SKU: CF.YAS13F

ISBN 9780825848339. UPC: 798408048334. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: G major.

IApart from some of his Sonatinas, Opus 36, Clementi's life and music are hardly known to the piano teachers and students of today. For example, in addition to the above mentioned Sonatinas, Clementi wrote sixty sonatas for the piano, many of them unjustly neglected, although his friend Beethoven regarded some of them very highly. Clementi also wrote symphonies (some of which he arranged as piano sonatas), a substantial number of waltzes and other dances for the piano as well as sonatas and sonatinas for piano four-hands.In addition to composing, Clementi was a much sought after piano teacher, and included among his students John Field (Father of the 'Nocturne'), and Meyerbeer.In his later years, Clementi became a very successful music publisher, publishing among other works the first English edition of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, in the great composer's own arrangement for the piano, as well as some of his string quartets. Clementi was also one of the first English piano manufacturers to make pianos with a metal frame and string them with wire.The Sonatina in C, Opus 36, No. 1 was one of six such works Clementi wrote in 1797. He must have been partial to these little pieces (for which he also provided the fingerings), since they were reissued (without the fingering) by the composer shortly after 1801. About 1820, he issued ''the sixth edition, with considerable improvements by the author;· with fingerings added and several minor changes, among which were that many of them were written an octave higher.IIIt has often been said, generally by those unhampered by the facts, that composers of the past (and, dare we add, the present?), usually handled their financial affairs with their public and publishers with a poor sense of business acumen or common sense. As a result they frequently found themselves in financial straits.Contrary to popular opinion, this was the exception rather than the rule. With the exception of Mozart and perhaps a few other composers, the majority of composers then, as now, were quite successful in their dealings with the public and their publishers, as the following examples will show.It was not unusual for 18th- and 19th-century composers to arrange some of their more popular compositions for different combinations of instruments in order to increase their availability to a larger music-playing public. Telemann, in the introduction to his seventy-two cantatas for solo voice and one melody instrument (flute, oboe or violin, with the usual continua) Der Harmonische Gottesdienst, tor example, suggests that if a singer is not available to perform a cantata the voice part could be played by another instrument. And in the introduction to his Six Concertos and Six Suites for flute, violin and continua, he named four different instrumental combinations that could perform these pieces, and actually wrote out the notes for the different possibilities. Bach arranged his violin concertos for keyboard, and Beethoven not only arranged his Piano Sonata in E Major, Opus 14, No. 1 for string quartet, he also transposed it to the key of F. Brahm's well-known Quintet in F Minor for piano and strings was his own arrangement of his earlier sonata for two pianos, also in F Minor.IIIWe come now to Clementi. It is well known that some of his sixty piano sonatas were his own arrangements of some of his lost symphonies, and that some of his rondos for piano four-hands were originally the last movements of his solo sonatas or piano trios.In order to make the first movement of his delightful Sonatina in C, Opus 36, No. 1 accessible to young string players, I have followed the example established by the composer himself by arranging and transposing one of his piano compositions from one medium (the piano) to another. (string instruments). In order to simplify the work for young string players, in the process of adapting it to the new medium it was necessary to transpose it from the original key of C to G, thereby doing away with some of the difficulties they would have encountered in the original key. The first violin and cello parts are similar to the right- and left-hand parts of the original piano version. The few changes I have made in these parts have been for the convenience of the string players, but in no way do they change the nature of the music.Since the original implied a harmonic framework in many places, I have added a second violin and viola part in such a way that they not only have interesting music to play, but also fill in some of the implied harmony without in any way detracting from the composition's musical value. Occasionally, it has been necessary to raise or lower a few passages an octave or to modify others slightly to make them more accessible for young players.It is hoped that the musical value of the composition has not been too compromised, and that students and teachers will come to enjoy this little piece in its new setting as much as pianists have in the original one. This arrangement may also be performed by a solo string quartet. When performed by a string orchestra, the double bass part may be omitted.- Douglas TownsendString editing by Amy Rosen.

About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
--Occasionally extending to third position
--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty
--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts
--Viola T.C. part included
--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels

SKU: CF.YAS10

ISBN 9780825848261. UPC: 798408048266. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: D major.

