SKU: PR.110406720
UPC: 680160001316.
I have always been fond of writing works for specific people or organizations. It has been my good fortune during most of my creative career to be asked to compose for many extraordinary performers. The Sonata for Harpsichord Solo is such a case in point: it was written in 1982 for Barbara Harbach, a superb performer, close friend, and collaborator on many musical projects. The Sonata was premiered on March 2, 1984, in a recital given by Dr. Harbach at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. During my formative years as a composer, one seldom heard of the harpsichord as a modern instrument, though while I attended undergraduate school at Boston University, some of us banded together to construct a small harpsichord from one of the first do-it-yourself kits which began to appear in the late '40s. It was also during this time that I heard the Sonatina for Violin and Harpsichord by my teacher Walter Piston and consequently specified that the accompanying instrument for my second violin sonata could either be a piano or a harpsichord. It was not until recently, however, that my interest in the harpsichord as a solo instrument for new music was aroused. This was because of the emergence of so many young virtuosi, such as Barbara Harbach, who are interested in the performance of new music besides the great harpsichord music of the Classical, Baroque, and pre-Baroque eras. The keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti has always intrigued and fascinated me. The brevity, excitement, and clarity of this sparkling music is charming as well as exhilarating. It is this type of Baroque sonata that inspired the conception and form of my harpsichord sonata. The entire work is loosely based on the musical translation of Barabara Harbach's name, especially the conflict of the B (B-flat) and H (B-natural in German notation). This secondo rub or dissonance especially pervades the first movement, which is in a modified sonata form, pitting jagged and tense melodic elements against most lyrical and smooth lines. This second movement is a song-like melody accompanied by rolled chords which may be played on the lute stop of the instrument if this sonata is performed on a two-manual harpsichord. The final movement is an ever-driving joyous toccata which brings the work to an exciting close with a coda made up of accelerating repeated chords. --Samuel Adler.
SKU: OU.9780193588769
ISBN 9780193588769. 12 x 8 inches.
For oboe, clarinet, viola, harp The opening movement of this five-movement work features the oboe, being a setting of a solo piece written by the composer in memory of Barbara Hepworth. The second is a lyrical canon for oboe, clarinet, and viola, the third and fourth movements are formal and chorale-like whilst, the last is a sprightly, rather quirky march.
SKU: HL.48181035
UPC: 888680787653. 9x12 inches.
French born harpist and composer, Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975) studied at the Paris Conservatoire before spending much of his working life in America. His Trois petites Pièces were composed in Grandjany's early career and are simple and enjoyable works, suitable for beginner harpists. Grandjany was a teacher of harp at the Julliard School for 37 years whilst also composing and transcribing many works for the instrument. Made up of three movements, Trois petites Pièces begins with a delicate Rêverie (daydream). The second piece, a Nocturne, contains variations in tempo, time signature and dynamics. The Barcarolle third movement is the most challenging of the three pieces, in 6/8 time signature and sixteenth-note flourishes. All these combined aspects of Trois petites Pièces by Grandjany make for a thrilling performance for beginner harpists.
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