SKU: CF.CPS245F

ISBN 9781491158135. UPC: 680160916733. 9 x 12 inches.

ABOUT THE MUSIC Future of Tomorrow (Concert March) was commissioned by the Arts Education Branch, Ministry of Education as the set piece for the Singapore Youth Festival 2016 Arts Presentation for Concert and Brass Bands (Primary Level). This march uses brief excerpts from the well-known Malay folk songs Katak Lompat and Rasa Sayang. Our youths are indeed our future of tomorrow. This joyful-themed march aims to bring out the best in each of your young players. I hope that students, band directors and audiences will enjoy preparing, performing and listening to this work. EDUCATIONAL NOTES Key: Eb Major SECTION BARS EVENT / SCORING / SUGGESTIONS Introduction 1-4 Opens in Eb major with dotted rhythm motif. 1st Strain 5-20 Take note of melodic phrasing above the (light) oom-pah ostinato; melody repeats at m. 13 with the addition of countermelody in the inner lines; although written at mf dynamic, this anew ideaa needs to be heard clearly for contrast with the previous statement. 2nd Strain 21-36 C minor (relative minor); excerpt from Katak Lompat; melody in the lower brass/wind from m. 21 with a contrasting attitude/style from 1st strain; back to a more lyrical treatment from m. 29. Trio 37-56 Stays unmodulated in the same key; opens with a percussion solo feature before the start of the softer Trio theme; keep this section controlled and be sensitive to the balance; the metallic timbre of the muted trumpet/cornet needs to be heard clearly (might suggest to bring the dynamic level up to mf when muted); if cued-notes are played, make sure they are played throughout the melodic phrase as written to avoid awkward leaps. Break Strain 57-62 Excerpt from Rasa Sayang with some play in tonality and instrumental dialogue; quasi grandioso-style before the final strain. Final Strain 63-82 Back to Eb major with the reprise of the Trio theme; festive-like style with fuller orchestration and new countermelodies; dotted rhythm motif from the introduction concludes the march in a codetta-like section from m. 79. NOTE TO THE CONDUCTOR This march has been carefully written with reasonable technicalities and range in mind for younger players. Generally, optional cued notes in parenthesis are given for less experienced players who have yet to develop their range on the instrument. However, they should never be taken as an easy alternative for all players in the section; otherwise, this may result in a less than ideal flow of the musical lines. Marches are good tools to train tempo consistency, articulation and rhythmic precision as well as musical phrasing. I hope that there will be great learning opportunities for your students as they learn this piece. This march is separately orchestrated for both wind and brass bands to maximize the instrumental colors within each ensemble. The parts are therefore not exchangeable between the wind band and brass band sets. I wish you the best in the performance of this work. - Benjamin Yeo.
ABOUT THE MUSIC Future of Tomorrow (Concert March) was commissioned by the Arts Education Branch, Ministry of Education as the set piece for the Singapore Youth Festival 2016 Arts Presentation for Concert and Brass Bands (Primary Level). This march uses brief excerpts from the well-known Malay folk songs Katak Lompat and Rasa Sayang. Our youths are indeed our future of tomorrow. This joyful-themed march aims to bring out the best in each of your young players. I hope that students, band directors and audiences will enjoy preparing, performing and listening to this work. EDUCATIONAL NOTES Key: Eb Major SECTION BARS EVENT / SCORING / SUGGESTIONS Introduction 1-4 Opens in Eb major with dotted rhythm motif. 1st Strain 5-20 Take note of melodic phrasing above the (light) oom-pah ostinato; melody repeats at m. 13 with the addition of countermelody in the inner lines; although written at mf dynamic, this 'new idea' needs to be heard clearly for contrast with the previous statement. 