SKU: PR.362033390

UPC: 680160059355.

Two Shelley Songs were composed in 1981 on a commission from Ithaca College and published by Elkan-Vogel, Inc. in the Ithaca College Choral Series in 1982. The two poems by Shelley used here are To- and The Fugitives. Both of these pieces, published separately, are scored for mixed chorus with piano accompaniment. In order to perform them well, an excellent pianist is essential, for the accompaniment to the second poem The Fugitives is quite difficult, though quite pianistic. The style of the first poem is in a somewhat romantic idiom while the second contrasts it with rather wild harmonic writing utilizing large skips, clusters and other dissonant chordal devices. Great care is taken throughout to make these difficult sounding portions as easy as possible to perform by taking great care of the voice leadings. The two pieces should be done as a pair, but could conceivably be done separately.

SKU: PR.490011630

UPC: 680160599387. 8.5 x 11 inches.

Inspired by the two and three part inventions of Bach, Baksa's 36 Canonic Inventions were composed in the early 1980s but are now available complete in two volumes. Each two voice invention is followed by a three voice invention in the same key so that the result is somewhat like the Master of Master's Preludes and Fugues. Many of these pieces were premiered by Harpsichordist Elaine Comparone but they are equally suitable for performance on piano or pianoforte. American composer Lee Hoiby once asked me where I learned to write counterpoint. I told him that I learned by writing my Canonic Inventions. (Robert Baksa).

SKU: HL.14010457

ISBN 9788759857748. 8.25x11.75x0.103 inches.

An emotional and sophisticated set of 5 somewhat 'haunting' pieces which date from 1883. Arranged for Piano solo.

SKU: EC.RBM-007

English.

This arrangement represents the 5th movement of the larger work Canticles of Praise [], and has here been separated as a stand-alone anthem. The hymn tune CWM RHONDDA is utilized throughout – with the two texts appearing in the title order as the work unfolds. This setting begins and ends with a sparse, Billings-like treatment of the tune with a somewhat bare orchestration, while a more traditional 4-part rendering of the well-known hymn with richer underscoring comes forth in the center section. An optional narration exists for use with the larger work, Canticles of Praise.

SKU: AP.47188

UPC: 038081540047. English.

PianoTrax 11 CD contains accompaniment tracks for the following choral publications: Adoramus Te * Benedictus * Beyond * Calico Cat * Canticum Novum * Christmas Comes But Once a Year * Esta Noche * Ezekiel Saw the Wheel * Gifts * Gloria Patri et Filio * Great, Gettin' Up Day * I Will Sing You the Stars * If I Can Sing * In the Pretty Springtime * Jack and Jill * Loch Lomond * The Moon Has a Face * Nightingale * Sanctus * Shenandoah * Singers, Arise! * Topsy-Turvy World * Veni Jesu * The Water Is Wide * Winter Frost * Winter's Defeat.

About Alfred Choral Designs

The Alfred Choral Designs Series provides student and adult choirs with a variety of secular choral music that is useful, practical, educationally appropriate, and a pleasure to sing. To that end, the Choral Designs series features original works, folk song settings, spiritual arrangements, choral masterworks, and holiday selections suitable for use in concerts, festivals, and contests.

SKU: PR.11641373L

UPC: 680160680337.

The concerto has always seemed an especially attractive medium to me, not necessarily because of its expectations of virtuosity (although flaunting it when you've got it certainly has its place), and emphatically not because of the perception of a concerto as a contest, but because so much of what I write feels song-like; I'm very much at home with the age-old texture of melody and accompaniment. I hope, before I move on, to have the opportunity to write concertos for all the major instruments, and perhaps some of the rarer ones as well. The oboe is not only one of the major instruments, it is one of my favorite instruments. I've always loved its sound, but since moving to New York I have gotten to hear and, in some cases, know some extremely fine oboists who broadened my appreciation of the instrument's possibilities. I especially remember a concert, probably in the late 1960's, in which Humbert Lucarelli played a Handel concerto, filling out large melodic leaps with cascading scale passages in a way that raised the hair on the back of your neck, somewhat in the way that John Coltrane's sheets of sound did. The sweeping scales in the second movement of my concerto were definitely inspired by Bert Lucarelli's performance. The first, third and fifth movements of the Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra are song-like, whereas the second and fourth have strong scherzo and dance qualities, including a couple of sections that sound like out-and-out pirate dances to me. The hymn-like tune at the beginning of the middle movement was originally begun as a vocal piece to be sung by my wife, son and daughter at my brother's wedding, but I couldn't come up with good works for it, so it ended up as an instrumental chant. The opening and closing of the concerto make use of the oboe's uniquely soulful singing. I had not heard Pamela Woods Pecha's solo playing in person when she approached me about writing a concerto, but I had heard her fine recording of chamber music for oboe and strings by the three B's (English, that is: Bliss, Bax and Britten) with the Audubon Quartet. I actually already had some oboe concerto ideas in my sketchbooks; although I didn't end up using any of those earlier ideas, it's interesting that most of them tended to share the general feeling and tonality of the eventual opening of the concerto. The work was completed on October 13, 1994. I hate the compromises involved in making piano reductions -- perhaps I would feel differently if I were a more accomplished pianist -- so I often decide to make piano reductions for four hands rather than two. My good friend Jon Kimura Parker is a terrific sight-reader, and I roped him into coming over to my place on February 17, 1995, to help me accompany Pamela on the first read-through of the piece. The first performance of the work took place on July 21, 1995, at the American Music Festival in Duncan, Oklahoma, with Mark Parker conducting the Festival Orchestra.

SKU: CL.015-3216-01

Written somewhat in the style of a march trio, this appealing piece will get impressive results with very young bands. Includes a short solo section for the drum section. Includes an optional piano or keyboard part which can be used as a rehearsal aid or as a performance enhancer. Very Useful!