SKU: BT.MUSM570368679
Isthmus denotes a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger ars of land. The title is a metaphor for an effort to bond artistically my experiences of living in Cyprus, my birthplace, and in the USA, my recently adopted homeland. Having lived in a small, partitioned island for my formative years and in England for eleven years, water has always had a double meaning: it has at once served as a gateway to other cultures but also as a border, a violent and absolute interruption of a continuum. While in the USA, or indeed in a now connected Europe, it is possible to travel on land for days without having to encounter a border, in the countries where I lived for most of my life, that was not possible. As an artist, this notion of establishing boundaries and consciously trying to break them is very close to me, as my music deals both with modernity but also with tradition and, similarly, with metaphor and reality. As a Cypriot, the sea, the world of antiquity, the mysteries of the oracles, the notion of borders and the pastoral are all very central to my way of thinking. In Cyprus, different layers of history are frequently superimposed on a single building that might still preserve its Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman features in its layers of stone and architecture. Similarly, ancient ruins or the barbed wire of modern conflict often interrupt placid fields. An isthmus, therefore, can be seen to symbolize my artistic struggle to join strikingly different experiences and notions in a cohesive way. Similar to an isthmus, in this short piece, I connect these experiences with the purpose of creating a distinct and unique sonic context, connecting technology and tradition, the pastoral with the urban, the musical with the extra-musical and the abstract with the concrete. For example, the choir does not always sing in the traditional sense, but the singers imitate various natural sounds, such as water, air, crickets or birds, to create a vivid visual impression for the work. Scandinavian herding calls blend with field recordings from the seas of Cyprus and the lakes of Upstate New York, communicated within clearly defined, singular acoustic sources and spaces through wireless speakers. The text used is both onomatopoeic, articulating an imaginary language, but also literal, with a setting of the poem, “To make a prairie” by the iconic American poet Emily Dickinson and a tiny fragment from Callimachus’ “Hymn to Demeter.” Technology is used sparsely and very intentionally to articulate the expressive qualities of pastoral imagery, creating one unified synthetic timbre with the choristers’ sounds. This piece is dedicated to the wonderful singers of the Georgia Institute of Technology Chamber Choir with special thanks to Professors Hsu and Ulrich, without whose support this composition would not have been possible. Practical notes: A choir of no less than 24 singers is sought with 4 additional soloists (2 Sopranos and 2 Altos). Each singer must have their own wireless speaker, secured either in the music folder or as a strap inside their shirts. All sounds must match in volume the sound from the speakers, creating one unified timbre. The speakers should not be noticeable to the public. The four soloists are placed offstage at the beginning of the work. From 1:35’ onwards they enter the hall and take their positions, ideally at the four corners of the hall. If the hall is too large, the singers can find alternate positions, but these should always be antiphonal. The four soloists sing predominantly in the “kulning” style and the antiphonal aspect is very important to the work. There are two sound files for each section (SATB) that are triggered by each singer’s mobile device. The first occurs at the start of the piece, and the second, about a minute before the end. The sound files are able to be purchased separately, on CD, or are available directly from UYMP.
SKU: PR.411411640
ISBN 9781491137642. UPC: 680160691098. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis novel by Giorgio Bassani.
Based on Bassani’s 1962 novel, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS dramatizes the true story of a prosperous Jewish family’s disruptions and consequences from state-mandated antisemitism in Italy during World War II. Gordon describes the opera as “romantic, sun-drenched, and cataclysmic, all at the same time.” This dramatically topical and personal grand opera premiered at New York City Opera and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to rave reviews in 2022. Chris Ruel wrote in OperaWire, “I have chosen Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS as my favorite opera of 2022.”.At one point, in 2008, I was walking down 72nd Street, and I passed the video store, (this is when there were video stores) and I thought to myself, I wonder if Kevin (my partner) has ever seen The Garden of the Finzi-Continis? which was always one of my favorite movies. My reaction when we watched it that night was unlike any other time I had seen it. I was wrenched, sobbing, inconsolable. My heart felt like the autumn leaves we see blowing through the garden at the end of the movie. It seemed immediately that this had to be my next opera. I called Michael Korie, and we both bought the Bassani novel and read it. We settled on it. It felt clear that we both had a collective story to tell through it.Because this opera is so close to both of our hearts, it is dedicated to our fathers.It is not only that The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a Holocaust story that makes it so resonant for me, though obviously this is no small matter, but the tragedy of people trying to live their lives, or actually living them, their petty disappointments, their heartbreaks, against the backdrop of total catastrophe… that makes it so moving. They cannot possibly imagine what will befall them, but we know… and this makes their every move fascinating and devastating… like watching moths under a glass. It is romantic, sun-drenched and cataclysmic, all at the same time.This is why I had to write it.
SKU: PR.362034230
ISBN 9781598069556. UPC: 680160624225. Letter inches. English.
