SKU: PL.9628
These penitential anthems were transcribed by Dr. George Guest from the Gostling Manuscript. John Gostling was renowned for his extraordinary bass voice an held positions in the Church of England, eventually becoming Sub-Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. Gostling was also a prolific copyist and his manuscript contains over 60 anthems of Blow, Purcell, Locke and others.Save me, O God of John Blow is a splendid example of the use of simple means to convey the meaning of a text. Mostly homophonic in texture, the subtle shifts of voicing and harmony all support the penitential nature of the text. The organ doubles the voice parts, discreetly supporting them in a continuo fashion. Dr. Guest has placed suggested tempi and dynamics throughout, further enhancing the practical nature of this edition. The voice parts are moderate in range, placing this piece within the scope of most choirs.
SKU: CL.CTS-8003-00
America The Beautiful continues to be an expression of patriotism at its finest. It conveys an attitude of appreciation and gratitude for the nation's extraordinary physical beauty and abundance, without triumphalism. Claude T. Smith’s arrangement of this masterpiece generates a fresh take on this song reviving the hope we share for our dear America. This flexible arrangement allows ensembles to perform the work with as few as thirteen musicians providing accessibility and flexibility for numerous instrumentation needs, while still allowing a full ensemble sound. *The posted recording is based on the full band scoring but aligns with the suggested preferences for either woodwinds/strings or brass suggested in the score.
SKU: PE.EP72822
ISBN 9790577011769. 232 x 303mm inches. English.
I have only visited Damascus once, twenty years ago, on the way to Palmyra. I had a purpose (I was writing music for a play about Palmyra’s Queen Zenobia) but essentially I was a tourist. Like any visitor, I was thrilled to step out of the noisy modern city into the magical ancient world of the walled Old City, its vibrant souk leading to the magnificent mosque, and a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets filled with the smell of unleavened bread.
In Palmyra, I was met with extraordinary kindness everywhere. On one occasion, a little Bedouin boy noticed that I was risking sunstroke wandering bare-headed among the spectacular ruins: he showed me how to tie a turban, then took me to have tea with his family in their tent.
Since then, I have watched helplessly as these places of wonder have been devastated and their inhabitants scattered and killed. When the Sacconi Quartet suggested that I might choose a Syrian poet for our collaboration, I welcomed the idea.
I searched for a long time to find a contemporary poet whose work might gain from any music I could imagine. I felt it was important to find first-hand accounts of the Syrian experience – but, of course, I was always reading them in translation. In an anthology called Syria Speaks, I was astonished to read something that looked like prose, but was full of poetry. It was Anne-Marie McManus’s fine translation of Ali Safar’s A Black Cloud in a Leaden White Sky – an eloquent, thoughtful, contained yet vivid account of life in a war-torn country, all the more moving for its restraint.
In setting these words, I have not attempted to imitate Syrian music. However, there is what might be called a linguistic accommodation in my choice of scale, or mode. Several movements are in a mode that I first discovered while writing a cantata commemorating the First World War: it has a tuning that I associate with war, its violence and desolation. This eight-note mode is similar to scales found in Syrian music. I did not choose it in the abstract: it emerged from the harmonies I was exploring in the earlier work, and emerged again as I was looking for the right musical colours to set Ali Safar’s words. In this work, its Arabic aspect is more prominent. - Jonathan Dove
SKU: HL.49018680
ISBN 9790001178648. 9.0x12.0x0.095 inches.
The composer and violinist Johanna Senfter (1879 1961) from Oppenheim concerned herself with piano-accompanied chamber music for strings all her life. Max Reger valued her 'extraordinary compositional talent' and first taught her privately, later at the Leipzig Conservatoire. Senfter wrote five piano trios, her first piano trio (opus 7) being composed during her studies in Leipzig. Kleines leichtes Trio in F major, opus 134, published here for the first time, was written about 50 years later and probably is one of the last, if not her last finished composition. The late Romantic miniature is rewarding as a technically simple, yet musically demanding work for lessons and concert performances.
SKU: WD.080689393778
UPC: 080689393778.
The most extraordinary act of giving the world would ever know happened at Christmas. Yet do you find yourself lost without the ability to respond appropriately - how can we thank God sufficiently for the gift of his Son? The heavenly Father only desires one thing, the gift of our heart, in return. The life-changing message of The Jesus Gift is thoughtfully wrapped in the moving words and music of cherished Christmas songs (ranging from favorite carols to contemporary offerings by Michael W. Smith and Shannon Wexelberg) and beloved standards (such as Light of the Stable and The Jesus Gift). Veteran arranger Tom Fettke and master orchestrator Russell Mauldin have fashioned a 37-minute musical that is long on impact yet moderately easy to prepare and to present. Featuring a single narrator and several solos, this musical is ideal for choirs of limited size or rehearsal time. The Jesus Gift is the perfect offering for your congregation and community to experience this Christmastime!
