Commissioned jointly for Colin Currie by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. First performance on 14th May 2008 at Symphony Hall Birmingham by Colin Currie (percussion) and the City ofBirmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins.NOTE FOR PERFORMANCEIn table top the unpitched solo percussion part in the 9th movement the scoring was initially left open. The present full score showsa suggested instrumentation  which was devised by Colin Currie in conjunction with the composer. Soloists  should attempt to match the timbres used but should not feel constrained by the  exact choice ofinstruments.COMPOSER’S NOTEThe percussion instruments used in a table of noises in some ways represent the odd things that were on my great uncle Ash’s parlour table that fascinated me as a child. There is even abottle; there was always a milk bottle with the silver top pushed in surrounded by other essentials for his life. From birth he was quite severely handicapped in one of his legs and couldn’t walk too far without his trusty crutch.He kept everything he needed within arm’s length. In the list of instruments for the solo part there’s everything from deep log drum sounds to very high metallic chime sounds. Wood glass metal and a whistle. Mostlysmall-scale things with a large gong behind used sparingly. I think that we managed to keep below 30 instruments in all which I was keen to do. I didn’t want scores of things that are only played once they have to earn theirkeep. I didn’t want to use a marimba but thought that trying to make the xylophone sound in a more expressive way would be more of a challenge. The percussionist sits for much of the time on a Cajon a flamenco instrument which isessentially a wooden box. The player hits the front of the box in various ways rather as you play a conga. There are guitar strings inside and bells to add to the overall colour. I would like to thank Colin Currie for the

New Edition of the Complete Works V/5. Par SCHUBERT FRANZ. In addition to his symphonies, Franz Schubert also wrote and handed down to posterity a total of eight finished concert overtures (two of them in two versions) between ca. 1811 and 1819. With the exception of the “Overture in D” (D 4) to the comedy “Der Teufel als Hydraulicus” (“The Devil as Engineer”) and the “Overture in D” (D 26), whose original title was cut out of the manuscript, they are all compositions which are associated neither with a drama nor a programme. They thus embody the type of the pure concert overture at an astonishingly early point in the history of music and are also in keeping with this terminologically by virtue of explicitly not having any other appellations whatsoever in the title: the epithet common for two works “in the Italian style” was only added posthumously. Our volume sees publication for the first time of the “Italian Overture in C” (D 591) in its two authentic versions, this being in contrast to the performance tradition based on a potpourri of the sources. The widely handed-down but corrupted musical course of the “Overture in D” (D 590) has likewise been rectified for the first time. Overshadowed by his symphonies, Schubert’s overtures have hitherto been largely undervalued both in their reception and in musical practice – including the “Overture in E minor” (D 648), which sees Schubert venturing into radically new spheres of expression to a greater extent than in virtually any other of his works./ Recueil / Orchestre

Carl Maria von Weber's fame rests mainly on ?Der Freischütz'. The unprecedented success of this opera overshadowed all his other works and contributed to their increasing fall into oblivion. Certain works such as ?Preciosa', ?Oberon', and ?Euryanthe', the overtures, solo concertos and piano sonatas, the lieder and chamber works enjoyed great popularity and were widely known in Germany and abroad as late as the second half of the 19th century. However, any chance of a revival of Weber's influential and substantial oeuvre was wasted in the 1920s, when a complete edition - begun by Hans Joachim Moser and with potential contributors including Wilhelm Kempff, Hans Pfitzner, Max von Schillings, Fritz Stein and Richard Strauss - failed after the third volume.Ever since there have been numerous attempts to restart a complete edition of Weber's works, but as this kind of project would have required the co-operation of scholars from both sides of the inter-German border, the political situation after 1945 was not conducive to any such enterprise. Careful negotiations led to the first tangible steps in the 1980s. The intention, right from the beginning, was to place Weber's work in context, and not to separate his musical output from his influential work as a writer, critic and organiser in the musical field, but to publish his compositions together with his letters, diaries and other literary output as the best way to document the cross-fertilisation between his musical, literary and practical activities.Since the German re-unification both working-parties concerned - at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and at the Musikwissenschaftliches Seminar, Detmold/Paderborn - have co-operated on the complete edition of the musical works (c. 45 volumes in 10 series: sacred music - cantatas, odes and other occasional works - stage works - lieder and vocal works - orchestral works - chamber music - music for piano - piano reductions - miscellanea, arrangements and orchestrations - works of doubtful attribution). The diaries (6-8 vols.) are edited in Berlin and the letters (8-10 vols.) and other writings (2 vols.) in Detmold. This complete edition aims to be a reliable basis of scholarly debate as well as for the authentic performance practice of Carl Maria von Weber's music. Conforming to the standards of recent historico-critical editions, the textual material will be based on all available authentic sources, accompanied by a detailed documentation of the genesis and a list of variants for each work. The musicological importance of the works will be evaluated by placing them in their historical context, the presentation of their genesis, history and Critical Commentaries. The letters, writings and diaries will be treated as inter-related and relevant to each other in the commentaries, therefore readers should benefit from a wealth of concise information and cross-references. / Score

