SKU: BO.B.3260

ISBN 9788480207584.

English comments:
Empuries is the result of the interest Ruera showed throughout his life for the culture and music of ancient Greece. As he himself writes in the introduction to the composition: The motives behind this work were inspired by contemplating and analysing the melos of ancient Greece. The few melodies that have been discovered from those far-off times inspired the composer of Empuries to create this work, conceived with the Greek modal system in mind, and adapted to modern instruments and tastes. The tetrachord and pentachords of these forms are the very bases of this work. The descending drift of the cadence, the harmonic priority of the upper and lower notes of the tetrachords and the displacement of these chords to different acoustic levels, make it impossible to specify the classic concept of a set tonality which, within the improvised musical working of the piece, leads to a naturally intertonal or atonal piece of music. Empuries came to light in 1971, when it won group A of the Ciutat de Barcelona prize. But one must, in fact, go back to the 1930s to find its true origins. Ruera made his first foray into the theme of ancient Greece with the sardana, Empuries, la grega, with which he won first prize in the Jocs Florals in Girona, in 1931. Shortly afterwards, he wrote a piece of organ music entitled Bucolics, in the Greek modal style, which was destroyed during the Spanish civil war. Ruera continued to work on the theme and in 1936 he presented his work Tres moviments simfonics, for a big band, inspired by the ancient Greek modes, at the XIV International Festival of the ISCM held in Barcelona. The work was chosen to debut in the festival's opening concert on 19 April 1936 at Palacio de Bellas Artes in Barcelona. In 1959, Ruera won the Pau Casals Prize at the Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana, held at the Sorbonne in Paris, for his work, Empuries: poema per a cobla i orquestra, which would later become the fourth movement of Empuries. Nine years later, in 1968, Barcelona City Orchestra, conducted by Antoni Ros Marba, gave the first ever performance of the symphonic poem Pastoral, written to be the first movement of Empuries, in Granollers. The final step was when he finally completed the work, won the Ciutat de Barcelona prize, opened in Granollers on 2 May 1976 and recorded it for the Columbia de Barcelona label in 1977. Anna Maria Piera

Comentarios del Espanol:
La obra Empuries es fruto del interes que el maestro Ruera demostro a lo largo de su vida por la cultura y la musica de la antigua Grecia. Como el mismo escribe en la cabecera de la composicion: Los motivos generadores de esta obra estan inspirados en la contemplacion y en el analisis del melos de la antigua Grecia. Las pocas melodias que hasta el momento se han podido descubrir de aquellos tiempos remotos sugieren al autor de Empuries la realizacion de esta obra, concebida pensando en el sistema modal griego, adaptado a los instrumentos y gustos modernos. Los tetracordes y pentacordes de dichas modalidades son las celulas en las que se basa la obra. El sentido descendiente de la cadencia, la prioridad armonica de la notas extremas de los tetracordes y el desplazamiento de estos acordes a varias alturas acusticas, hacen que no sea posible precisar el clasico concepto de una tonalidad determinada y que lleven, dentro del funcionamiento contrapuntistico, a una musica naturalmente intertonal o atonal. Empuries vio la luz en el ano 1971, ganando el Premio Ciutat de Barcelona, grupo A, pero en realidad tenemos que retroceder hasta los anos 30 para encontrar sus verdaderos origenes. La primera incursion en el tema de la antigua Gracia la hizo con la sardana Empuries, la grega, con la que gano el primer premio en los Jocs Florals de Gerona del ano 1931. Poco despues escribio una pieza para organo titulada Bucolics, en el estilo modal griego, que fue destruida durante la Guerra Civil espanola. Ruera continuo trabajando en el tema y en el ano 1936 presento su obra Tres moviments simfonics, en version para gran banda, inspirada en las antiguas modalidades griegas, en el XIV Festival Internacional de la SIMC que se celebro en Barcelona. La obra fue escogida para ser estrenada en el concierto inaugural de dicho festival, el 19 de abril de 1936, en el Palacio de Bellas Artes de Barcelona. En el 1959, Ruera gano el Premio Pau Casals en los Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana celebrados en la Sorbona de Paris con la obra Empuries: poema per a cobla i orquestra, que sera con el paso del tiempo el cuarto movimiento de Empuries. Nueve anos mas tarde, en 1968, la Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona, bajo la direccion de Antoni Ros Marba, interpreto en Granollers la primera audicion del poema sinfonico Pastoral, pensado como primer movimiento de Empuries. El ultimo eslabon fue terminar definitivamente la obra, ganar el Premio Ciutat de Barcelona, estrenarla en Granollers el 2 de mayo de 1976 y grabarla para la casa discografica Columbia de Barcelona, en 1977.

SKU: CF.CPS215F

ISBN 9781491153093. UPC: 680160910595.

Irish Lullaby is based on the song Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral  (That's an Irish Lullaby).  Carl Strommen does what he does best in creating a beautifully orchestrated piece with diverse harmonies that will be the highlight of your next concert. It will be a great piece to teach phrasing and musicianship.
Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (“That’s An Irish Lullaby” ) was written in 1913 by composer James Royce Shannon (1881–1946) for the Tin Pan Alley musical, Shameen Dhu. The original recording by Chauncy Olcott became No. 1 on the music charts. The song was then brought back to prominence by Bing Crosby’s performance in the film Going My Way (1944). Crosby’s solo sold over one million copies.The University of Notre Dame Band, started in 1845, is the oldest college band (in continuous existence) in the United States. The band played as students left to join the armies during the Civil War, World War 1 and 2, Korea and Vietnam. In 1871, the band played a benefit concert for the victims of the Great Chicago Fire. The bands performances in countless settings and venues include the Sydney Opera House, Bejing Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and, in 2011, was awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy, considered the “Heisman Trophy” of Collegiate bands.The Bands Director, Ken Dye, is only the sixth director in its long history. Dr. Dye served as composer/arranger for the Sydney 2000 Olympic band, and has produced over 1800 works for band and orchestra.

SKU: AP.49983

ISBN 9781470659288. UPC: 038081576541. English.

An Ancient World, by Adrian B. Sims, imagines the ruins of a past civilization. The work explores the mysterious and fascinating landscapes that were once so beautiful. Reawakened in a new light, the world reignites with energy. After a final mourning of that which was lost and can never be restored, (measures 95--130), the work lives out the essence of ancient royalty with one last celebratory musical statement. (7:00).

SKU: ST.Y242

ISBN 9790220222177.

In the output of the long-lived 17th-century composer John Jenkins, the 32 'Ayres' for two trebles, two basses and organ have a special place. They were probably composed during the English Civil War, while the composer was in East Anglia, and his royalist patrons were subject to harassment by Parliamentarian forces. Though one of the pieces, 'Newark Siege', is a rare instance of programmatic music in Jenkins's output, the pieces in general are far removed from the lightweight dance idioms of the time, being full of contrapuntal interplay inspired perhaps by the consort airs of the court composer William Lawes.

The four parts retain original note values, and correspond to the edition in Musica Britannica MB36, though the bass parts have alto clefs for the higher passages. The organ part, not included with the instrumental material, is played from full score in the parent volume.