SKU: IS.BC6927EM

ISBN 9790365069279.

Gareth Churchill trained in London with Rhian Samuel and in Cardiff with Anthony Powers (PhD Composition 2007); other teachers having included Peter Maxwell Davies, Judith Weir, John Metcalf and Charles Camilleri. Commissions include works for Vale of Glamorgan Festival for Arvo Pärt's 75th birthday, Aberystwyh Musicfest, Bangor New Music Festival, Mavron Quartet and South Wales Gay Men's Chorus. Performances have reached audiences in Belgium, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, the USA and throughout the UK. His output reflects an interest in musical cryptography with many works' titles providing the key to understanding their musical means. He has taught at Cardiff University School of Music, at Aberystwyth Musicfest and is composition teacher for Cardiff University Centre for Continuing and Professional Education.This composition was written for bass clarinet soloist Sarah Watts, who did extensive research on bass clarinet multiphonics. This piece is a great illustration on the integration of multiphonics in contemporary music.

SKU: IS.BC7076EM

ISBN 9790365070763.

It was 1995 when I had the fortune to listen to the freshly published recording of the suites performed by Mstislav Rostropovich. I would have given anything to be able to play them, and this was what inspired me to study the bass clarinet. The series of diverse emotions which I subsequently experienced made me see Music in a completely new way. I began learning them slowly, inevitably adapting the text. As I discovered their educational value, the knowledge of harmonic structures, forms and stylistic features gradually evolved within me. Over 20 years I have studied various editions and listened to the meaning which these suites have had for many famous performers. I pleasantly discovered the commendable work of other clarinettists who in turn have dedicated themselves to approaching this composer with the bass clarinet. The objective of this version isn’t to impose conditions on how to play the suites. We carried out unique research into the coherence of the text, based on the manuscripts of Anna Magdalena Bach and Johann Peter Kellner. The choice to remove any type of articulation and agogic was made in order to encourage the development of personal interpretation, which obviously requires a fundamental investigation of the sources. This edition comes with 4 versions of the suite. The reason behind producing four versions (which are in different keys and tones) is because every musician has their own tastes and tendencies. Personally, I prefer the bass clef transposed to B flat because I find the bass clef to be the most appropriate for the spirit of the low instrument.