Despite his having moved to the United States with his family when he was 11 years old Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) was born in Canada where glimpses of his talent had already begun to manifest themselves at an early age. Among Dett's earliest titles was his Characteristic March Two-Step After the Cakewalk. Perhaps written when Dett was just a teenager this current edition is wholly based upon its original 1901 band publication that was arranged by Lee Orean Smith. Smith was also responsible for preparing Dett's piano solo version for publication as well as its form for theatre orchestra and mandolin club. Owing to the fact that Smith's highly idiomatic scoring wasprepared for a band of that period this edition adapts edits and extends Smith's instrumentation in order to make it possible for Dett's music to become available to a new generation of musicians and listeners alike. (Grade 4)

The picturesque town of Mandalen lies amid snow-covered mountains and scenic fjords on the west coast of Norway. MANDALEN LANDSCAPES was commissioned by and written for MÃ¥ndalen Skule og Ungdomskorps (Mandalen School and Youth Band) for a major concert in November 2003 at the instigation of its conductor John Hudson a long-time friend of composer Philip Sparke.Sparke set out to capture the beauty of the area in music and the piece opens with an evocation of the crisp clear air of a Norwegian morning. After this introduction the main theme is stated on clarinets and saxophones. A central bridge section takes the listener through several moods until the brass reintroducethe main theme under a woodwind descant. Material from the introduction brings the work to a peaceful close.

La clarinette la mandoline le violon les tambourins tambours de basque et le célèbre bouzouki sont les instruments typiques de la musique traditionnelle grecque. Le répertoire de cette musique est partagé en trois catégories principales : les chants traditionnels grecs (le dimotiko) les chants traditionnels des immigrants (le rebetiko) et les chants de compositeurs du XXe siècle. La musique grecque moderne a été rendue célèbre par Mikis Theodorakis compositeur de renom qui parallèlement à ses engagements politiques contre le régime fasciste a contribué à travers ses mélodies à la diffusion des textes de grands poètes grecs modernes. Dans cette suite FrancoCesarini a rassemblé trois chansons appartenant à la tradition musicale ancienne. La première O Haralambis est une chanson typique accompagnant le kalamatianos une danse traditionnelle circulaire en 7/8. Satirique et taquine O Haralambis est interprétée à l?occasion de mariages. Elle relate l?histoire d?un jeune homme qui refuse d?être marié. Le passage central développe un autre air traditionnel intitulé I Voskopula. Le deuxième mouvement Stu Psiloriti fait référence à une ancienne mélodie de l?île de Crète. Le Psiloritis est le point culminant du mont Ida. Le troisième mouvement de la suite est basé sur le chant Vasilikos tha gino un chant très ancien de la région de l?Épire. Certains éléments de ce mouvement nous rappellent le sirtaki la plus célèbre de toutes les danses grecques.