SKU: HL.14021105

ISBN 9780711997950. UPC: 884088433307. 8.25x11.75x0.088 inches.

The composer writes: Pilgrim was inspired, it will be no surprise to learn, by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance, yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression, not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery, and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me, not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys), and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece, which lasts about 18 minutes, is basically slow. There are two quick episodes, but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo, save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower, not quicker) and the canvas is much larger, being that of a single, substantial, slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops, and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is, however, one feature which, upon completion of the score, struck me with some force, which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council, and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed, as part of a joint scheme, by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

SKU: PR.41641576L

UPC: 680160636549. 11 x 17 inches.

The 1712 Overture stands out in P.D.Q. Bach's oeuvre for two reasons, among others: it is by far the most programmatic instrumental piece among those by the minimeister of Wein-am-Rhein so far unearthed, and 2) its discovery has led to a revelation about the composer's father, Johann Sebastian Bach, that has exploded like a bombshell on the usually serene musicological landscape. The overture is based on an anecdote told to P.D.Q. Bach by a cousin, Peter Ulrich. Since P.U. Bach lived in Dudeldorf, only a few miles down the road from Wein-am-Rhein, he was P.D.Q.'s closest relative, and he was, in fact, one of the few members of the family who was on speaking terms with P.D.Q. The story, related to P.D.Q. (fortunately for us posterity types) in a letter, may be summarized thus: The town of Dudeldorf was founded by two brothers, Rudi and Dieter Dudel, early in the 18th century. Rudi remained mayor of the newborn burg for the rest of his long life, but Dieter had a dream of starting a musicians' colony, an entire city devoted to music, which dream, he finally decided, could be realized only in the New World. In 1712, he and several other bagpipers sailed to Boston, never to return to Germany. (Henceforth, Rudi became known as der deutscher Dudel and Dieter as the Yankee Dudel). Unfortunately, the head of the Boston Musicians' Guild had gotten wind of Dudel's plans, and Wilhelm Wiesel (pron. VEE-zle), known none too affectionately around town as Wiesel the Weasel, was not about to share what few gigs there were in colonial America with more foreigners and outside agitators. He and his cronies were on hand to meet Dudel's boat when it pulled into Boston Harbor; they intended to prevent the newcomers' disembarkation, but Dudel and his companions managed to escape to the other side of the bay in a dinghy, landing with just enough time to rent a carriage and horses before hearing the sound of The Weasel and his men, who had had to come around the long way. The Germans headed West, with the Bostonians in furious pursuit. soon the city had been left far behind, and by midnight so had the pursuers; Dieter Dudel decided that it was safe for him and his men to stop and sleep until daybreak. When they awoke, they found that they were in a beautiful landscape of low, forested mountains and pleasant fields, warmed by the brilliant morning sun and serenaded by an entrancing variety of birds. Here, Dudel thought, her is where I will build my colony. The immigrants continued down the road at a leisurely pace until they came upon a little church, all by itself in the countryside, from which there suddenly emanated the sounds of a pipe organ. At this point, the temptation to quote from P.U. Bach's letter to P.D.Q. cannot be resisted: They went inside and, after listening to the glorious music for a while, introduced themselves to the organist. And who do you think it was? Are you ready for this -- it was your old man! Hey, no kidding -- you know, I'm sure, that your father was the guy to get when it came to testing new organs, and whoever had that one in Massachusetts built offered old Sebastian a tidy sum to go over there and check it out. The unexpected meeting with J.S. Bach and his sponsors was interrupted by the sound of horse hooves, as the dreaded Wiesel and his men thundered on to the scene. They had been riding all night, however, and they were no spring chickens to start with, and as soon as they reached the church they all dropped, exhausted, to the ground. The elated Germans rang the church bells and offered to buy everyone a beer at the nearest tavern. There they were taught, and joined in singing, what might be called the national anthem of the New World. The melody of this pre-revolutionary patriotic song is still remembered (P.D.Q. Bach quotes it, in the bass instruments, near the end of the overture), but is words are now all but forgotten: Freedom, of thee we sing, Freedom e'er is our goal; Death to the English King, Long live Rock and Ross. The striking paucity of biographical references to Johann Sebastian Bah during the year 1712 can now be explained: he was abroad for a significant part of that year, testing organs in the British Colonies. That this revelation has not been accepted as fact by the musicological establishment is no surprise, since it means that a lot of books would have to be rewritten. The members of that establishment haven't even accepted the existence of P.D.Q. Bach, one of whose major works the 1712 Overture certainly is. It is also a work that shows Tchaikowsky up as the shameless plagiarizer that some of us have always known he was. The discovery of this awesome opus was made possible by a Boston Pops Centennial Research Commission; the first modern performance took place at the opening concert of the 100th anniversary season of that orchestra, under the exciting but authentic direction of John Williams.