Inspired by the spiritual “Were You There ” this musical experience is based on several monologues by thosse who were at the cross. The work leads us through many emotions: from the Holy Love shown to Mary Magdalene to the intimacy of Mother Marty's Still My Son to the regret of Peter in It Should Have Been Me. The musical can be of almost any length since each momologue and anthem may be used independently. However We WereThere is used it will provide a powerful Holy Week resource for years to come. Maximum length if all pieces are used: 53 minutes.Includes: Were You There?; Holy Love; Christ Is Our Brother; Surely This Was the Sonof God; How Can It Be?; Still My Son; It Should Have Been Me; We Were There; At the Cross.

A Wedding Bouquet was the idea of Lord Berners who wanted Frederick Ashton to make a ballet pantomime out of one of Gertrude Stein's plays and who both wrote the music and designed the 'decor' and costumes. The name ofthe play was 'They must be Wedded to Their Wife' but this was thought too long for advertising and was changed to A Wedding Bouquet. Lord Berners went to visit Gertrude Stein in Bilignin and she liked the idea and he foundin her house a carpet which gave him the pattern for the backcloth for the ballet.The ballet was first spoken of as a choral ballet and the opera chorus did sing or chant the words at the early performances but it was entirelyunlike any other choral ballet before or since. The words explained the action introduced the characters made utterly irrelevant comments worked themselves into a frenzied rhythmical accompaniment or injected on occasional aptphrase that devastated dancers and audience alike. Not all of the words have ever been really intelligible but gradually the audience got to know certain phrases by heart and the ballet has a devoted public although inevitably ithas always been a rather special one and to this day there are people who detest the whole affair don't 'understand' it and think it an absurd waste of time and talent.

Symphonie der Tausend-Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 is a work of exceptions. Seen from the outside this is true of the forces that are used: with its three choirs eight soloists and an orchestra of far more than one hundred musicians there are few similar works in the annals of music. This cast of performers determines the second exceptional element of the work the mix of instrumental and vocal characteristics that makes it to the prototype of a 'vocal symphony' which - as Mahler put it - 'is sung from beginning to end'. In turn the texts that are sung influence the structure of the whole replacing as it were the usual four movements of a symphony with twostrongly divergent 'parts'. And finally as if to emphasize this divergence the texts used - the hymn Veni creator spiritus in the first part and the final scene of Goethe's Faust in the second - are not only written in two languages but also separated in their origins by more than one thousand years. Thus it is a work of extremes and a work of contradiction. It seems however that it was exactly these distinctive features that lifted the symphony above the others and convinced Mahler that his Symphony No. 8 was 'the greatest' work 'that I have composed'. It is an understandable coincidence that he thus raised Symphony No. 8 to the same rank within his oeuvre as Goethe who claimed that the drama was his 'Hauptgeschäft' [main work] did with Faust. Even after composing his late works Mahler retained his belief that Symphony No. 8 was his 'opus summum'. (Christian Wildhagen)

Symphonic Fragment for Orchestra. Par SHCHEDRIN RODION. Emotional depth and riveting virtuosity - these elements are what characterise many compositions by Rodion Shchedrin. Even though he has been a cosmopolitan for a long time, the Moscow-born Shchedrin has remained an original Russian composer whose bond with the musical folklore and poetry of his home country has never been severed. This 'Symphonic Fragment', premiered by Mariss Jansons with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, refers to the life of Beethoven and the first major existential crisis of the then 31-year-old composer from Vienna. Even if Shchedrin fails to include explicit quotations, suggestions of Beethoven's 'Eroica' can well be found. The study score on sale now allows one to become thoroughly acquainted with Shchedrin's masterly skills as a composer and his virtuoso treatment of the orchestra in this work./ Répertoire / Orchestre

