SKU: HL.49041179

ISBN 9790204001248.

SKU: BT.SCHEE5298

Cello, Piano. Ysaye, E.

SKU: PR.11641867S

UPC: 680160683208.

Contextures: Riots -Decade '60 was commissioned by Zubin Mehta and the Southern California Symphony Association after the successful premiere of the Concerto for Four Percussion Soloists and Orchestra. It was written during the spring and summer months of 1967. Riots stemming from resentment against the racial situation in the United States and the war in Vietnam were occurring throughout the country and inevitably invaded the composer's creative subconscious. Contextures, as the title implies, was intended to exploit various and varying textures. As the work progressed the correspondence between the fabric of music and the fabric of society became apparent and the allegory grew in significance. So I found myself translating social aspects into musical techniques. Social stratification became a polymetric situation where disparate groups function together. The conflict between the forces of expansion and the forces of containment is expressed through and opposition of tonal fluidity vs. rigidity. This is epitomized in the fourth movement, where the brass is divided into two groups - a muted group, encircled by the unmuted one, which does its utmost to keep the first group within a restricted pitch area. The playful jazzy bits (one between the first and second movements and one at the end of the piece) are simply saying that somehow in this age of turmoil and anxiety ways of having fun are found even though that fun may seem inappropriate. The piece is in five movements, with an interlude between the first and second movements. It is scored for a large orchestra, supplemented by six groups of percussion, including newly created roto-toms (small tunable drums) and some original devices, such as muted gongs and muted vibraphone. There is also an offstage jazz quartet: bass, drums, soprano saxophone and trumpet. The first movement begins with a solo by the first clarinetist which is interrupted by intermittent heckling from his colleagues leading to a configuration of large disparate elements. The interlude of solo violin and snare-drum follows without pause. The second movement, Prestissimo, is a display piece of virtuosity for the entire orchestra. The third movement marks a period of repose and reflection and calls for some expressive solos, particularly by the horn and alto saxophone. The fourth movement opens with a rather lengthy oboe solo, which is threatened by large blocks of sound from the orchestra, against an underlying current of agitated energy in the piano and percussion. This leads to a section in which large orchestral forces oppose one another, ultimately bringing the work to a climax, if not to a denouement. Various thematic elements are strewn all over the orchestra, resulting in the formation of a general haze of sound. A transition leads to the fifth movement without pause. The musical haze is pierced gently by the offstage jazz group as if they were attempting to ignore and even dispel the gloom, but a legato bell sound enters and hovers over both the jazz group and the orchestra, the latter making statements of disquieting finality. Two films were conceived to accompany portions of Contextures. The first done by Herbert Kosowar, was a chemography film (painting directly into the film using dyes and various implements) with fast clips of riot photographs. The second was a film collage made by photographically abstracting details from paintings of Reginald Pollack. The purpose was to invoke a non-specific response - as in music - but at the same time to define the subject matter of the piece. The films were constructed to correspond with certain developments in the piece and in no way affect the independence and musical flow of the piece, having been made after the piece was completed. Contextures: Riots - Decade '60 is dedicated to Mehta, the Southern California Symphony Association and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The news of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King came the afternoon of the premiere, April 4, 1968. That evening's performances, and also the succeeding ones, were dedicated to him and a special dedication to Dr. King has been inserted into he score. All the music that follows the jazz group - beginning with the legato bell sound playing the first 2 notes to We shall overcome constitutes a new ending to commemorate Dr. King's death.

SKU: PR.41641530L

UPC: 680160625925.

The Respiration of the Earth is inspired by the breathing motion. The music focuses on the tension of the air of breathing. There are many different types of breathing such as slow breath, long breath, short breath, holding breath, uneven breath, etc. The shape of the music is created by the inhale and exhale motion. The piece starts with a long holding breath, gradually create a tension until one can't hold that breath and release the air out. The Suona is acting as the motion of the air so the orchestra has to follow. This piece ends with the chaotic motion so the audiences can feel the tension as if they are running out of breath. It's a main concern about the environment of the Earth so this piece is a message to people to keep the environment clean so the Earth can breath for a longer time. Respiration of the Earth is commissioned and dedicated to Mr. Shi Haibin with the gracious support from John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
The Respiration of the Earth is inspired by the breathing motion. The music focuses on the tension of the air of breathing. There are many different types of breathing such as slow breath, long breath, short breath, holding breath, uneven breath, etc. The shape of the music is created by the inhale and exhale motion. The piece starts with a long holding breath, gradually create a tension until one can’t hold that breath and release the air out. The Suona is acting as the motion of the air so the orchestra has to follow. This piece ends with the chaotic motion so the audiences can feel the tension as if they are running out of breath. It’s a main concern about the environment of the Earth so this piece is a message to people to keep the environment clean so the Earth can breath for a longer time.Respiration of the Earth is commissioned and dedicated to Mr. Shi Haibin with the gracious support from John SimonGuggenheim Foundation.

