SKU: CY.CC3150

ISBN 9790530111185. 8.5 x 11 in inches.

Here is a brief description of this very fine new work The Secret of Ben Sogen for Trombone and Piano by the composer, Elizabeth Raum: I've always been fascinated by the Nordic heroes that appear in comic books and video games like Thor or Odin. Years ago, I wrote a concerto for tuba called The Legend of Heimdall inspired by Scandinavian folklore, and for this new work for trombone, I found myself drawn to the Danish mythical character, Ben Sogen. My concept was to conjure up a video game champion who goes through various adventures to achieve his final quest. However, the Secret of Ben Sogen is that he doesn't exist. I made him up. My original title was Bone Quest, a pun on the word, trombone, combined with Quest but that didn't evoke the image I wanted so I decided to create a character from the Danish translation of Bone Quest. Thus Ben Sogen. The Hero Trombonist has a theme stated in the beginning, and this motif continues through a variety of backgrounds (or adventures) before the final major key of his goal being achieved. The work is about 7 minutes in length and appropriate for advanced performers.

SKU: CY.CC3136

ISBN 9790530111055. 8.5 x 11 in inches.

This fine work has sat dormant for many years and has now come to light thanks to the efforts of Charlie Vernon, Bass Trombonist of the Chicago Symphony, who performed this virtuoso work as a young performer. The concerto is in the standard three movement form: Fast, slow, fast. This publication is a reduction from the original orchestral version (to be released at some point in the future). Here is a description of the Concerto by the composer, John W. Ware. I started on the trombone concerto in my junior year studying composition at Indiana University. While working on it, I learned of an opportunity to make it sort of a thesis piece (though students didn't write a thesis in composition while an undergrad). The original version was for trombone with string orchestra, and it was performed by the IU String Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Arthur Corra, with Robert Priez, trombone, as part of my senior composition recital. I thought the performance was quite good (Priez played extraordinarily well), and the piece received a newspaper review in the Indiana Daily Student, in which the reviewer wrote that the work was almost too exciting. I thought at the time that he had given me and my music a fine compliment. I made a piano version of the accompaniment, shortening and tightening the first movement, for performances in 1966; I made a second revision in 1967 for a performance by E. J. Eaton, trombonist at the University of Tennessee at Martin, arriving at the form in which the work exists now. The first movement is in fairly normal sonata-allegro form, in the key of A minor. It alternates between assertive and more thoughtful moods. There is no introduction; the soloist enters immediately and dominates much of the movement. The main theme is--by some manipulation--a source for most of the other themes, and all of the themes are used in close proximity to each other, including contrapuntal combinations, especially near the end. Originally the movement included a lengthy fugato, now much shortened and including a stretto that builds and subsides before a cadenza leading to a coda based on both the principal and secondary themes. Key relations in this movement, as in the other two, are quite free and often chromatic, with frequent third-relations; but returns to the tonic at the end are emphatic. The writing is challenging for both soloist and accompanist; the piece is substantial, requiring technique and stamina. The second movement is in F minor and is also built on both contrast and close relationships between the main and secondary themes. The main theme is heard in the piano part before the soloist enters. The mood is more lyric than in the first movement, but with dramatic episodes also. In this movement are some definite derivations from themes in the first movement. The ending is a sort of lengthened shadow of the opening. The finale returns to A minor, with themes slightly related to polonaise rhythms, but with strong echoes of first-movement themes. Here, too, dramatic and lyric episodes alternate, with dotted rhythms frequently propelling the music forward. The introduction is a brief and simple preparation for the solo entry. Later in the movement, a very brief, slightly slower section is soon overtaken by the original tempo. Toward the end, there is a second cadenza, again leading to a swift and energetic coda. The work is about 20 minutes in length and is appropriate for advanced performers.

SKU: CY.CC3170

ISBN 9790530111406. 8.5 x 11 in inches.

The set of 24 Preludes for Piano, Op. 34 was composed in the winter of 1932-33. They represent all of the major and minor keys, inviting comparisons with similar collections by Bach and Chopin. Each movement has its own individual mood and there are sharp contrasts within each movement and between movements in style, rhythm and harmony. James Markey has brilliantly arranged eleven of these movements for Tenor Trombone and Piano for virtuoso level performers. The entire work is about 17 minutes in length. We are grateful to the Shostakovich estate and G. Schirmer for authorizing Mr. Markey's arrangement. Mr. Markey and pianist Virginia Perry can be heard performing this arrangement of the Preludes on his CD entitled Offroad released in 2003, which happens to be sold by Cherry Classics Music on this site and also available on iTunes and other music retailers.

SKU: CY.CC2441

Satie's strange but beautiful pieces were composed in the 1890's and were notated without barlines or time signatures. They consist of mysterious, hypnotic melodies supported by simple chord structures and are full of cryptic comments such as counsel yourself carefully and be clairvoyant. There are few restictions on interpretation. Mr. Sauer's beautiful arrangements of these six short works total about 15 minutes in length and are suitable for advanced performers.