SKU: CF.SPS71

ISBN 9781491143544. UPC: 680160901043. Key: G minor.

Nordanvind is a tour de force symphonic rhapsody that is built on three Scandinavian folk songs. Composer Carl Strommen has composed these Viking-influenced melodies into a concert setting that brings out all of the history of the Scandinavian people. The piece is at times bold and aggressive, at other times beautiful. Carl employs all of the instrumental colors of the concert band to create a new work for more advanced ensembles.
Modern Scandinavians are descendants of the Vikings, an adventuresome people who were known for their love of the sea, their naval prowess, and as fierce fighters . The Scandinavian Vikings were warriors from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who traded, raided and settled in various parts of Europe, Russia, the North Atlantic islands, and the northeastern coast of North America .Starting around 1850, over one million Swedes left their homeland for the United States in search of religious freedom and open farm land . Augustana College was founded in 1860 by graduates of Swedish universities and is located on the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois . Home of the “Vikings,” Augustana College is the oldest Swedish- American institution of higher learning in the United States . This powerful and lively piece takes inspiration from Swedish history and from Swedish folk songs and hymns .Havsdrake (Dragon of the Sea)The Nordanvind or “North Wind” blows a cold wind during a journey of a group of courageous Viking rowers . The “Dragon-ship” or long ships designed for raiding and war was a sophisticated, fast ship able to navigate in very shallow water . To musically portray these magnificent seafaring vessels, the director is encouraged to use an Ocean Drum (or a rain stick) during the introduction . Wind players may consider blowing air through their instruments to suggest the North wind . Adding men’s voices to accompany the haunting low brass and percussive “rower” sounds can be helpful in creating the dark and ominous portrayal of Viking adventurers .Slangpolska efter Byss - KalleIn Sweden, a “polska” is a partner dance where the dancers spin each other (släng in Swedish “to sling or toss”) . Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle is attributed to Byss-Kalle, who was a notable Swedish folk musician, specifically a nyckelharpa player . Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle is a traditional “polska” dance song most often played on the Nyckelharpa or keyed fiddle and is commonly heard in pubs and at festive events throughout Sweden . Approximately 10,000 nyckelharpa players live in Sweden today, and the Swedish and the American Nyckelharpa Associations are dedicated to this Swedish National instrument . The director is encouraged to share video and audio examples of the nyckelharpa playing the original Slangpolska efter Byss - Kalle .Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara (Children of the Heavenly Father)Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara Is a traditional Swedish melody, possibly of German roots, and was believed to be arranged as a hymn by the Swedish hymn writer, Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg (1832–1903) . As a daughter of a Swedish Lutheran minister, she began writing poems as a teenager and is said to have written over 1,700 different texts . There are two different accounts as to the inspiration for this hymn . The first story is that Lina (as she was called) wrote the hymn to honor her father and to say thank you to him for raising her and protecting her . A second belief is of her witnessing the tragic death of her father . She and her father were on a boat, when a wave threw her father overboard . It was said that the profound effect of watching her father drown is what caused Lina to write the text to this hymn . Although this is a treasured song to people of Swedish descent everywhere, it speaks to all people about a father tending and nourishing his children, and protecting them from evil .SPS71FThe Augustana College Concert BandFounded in 1874, the Augustana Band program is one of the oldest continuously active collegiate band programs in the country . The Concert Band is one of two bands on campus and was formed more than thirty years ago . The Concert Band attracts students of every skill level and from a wide variety of majors . Students in the ensemble play a large part in choosing their music for performance, which include works from the standard repertoire, orchestral transcriptions, and the latest compositions from leading composers .Rick Jaeschke began his musical career as a clarinet player in the 1st US Army Band . He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Susquehanna University, a Masters of Music from James Madison University, and a doctorate from Columbia University in New York . He was also fortunate to study conducting with Donald Hunsburger and with Frederick Fennell .Dr . Jaeschke taught band and choir at Great Mills High School in Southern Maryland, and for fifteen years, he was the district Music Supervisor in Armonk, New York, where he taught high school concert and jazz bands, beginning band, and music technology . During that time, the music program flourished, and the high school band consistently received Gold Medals in the New York State Festivals, as well as in national, and international festivals . As a clarinet and saxophone player, Dr . Jaeschke performed in the New York metropolitan area with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, the Putnam Symphony Orchestra, Fine Arts Symphony Orchestra, and served as the concert master for the Hudson Valley Wind Symphony .For several years, Dr . Jaeschke served as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the District 204 schools in Naperville, IL, a district selected as One of the Best 100 Schools in America for Music . Currently, Dr . Jaeschke is an Associate Professor at Augustana College where he teaches music and music education courses, and directs the Concert Band . He has served on various educational boards, is a National edTPA scorer, and has presented at state, national and international music conferences . He lives with his family in Bettendorf Iowa, and enjoys any opportunity to explore the open water in his sea kayak .