SKU: CA.1021409

ISBN 9790007312244. Key: D major. Latin/German.

A perfect way to finish off a Christmas concert. Heribert Breuer, founder and conductor of the Berlin Bach Academy, conceived this four-minute piece as a final farewell to follow performances of the Christmas Oratorio. Alternatively it can easily be programmed together with other Christmas pieces with similar scoring.The Sicilian folk tune O sanctissima gradually emerges from a sustained organ pedal point in the orchestra. This melody seems familiar to the listeners ... and then the mystery is solved: hidden in the alto part can be heard the first verse of the German carol O du fröhliche! The second verse is given over to the sopranos, and the audience is invited to sing along in the third verse. After a brief coda all the performers wish the audience “Merry Christmas!”. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.1021400.

SKU: CA.1021400

ISBN 9790007299873. Key: D major. Latin/German.

A perfect way to finish off a Christmas concert. Heribert Breuer, founder and conductor of the Berlin Bach Academy, conceived this four-minute piece as a final farewell to follow performances of the Christmas Oratorio. Alternatively it can easily be programmed together with other Christmas pieces with similar scoring.

The Sicilian folk tune O sanctissima gradually emerges from a sustained organ pedal point in the orchestra. This melody seems familiar to the listeners ... and then the mystery is solved: hidden in the alto part can be heard the first verse of the German carol O du fröhliche! The second verse is given over to the sopranos, and the audience is invited to sing along in the third verse. After a brief coda all the performers wish the audience “Merry Christmas!”

SKU: HL.263038

UPC: 888680952907. 12.0x16.5x0.565 inches.

“Over the years my orchestral music has become simpler and more expansive. Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing (1991-95) contains four different musical textures. In the White Silence (1998) has three. For Lou Harrison (2002) reduces this to just two. In Dark Waves (2007), I finally got to one. When I first heard that piece I began to wonder if I could sustain a similar sound for a longer span of time. The result is Become Ocean, a meditation on the vast, deep and mysterious tides of existence. The title is borrowed from a mesostic verse that John Cage wrote in honor of Lou Harrison's birthday. Likening Harrison's music to a river in delta, Cage writes: Listening to it we become ocean. Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. And as the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean.” John Luther Adams.

SKU: AP.33712S

UPC: 038081394527. English.

As the title suggests, this fun grade 1.5 piece features ever-changing time signatures that will intrigue and challenge the young string orchestra. There are four mood shifts in the piece, suggested by a student narrator who stands up and declares simply Once upon a time, Suddenly, Luckily, and Happily ever after. But what, exactly, is the story? That's up to your students and your audience to decide! This charming piece is simple rhythmically and note-wise, but a great way to get your orchestra counting. Sure to spark everyone's imagination! This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.

SKU: AP.40410S

UPC: 038081449869. English.

And they're off! This quick-sprint rondo challenges students with constantly changing meters, but uses only the simplest rhythms, fingerings, and bowings---all within a D-major framework. By varying and combining simple 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4 meters, the orchestra learns to keep time while preparing for more complex meters. A 7-part rondo form provides the players repetition opportunities to solidify the meter changes and maximize learning. More advanced students can play this piece at the fastest possible tempo to test their ability to play accurately.

SKU: HL.14000916

ISBN 9788759859179. 12.0x16.5x0.538 inches. English.

Stratifications was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 1973-75 and was premiered in the summer 1977 by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at the Young Nordic Music Festival in Reykjavik. Programme note: The stratifications referred to in the title unfold two different levels. There is the stratification of the time dimension produced by the opposition of contrasting parts, at the same time the polyphony, the presence of several simultaneously sounding layers, is of great importance to the music. By garish colours and clear-cut outlines a polyrhythmic simultaneousness of simple melodies is produced with more gestic music and other material which give a peculiar set piece-like effect inthe sound picture. The new simplicity details are here woven together in a new kind of complex whole. Stratifications begins with a series of concretistic masklike pictures of the music. It is like seeing lantern slides. But this fictive form crackles and the music gets attentive and real. The music is in a night-mare condition, where it is not getting anywhere in spite of a great dynamic display. But finally is liberating itself and rising in triumph.