SKU: BR.PB-5546-07

ISBN 9790004213568. 6.5 x 9 inches.

Spiritual AffinitiesSchumann had already worked on Byron's Manfred as a law student, and the topic fascinated him from that time on. Perhaps he discovered a spiritual affinity to himself in the romantic hero's inner conflict? In any event, he decided on a stage rendition of the drama with incidental music, an entirely new genre that he had been dreaming of for some time already. He conducted the overture - it dates from 1848 - for the first time as a separate piece in March 1852. In addition, he followed the preparations for the first edition of the complete performance material very closely, which was published by Breitkopf in Leipzig that same year. The Breitkopf Urtext edition of the Manfred Overture is based on this first print of the score and parts revised by Schumann. At the same time, this edition also marks a new chapter in the expansion of the collection of Schumann overtures that have already been published by Breitkopf (to Hermann und Dorothea op. 136, Szenen aus Goethes Faust WoO 3 and Genoveva op. 81).

Audiences should be ready for something new and unheard of, wrote Robert Schumann to Franz Liszt in late 1851, referring to the world premiere of his Dramatic Poem Manfred.

SKU: AP.49215S

ISBN 9781470648596. UPC: 038081569390. English.

This version of At the Feast of Stephen by Scott Watson is part of our Alfred FLEX offerings and is designed with maximum flexibility for use by any mix of instruments---wind, strings, and percussion, including like- or mixed-ensembles with as few as 4 players. The suggested instrumentation and a customizable Teacher Map will help you plan out how to best assign parts to suit your ensemble's needs. The 4-part instrumentation will support balanced instrumentation of the lower voices. It also comes with supplemental parts for maximum flexibility. With the purchase of this piece, permission is granted to photocopy the parts as needed for your ensemble. A percussion accompaniment track is also available as a free download. String parts have been carefully edited with extra fingerings and appropriate bowings to support students in mixed ensembles playing in less familiar keys.

This novel setting of the traditional carol Good King Wenceslas will musically transport you and your students to the royal Christmas banquet hall of a medieval king! The old carol tells the story of a legendary 10th-century monarch, Duke Wenceslas of Bohemia, who went out in the severe cold to give charity to the poor on December 26, also known as St. Stephen's Day. The well-known 13th-century tune, as well as additional original material in period style, vividly conjures a lively celebration of Christmas in the high Middle Ages.

Come now ye lords and ladies to the Feast of Stephen and upon your instruments faire make most merry this Yuletide!

Percussion Accompaniment Track Downloads:
with click
without click. (2:30).

SKU: HL.48024806

ISBN 9781784543792. UPC: 888680978648. 8.25x11.75 inches.

Scored for baritone solo, small 'narrator' chorus, large chorus and orchestra, MacMillan's first Passion setting was composed in 2007. Lasting 87 minutes the work is divided into two parts, with 10 movements overall. As Paul Spicer has commented, “The originality of the St John Passion lies in MacMillan's ability to mix old with new, rather in the manner of Bach in his day. There are passages of sumptuous polyphony and there is a fresh look at the text where passages of Latin are interspersed with the Gospel story in English. In movement seven ('Jesus and his Mother'), MacMillan introduces not only part of the Stabat Mater but also his own words ('Lully, lulla, my dear darling'). The final movement, which is purely orchestral, is a kind of via doloroso march with a Scots lament over quite brass chords. The string writing here, with its elegiac cello lines, is deeply reminiscent of the early 20th-century English school. This should be the War Requiem of the 21st century.&rdquo.