SKU: PR.11440561S

UPC: 680160009039.

The three movements examine the same materials from different points of view; in the first, the ideas are chronologically separated, but they alternate and develop through the instruments in an intensifying way that generates a rather imposing and grandiose rhetoric. The second, with its hypnoti, incessant reiterations at maximum volume of a simultaneous combination of motives of different l lengths and shapes, ends just short of becoming unbearable... In the last movement the flute, clarinet and violin slowly unfold a continuous texture that combines several of the earlier elements, while the piano softly interjects the echo of its first movement triplets.

SKU: HL.14025544

ISBN 9780853609773. 8.25x11.75x0.33 inches.

Score and parts for Thea Musgrave's Pierrot, arranged for Violin, Clarinet and Piano. Duration 17 minutes.

SKU: PR.164002390

UPC: 680160038091.

I became interested in the work of Plato through my friend and collaborator, the writer and philosopher Paul Woodruff. Paul's new translation, with Alexander Nehamas, of the Symposium gave me insights into ancient Greek ways of thinking about Love, Beauty, and Wisdom -- and managed to keep the earthy, and often bawdy side of it all in full view. But their new translation of Plato's later dialogue Phaedrus went even further: the beauty of the speeches is breathtaking, and the discourse itself is enough to keep one awake at night. Basically the Great Speech of Socrates in the Phaedrus dialogue has to do with the place of Eros in the world, and with the conflict in the soul between fleshly pleasure and philosophic discovery. I will not attempt to encapsulate this brilliant discourse in a program note: suffice it to say that reading it gave rise to my two-sided work for clarinet, violin, and piano, Phaedrus. The first movement represents the Philosophic life, and is thus subtitled Apollo's Lyre (Invocation and Hymn). It begins with an unaccompanied melody for the clarinet, which (after a pair of harp-like flourishes for the piano, expands into an accompanied canon. The voices in the dialogue (clarinet and violin) follow each other by a prescribed number of beats, but the music is totally devoid of any meter at all. The piano, representing the lyre, accompanies this lyric love-feast with repeated strummed chords. The canon has three large sections, and ends with violin echoing the unaccompanied clarinet invocation as the sound of the lyre fades. The second movement, called Dionysus' Dream-Orgy (Ritual Dance) presents, after a brief introduction, another kind of unmetered music. Rather than long lyric flights of philosophic song, however, this time we hear a unison dance of unbridled energy and sensual transport. The piece soon forms itself into a loose arch form, with contrasting metered dance sections divided by the unison unmetered orgy tune. Midway through the movement, Apollo's melody returns from the first movement, but it is a temporary reminiscence. The orgiastic dance returns, reaches a climax, and ends with a stomping of feet. While Plato asserts that a proper balance between lust and reason is necessary in all men, he (naturally) gives the nod to Philosophy as the better choice in which to live. Not so in my music: the two sides are meant to coexist and to complement each other. No sides are taken. Phaedrus was commissioned of the Verdehr Trio by Michigan State University. It is dedicated to the Vedehr Trio with great affection and admiration.

SKU: HL.48181200

UPC: 888680866945. 9x12 inches.

Raymond Gallois Montbrun (1918-1994) published his Dream of Janceline for Alto Saxophone and Piano in 1947, just three years after he won the Grand Prix de Rome. Along with his Violin Concerto, Japan Symphony and Concertstück for Clarinet and Piano, Dreams of Janceline for Violin and Piano remains popular to this day. Dreams of Janceline for Violin is made up of twelve easy pieces in variety of styles, the seventh of these being The Nightingale's Polka. This movement addresses harmonics, a modulation and articulation, among other aspects. As suitable and varied pieces for the progression of beginner to intermediate level violinists, Gallois Montbrun's Dreams of Janceline cannot be missed.

SKU: PR.11140253S

UPC: 680160631377. 9.5x13 inches. Based on a traditional African folk tale.

As a standalone performance piece, Dorff's A Treeful of Monkeys is a delightful telling of an African folk tale, complete with narration. The instrumental ensemble describes a hat seller, a good number of hats, and a good number of monkeys up in the trees with those hats. Commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, however, A Treeful of Monkeys is also an opportunity to introduce musical elements to young students, with Dorff's suggested educational objectives and performance tips suitable for classroom use.

SKU: PR.11440531S

UPC: 680160008667. 11 x 14 inches.