andrew Morley and my wife, Teresa Cahill ( who was born in Maidenhead and brought up by the river in Rotherhithe) are entwined in various guises. The first movement grows from the depths, the soloist entering with fanfare-like gestures, followed by lyrical music and breaks into a dance as the river gathers momentum. The third movement is slow and sustained and geographically the Thames flows through Oxford. The music is based on the well-known In Nomine ‘head motif’ from the Gloria tibi Trinitas Mass by the early Tudor composer, John Taverner, who was the first Director of Music at Christ Church, Oxford. The orchestra provides a screen or veil above which the solo oboe dreams and ruminates. This leads directly into the fourth and final movement which begins in the depths once more, interrupting the oboe’s held note from the end of the third movement. The waters’ increasing intensity and power are represented throughout by a moto perpetuo of quick, steady semiquavers. Near the close, the woodwind play O Nata Lux by Thomas Tallis, the great Tudor composer who, with his wife Joan, is buried in St Alfege’s. Beneath this, the lower strings continue the fast semiquaver movement of the river and, above, the violins are heard as a halo of harmonics. At the close, the oboe rises, opening out to the future, and celebrating its voyage, while the orchestra fades as the river meets the sea. A Hymn to the Thames lasts approximately 17 minutes.