SKU: AP.41916S

UPC: 038081481722. English.

There is something about a crisp winter morning that makes one feel at home and at peace. This is a lyrical piece that encapsulates that feeling and gives students an opportunity to explore performing with a legato style. Intriguing harmonies, a beautiful melody, and a little bit of holiday spirit will help make this one of your favorites. (2:40) Winter Whispers correlates to Book 1, Level 5 of Sound Innovations for Concert Band.

SKU: CF.CPS200F

ISBN 9781491153031. UPC: 680160910533.

Although some stories in Greek mythology reveal a different side to his character, Apollo was widely regarded to hold a cheerful personality and communicating joy through the music he played on his lyre. Apollo Arise is an energetic and spirited work for band ideal for opening a concert. The uplifting and exuberant melodic material lead the group on a sonic journey to capture the joy and light music can bring to both the audience and the performer.
Program NotesAmong the many stories in Greek mythology, Apollo holds a unique place as a complex Olympian god known for truth, prophecy, healing, poetry, plague, knowledge, light and music. Although some stories reveal a different side to his character, Apollo was widely regarded to hold a cheerful personality and communicated joy through the music he played on his lyre. Apollo Arise is an energetic and spirited work for band, ideal for opening a concert. The uplifting and exuberant melodic material lead the group on a sonic journey to capture the joy and light music can bring to both the audience and performer. From the dynamic opening fanfare to the soaring motifs and rhythms that follow, Apollo Arise provides a wonderful opportunity for the ensemble to reach for new musical heights in their performance!    Rehearsal Notes and SuggestionsThe opening twenty-four measures of the work are important for the rest of the work to unfold successfully. Encourage the ensemble to play with a unified articulation style, maintain a proper balance, and establish a consistent tempo through this section as several recurring rhythms must be performed consistently. Measure 38 features a trumpet solo, so be sure that the rest of the ensemble balances their line to support the solo instrument. In the section that begins at m. 67, there is an optional solo opportunity for trumpet and trombone. Both of these sections provide nice contrast against the full ensemble sections that are present in the work. The section at m. 81 includes a call-and-response section between woodwind, brass and percussion groups. Be sure that as groups enter, the tempo remains consistent and that the winds articulation style is unified and complimentary to the percussion. As the opening fanfare returns at m. 101, remind the ensemble to play with consistent style, balance and tempo as they did in the opening. As the ensemble begins the part of the journey with Apollo at m. 110, the music contains unique layers that must work together to be effective and set up the material that begins at m. 127. Encourage the group to play so they can hear all other lines, and allow their energy to grow into a focused musical celebration by the final note. Thank you in advance for your support of this music, and I wish you and your ensemble well as Apollo Arise welcomes the audience to your concert hall.

SKU: CF.YPS208F

ISBN 9781491152966. UPC: 680160910465.