When the Texas Choral Consort asked Welcher to write a short prologue to Haydn's The Creation, his first reaction was that Haydn already presents Chaos in his introductory movement. As he thought about it, Welcher began envisioning a truer void to precede Haydn's depiction of Chaos within the scope of 18th-century classical style - quoting some of Haydn's themes and showing human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation melange of color, mood, and atmosphere. Welcher accepted this challenge with the proviso that his prologue would lead directly into Haydn's masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause in between. Scored for mixed chorus and Haydn's instrumentation, Without Form and Void is a dramatically fresh yet pragmatic enhancement to deepen any performance of Haydn's The Creation. Orchestral score and parts are available on rental.When Brent Baldwin asked me to consider writing a short prologue to THE CREATION, my first response was “Why?â€Â THE CREATION already contains a prologue; it’s called “Representation of Chaosâ€, and it’s Haydn’s way of showing the formless universe. How could a new piece do anything but get in the way? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The Age of Enlightenment’s idea of “Chaos†was just extended chromaticism, no more than Bach used (in fact, Bach went further).Perhaps there might be a way to use the full resources of the modern orchestra (or at least, a Haydn-sized orchestra) and the modern chorus to really present a cosmic soup of unborn musical atoms, just waiting for Haydn’s sure touch to animate them. Perhaps it could even quote some of Haydn’s themes before he knew them himself, and also show human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation mélange of color, mood, and atmosphere. So I accepted the challenge, with the proviso that my new piece not be treated as some kind of “overtureâ€, but would instead be allowed to lead directly into Haydn’s masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause. I crafted this five minute piece to begin with a kind of “music of the spheres†universe-hum, created by tuned wine glasses and violin harmonics. The chorus enters very soon after, with the opening words of Genesis whispered simultaneously in as many languages as can be found in a chorus. The first two minutes of my work are all about unborn human voices and unfocused planetary sounds, gradually becoming more and more “coherent†until we finally hear actual pitches, melodies, and words. Three of Haydn’s melodies will be heard, to be specific, but not in the way he will present them an hour from now. It’s almost as if we are listening inside the womb of the universe, looking for a faint heartbeat of worlds, animals, and people to come. At the end of the piece, the chorus finally finds its voice with a single word: “God!â€, and the orchestra finally finds its own pulse as well. The unstoppable desire for birth must now be answered, and it is----by Haydn’s marvelous oratorio. I am not a religious man in any traditional sense. Neither was Haydn, nor Mozart, nor Beethoven. But all of them, as well as I, share in what is now called a humanistic view of how things came to be, how life in its many forms developed on this planet, and how Man became the recorder of history. The gospel according to John begins with a parody of Genesis: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.â€Â  I love that phrase, and it’s in that spirit that I offer my humble “opener†to the finest work of one of the greatest composers Western music has ever known. My piece is not supposed to sound like Haydn. It’s supposed to sound like a giant palette, on which a composer in 1798 might find more outrageous colors than his era would permit…but which, I hope, he would have been delighted to hear.
SKU: GI.G-10297
UPC: 785147029717. English, Spanish. Text Source: Revised Order of Mass 2010, Lectionary for Mass. Misal Romano, tercera edición
A versatile Mass setting for use throughout the liturgical year, Mass of the Sun of Justice / Misa Sol de Justicia is fully bilingual, singable entirely in English or in Spanish, or any pastoral combination of both languages. At its core, this setting is built on assembly-minded melodies. Much of the choral writing is two-part, albeit spelled out in four voices, whereby the basses frequently double the soprano melody, and the alto and tenor lines essentially share a single harmony in their respective ranges, splitting only at cadence points for a fuller effect. Optional descants and divisi further expand the voicing possibilities. The additional instrumentation is particularly spirited, further enhancing these sung texts for solemn occasions. “Sun of justice†is a term used to reference Christ with respect to his second coming, as found in the ancient “O†antiphons. This title appears in the Lectionary among the Alleluia options for the common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is, in fact, assigned to the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrated within the Advent season. As such, the music is “Advent-like†in nature—joyful and filled with hope. ~~~~~ Una Misa versátil para usar durante todo el año litúrgico, Mass of the Son of Justice / Misa Sol de Justicia es completamente bilingüe, se puede cantar completamente en inglés o en español, o en cualquier combinación pastoral de ambos idiomas. En esencia, este arreglo se basa en melodÃas para la asamblea. Gran parte de la escritura coral es de dos partes, aunque escrito para cuatro voces, por lo que los bajos con frecuencia duplican la melodÃa de soprano, y las lÃneas de alto y tenor comparten esencialmente una sola armonÃa en sus respectivos rangos, dividiéndose solo en los puntos de cadencia para una melodÃa más completa. Los discante y divisi opcionales amplÃan aún más las posibilidades de sonorización. La instrumentación adicional es particularmente animada, mejorando aún más estos textos cantados para ocasiones solemnes. Sol de justicia es un término que se usa para referirse a Cristo con respecto a su segunda venida, como se encuentra en las antÃfonas O antiguas. Este tÃtulo aparece en el Leccionario entre las opciones de Aleluya para el común de la SantÃsima Virgen MarÃa y, de hecho, está asignado a la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, celebrada dentro del tiempo de Adviento. Como tal, la música es en esencia de adviento—alegre y llena de esperanza. ~~~~~ Preview select songs from this mass setting in the video below:.