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus La clemenza di Tito K. 621 Facsimile of Mozart's autograph score The Seven Great Operas in Facsimile Editions of Mozart?s Autograph Scores ?Idomeneo?, ?Die Entführung aus dem Serail?, ?Le nozze di Figaro?, ?Don Giovanni?, ? Così fan tutte ?, ?Die Zauberflöte ?, ?La clemenza di Tito? ? Mozart?s seven great operas, his brilliant contribution to music theatre and world culture, are unequalled in their depth of human characterisation and musical expression. Through happy coincidence, all seven opera scores have survived almost complete in Mozart?s manuscript. The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI, Los Altos , California ) has now embarked on producing a facsimile edition of the seven autograph scores. Mozart scholars, libraries and of course all lovers of Mozart?s stage works now have the opportunity of acquiring these priceless manuscripts in flawless reproductions. At the same time, all risks about preserving Mozart?s legacy for the world of music are taken care of. The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) charitable foundation, known for its philanthropic programmes in the arts and sciences, has forged an ideal cooperation for the Mozart project. Under the scholarly direction of an editorial board (Ulrich Konrad , David Packard, Wolfgang Rehm , Christoph Wolff; General editor Dietrich Berke) the International Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg and the libraries where Mozart?s manuscripts are held are working together with the Packard Humanities Institute. The production of the volumes is exquisite, for the digitalization of the manuscripts has been undertaken using the latest technology, which allows for an astounding level of authenticity and precision in detail. The printing follows the uncompromisingly high standards demanded by the edition. All seven volumes include essays on the history of literature and ideas by Hendrik Birus , Hans Joachim Kreutzer and Robert Miller as well as musicological introductions by leading Mozart scholars in German and English. The facsimile edition will be distributed by Bärenreiter- Verlag . - consolidation of Mozart manuscripts held in different places - highest level of precision in reproduction and authenticity of colour through use of the latest technology - unique offer thanks to project sponsorship by the Packard Humanities Institute (Los Altos, California) Precision in reproduction thanks to cutting edge technology In preparing the manuscripts for reproduction, equipment was used in line with the highest technical standards currently available. Mozart?s original manuscripts of the seven operas are held by several libraries. For five of the operas, the different acts have even ended up in different libraries following World War II. Thus, the autograph of Act I of ? Così fan tutte ? is in the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków and the second act in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin ? Preußischer Kulturbesitz . In order to achieve a uniformly high level of precision in reproduction and authenticity of colour both within a work and for all seven editions, the use of the same technical equipment in all the different places was a prerequisite. Specialist from the Salzburg firm ? Kirchberger Photography? were employed, were provided with the latest equipment by the Packard Humanities Institute and also given special additional training in the modern technology by specialists in the USA. Proofs of each edition were compared with the original in each location and improved until the likeness could not be bettered in all details. Mozart?s music and text notation is reproduced extremely clearly, and even those places where Mozart corrected or had rubbed out marks he had already made, appear in these editions in a previously unmatched transparency.

Trois po?mes d?Henri Michaux was written for the Zagreb Biennale and first performed there by the orchestra and choir of Radio Zagreb conducted by the composer and Slavko Zlatic on 9 May 1963. It is composed for 20-part choirand an orchestra similar to that of the Symphony of Psalms though without the lower strings of the latter.Lutoslaswski has said that the general outline of the work came to him first and only then did he choose the threepoems. These reflect his Francophile taste: Henri Michaux was born in Belgium in 1899 and later became a painter: the trenchant Le Grand Combat with its onomatopoeic invented words dates form the 1920s; the other two texts which are more philosophic than pictorial form the 1930s. Choir and orchestra need separate conductors even though throughout they alternate more often than they combine.A description of the course of the music itself will bemore useful than any discussion of its technical processes or of its notation. A quiet section of orchestral polyphony which brass sforzandi punctuate with increasing frequency frames the beginning and end of Pens?es. Afterthe choir?s first unaccompanied passage the woodwind have a staccato section over which the female voices singing downward glissandi are superimposed (?Ombre de mondes infimes??). Then the woodwind and both pianos join in alapping ostinato which illustrates the text of the next forte choir entry ?Pens?es la nage merveilleuse?? The climax of the movement comes as these characteristic woodwind figures alternate with the tintinnabulation of agamelan-like ensemble of vibraphone c?leste harp and pianos.