SKU: PE.EP73479

ISBN 9790577019888. 297 x 210mm inches. English.

At First Light was commissioned by Eric Bruskin, a resident of Philadelphia, USA, in memory of his mother. Eric had a longstanding enthusiasm for my work, and I was touched to be the person he approached for a task which is both a privilege and a daunting responsibility. In a sense, no music can ever measure up to the weight of love or the hope of consolation vested in it under such circumstances - but in memory I carry the deaths of both my own parents, and I was able to draw upon that. Eric's fondness for my Cello Sonata (itself written in memoriam) led him to ask that I include a solo 'cello part in the new work - but his attachment also to my polyphonic sacred choral writing meant that he wanted a centrepiece which would be both a showcase of that approach and the celebration of a life well lived. Therefore, the seven movements of At First Light arrange themselves as a series of slow meditations surrounding an exuberant 9-minute motet in which the lamenting cello falls temporarily silent.

Eric's Jewish faith meant that approaching an agnostic humanist brought up within the Anglican tradition was hardly free of problems! Gradually, though, I was able to win his approval for a collated mosaic of texts. This embraces some liturgical Latin (necessary for the motet) as the shared preserve of broad western culture in general, but balances it with a secular approach to loss, celebration, remembrance and the many shades of our mourning those whom we see no longer. Eric was adamant that he did not want the title Requiem; but what has emerged is still a form of semi-secular Requiem in all but name, taking its title instead from a phrase in the poem by Thomas Blackburn set as the third movement. This seemed to suggest succinctly how the loss of one very close to us is an awakening into an unfamiliar world where everything is changed. Following the exuberant central movement, the texts by the Lebanese-born Kahlil Gibran and the US, Kentuckian poet Wendell Berry first address the departed loved one directly, then place us within an imaginary funeral cortege, where the perennial and universal in human experience become personal without subscribing explicitly to any particular faith (or lack of it). The final text of all is a translation of a Hebraic prayer, requested and provided by Eric Bruskin, which serves to mirror its Latin counterpart heard at the outset.

Throughout, the lamenting cello represents a commentary on the experience articulated in the text. It evokes and, in a sense, tries to embrace and sanctify the individual existential journeys of the bereft, as they in turn seek to make their own sense of what the short-lived Second World War poet Alun Lewis called 'the unbearable beauty of the dead' (movement 5).

In a modern world hostage to ever greater menace, displacement, bloodshed and anguish, I hope fervently that this music not only brings a measure of solace to the person who commissioned it, but also makes its own small contribution to bailing out the sinking ship of humanity.

SKU: BT.DHP-1216336-215

English-German-French-Dutch.