When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners. The repeated notes in the opening melody of Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course, Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, the beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.
When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners. The repeated notes in the opening melody ofA Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course,A Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, theA beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.
When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners. The repeated notes in the opening melody ofA Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course,A Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, theA beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.
When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners. The repeated notes in the opening melody of Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course, Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, the beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.
When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners. The repeated notes in the opening melody of Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course, Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, the beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.
When traveling through the desert southwest of the United States, you may be fortunate enough to come across a strange looking brown and white streaked bird called the Roadrunner. It has a blue patch of skin circling the eyes, a tiny dot of bright red behind the eyes, a bushy crest on the top of its head and a long tail that bobs up and down. A member of the cuckoo family, it is New Mexico's state bird, and can run in bursts of speed from between ten to twenty miles per hour. Because it is equipped to run rather than fly, its feet are different from other bird species, having two toes in front and two toes in the back. Its tracks looks like the letter X. Although roadrunners can become airborne, they are basically ground birds and do not fly. They eat insects, scorpions, small rodents, birds, lizards and snakes. They do make noise when in danger; however, the clicks and clatters do not resemble the sound of a honking horn that we think of from the Hollywood cartoon version of roadrunners.The repeated notes in the opening melody of Roadrunner Rally will remind you of the sight of a roadrunner traveling along at breakneck speed. A crisp spiccato accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and bass paints the picture of the bird running through the desert. At m. 17 you will hear that raucous honk, honk that is associated with the roadrunner saying Out of my way! The syncopation can easily be learned by feel as well as by counting carefully. At m. 25 and similar passages, the first violins will have fun learning the jazz licks. The walking bass like at m.69 with the jerky sound of the octaves in the upper strings will remind you of the awkward appearance of this ungainly bird. And of course, Roadrunner Rally ends with a loudly emphasized honking noise, the  beep that we associate with the humorous picture of the roadrunner.

SKU: BO.B.3292

English comments:
This is the definitive version of Biogenesis, a piece that Cervello had written in 1976, together with his friend Jorge Wagensberg, and which was awarded the First Prize at the Spanish Ministry for Education and Science's Permanent Composition and Musical Research Competition. The new version was made at 1984-85 Lux et umbra is written for a string group consisting of four first and four second violins, three violas, three cellos and a double bass. The conceptual battle between darkness and light is represented by the instability between the notes B and C, and by the compartmentation of the group of fifteen strings into divisi that provide an independent arrangement for each instrument, thus bestowing great substance upon the texture of the music. A cello cadence emerges from a slow and straightforward beginning. A process of contrasts then begins, culminating in a molto vivace passage of a scherzando nature, which alludes to the Baroque concerti grossi. The music once again plays with chiaroscuro until reaching its climax, from which point the conclusion slowly begins, establishing itself in the high register until fading away. The work was first performed at Barcelona's Palau de la Musica by the English Chamber Orchestra, directed by Enrique Garcia Asensio, in 1987. That same year, in the newspaper El Pais, the observations of the composer and critic Francesc Taverna-Bech paid tribute to the work's intelligence as regards the use of and search for instrumental resources (in this case, string instruments, about which Cervello knows a great deal), the skill involved in endowing the lyrical line with tension, and a singular touch that confers formal essence upon the musical discourse. In La Vanguardia, Jordi Llovet wrote that this is a work in which, as is the case with most of Cervello's compositions, the listener finds something covertly religious, a mysterious secret, a transcendence linked to the origins of communication requiring more than a single being, which provides excitement. In 1990, when the Orquesta de Granada (Orchestra of Granada) performed the work at Barcelona's Grec festival, the critic Cesar Calmell opined, in the same newspaper, that inch by inch, surely and imperturbably, Cervello built up a perfect world that reflects the image of the craftsman who, so astonished at the delights of his trade, is unable to do anything but turn the very backdrop of tragedy into something pleasant. Lux et umbra was recorded by the Orchestra Estatal of the Hermitage, conducted by Alexis Soriano (CD SA01210 Fundacion Autor). --Xavier Casanoves Danes Music critic