Premiered by The New York Philharmonic conducted by Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall Lincoln Center New York City 10th June 2004. Orchestration 3 Flutes 3rd dbl. Piccolo2 Oboes1 English Horn in F3 Clarinets in Bb 3rd dbl. Bas Clarinet in Bb2 Bassoons1 Contra Bassoon4 Horns in F3 Trumpets in Bb3 Trombones1 Tuba1 (set of) Timpani2 Percussion (two players)1: Bass Drum (large) Chinese Cymbal Mark Tree2: TamTam (large) Vibraphone Antique Cymbal1 Harp1 Piano dbl. CelestaStringsAll non-octave transposing instruments are notated in their relevanttranspositions.Horns notated in bass clef sound a fourth above the notated pitch.All accidentals apply to each single note only except tied notes. Naturals for 'safety'. Programme Note This piece marks the conclusion of what could now be called 'The Nightshade Trilogy' three pieces which explore the contrasting worlds of Light and Darkness. As opposed to the earlier chamber work Nightshade which dealt with extremes of high and low pitches and the chamber orchestra composition Second Nightshade a two-fold piece contrasting darkness/anxiety and light/calm Final Nightshade for full symphony orchestra takes us on a journey in which the forces of dark and light struggle - and co-exist - in a predominantly polyphonic web with brooding undertones. The melodic point-of-departure is not surprisingly to be found in either of the two preceding pieces of the Trilogy but in an older piece Corpus Cum Figuris from 1985. Over the ensuing years I've dreamt on and off of 'doing something' with the opening measures of this older work perhaps even building a new composition on that very simple inward-looking time was ripe and there's a nice nostalgia angle to the idea: Corpus Cum Figuris was the first piece of mine to be

Four Pieces For Orchestra was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 2000-2003. Programme note: In 1983 Hans Abrahamsen wrote the first seven of his Ten Studies for Piano. In the early eighties most composers who wrote for the piano were still making strenuous efforts to distance themselves from the instrument?s romantic past for example treating it as a percussion instrument rather than exploiting its expressive ?singing? potential. The piano?s modern identity as a mechanical rational emotionally cool instrument is reflected in Abrahamsen?s studies 5 7; but in the first four studies Abrahamsen allows the piano to?recollect? its past: especially what the composer calls ?the golden German romantic time full of expression night timelessness dream and the irrational?. Accordingly these first four studies were given German one might specifically say Schumanesque - titles: Traumlied (?Dreamsong?) Sturm (?Storm?) Arabeske (?Arabesque?) and Ende (?End?). While Abrahamsen was in no way dissatisfied with the first four Studies as piano music he soon felt the urge to expand them in both time and space. In their new identity as Four Pieces for Orchestra created between 2000-2003 the original studies nearly doubled in length while the forces required expanded from one soloist to an orchestra of Mahlerian/Straussian dimensions including instruments beloved by the late-romantics: Wagner tubas bass trumpet guitar mandolin and the hammer used so memorably in Mahler?s Sixth Symphony and Alban Berg?s Three Pieces for Orchestra. The results are not so much ?arrangements? of the four piano studies more recompositions. A helpful comparison might be made with certain painters: Cézanne portraying the same mountain from different angles; or Monet obsessively returning to Rouen Cathedral in different lights and weather conditions. Abrahamsen himself remembers an important visit to the Munch Museum in Oslo where he saw how Munch painted the same subject

