SKU: BR.EB-9243

ISBN 9790004185438. 9 x 12 inches.

It was the practice of Khoomii (throat singing) - following several workshops with Michael Ormiston - that first attracted me to Tuvan music. Composing this Songbook, the first in a series commissioned by the Ligeti Quartet, I took the chance to reflect on compositional questions around transcription and arrangement of existing music, and frequently found myself asking: where is the boundary between the source material and the new substance? Of course the relationship varies from piece to piece, and moment to moment: sometimes we seem to glimpse the pure source, but most of the time there are differing degrees of distance, working towards or away from it. This new version for string orchestra corresponds closely to the original quartet version, with an additional part for double basses.The traditional Tuvan songs that I have transcribed and recomposed are all known to me from the Ay Kherel CD The Music of Tuva: Throat Singing and Instruments from Central Asia (2004, Arc Music). According to the notes from that CD, this is what the songs are about:1. Dyngylday: If you have come on a horse in blue, it doesn't mean that you are the best. My heart tells me something else: my sweetheart doesn't have such a beautiful horse, but he is my darling.An alternative interpretation from Alash Ensemble (alashensemble.com): The word dyngylday is a nonsense term with no translation. The song makes good-humored fun of somebody for being a good-for-nothing.2. Eki Attar (The Best Steeds): The horse is the basis of our life. It is a magic creature. Even its step is full of music and rhythm. You may not be a horse rider, but when you hear this song you will always remember horses.3. Kuda Yry: This wedding song glorifies the strength of the groom and the beauty of his Horse.4. Ezir-Kara ('Black Eagle'): This was the name of a horse, who became a legend through his remarkable strength and speed.It is not just overtones that abound here: there are galloping rhythms aplenty, and though I am no horse rider I tried to keep the horses galloping in my imagination while composing these pieces.Christian Mason (with quotes from Ay Kherel and Alash Ensemble)

World premiere of the original version: London/UK, May 10, 2016, World premiere of the string orchestra version: Clermont-Ferrand/France, October 8, 2020.

SKU: B9.1190

9 x 12 inches.

There are 2 other versions of this piece, both titled Elegy.

SKU: BT.DHP-1196190-070

ISBN 9789043157971. English-German-French-Dutch.

1982 saw the publication of a melody for written for bagpipes by the name of Highland Cathedral—a name that draws its inspiration from a famous neo-Gothic church in Glasgow, Scotland. Since its first appearance, Highland Cathedral has enjoyed a triumphant tour around the globe, often acknowledged as an enthusiastic tribute to the nation of Scotland. Anthony Gröger’s version for string quartet combines this passionate character with unmistakeable echoes of the Scottish feel of the original work. Here then is this true classic, especially popular at wedding ceremonies, now arranged for string quartet.

In het jaar 1982 werd een voor doedelzak geschreven melodie gepubliceerd, waarvan de titel Highland Cathedral was ge nspireerd op een beroemde neogotische kerk in het Schotse Glasgow. Sindsdien heeft het stuk gaandeweg de wereld veroverd en wordt het vaak ten gehore gebracht als enthousiast eerbetoon aan Schotland. Anthony Grögers versie voor vier strijkers combineert dat gepassioneerde karakter met onmiskenbare echo’s van de Schotse sfeer van het origineel. Een geliefde klassieker, veelvuldig gespeeld op bruiloften, is nu dus ook verkrijgbaar in een arrangement voor strijkkwartet.

Im Jahre 1982 wurde eine für Dudelsack geschriebene Melodie erstmals veröffentlicht, deren Name Highland Cathedral auf einen berühmten neogotischen Kirchenbau im schottischen Glasgow anspielt. Seitdem hat sie ihren Siegeszug um die Welt angetreten und wird oft als enthusiastisches Bekenntnis zur schottischen Nation aufgefasst. Anthony Grögers Version für Streichquartett verbindet diesen leidenschaftlichen Charakter mit unverkennbaren Anklängen an das schottische Klangidiom des Originals. Ein beliebter Klassiker, vor allem auf Hochzeitsfeiern, steht somit nun auch Streichquartett-Formationen zur Verfügung.

Publiée pour la première fois en 1982, la mélodie pour cornemuse « Highland Cathedral » fait référence une célèbre église de style néogothique de Glasgow, en Écosse. Souvent perçue comme un hommage enthousiaste la nation écossaise, cette mélodie entama dès lors une marche triomphale travers le monde. La version pour quatuor cordes d’Anthony Gröger allie ce même caractère passionné aux sonorités écossaises, indissociables du langage sonore caractéristique de l’original. Un classique très populaire, notamment lors des mariages, désormais disponible pour quatuor cordes.

SKU: HL.14031816

8.5x11.75x0.3 inches.

Though conceived as four separate movements, my second string quartet has a single motif which is common to them all. This is the three-note Muss es sein? from Beethoven's last quartet, Op. 135. But whereas Beethoven's theme is notated G E A flat, thus giving it an F minor connotation, I have sued an alternative spelling - G E G sharp - which suggests an ambiguous E minor-major. This ambiguity, in fact, becomes the tonal basis of the whole work, only to be resolved at the end of the final movement. Each movement begins with a variant of the basic motif on the cello. The first has the original form of the theme, while the second has a majorised version which is also expressed as a chord. The third movement, with its scherzoid middle section, reverts to the major-minor ambiguity of the first, and the finale begins with the majorised version as an ostinato accompaniment on pizzicato cello. The slow movement is sub-titled In memoriam DSCH and concludes with a quotation of Shostakovich's motto - D E flat C B - which is basically the same as Beethoven's with the addition of one note. This is not to imply that the work contains no other thematic material. One important theme, a rising fifth and a second, is also common to three of the movements, and is ultimately derived from my first quartet, Op. 1 of 27 years earlier, to which this second contribution to the form is in many ways like a sequel. Like the earlier work, too, this quartet is dedicated to my wife.