SKU: HL.4008951
UPC: 196288281818.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, led a fascinating life shaped by external constraints and internal struggles. Born in 1837 in Munich, she became Empress through her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I. Despite the highs and lows of her marriage, she bore four children. Sisi's extraordinary beauty and her distinctive fashion sense were as well-known as her longing for freedom, which led her on numerous journeys throughout Europe, with a particular affinity for Hungary. Her relationships with the men in her life, especially Emperor Franz Joseph I. and Count Gyula Andrássy, hold significance. The composition by Otto M. Schwarz explores Sisi's freedom-loving nature and her loves, with the composer incorporating short musical motifs from her era.
SKU: PE.EP72698A
ISBN 9790577010519. 210 x 297mm inches. English.
Commissioned by Making Music with funds from the Nicholas Berwin Charitable Foundation
First performance: 12th March 2016, Waltham Singers, conducted by Andrew Fardell, King Edward's Grammar School, Chelmsford.
Music runs through the story of Arion, which begins with a singing competition in Sicily. Arion wins the prize, and this puts his life in danger: his newfound wealth excites the Greed of the sailors who are supposed to be bringing him back to Corinth, and they threaten to kill him. They allow Arion to sing one last song, and the power of his singing attracts dolphins to the ship. At The End of his song, he jumps overboard, and one of the dolphins carries him to safety. So Arion’s musical gift gets him into trouble, but it is also his salvation.
The idea of being rescued by a music-loving dolphin is very appealing. In Robert Graves’ account of the myth, the dolphin could not bear to be parted from Arion, and accompanied him back to court, where “it soon succumbed to a life of luxury.” However, Herodotus says that, after his rescue and return to Corinth, Arion failed to return the dolphin to the sea, and it died there. Apollo placed the dolphin among the stars, and next to it, Arion’s lyre, in recognition of his musical skill. This is one of the mythical explanations of the origins of the constellations Delphinus and Lyra.
It seems natural to sing a story that has singing at its heart. When I was asked by the Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust to write a choral work for Making Music, something that would be within reach of many choirs, and involve children, this story struck me as ideal: the men of the chorus could be the bloodthirsty sailors, and the women could create an atmosphere of mystery for the arrival of the dolphins, represented by children’s voices. There would be one solo voice: Arion, the marvellous singer. Andrew Fardell, the conductor who was advisor to this commission, had suggested that I might use the same instrumentation as a popular arrangement of Orff’s Carmina Burana, a work that, as well as using children’s chorus, features a solo countertenor. I thought the magical, otherworldly quality of this voice would help to convey the extraordinary effect Arion’s singing had on all who heard it.
- Jonathan Dove
SKU: AP.50999S
ISBN 9781470665210. UPC: 038081583440. English.
Circles is a timeless, impressionistic work portraying a dark void with various colored circles aimlessly spinning around and gently colliding with each other. Brian Balmages uses wildly vivid colors throughout the work, which are incredibly unique for this level. Combine that with an extraordinary ending, and your audience is in for an amazing experience! (4:00).
SKU: HL.49019847
ISBN 9790001180115. 7.5x11.0x0.055 inches. German - English.
When it was possible to celebrate the Catholic Mass in the German language as well, Bertold Hummel wrote his motet Ehre sei Gott for mixed four-part choir. This piece is a 'German gloria' and can be performed liturgically in a Mass.Hummel follows traditional examples: The text, full of contrasts, is redesigned - sentence by sentence - with new musical ideas. In doing so, he reveals his extraordinary ability to write easy-to-sing music of high quality which delights choirs and listeners alike.The six-minute piece was premiered at the Cathedral of Wurzburg. The present new edition also contains a singable translation in English.
SKU: HL.49032943
ISBN 9783795703783. 6.75x9.5x0.575 inches. German.
Petr Eben (born in 1929) has achieved international recognition mainly for his choral and organ works, but his output also contains an opera, various works for orchestra, numerous chamber music pieces and songs as well as collections of material for teaching purposes. For this book Katerina Vondrovicova has had access to a wide selection of material in the possession of the composer, which helps the reader to gain a very personal and direct impression of the ideas, philosophy and life-style of this extraordinary artist. Part I is an introduction to Petr Eben's personal history and development.Part II, intended more as a quick overview and for reference, contains a comprehensive list of works with details of orchestration and duration plus adiscography. This section is a useful reference tool for libraries, concertpromoters and performers alike.
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