A stunning and heart-wrenching composition based on the Jewish folk son Shlof, Mayn Kind. You can hear the emotional content pour out of this piece written in memory of an outstanding orchestra director. The piece beginnings with original material to set the tone, followed by a clarinet solo on the song. It then develops through a variety of different harmonic presentation before building to a nice key change and climatic moment. The piece ends as it began, but with a more hopeful tone. An amazing piece.
Sleep, My Child was commissioned by the Madison Middle School Band and Orchestra in Tampa, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Orchestras Kevin Frye. Director of Bands Chris Shultz championed the commissioning of this piece to honor Kevin after he passed away in December 2016. Mr. Frye was a beloved member of the staff at Madison Middle as well as the music community of Tampa and the state of Florida. I was a personal friend of Kevin’s. We were in several musical groups together when we were young that were formative to both of our musical careers. I also guest conducted his Madison Middle School Orchestra several times over the past four years. His musicianship, teaching skills and love for his students were exemplary.When taking on the challenge of writing a piece to honor Kevin’s legacy, Mr. Shultz and I decided to try and include several important aspects of Kevin’s life into the piece. Kevin was proudly Jewish, a fantastic trumpet player and loved Jazz. With that in mind, and after a lot of research, a Jewish folk song Shlof, Mayn Kind was selected as the basis for the piece, not to be religious, but to honor his faith and heritage. Plus it is a beautiful song, and I felt the title reflected the sentiment I was looking to express, which is of someone taking rest after a long battle with illness. Thus, a lullaby seemed appropriate.I also wanted to incorporate Jazz into the piece, but in a concert setting, so you will hear as the piece develops, the harmonies of the folk song expand into ones found more commonly in Jazz compositions. Not in a far out way, but in a subtle way to again honor this part of his life. For example the climactic moment of the piece at the fermata in m. 57 is a Dbmaj9#11 chord. It appropriately give the piece the angst that I was looking for at this moment in the piece, while honoring the importance of Jazz in Kevin’s musical life.The piece was also conceived to include both the Madison band and orchestra in the performance at the premiere. I wanted the pieces to work separately by the band and separately by the orchestra, but I also wanted them to be able to play the piece together to honor Kevin.The piece begins with original material designed to set the mood of the piece with a tempo/style marking of pensive, but also as material that I used as connective musical tissue between statements of the folk song.  After this introduction, the folk song is presented by a solo violin (or clarinet) with orchestral accompaniment in a simple straight forward presentation of the song. This is followed by a woodwind section statement of the folk song accompanied by muted trumpets. During this presentation the harmony starts to expand with more color notes in the chords. The low brass are added half way through this statement to add depth and lushness.The introductory material returns, but with some angry hits in the lower voices. This leads to a full ensemble state of new material that is used to transition to the climax of the piece, and to build tension. After the build, the piece modulates to a shortened statement of the folk song with more advanced harmonies and an active counter line in the violas, horns, saxes and first clarinets to further build the tension.  This tension is released at the fermata in m. 57, as mentioned above. After a thoughtful pause, the piece concludes with a completion of the folk song again with a solo violin (or clarinet) followed by a return of the introductory material to tie the piece together. The piece ends hopeful, with a solo trumpet (Kevin’s instrument) that is dissonant at first, but then resolves as if to say - everything will be OK! It has been my distinct honor to have been asked to write this piece in Kevin’s memory! I hope that in some small way the piece helps to bring comfort to his family, students, colleagues and to all those that knew him!–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL  2017.

SKU: HL.44012271

UPC: 888680057664. English-German-French-Dutch.

Looking Up, Moving On was commissioned by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and was part of a tour programme they gave in May 2012, a tour which included many areas that had been devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.The theme of the piece is the powerful ability of mankind to overcome such disasters and look forward to a positive future; it opens in an appropriately optimistic mood, featuring bright orchestral colours and extensive syncopation. A chorale-like fanfare is soon introduced on horns and euphonium, answered by chirpy woodwinds. The mood subsides until an alto saxophone introduces a brief quotation from the composer's The Sun Will RiseAgain, which was written to raise funds for victims of the 2011 disaster. The mood soon changes and the horns introduce a noble theme under woodwind flourishes. This leads to the main Vivo section of the piece which is characterised again by strong syncopations as part of a florid theme in the low woodwinds. This melody undergoes varied development by all sections of the band until the horn fanfare returns triumphally on the brass. This is extended and leads to a faster coda which brings together previous material in counterpoint to close the work in optimistic mood.

