SKU: BT.DHP-1064034-070

ISBN 9789043124720. 9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

Traditionally a string quartet will not readily take on pop music. But times are changing and the classic quartet line-up proves suitable for beautiful arrangements of contemporary songs as well. This book features three hits from past decades, The Rose (Bette Midler) with its simple, pure sounds and underlying harmonies, La Solitudine (Laura Pausini) - compelling and with a hidden energy and finally Wonderwall (Oasis), an unexpected choice, with its persistent rhythmic background. To allow the string quartet to play together with optional guitar or keyboard, chord symbols have been added in the score. These songs - which certainly have a passionate andromantic ring to them - are ideal for receptions, weddings and other festive occasions. (Position 1-5)

Drie bekende songs in geslaagde bewerkingen voor strijkkwartet: Pop Ballads for String Quartet bewijst dat het kan. Om het strijkkwartet de mogelijkheid te bieden samen te spelen met gitaar of keyboards zijn akkoordsymbolentoegevoegd in de partituur. Deze songs vol passie en romantiek zijn ideaal voor het opluisteren van recepties, bruiloften en andere feestelijke gelegenheden. (Position 1-5)

Ein Buch für alle Streicher, die anstatt der klassischen Literatur für Streichquartett auch einmal etwas ganz Modernes, Unterhaltsames spielen wollen. Hans Aerts und Gunter Van Rompaey bearbeiteten für diese Ausgabe drei bekannte Pop- Titel für zwei Violinen, Viola und Cello. Akkordsymbole für eine Begleitung von Keyboard oder Gitarre sind ebenfalls enthalten.(Position 1-5)

Ce recueil contient trois succès des dernières décennies : The Rose, avec ses sonorités simples et épurées et ses harmonies demi cachées ; La Solitudine, l‘énergie dissimulée et enfin Wonderwall, un choix inattendu dont le tapis sonore est continuellement rythmé. Des symboles d’accords ont été ajoutés sur la partition afin de permettre au quatuor cordes de se faire accompagner d’une guitare ou clavier (partie optionnelle). (Position 1-5)

Questa pubblicazione permetter ai giovani musicisti di cominciare a suonare in gruppo. Il quartetto d’archi è da sempre la formazione per eccellenza, equilibrata e potente nell’espressione. Anche la musica in stile pop, arrangiata per l’occasione da Hans Aerts, si adatta a questo tipo di organico. L’importante è saper ascoltare la parte degli altri per inserire il proprio ritmo nell’insieme. (Position 1-5).

SKU: AP.36-52703615

ISBN 9781638871446. UPC: 735816041229. English.

Finally a clean, modern edition of six quartets by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Joseph Bologne) clearly edited with bowings and fingerings by Endre Granat. These early works fit stylistically in the Classical period, with most of the thematic material in Violin 1. However, everyone in the quartet will shine at some point in the music. The quartets are quite playable by student ensembles and professional groups will find them absolutely charming. Set includes full score and 4 parts.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: PE.EP72822

ISBN 9790577011769. 232 x 303mm inches. English.

I have only visited Damascus once, twenty years ago, on the way to Palmyra.  I had a purpose (I was writing music for a play about Palmyra’s Queen Zenobia) but essentially I was a tourist.  Like any visitor, I was thrilled to step out of the noisy modern city into the magical ancient world of the walled Old City, its vibrant souk leading to the magnificent mosque, and a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets filled with the smell of unleavened bread.

In Palmyra, I was met with extraordinary kindness everywhere.  On one occasion, a little Bedouin boy noticed that I was risking sunstroke wandering bare-headed among the spectacular ruins: he showed me how to tie a turban, then took me to have tea with his family in their tent.

Since then, I have watched helplessly as these places of wonder have been devastated and their inhabitants scattered and killed.  When the Sacconi Quartet suggested that I might choose a Syrian poet for our collaboration, I welcomed the idea.

I searched for a long time to find a contemporary poet whose work might gain from any music I could imagine.  I felt it was important to find first-hand accounts of the Syrian experience – but, of course, I was always reading them in translation.  In an anthology called Syria Speaks, I was astonished to read something that looked like prose, but was full of poetry.  It was Anne-Marie McManus’s fine translation of Ali Safar’s A Black Cloud in a Leaden White Sky – an eloquent, thoughtful, contained yet vivid account of life in a war-torn country, all the more moving for its restraint.

In setting these words, I have not attempted to imitate Syrian music.  However, there is what might be called a linguistic accommodation in my choice of scale, or mode.  Several movements are in a mode that I first discovered while writing a cantata commemorating the First World War: it has a tuning that I associate with war, its violence and desolation.  This eight-note mode is similar to scales found in Syrian music.  I did not choose it in the abstract: it emerged from the harmonies I was exploring in the earlier work, and emerged again as I was looking for the right musical colours to set Ali Safar’s words.  In this work, its Arabic aspect is more prominent. - Jonathan Dove