SKU: PR.312419280
ISBN 9781491137925. UPC: 680160692613.
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?
SKU: CA.3105205
ISBN 9790007187385. Language: German/English. Text: Birkmann, Christoph.
It only became apparent a few years ago that the text of the soprano cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht came from the collection Gott-geheiligten Sabbaths-Zehnden by the Leipzig theology student and Bach pupil Christoph Birkmann, printed in 1728 in Nuremberg. Birkmann was probably therefore the author of the text. The cantata was written for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, which fell on 24 November 1726 in the year of its first performance. As in other cantatas in the first annual cycle, Bach chose an instrumental sinfonia as the opening movement - here the first movement of the 1st Brandenburg Concerto. The soprano soloist has two recitatives and two arias, in which the falsehood of the world is juxtaposed with trust in God. The cantata text is rounded off with the first verse of the chorale In dich hab ich gehoffet, scored for four-part chorus, as is usual with Bach. With the use of two horns and three oboes added to the string ensemble, the cantata has colorful and varied orchestration. Score available separately - see item CA.3105200.
SKU: CA.1001805
ISBN 9790007164751. Text language: German.
Johann Wendelin Glaser was born in 1731 in Ostheim vor der Rhon, Bavaria. In 1751 he became music director in Wertheim, a position he held until his death in 1783. The 300 cantatas by this exceptionally productive composer were long unknown, and were only rediscovered by chance in 1910. The Christmas cantata Daran ist erschienen die Liebe Gottes comprises five movements, beginning with an opening chorus, followed by alternate arias and recitatives. A simple four-part chorale concludes the work. The cantata is easy-to-perform for choral singers and also because of its small instrumental scoring for just two flutes (or other melody instruments) and basso continuo. Score available separately - see item CA.1001800.
SKU: CA.1001819
ISBN 9790007164768. Text language: German.
Johann Wendelin Glaser was born in 1731 in Ostheim vor der Rhon, Bavaria. In 1751 he became music director in Wertheim, a position he held until his death in 1783. The 300 cantatas by this exceptionally productive composer were long unknown, and were only rediscovered by chance in 1910. The Christmas cantata Daran ist erschienen die Liebe Gottes comprises five movements, beginning with an opening chorus, followed by alternate arias and recitatives. A simple four-part chorale concludes the work. The cantata is easy-to-perform for choral singers and also because of its small instrumental scoring for just two flutes (or other melody instruments) and basso continuo. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.1001800.
SKU: CA.3105209
ISBN 9790007206307. Language: German/English. Text: Birkmann, Christoph.
It only became apparent a few years ago that the text of the soprano cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht came from the collection Gott-geheiligten Sabbaths-Zehnden by the Leipzig theology student and Bach pupil Christoph Birkmann, printed in 1728 in Nuremberg. Birkmann was probably therefore the author of the text. The cantata was written for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, which fell on 24 November 1726 in the year of its first performance. As in other cantatas in the first annual cycle, Bach chose an instrumental sinfonia as the opening movement - here the first movement of the 1st Brandenburg Concerto. The soprano soloist has two recitatives and two arias, in which the falsehood of the world is juxtaposed with trust in God. The cantata text is rounded off with the first verse of the chorale In dich hab ich gehoffet, scored for four-part chorus, as is usual with Bach. With the use of two horns and three oboes added to the string ensemble, the cantata has colorful and varied orchestration. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.3105200.
SKU: CA.3105219
ISBN 9790007206352. Language: German/English. Text: Birkmann, Christoph.
SKU: CA.3105223
Language: German/English. Text: Birkmann, Christoph.
It only became apparent a few years ago that the text of the soprano cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht came from the collection Gott-geheiligten Sabbaths-Zehnden by the Leipzig theology student and Bach pupil Christoph Birkmann, printed in 1728 in Nuremberg. Birkmann was probably therefore the author of the text. The cantata was written for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, which fell on 24 November 1726 in the year of its first performance. As in other cantatas in the first annual cycle, Bach chose an instrumental sinfonia as the opening movement - here the first movement of the 1st Brandenburg Concerto. The soprano soloist has two recitatives and two arias, in which the falsehood of the world is juxtaposed with trust in God. The cantata text is rounded off with the first verse of the chorale In dich hab ich gehoffet, scored for four-part chorus, as is usual with Bach. With the use of two horns and three oboes added to the string ensemble, the cantata has colorful and varied orchestration. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3105200.
SKU: CA.3105214
ISBN 9790007206345. Language: German/English. Text: Birkmann, Christoph.
SKU: CA.3105224
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