Looking Up, Moving On is gecomponeerd in opdracht van het Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Het werk maakte deel uit van een programma uit mei 2012, dat werd uitgevoerd tijdens een tournee waarbij veel regio's werden bezocht die waren verwoest door de aardbeving en tsunami van 2011.Het thema van het werk is het buitengewone vermogen van de mens om dergelijke rampen te boven te komen en vooruit te kijken naar een positieve toekomst. De opening is dan ook optimistisch van karakter, met heldere orkestrale kleuren en een rijkelijke syncopering. Al snel wordt er een koraalachtige fanfare geintroduceerd door de hoorns en het euphonium, waarop een levendig antwoord volgt in dehoutblazerssectie. De sfeer wordt dan steeds kalmer totdat een altsaxofoon een kort citaat laat horen uit een eerder werk van de componist, The Sun Will Rise Again, dat werd geschreven om geld in te zamelen voor de slachtoffers van de ramp uit 2011. De stemming slaat vlug weer om: de hoorns introduceren een nobel thema, dat weerklinkt onder versieringen in het hout. Dit leidt naar het Vivo, het hoofdgedeelte, dat eveneens wordt gekenmerkt door sterke syncoperingen, als onderdeel van een sierlijk thema in het lage hout. De melodie ondergaat een gevarieerde ontwikkeling binnen alle secties van het orkest, totdat de hoornfanfare op triomfantelijke wijze terugkeert in het koper. De fanfare wordt vervolgens verder uitgewerkt en voert ons mee naar een snellere coda, die voorafgaand materiaal in contrapunt samenbrengt en de compositie in optimistische stemming afsluit.

Looking Up, Moving Down wurde vom Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra in Auftrag gegeben und war Teil des Konzertprogramms einer Tour im Mai 2012, welche viele Gebiete einschloss, die vom Erdbeben und Tsunami im Jahr 2011 zerstort worden waren. Thema dieses Stuckes ist die gewaltige Fahigkeit der Menschheit, uber solche Katastrophen hinwegzukommen und voll Optimismus in die Zukunft zu blicken; es beginnt dementsprechend in einer positiven Stimmung mit strahlenden Orchesterfarben und einer ausgepragten Synkopierung. Schon bald wird eine choralartige Fanfare auf den Hornern und im Euphonium vorgestellt, die von munteren Holzblasern beantwortet wird. Die Stimmung flaut ab, bis einAltsaxophon ein kurzes Zitat aus The Sun Will Rise Again anspielt, das der Komponist zur Spendenbeschaffung fur die Opfer des Unglucks 2011 geschrieben hatte. Kurz darauf folgt ein Stimmungswechsel und die Horner prasentieren ein stattliches Thema, begleitet von Fanfaren in den Holzblasern. Dies fuhrt zum mit Vivo uberschriebenen Hauptteil des Stuckes, der wiederum von starken Synkopierungen gepragt ist, die Teil eines bluhenden Themas in den tiefen Holzblasern sind. Diese Melodie durchlauft eine vielgestaltige Entwicklung durch alle Instrumentengruppen des Blasorchesters, bis das Blech mit der Hornfanfare triumphal zuruckkehrt. Dies wird erweitert und fuhrt zu einer schnelleren Coda, in dem verschiedenes zuvor gehortes Material kontrapunktisch zusammenkommt, um das Werk in einer optimistischen Stimmung zu beenden.

Looking Up, Moving On est une commande du Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Cette piece faisait partie du programme de la tournee effectuee par l'orchestre en mai 2012, qui s'est produit dans de nombreuses regions devastees par le tremblement de terre et le tsunami de 2011.La composition a pour theme l'immense capacite humaine a surmonter de telles catastrophes et envisager l'avenir de facon positive. Elle debute justement dans un climat optimiste comportant de vives couleurs orchestrales et des passages syncopes. Les cors et les euphonium introduisent bientot une fanfare en forme de choral a laquelle repondent des bois petillants. L'ambiance s'apaise jusqu'a ce qu'unsaxophone alto introduise un court extrait de The Sun Will Rise Again, du meme compositeur, une piece ecrite pour collecter des fonds en faveur des victimes du desastre de 2011. Le climat change hativement lorsque les cors introduisent un theme noble par-dessus des fioritures executees par les bois. Vient ensuite la principale section vivo de la piece, qui se caracterise, encore une fois, par des syncopes tres marquees dans le cadre d'un theme fleuri assure dans le registre grave des bois. Cette melodie fait l'objet de divers developpements par tous les pupitres de l'orchestre jusqu'au retour triomphant de la fanfare soutenue par les cuivres. Celle-ci se prolonge pour mener a une coda plus rapide qui rassemble les elements precedents en contrepoint pour clore la piece dans un climat optimiste.