SKU: BU.EBR-530

ISBN 9790560154565. 9.45 x 13 inches.

En décembre 2011, Chilly Gonzales déménagea son piano au studio Pigalle à Paris. Tout seul pendant 10 jours, il enregistra une sélection de ses compositions parmi une centaine de mélodies composées depuis les 8 années qui le séparent du mythique album Solo Piano I.

Jour après jour, le processus d’enregistrement pur et minutieux prit place. Chilly Gonzales enregistra ses pièces les unes après les autres, jusqu’à capturer l’essence-même de chacune.

Après des années passées à distraire son public avec sa personnalité “larger than life, à défier tous les artistes du monde, les obligeant à se surpasser pour atteindre l’excellence qu’ils doivent à leurs fans, Chilly Gonzales nous présente son argument le plus persuasif : les 14 titres de Solo Piano II contenus dans ce recueil.

La route fut riche jusqu’à Solo Piano II pour “le génie musical auto-proclamé. Porté par une nomination Grammy et un record du monde Guinness Book du concert le plus long, Chilly Gonzales reprit enfin la scène après de nombreuses années passées derrière la console d’un studio à travailler pour les autres. Il devient LE pianiste sollicité par Drake, Feist, Daft Punk, …et même Steve Jobs pour sa campagne mondiale pour IPAD 2.

A travers ses albums et tournées, Chilly fascine par sa polyvalence en tant qu’interprète et sa virtuosité en tant que pianiste. Rare est l’artiste qui fait danser son public sur les rythmes les plus branchés du moment, puis fait appel à un orchestre symphonique pour l’accompagner durant son concert de rap.

Avec Solo Piano II, Chilly Gonzales se distingue une fois de plus comme un authentique “entertainer, conscient que la plus belle marque de respect pour ses fans est avant tout de “shut up and play the piano (dixit Chilly Gonzales dans “The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales, 2011).

SKU: PR.140401310

ISBN 9781491134153. UPC: 680160684250. 9 x 12 inches. Key: G major.

NORA’S DANCE is a jazz-influenced rag from 1921, and among the only surviving compositions by Nora Douglas Holt. A charming and exciting work rejuvenated by Lara Downes’ 2021 recording for the Rising Sun label, the rag is both a fun 2 minutes for pianists and audiences, and also a fascinating time capsule. Composed several years after Scott Joplin’s death, and several years before the Charleston pervaded popular music, NORA’S DANCE blossoms with the energy and jazz harmony starting to emerge as The Roaring 20’s, using ragtime and stride as the seed for pianistic style.
My own life in music has been driven by a quest to find strong female role models, trails to follow, shoulders to stand on. In Nora Douglas Holt, I find an inspiring example of creativity, independence, and resilience – with a dash of troublemaking. She was a free spirit, a force of nature, and she lived a fascinating and eventful life on her own terms. She reinvented herself through five marriages and at least as many careers. From her beginnings at the piano at age four, she explored many avenues of musical expression – performing, composing, music journalism, broadcasting, teaching – all with inventiveness, style, and zeal.She made the most of the Roaring ’20s, as an artist, socialite, jetsetter, muse, and patroness of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1921 she started an independent arts journal called “Music and Poetry,” where the charming piano solo Nora’s Dance was first published. I think the piece captures beautifully, in a little under 2 minutes, the energy and excitement of those heady years.In 1926, Nora left New York to travel the world, performing in nightclubs throughout Europe and Asia. She put her belongings in storage before she left, and when she came back she discovered that many of her things had been stolen, including more than 200 of her musical compositions. She never composed again.When the Depression hit, she moved out to Los Angeles, where she studied music education at USC, taught music in the LA public schools, and opened her own beauty salon. She returned to New York in the ’40s and worked as a music critic for several major newspapers, then launched yet another career, this time in broadcasting. Her popular radio concert series “Nora Holt’s Concert Showcase” broadcast to New York’s classical music audience, with a focus on Black composers and performers.Ahead of her time, larger than life, full of ideas…. I am so pleased to introduce you to the feisty and free spirited Nora Douglas Holt!

SKU: AP.48837

UPC: 038081561615. English. William Blake.

Captivating. Adventurous. With just a hint of danger. This feisty minor key setting of William Blake's gripping poem immediately garners attention with a ferocious fanfare. Then a jaunty, detached piano motive (which later becomes a choral counterline), leads to contemporary choral writing firmly rooted in traditional techniques. Angular intervals and syncopated agitation provide energy, vim, and vigor. Guaranteed to be a highlight of rehearsals, concerts, contests, and festivals. Visit to download a free choral rehearsal guide: www.alfred.com/tigerrehearsalguide This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.

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.