| Canone ed Ostinato and Corale con Canto Choral SATB Boosey and Hawkes
Choral (SATB Choir) SKU: HL.48021234 From Cantata academica, Carmen ba...(+)
Choral (SATB Choir) SKU: HL.48021234 From Cantata academica, Carmen basiliense. Composed by Benjamin Britten. Boosey & Hawkes Sacred Choral. Classical. Octavo. 16 pages. Boosey & Hawkes #M051482474. Published by Boosey & Hawkes (HL.48021234). ISBN 9781458423542. UPC: 884088642037. 6.75x10.5 inches. Text: in Latin compiled from the charter of the University, and from older orations in praise of Basle by Bernhard Wyss.
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Difficulty level: 4 (for chorus)
Britten's genius lifts this work above being just a worthy celebration of the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Basle University. It is tongue-in-cheek and mockingly non-academic while referring all the time to academic musical forms and formulae. It is written in two parts (everything is in the statutory Latin including the titles of the parts - Pars I and Pars II). The titles of the movements show Britten's intention to show off a wide variety of techniques. Here are some examples: Chorale/Alla Rovescio (the theme is given and responded to with the same melody upside down)/Recitativo/Tema seriale con fuga/Canone ed ostinato. There is a good deal of humour here.
There are seven movements in Pars I and six in Pars II. The tenor soloist is given three florid recitatives, accompanied only by a piano, which act as bridges between other orchestrally accompanied movements. Of these the most noteworthy are the Arioso con canto popolare for soprano solo with tenors and basses who hum a student song; another terrific Britten scherzo; and a wonderfully raucous final pair of movements (Canon ed ostinato and Corale con canto) where Britten seems to be aping the Vivat Regina! cries in Parry's I was glad or encouraging the kind of noisy 'I'm from the best university' kind of student touchline shout. This has outrageously high notes for the tenors (top B) which further endorse this feeling. There are real echoes of the Spring Symphony (see separate entry) final movement here which are further underlined by the last section of the Cantata which brings in the bells, piano, huge percussion and the inevitable chorale in which the choir sings 'that a free academy may thrive in a free community, for ever the ornament and treasure of illustrious Basle'.
This may not be Britten at his most soul-searching but, as always, there is plenty here to enjoy, especially if the work is not taken too seriously. It is a celebratory, occasional piece and it could be well taken up by other academic establishments celebrating big anniversaries. The chorus parts are not very difficult, though they do present challenges for the choir - not least in having tenors capable of those very high notes at the end. The Tema seriale con fuga is sinewy and needs careful tuning. It also has the subject regularly given upside down after its initial sounding by the basses. All good fun.
Duration: 21 minutes
Paul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011. $2.50 - See more - Buy onlinePre-shipment lead time: 24 hours - In Stock | | |
| Eyesight Choral SATB SATB, Piano Theodore Presser Co.
Choral SATB choir, piano SKU: PR.342402070 Composed by Steven Stucky. -. ...(+)
Choral SATB choir, piano SKU: PR.342402070 Composed by Steven Stucky. -. Ars Nova Chamber Singers, Boulder CO. Performance Score. With Standard notation. Composed 7-Feb. 8 pages. Duration 3 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #342-40207. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.342402070). ISBN 9781491111253. UPC: 680160643226. Octavo inches. Text: Archibald R. Ammons. Archibald Ammons. Text by A.R. Ammons. To benefit Chorus America, Stucky allowed himself to be auctioned off as a prize - the high bidder would receive a new work from the composer. After a few years and not really hearing anything, Stucky suddenly found himself up against a deadline. He reached back to a favorite poem by A.R. Ammons, Eyesight, which, he says, Won't let...his reader rest till the very last word...one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless.. This piece has an odd history. A few years ago, I agreed to be one of the“prizes†in an auction to benefit Chorus America: the highest bidder wouldget a new piece from me, while their money went to the organization. Thewinning bid came from a collection of several professional choruses anddirectors. But I was always a little vague about the details, and, hearingnothing more about it for a few years, forgot the whole thing.One day I received a message from Thomas Edward Morgan, directorof the Ars Nova Chamber Singers in Boulder: they had scheduled thepremiere of my new piece for a few weeks later, and could they have themusic, please? I needed a text, quickly, and (as usual) I was in a Los Angeleshotel room, not at home with my books. So I turned to the internet andsoon tracked down my favorite poet, A.R. Ammons (1926-2001).Once I stumbled on “Eyesight,†I remembered having loved the poemyears before. Archie must have loved it, too, because he included it bothin his Collected Poems 1951-1971 and in the later Selected Poems. It haseverything you want in an Archie Ammons poem: what Edward Hirschcalled his “offbeat, sideways, unpredictable radiance,†his “homespunglory.†It has one of his trademark conversations with a mountain (perhapsfrom his native North Carolina), it has the fluid motion from one line tothe next (enjambment, if you want to get technical) that won’t let him orhis reader rest till the very last word of the very last line, and it has in thatlast line one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless: “some thingsthat go are gone.â€I miss Archie, but he’s not gone. I’m grateful for the wonderful poems heleft us, and I’m grateful that he was always generous and kind when I hadthe chutzpah to add my music to his. $2.50 - See more - Buy onlinePre-shipment lead time: 1 to 2 weeks | | |
| Missa brevis in E-flat minor Choral SATB - Intermediate Barenreiter
SATB Choir (Mixed choir (SATB)) - Level 3 SKU: BA.BA08521 Composed by Mar...(+)
SATB Choir (Mixed choir (SATB)) - Level 3 SKU: BA.BA08521 Composed by Marten Jansson. Stapled. Choral score. 14 pages. Baerenreiter Verlag #BA08521_00. Published by Baerenreiter Verlag (BA.BA08521). ISBN 9790006563203. 27 x 19 cm inches. Key: E-flat minor. Text Language: Latin. The “Missa brevis in E flat minor†for mixed choir a cappella has been composed in the tradition of the short Mass (without Credo) and can be easily managed by most choirs. Thanks to its conciseness, it is suitable for use in church services, while its delightful harmonic layout and consciously simple melodies (with clear allusions to folk music) also make it perfect for concert performance.
“My music is my own and I have never tried to be original. That has always been my motto and I have only tried to use music to express all the feelings which life has to offer. This has led people to describe my music as ‘so sad that it sounds like birds who have lost their wings’ but also as ‘the happiest classical music that we have ever heard‘. My compositions are almost all sacred. They express not only my own faith but also my appreciation and respect for the timeless texts that have been used for centuries and centuries.“
MÃ¥rten Jansson (b. 1965), elected member of the Föreningen svenska tonsättare (the Society of Swedish Composers), graduated from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm (KHM) with an MFA degree in Music Education, Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Voice. For more than ten years he was the music director and conductor of “Carmenâ€, one of the most prominent womens’ vocal ensembles in Sweden. He currently teaches choral conducting and music theory as well as giving vocal tuition at the Bolandgymnasiet and Musikskolan in his home town of Uppsala.
Please find a recording of the “Missa brevis†performed by the Ensemble Sonoro, Neil Ferris (Conductor) by clicking on Multimedia.
$7.95 - See more - Buy onlinePre-shipment lead time: 1 to 2 weeks | | |
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