SKU: PR.144407380

ISBN 9781491133903. UPC: 680160683475. 9 x 12 inches.

In her powerful Foreword to the music, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins has written: “There are great works which give voice to important moments for generations, and this is one of them.” The tragedy of Elijah McClain’s murder has moved us all, and for many musicians the image of this gentle young man playing his violin for kittens at an animal shelter has added a poignant extra layer. Zwilich was a professional violinist before turning exclusively to composing, and A LITTLE VIOLIN MUSIC is a memorial from the heart of one violinist to another.
[THESE NOTES MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLICATION; OK TO QUOTE A BIT AND GIVE AUTHOR CREDIT]We often research important pieces of music to gain some glimpse into the mind of the composer by understanding the times in which a piece was written. The times that brought this piece into being, 2020, has been a year like no other in our lifetimes.With the suffering of a once in a century pandemic raging in ever higher waves, and millions of people around the world confined to their homes with a shared attention span for the first time in generations, we watched in horror the 8 minute 46 second killing of George Floyd, a man previously unknown to us, but now unwillingly joining a long list of names of unarmed African Americans killed by police. The anguished backlash of citizens around the world, from Japan to New Zealand to Germany to the United States, of every age, color, and creed, has rallied for weeks and months on end to demand enough and that “Black Lives Matter.”And yet, in the midst of it all is an America starkly divided against itself with some defiantly pushing back, emboldened by authoritarian-style government actions against its own citizens occurring all over the country. It is against this backdrop that we ever had a chance to know of Elijah McClain. Here in quarantine I sometimes practice my scales in front of the news. And one day the mirror image looking back at me from the screen was a slight young man, warm, affable brown eyes, and also a violin under his chin. The newsreel-style camera pan so familiar now, I knew the only reason we were gazing upon his unfamous face was that he too had been killed by police nearly a year before. But the revelation of it in the broadcast hit me particularly hard.Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who is not only one of the great composers of our time, is also a dear friend, and called me the next day, also deeply saddened by the news. It was from Ellen that I learned that Elijah used to play for the kittens at the local animal shelter so they wouldn’t be lonely. This kind, gentle soul was aggressively taken into police custody while saying, “I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking... I’m going home.” He was never seen alive again.Ellen and I spoke of the sadness and the injustice of this several times. She felt a powerful calling to contribute something in a statement and the result is the piece you now hold in your hands. I am deeply honored to be the dedicatee of the piece, to have worked together with Ellen on some of the final details, and to pen this score note. As an invited alumna of the Eastman School of Music, I premiered the work for their virtual event on Diversity and Inclusion. Each time I play it, there is a persistent lump in my throat because Ellen has captured something poignant and powerful here.There are great works which give voice to important moments for generations, and this is one of them. We humbly offer this piece in memory of Elijah McClain.Foreword © 2021 by Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Used by permission.

SKU: HL.14017278

Tristia is a song-cycle to words by Osip Mandelstam, one of the founding members of the so-called Acmeist school of Russian poetry - a movement which has much in common with both Symbolism and Imagism. As a Jewish dissident who had survived the Russian Revolution of 1917 and fallen foul of the subsequent Soviet regime, Mandelstam found it increasingly difficult to get either recognition or employment. In 1934 he was arrested for having written a satirical poem about Stalin. He perished four years later in a labour camp. Though he died in complete obscurity - nobody seems to know for certain the exact time or place of his death - his memory was kept alive by the courage and devotion of his wife Nadezhda whose book, Hope against Hope, is a moving chronicle of their last few years together. The five poems which make up the cycle are taken from the collection published in 1922 under the title, Tristia, a reference to the work of the same name by the exiled Latin poet, Ovid. The poems are set in English, but even in translation they convey the essence of Mandelstam's highly personal, associative style. As such they express the reactions of an alienated, sensitive and classically-educated outsider to the turbulent events he had so recently lived through. The five poems which make up the cycle are taken from the collection published in 1922 under the title, Tristia, a reference to the work of the same name by the exiled Latin poet, Ovid. The poems are set in English, but even in translation they convey the essence of Mandelstam's highly personal, associative style. As such they express the reactions of an alienated, sensitive and classically-educated outsider to the turbulent events he had so recently lived through.

SKU: BT.DHP-1084239-015

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

The famous monolith Ayers Rock (also called Uluru) is the only true attraction in the Northern Territory of Australia. This colossal red rock lies in the middle of a desert plain. At dusk, a beautiful spectacle develops as the setting sun envelops the rock in rose-red hues. There are tourists who climb the rock, while this is a taboo according to the indigenous religion of the Aboriginals. Besides, the climb is very strenuous. A walk around the rock is also an unforgettable experience.During a journey through Australia, Henk Hogestein was inspired by this rock; he composed this robust rock number to cherish the memory of it.

De beroemde monoliet Ayers Rock (ook wel Uluru genoemd) is de enige echte trekpleister in het Noordelijk Territorium van Australië. Deze kolossale rode rots ligt midden in een woestijnvlakte. Bij het vallen van de avond ontvouwt zicheen prachtig schouwspel als de ondergaande zon het geheel in rozerode tinten hult. Henk Hogestein werd tijdens een reis door Australië ge nspireerd door deze rots, hij componeerde dit stevige rocknummer ter herinnering.

Ayers Rock ist wohl die größte Attraktion im Norden Australiens. Der riesige rote Felsbrocken ragt mitten in der Wüste auf und bietet zu Sonnenauf- und Untergang ein großartiges Schauspiel. Touristen nutzen den Berg gerne zum Klettern, für die Aborigines, die Ureinwohner Australiens ist er jedoch ein heiliger Ort und damit tabu. Henk Hogestein setzte seine persönlichen Eindrücke von diesem besonderen Ort in diese rockige Nummer für zehnstimmige variable Besetzung und Schlagzeug um.

Montagne sacrée pour les Aborigènes qui le nomment Uluru, Ayers Rock est un rocher solitaire situé au centre de l’Australie dans le Territoire du Nord. Depuis des millénaires, les Aborigènes Anangu le décorent de gravures et peintures rupestres. Au lever ou au coucher du soleil, Uluru offre des sublimes dégradés de rouge et d'oranger. Henk Hogestein nous livre ses impressions et ses sentiments sur ce site grandiose travers cette pièce 10 voix pour ensemble instrumentation variable et percussion.