From the beginning of the Middle Ages, we have known performance practices in which the duration of the notes can differ from the actual notation. In some cases, binary written melodies were performed in a ternary way. This isalso the case in the present-day shuffle: the written quavers are performed in a long-short system in which the ratio is 2:1. In other words, the performance practice is based on a triplet feel. In this composition, allingredients of the shuffle are featured: a vigorous swing rhythm, a walking bass, the successions of thirds in the accompaniment and the frequent use of triplets. To make sure that the binary written rhythms in the accompanimentsare performed in the correct ternary manner, Peter Kleine Schaars has notated the melody themes in triplets as much as possible. Thus, this composition is a very useful exercise for the swing development of your ensemble.Additionally, the work is a treat to listen to, so your audience will really appreciate this up-tempo big band like composition. All ternary rhythmic cells 17 till 24 pass in revue, furthermore much attention had been paid to acorrect performance of cell 4 in swing feel.

Al vanaf het begin van de middeleeuwen kennen we uitvoeringspraktijken waarbij de lengte van de noten anders kan zijn dan de daadwerkelijke notatie. Zo werden in sommige gevallen binair uitgeschreven melodieën ternair uitgevoerd.Dat is ook het geval bij de hedendaagse shuffle: de geschreven achtsten worden uitgevoerd in een lang-kortsysteem waarbij de verhouding 2:1 geldt. Oftewel de uitvoeringspraktijk is gebaseerd op een triolenfeel. In deze compositiekomen alle ingrediënten van de shuffle aan bod: een stevig swingritme, een walking bass, oplopende tertsenreeksen in de begeleiding en veelvuldig gebruik van triolen. Om ervoor te zorgen dat de binair genoteerde ritmieken in debegeleidingen op de juiste ternaire wijze worden uitgevoerd, heeft Peter Kleine Schaars de melodiethema’s zoveel mogelijk uitgeschreven in triolen. Hierdoor is deze compositie een zeer bruikbare oefening voor de swingontwikkelingvan uw ensemble. Daarnaast is het werk een feest om naar te luisteren en zal het publiek deze uptempo bigbandachtige compositie zeker waarderen. Alle ternaire ritmische cellen 17 tot 24 passeren de revue, daarnaast is er veelaandacht voor een juiste uitvoering van cel 4 in swingfeel.

Seit Beginn des Mittelalters sind uns Aufführungspraktiken bekannt, bei denen die Dauer der Noten von der tatsächlichen Notation abweichen kann. In einigen Fällen wurden binär geschriebene Melodien ternär gespielt. Dies ist auchbeim modernen Shuffle der Fall: Die notierten Achtelnoten werden in einem Lang-Kurz-System“ im Verhältnis 2:1 ausgeführt. Mit anderen Worten, die Aufführungspraxis basiert auf einem Triolengefühl. In dieser Komposition sind alleZutaten des Shuffle enthalten: ein kräftiger Swing-Rhythmus, ein Walking Bass, eine Abfolge von Terzen in der Begleitung und die häufige Verwendung von Triolen. Um sicherzustellen, dass die binär geschriebenen Rhythmen in denBegleitungen ternär ausgeführt werden, hat Peter Kleine Schaars die Melodiethemen so weit wie möglich als Triolen notiert. Daher eignet sich diese Komposition zum Üben des Swings. Darüber hinaus hört sich das Stück so schön an,dass Ihr Publikum von dieser schnellen Big-Band-ähnlichen Komposition begeistert sein wird. Die ternären Rhythmus-Einheiten 17 bis 24 kommen alle vor, außerdem wurde ein Schwerpunkt auf die korrekte Umsetzung der Rhythmus-Einheit4 im Swing-Stil gelegt.

Si nous remontons au début du Moyen ge, nous savons que, selon certaines coutumes d’interprétation, la durée des notes pouvait différer de la notation. Parfois, des mélodies écrites en binaire étaient même interprétées enternaire. C’est le cas de ce shuffle contemporain : les croches écrites sont jouées selon un système long-court où le rapport est de 2:1. Autrement dit, en pratique, l’interprétation est fondée sur un ressenti ternaire. Tous lesingrédients du shuffle sont présents dans cette composition : un rythme de swing vigoureux, une basse walking, les successions de tierces dans l’accompagnement et l’emploi fréquent de triolets. Pour s’assurer que les rythmesécrits en binaire dans l’accompagnement soient interprétés en ternaire, Peter Kleine Schaars a, dans la mesure du possible, noté les thèmes de la mélodie en triolets. Cette pièce forme donc un exercice très utile pour permettre votre ensemble d’apprendre le swing. En outre, son écoute est un vrai plaisir, et votre public appréciera pleinement cette pièce de style big band au rythme enlevé. Toutes les cellules rythmiques ternaires 17 24 sont passées enrevue et une grande attention a été portée l’interprétation correcte de la cellule 4, donc avec un ressenti swing.

