SKU: HL.4007483

UPC: 196288058175.

During his experience as a band conductor and teacher of wind orchestra conducting at university, Franco Cesarini has dealt with the topic of warm-ups very frequently. Throughout these long years of conducting he has had the opportunity to try many existing methods, evaluating their advantages and disadvantages. After a long time, he has decided to compile a collection of chorales for warm-ups, which are organized according to the criteria that he considers most effective. While working on his60 Warm-up Chorales for Concert Band, Franco Cesarini has always borne in mind that amateur musicians play for pleasure. He feels that it is extremely important that they have satisfaction at every moment of the rehearsal and not to start the rehearsal with needless “punishing” exercises. Nobody is really motivated to start playing with scales, long notes, or tricky rhythmical exercises. There is often a distinguished absentee in band rehearsals, namely music itself! Although this publication does not foresee a specific tempo for the chorales, they should often be performed rather slowly but without dragging. Dynamics are not indicated, so that the conductor has the opportunity to draw the attention of the musicians to his gestures and to make them react according to his indications. Timpani and bell parts have been added with the aim of not leaving the percussionists completely inactive during the warm-up phase, but can also be omitted. The chorales are written in four parts (SATB) and are also playable in smaller groups. The four voices can be played in different combinations of woodwinds or brass quartets or in mixed combinations. The collection includes ten chorales for the following keys: D flat major, A flat major, E flat major, B flat major, F major and C major. With his 60 Warm-up Chorales Franco Cesarini would like to convey the message to play the chorales in a musical way, thus raising the musicians’awareness of phrasing, the right interpretation of cadences, rubato and agogic. Above all, never do anything withoutputting the musical aspect in the foreground.

SKU: HL.50600436

11.5x16.25x0.142 inches.

“'Kalaviuka' is an incarnated figure of the Buddha, the head of which looks human and the lower half like a bird with wings. In my work I would like to express the unity of man and nature, a conception deeply rooted in traditional Chinese art and culture, with a modern awareness. The musical material derives from traditional Chinese instrumental works which have birds as their subjects. In particular, these are passages (neither sung nor melodic) that imitate birdsong or depict the forms of birds by means of various instruments. These musical sections mostly consist of a combination of specially selected musical instruments with special techniques of sound production. My aim in composing this piece was to find out how these sounds could be transferred into an orchestra in order to develop a new musical vocabulary and new means of expression.” (Guoping Jia) The work was commissioned by Munich Biennale 2012 and Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung.

SKU: FG.55009-368-3

ISBN 979-0-55009-368-3.

Nieminen has an intense awareness of colours, and the possibilities of expressing these on the classical guitar, an instrument on which he is himself a fine performer. This piece captures impressionistic qualities of the Scandinavian summer and the midnight sun. A CD of this and other guitar works by Nieminen has been issued by Pilfink Records (John Mills, guitar).

SKU: GI.G-317209