Comentarios del Espanol:
Se trata de la version definitiva de Biogenesis, obra que habia escrito en 1976 en colaboracion con su amigo Jorge Wagensberg y que obtuvo el Primer Premio, en el ano de su creacion, en el Concurso Permanente de Composicion e Investigacion Musical del Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia. La nueva version fue realizada en 1984-85. Lux et umbra esta escrita para un grupo de cuerda integrado por cuatro primeros violines, cuatro segundos, tres violas, tres violoncelos y un contrabajo. El combate filosofico entre la oscuridad y la luz lo lleva a cabo la inestabilidad entre las notas si y do y la compartimentacion del grupo de quince cuerdas en unos divisi que llegan a una escritura independiente para cada instrumento, otorgando una gran importancia a la textura sonora. De un principio lento y descarnado emerge una cadencia del violonchelo. A continuacion da comienzo un proceso de contrastes que culmina en un pasaje molto vivace de caracter scherzando que alude a los concerti grossi del barroco. La musica juega de nuevo con el claroscuro hasta llegar a la cumbre sonora iniciando el final lentamente que se instala en el registro agudo hasta desvanecerse. La estreno en el Palau de la Musica de Barcelona la English Chamber Orchestra en el ano 1987 bajo la direccion de Enrique Garcia Asensio. Ese mismo ano, en el periodico El Pais, el compositor y critico Francesc Taverna-Bech reconocia en sus comentarios la inteligencia en el uso y la busqueda de los recursos instrumentales -en este caso la cuerda, de la que Cervello es profundo conocedor-, la destreza para revestir de tension la linea lirica y un tacto particular para conferir entidad formal al discurso sonoro. Jordi Llovet, en La Vanguardia, escribia que en esta obra, se encuentra, como en la mayor parte de la produccion de Cervello, algo secretamente religioso, un arcano misterioso, una trascendencia vinculada a los origenes de la comunicacion impracticable con el ser unico que resulta apasionante. En el ano 1990, cuando la Orquesta de Granada la toco en el Grec de Barcelona, era el critico Cesar Calmell quien, en el mismo periodico consideraba que Cervello construyo palmo a palmo, segura e imperturbablemente, un mundo perfecto que refleja la imagen del artesano que, de tan admirado con las delicias de su oficio, no puede hacer otra cosa que convertir en agradable el fondo mismo de la tragedia. Lux et umbra esta grabada por la Orquesta Estatal del Hermitage, dirigida por Alexis Soriano (CD SA01210 Fundacion Autor). --Xavier Casanoves Danes Critico musical.

SKU: CF.CAS22

ISBN 9780825858208. UPC: 798408058203. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: G major.

The fast paced rondo has a Dorian flavored melody with hints of quartel (based on an interval of a fourth) harmony to give it a contemporary sound The players are presented with solo opportunities as well as harmonic turns and twists that will keep them.
Rondo in the Nick of Time was originally the third movement for a woodwind quintet piece that I wrote in 1990. I have always been fond of this little piece and felt that it would adapt well to larger ensembles. I have also scored this piece for band as part of a suite called Upon a New Horizon.The main theme is based on the Dorian Mode. The use of quartal harmony makes up most of the harmonic material. Each statement of the theme is followed by an episode that increases in length each time. There is a sudden change of style and tempo in the middle of the piece, where fragments of the theme are developed. The title is a play-on-words, since the work contains hemiola effects that alter the feel of the time.As with all of my pieces for strings, the bowings are given only as a reference. Feel free to alter them to fit the needs of your students. I have indicated a rather fast tempo for the piece. I really like the piece to fly, but it will work and sound fine at a slower tempo as well. Just endeavor to keep their energy moving forward.It has been my pleasure to have the opportunity to write this piece. I hope that you and your students enjoy it and find it useful in your program.-Larry ClarkLakeland, FL. 2005.

About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series

This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Expanded use of rhythms, ranges and keys but technical demands are still carefully considered
• More comprehensive bowing techniques
• Viola T.C. included
• Careful selection of keys and degree of difficulty for advancing musicians