SKU: PR.164002720

UPC: 680160573042. 8.5 x 11 inches.

My third quartet is laid out in a three-movement structure, with each movement based on an early, middle, and late work of the great American impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Although the movements are separate, with full-stop endings, the music is connected by a common scale-form, derived from the name MARY CASSATT, and by a recurring theme that introduces all three movements. I see this theme as Mary's Theme, a personality that stays intact while undergoing gradual change.   I The Bacchante (1876) [Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]   The painting shows a young girl of Italian or Spanish origin, playing a small pair of cymbals. Since Cassatt was trying very hard to fit in at the French Academy at the time, she painted a lot of these subjects, which were considered typical and universal. The style of the painting doesn't yet show Cassatt's originality, except perhaps for certain details in the face. Accordingly the music for this movement is Spanish/Italian, in a similar period-style but using the musical signature described above. The music begins with Mary's Theme, ruminative and slow, then abruptly changes to an alla Spagnola-type fast 3/4 - 6/8 meter. It evokes the Spanish-influenced music of Ravel and Falla.   Midway through, there's an accompanied recitative for the viola, which figures large in this particular movement, then back to a truncated recapitulation of the fast music. The overall feeling is of a well-made, rather conventional movement in a contemporary Spanish/Italian style. Cassatt's painting, too, is rather conventional.   II At the Opera (1880) [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts]   This painting is one of Cassatt's most well known works, and it hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting shows a woman alone in a box at the opera house, completely dressed (including gloves) and looking through opera glasses at someone or something that is NOT on the stage. Across the auditorium from her, but exactly at eye level, is a gentleman with opera glasses intently watching her - though it is not him that she's looking at. It's an intriguing picture.   This movement is far less conventional than the first movement, as the painting is far less conventional. The music begins with a rapid, Shostakovich-type mini-overture lasting less than a minute, based on Mary's Theme. My conjecture is that the woman in the painting has arrived late to the opera, busily stumbling into her box. What happens next is a kind of collage, a kind of surrealistic overlaying of two different elements: the foreground music, at first is a direct quotation of Soldier's Chorus from Gounod's FAUST (an opera Cassatt would certainly have heard in the brand-new Paris Opera House at that time), played by Violin II, Viola, and Cello. This music is played sul ponticello in the melody and col legno in the marching accompaniment. On top of this, the first violin hovers at first on a high harmonic, then descends into a slow melody, completely separate from the Gounod. It's as if the woman in the painting is hearing the opera onstage but is not really interested in it. Then the cello joins the first violin in a kind of love-duet (just the two of them, at first). This music isn't at all Gounod-derived; it's entirely from the same scale patterns as the first movement and derives from Mary's Theme and its scale. The music stays in a kind of dichotomy feeling, usually three-against-one, until the end of the movement, when another Gounod melody, Valentin's aria Avant de quitter ce lieux reappears in a kind of coda for all four players. It ends atmospherically and emotionally disconnected, however. The overall feeling is a kind of schizophrenic, opera-inspired dream.   III Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun (1909) [Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts]   The painting, one of Cassatt's last, is very simple: just a figure, looking sideways out of the picture. The colors are pastel and yet bold - and the woman is likewise very self-assured and not in the least demure. It is eight minutes long, and is all about melody - three melodies, to be exact (Young Woman, Green, and Sunlight). No angst, no choppy rhythms, just ever-unfolding melody and lush harmonies. I quote one other French composer here, too: Debussy's song Green, from Ariettes Oubliees. 1909 would have been Debussy's heyday in Paris, and it makes perfect sense musically as well as visually to do this.   Mary Cassatt lived her last several years in near-total blindness, and as she lost visual acuity, her work became less sharply defined - something akin to late water lilies of Monet, who suffered similar vision loss. My idea of making this movement entirely melodic was compounded by having each of the three melodies appear twice, once in a pure form, and the second time in a more diffuse setting. This makes an interesting two ways form: A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.   String Quartet No.3 (Cassatt) is dedicated, with great affection and respect, to the Cassatt String Quartet, whose members have dedicated themselves in large measure to the furthering of the contemporary repertoire for quartet.

