Carl Vine’s XX (2009) was commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra to honour the twenty years that Richard Tognetti had been its Director. A playful 4-minute exploration of the relationship between a chamber orchestra and its leader this delightful work for solo violin and string orchestra makes the perfect concert opener.

for junior string orchestra or two violins and violoncello or violin, viola and violoncello. Par KOCSAR MIKLOS. Kocsár composed the Chaconne for three-part string ensemble in 1996. Originally a popular Baroque musical form, the chaconne is characterized by a set of ground-bass variations. In Kocsár's piece the 23-bar theme is followed by nine variations of diverse characters. The composition lasts about nine minutes and is rounded off with a recapitulation of the theme and a coda. The Chaconne can be performed by junior string orchestras consisting of either two violins and a cello or a violin, a viola, and a cello (with or without double bass), or by string trios consisting of two violins and violoncello or a violin, a viola and a cello. The edition includes a full score and one part for each instrument. If the work is performed by a string orchestra the parts may be copied as required for the number of musicians./ Répertoire / Orchestre à Cordes

Par BRANDER SIRI. Siri Brander (1866-1934) was one of the first female composers to be played by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Elegie (originally for piano) was arranger for string orchestra by A. E. Westerlind and first performed in 1894. More than 120 years later it was recovered in the archives. The small treasure of pure salon romanticism has the duration of 4 minutes. The package includes a full score and a set of string parts (2+2.3.2.2.1)./ Répertoire / Orchestre à Cordes

Mark David Boden's Murmurations for double String Orchestra.Commissioned by Sinfonia Cymru. First performed by Sinfonia Cymru and Camerata Nordica at Dora Stoutzker Hall Cardiff October 2014 conducted by James Southall.Duration: c. 10.5 minutes

Edward Elgar's Chanson De Matin composed in 1899 arranged for string orchestra by W.H. Reed. Duration: Approx 3 minutes.

James Weeks' Ærc for any number of orchestral string instruments (at least 12). Composed and published 2016.Duration: 26-30 minutes.Ærc is the Old Engliosh word for ark dervied from the Latin arca a chest. Here it denotes an enclosed space perhaps of refuge or safety certainly of intimacy. As in the ark or Noah the players are paired entering the figurative space of the work two-by-two and creating a dense polyphonic texture (a giant viol consort) from breath-like bow-strokes each pair in rythmic unison before exiting in sequence.

The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

Here are all your favorite “scare tactic” tunes assembled in clever fashion in a quick-fire medley by Larry Moore. Includes as many as will fit into 2 minutes or less: Jaws Night on Bald Mountain Funeral Marchof a Marionette Psycho The Addams Family The Munsters Sorcerer's Apprentice Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Phantom of the Opera. (Grade 2)