2nd Strain 21-36 C minor (relative minor); excerpt from Katak Lompat; melody in the lower brass/wind from m. 21 with a contrasting attitude/style from 1st strain; back to a more lyrical treatment from m. 29. Trio 37-56 Stays unmodulated in the same key; opens with a percussion solo feature before the start of the softer Trio theme; keep this section controlled and be sensitive to the balance; the metallic timbre of the muted trumpet/cornet needs to be heard clearly (might suggest to bring the dynamic level up to mf when muted); if cued-notes are played, make sure they are played throughout the melodic phrase as written to avoid awkward leaps. Break Strain 57-62 Excerpt from Rasa Sayang with some play in tonality and instrumental dialogue; quasi grandioso-style before the final strain. Final Strain 63-82 Back to Eb major with the reprise of the Trio theme; festive-like style with fuller orchestration and new countermelodies; dotted rhythm motif from the introduction concludes the march in a codetta-like section from m. 79. NOTE TO THE CONDUCTOR This march has been carefully written with reasonable technicalities and range in mind for younger players. Generally, optional cued notes in parenthesis are given for less experienced players who have yet to develop their range on the instrument. However, they should never be taken as an easy alternative for all players in the section; otherwise, this may result in a less than ideal flow of the musical lines. Marches are good tools to train tempo consistency, articulation and rhythmic precision as well as musical phrasing. I hope that there will be great learning opportunities for your students as they learn this piece. This march is separately orchestrated for both wind and brass bands to maximize the instrumental colors within each ensemble. The parts are therefore not exchangeable between the wind band and brass band sets. I wish you the best in the performance of this work. - Benjamin Yeo.
ABOUT THE MUSICFuture of Tomorrow (Concert March) was commissioned by the Arts Education Branch, Ministry of Education as the set piece for the Singapore Youth Festival 2016 Arts Presentation for Concert and Brass Bands (Primary Level). This march uses brief excerpts from the well-known Malay folk songs Katak Lompat and Rasa Sayang.Our youths are indeed our future of tomorrow. This joyful-themed march aims to bring out the best in each of your young players. I hope that students, band directors and audiences will enjoy preparing, performing and listening to this work.EDUCATIONAL NOTESKey: Eb MajorSECTIONBARSEVENT / SCORING / SUGGESTIONSIntroduction1-4Opens in Eb major with dotted rhythm motif.1st Strain5-20Take note of melodic phrasing above the (light) oom-pah ostinato;melody repeats at m. 13 with the addition of countermelody in the inner lines; although written at mf dynamic, this ‘new idea’ needs to be heard clearly for contrast with the previous statement.2nd Strain21-36C minor (relative minor); excerpt from Katak Lompat; melody in the lower brass/wind from m. 21 with a contrasting attitude/style from 1st strain; back to a more lyrical treatment from m. 29.Trio37-56Stays unmodulated in the same key; opens with a percussion solo feature before the start of the softer Trio theme; keep this section controlled and be sensitive to the balance; the metallic timbre of the muted trumpet/cornet needs to be heard clearly (might suggest to bring the dynamic level up to mf when muted); if cued-notes are played, make sure they are played throughout the melodic phrase as written to avoid awkward leaps.Break Strain57-62Excerpt from Rasa Sayang with some play in tonality and instrumental dialogue; quasi grandioso-style before the final strain.Final Strain63-82Back to Eb major with the reprise of the Trio theme; festive-like style with fuller orchestration and new countermelodies; dotted rhythm motif from the introduction concludes the march in a codetta-like section from m. 79.NOTE TO THE CONDUCTORThis march has been carefully written with reasonable technicalities and range in mind for younger players. Generally, optional cued notes in parenthesis are given for less experienced players who have yet to develop their range on the instrument. However, they should never be taken as an easy alternative for all players in the section; otherwise, this may result in a less than ideal flow of the musical lines. Marches are good tools to train tempo consistency, articulation and rhythmic precision as well as musical phrasing. I hope that there will be great learning opportunities for your students as they learn this piece.This march is separately orchestrated for both wind and brass bands to maximize the instrumental colors within each ensemble. The parts are therefore not exchangeable between the wind band and brass band sets.I wish you the best in the performance of this work.- Benjamin Yeo.

SKU: PR.16400272S

UPC: 680160588442. 8.5 x 11 inches.