Poul Ruders' Handel Variations for Orchestra (2009) -Ninety Symphonic Reflections on Eight Bars by Georg Friedrich Handel.Commissioned by and dedicated to the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in celebration of their 75th anniversary 2010. Premiered by The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Giancarlo Andretta at the Aarhus Concert Hall 14 January 2010. Programme noteThe short feisty Bourrée from Handel´s famous Water Music (First Suite in F major) has for some years been hovering at the back of my mind as possessing the perfectpotential for a series of variations. Not unlike the short 'morsel' by Henry Purcell (the witches Ho-ho-ho-chorus from the opera Dido and Aeneas) which kicks off the ten variations of my orchestral work Concerto in Pieces the music per se is not particularly interesting but it nevertheless grows on you and is difficult to get rid of. It is merely a handful of sequences (a technique much used in the Baroque era - a method in which the same motif is being shifted up and down in a specified order). Actually it is only the first eight bars of the Bourrée which I haul through the wringer.It would be obvious to assume that Handel Variations make up a sequel to Concerto in Pieces but in spite of the similarity in character between the two chosen themes the Handel Variations are far more symphonically coherent. There are no less than ninety (!) variations and each variation (they are relatively short ranging from four up to forty-something bars) runs seamlessly into the next creating a huge symphonic body of constantly changing colours. I set out with the original theme without interfering but the 'erosion' begins to gnaw away at the theme already from the first variation. Imagine a vast gallery of Handel portraits in which Georg Friedrich appears at first fully recognizable but then the 'disfiguration' sets in and

Saint Francois D'Assise is an opera in 3 acts by Olivier Messiaen. This volume is part of the edition that includes the books with the full Orchestra scores as well as the explanations analysis and comments on each tableau. It is focused on the “Act II Tableau 4. L’Ange voyageur” which describes the appearance of the “Traveller Angel” to Saint Francis. This tableau is introduced by each of the themes of Brothers Leon Élie and Bernard and the theme of Philemon the bird. It opens as the Brothers are confronted to the Angel but don’t recognise him straight away except for BrotherBernard who reacts wisely. The Angel then requests to talk to Father Francis and the tableau finishes introducing the following part: “Act II Tableau 5. L’ange musicien”. Within this tableau 4 birdsong can be heard that is reminiscent of Messiaen's 'Bird Catalogue' collection. Based on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi this opera is set in Italy and is composed as per below: Act I: 1. La croix 2. Les laudes 3. Le baiser au lépreux Act II 4. L’ange voyageur 5. L’ange musicien 6. Le prêche aux oiseaux Act II 7. Les stigmates 8. La mort et la nouvelle vie This opera was played at the Paris Opera in 1983. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was a French organist and composer passionate about Ornithology and one of the most important composers of his century. Inspired by Japanese music he had a very special way of composing and his work can be identified by its complexity its diatonic aspect its harmony with limited transposition its colour and its additive rhythms. He composed many works related to ornithology and birdsong including the 'Bird Catalogue' in 7 volumes and the 'Treatise on rhythm colour and ornithology' in 7 volumes.

Three Interludes For Orchestra by Benet Casablancas was commissioned by Fundación Autor and the Spanish Association of Symphonic Orchestras (AEOS) for its World Premiere in the 2012-2013 season.The score consists of three movements – Pastorale (Tranquillo) Scherzo (Con moto) and Memento e Corale (Lentissimo Ampio e tenuto) – and has an approximate duration of 14 minutes. The spaciousness and transparency of its textures the clearness of its harmony and a general calm and quiet tone of the first and final parts set a contrast with the vigour and rhythmical vividness of its central scherzo.During the course of the piece the shape of chamber writing coexists with the greatness of orchestral peaks. The last section embraces a lower and expressive tone which ends with a great chorale that will lead to a more contemplative coda which fades into silence. Sadness for the devastating tsunami that struck Japan on those same days was present in the mind of the author at the time of writing this movement.“It shows the accused dramatic quality (especially in the third piece) which dominate the orchestral writing of the composer from Sabadell enriched by a pitch atmosphere of neo-impressionistic quality and a healthy rhythmical energy. The concert version contributed with intensity and performance depth which we hope to deepen in future performances and which motivated the greeting of Casablancas.” - Germán Gan Audio Clásica

Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead so shall believers experience the joy of eternal life in heaven with him. This inspiring anthem begins in minor telling of Jesus's death then builds to a thrilling climax: On theother side of the grave is victory! “On the Other Side of the Grave” is a wonderfully dynamic pageant piece for Easter or for anytime when eternal life is the theme.