SKU: CF.CAS110F

ISBN 9781491151662. UPC: 680160909162. 9 x 12 inches.

Bud Caputo presents Nutcracker Suite Selections for string orchestra featuring three abridged movements of?Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite:?Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, March, and Trepak. These abridged movements are sure to be crowd-pleasers around the?winter holidays or a favorite for?any time of the year.
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert. Suitable for Grades 3 through 5. To the Director: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm. 16-19, in the Basses and m. 34 in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandos in this movement. March: Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-rest figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement to accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak: Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble..
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert.A Suitable for Grades 3 through 5. To the Director: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm.A 16-19, in the Basses and m.A 34A in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandosA in this movement. March: A Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-restA figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement toA accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak: A Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble..
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert.A Suitable for Grades 3 through 5. To the Director: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm.A 16-19, in the Basses and m.A 34A in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandosA in this movement. March: A Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-restA figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement toA accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak: A Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble..
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert. Suitable for Grades 3 through 5. To the Director: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm. 16-19, in the Basses and m. 34 in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandos in this movement. March: Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-rest figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement to accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak: Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble..
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert. Suitable for Grades 3 through 5. To the Director: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm. 16-19, in the Basses and m. 34 in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandos in this movement. March: Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-rest figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement to accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak: Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble.
This arrangement will challenge students, while fostering rhythmic independence, execution of bowing and pizzicato, and the ability to balance the melody with the accompaniment throughout the arrangement. However, ranges remain primarily in first position with some optional 8va passages, allowing intermediate groups to perform this in time for the winter holiday concert.  Suitable for Grades 3 through 5.To the Director:Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: A steady tempo is critical when performing this movement, as students may have a tendency to rush during the pizzicato sections. There is a regularly occurring descending sixteenth-note rhythmic figure that is transcribed form the bass clarinet part in the original. It is important to maintain clarity and balance in performing these passages as seen in mm. 16-19, in the Basses and m. 34 in the Cello and Bass. The balancing of the chords will be a challenge in the execution of the many sforzandos in this movement. March:  Measures 2 and 4, and similar melodic patterns that follow, require the performers to carefully balance their forte/pianos on beats 3 and 4, along with the rapid diminuendo. The contrasting rhythmic patterns in mm. 5-8, and later throughout this movement must line up precisely. Strings playing the pizzicato eight note, walking bass line, must not rush, and the upper strings playing the eighth-note/eight-rest figure must follow their section leaders in executing this in a unified manner. While there is no formal tempo change from mm. 40 to 41, directors may need to relax the tempo at the beginning of the movement to accommodate the technical challenge of the double time feel that happens in m. 41. Trepak:  Tchaikovsky was careful to notate the p, f and sf, requiring the performers to recognize the difference between all three markings that frame the chief melody. The upper strings must be careful to support the melody in the lower strings that begins in m. 33. Directors will challenge their students to have fun in the last twelve measures with the accelerando passage to the end. Care must be taken to use an accelerando that works for all the players in the particular ensemble.

About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series

This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Expanded use of rhythms, ranges and keys but technical demands are still carefully considered
• More comprehensive bowing techniques
• Viola T.C. included
• Careful selection of keys and degree of difficulty for advancing musicians