My third quartet is laid out in a three-movement structure, with each movement based on an early, middle, and late work of the great American impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Although the movements are separate, with full-stop endings, the music is connected by a common scale-form, derived from the name MARY CASSATT, and by a recurring theme that introduces all three movements. I see this theme as Mary's Theme, a personality that stays intact while undergoing gradual change.   I The Bacchante (1876) [Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]   The painting shows a young girl of Italian or Spanish origin, playing a small pair of cymbals. Since Cassatt was trying very hard to fit in at the French Academy at the time, she painted a lot of these subjects, which were considered typical and universal. The style of the painting doesn't yet show Cassatt's originality, except perhaps for certain details in the face. Accordingly the music for this movement is Spanish/Italian, in a similar period-style but using the musical signature described above. The music begins with Mary's Theme, ruminative and slow, then abruptly changes to an alla Spagnola-type fast 3/4 - 6/8 meter. It evokes the Spanish-influenced music of Ravel and Falla.   Midway through, there's an accompanied recitative for the viola, which figures large in this particular movement, then back to a truncated recapitulation of the fast music. The overall feeling is of a well-made, rather conventional movement in a contemporary Spanish/Italian style. Cassatt's painting, too, is rather conventional.   II At the Opera (1880) [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts]   This painting is one of Cassatt's most well known works, and it hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting shows a woman alone in a box at the opera house, completely dressed (including gloves) and looking through opera glasses at someone or something that is NOT on the stage. Across the auditorium from her, but exactly at eye level, is a gentleman with opera glasses intently watching her - though it is not him that she's looking at. It's an intriguing picture.   This movement is far less conventional than the first movement, as the painting is far less conventional. The music begins with a rapid, Shostakovich-type mini-overture lasting less than a minute, based on Mary's Theme. My conjecture is that the woman in the painting has arrived late to the opera, busily stumbling into her box. What happens next is a kind of collage, a kind of surrealistic overlaying of two different elements: the foreground music, at first is a direct quotation of Soldier's Chorus from Gounod's FAUST (an opera Cassatt would certainly have heard in the brand-new Paris Opera House at that time), played by Violin II, Viola, and Cello. This music is played sul ponticello in the melody and col legno in the marching accompaniment. On top of this, the first violin hovers at first on a high harmonic, then descends into a slow melody, completely separate from the Gounod. It's as if the woman in the painting is hearing the opera onstage but is not really interested in it. Then the cello joins the first violin in a kind of love-duet (just the two of them, at first). This music isn't at all Gounod-derived; it's entirely from the same scale patterns as the first movement and derives from Mary's Theme and its scale. The music stays in a kind of dichotomy feeling, usually three-against-one, until the end of the movement, when another Gounod melody, Valentin's aria Avant de quitter ce lieux reappears in a kind of coda for all four players. It ends atmospherically and emotionally disconnected, however. The overall feeling is a kind of schizophrenic, opera-inspired dream.   III Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun (1909) [Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts]   The painting, one of Cassatt's last, is very simple: just a figure, looking sideways out of the picture. The colors are pastel and yet bold - and the woman is likewise very self-assured and not in the least demure. It is eight minutes long, and is all about melody - three melodies, to be exact (Young Woman, Green, and Sunlight). No angst, no choppy rhythms, just ever-unfolding melody and lush harmonies. I quote one other French composer here, too: Debussy's song Green, from Ariettes Oubliees. 1909 would have been Debussy's heyday in Paris, and it makes perfect sense musically as well as visually to do this.   Mary Cassatt lived her last several years in near-total blindness, and as she lost visual acuity, her work became less sharply defined - something akin to late water lilies of Monet, who suffered similar vision loss. My idea of making this movement entirely melodic was compounded by having each of the three melodies appear twice, once in a pure form, and the second time in a more diffuse setting. This makes an interesting two ways form: A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.   String Quartet No.3 (Cassatt) is dedicated, with great affection and respect, to the Cassatt String Quartet, whose members have dedicated themselves in large measure to the furthering of the contemporary repertoire for quartet.