SKU: PR.165001000
ISBN 9781491129241. UPC: 680160669776. 9 x 12 inches.
Commissioned for a consortium of high school and college bands in the north Dallas region, FOR THEMYSTIC HARMONY is a 10-minute inspirational work in homage to Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon,patrons of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Van Cliburn Competition. Welcher draws melodic flavorfrom five American hymns, spirituals, and folk tunes of the 19th century. The last of these sources toappear is the hymn tune For the Beauty of the Earth, whose third stanza is the quatrain: “For the joy of earand eye, For the heart and mind’s delight, For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight,â€giving rise to the work’s title.This work, commissioned for a consortium of high school bands in the north Dallas area, is my fifteenth maturework for wind ensemble (not counting transcriptions). When I asked Todd Dixon, the band director whospearheaded this project, what kind of a work he most wanted, he first said “something that’s basically slow,†butwanted to leave the details to me. During a long subsequent conversation, he mentioned that his grandparents,Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon, were prime supporters of the Fort Worth Symphony, going so far as to purchase anumber of high quality instruments for that orchestra. This intrigued me, so I asked more about his grandparentsand was provided an 80-page biographical sketch. Reading that article, including a long section about theirdevotion to supporting a young man through the rigors of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition fora number of years, moved me very much. Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon weren’t just supporters of the arts; theywere passionate lovers of music and musicians. I determined to make this work a testament to that love, and tothe religious faith that sustained them both. The idea of using extant hymns was also suggested by Todd Dixon,and this 10-minute work is the result.I have employed existing melodies in several works, delving into certain kinds of religious music more than a fewtimes. In seeking new sounds, new ways of harmonizing old tunes, and the contrapuntal overlaying of one tunewith another, I was able to make works like ZION (using 19th-century Revivalist hymns) and LABORING SONGS(using Shaker melodies) reflect the spirit of the composers who created these melodies, without sounding likepastiches or medleys. I determined to do the same with this new work, with the added problem of employingmelodies that were more familiar. I chose five tunes from the 19th century: hymns, spirituals, and folk-tunes.Some of these are known by differing titles, but they all appear in hymnals of various Christian denominations(with various titles and texts). My idea was to employ the tunes without altering their notes, instead using aconstantly modulating sense of harmony — sometimes leading to polytonal harmonizations of what are normallysimple four-chord hymns.The work begins and ends with a repeated chime on the note C: a reminder of steeples, white clapboard churchesin the country, and small church organs. Beginning with a Mixolydian folk tune of Caribbean origin presentedtwice with layered entrances, the work starts with a feeling of mystery and gentle sorrow. It proceeds, after along transition, into a second hymn that is sometimes connected to the sea (hence the sensation of water andwaves throughout it). This tune, by John B. Dykes (1823-1876), is a bit more chromatic and “shifty†than mosthymn-tunes, so I chose to play with the constant sensation of modulation even more than the original does. Atthe climax, the familiar spiritual “Were you there?†takes over, with a double-time polytonal feeling propelling itforward at “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.â€Trumpets in counterpoint raise the temperature, and the tempo as well, leading the music into a third tune (ofunknown provenance, though it appears with different texts in various hymnals) that is presented in a sprightlymanner. Bassoons introduce the melody, but it is quickly taken up by other instruments over three “verses,â€constantly growing in orchestration and volume. A mysterious second tune, unrelated to this one, interrupts it inall three verses, sending the melody into unknown regions.The final melody is “For the Beauty of the Earth.†This tune by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872) is commonly sung atThanksgiving — the perfect choice to end this work celebrating two people known for their generosity.Keeping the sense of constant modulation that has been present throughout, I chose to present this hymn in threegrowing verses, but with a twist: every four bars, the “key†of the hymn seems to shift — until the “Lord of all, toThee we praise†melody bursts out in a surprising compound meter. This, as it turns out, was the “mystery tuneâ€heard earlier in the piece. After an Ivesian, almost polytonal climax, the Coda begins over a long B( pedal. At first,it seems to be a restatement of the first two phrases of “For the Beauty†with long spaces between them, but it soonchanges to a series of “Amen†cadences, widely separated by range and color. These, too, do not conform to anykey, but instead overlay each other in ways that are unpredictable but strangely comforting.The third verse of “For the Beauty of the Earth†contains this quatrain:“For the joy of ear and eye, –For the heart and mind’s delightFor the mystic harmonyLinking sense to sound and sightâ€and it was from this poetry that I drew the title for the present work. It is my hope that audiences and performerswill find within it a sense of grace: more than a little familiar, but also quite new and unexpected.
SKU: PR.16500100F
ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 9 x 12 inches.
SKU: HL.48184305
Born in Toulouse, Marcel Bitsch (1921-2011) went on to study at the Paris Conservatoire before becoming a professor of counterpoint at the institution. As an exceptionally versatile musician, Bitsch has composed orchestral works, chamber works, numerous pieces and studies for wind instruments, as well as theory books. Precise Tonal Harmony is a significant addition to the theoretical study of harmony. Accessible for beginner to advanced musicians, Bitsch's Precise Tonal Harmony addresses a variety of technical, harmonic elements. These include, chords, intervals, inversions, figured bass, cadences, modulations and suspensions, amongst many other aspects. Bitsch's Precise Tonal Harmony includes all of the harmonic devices required in the theoretical study of the element. Precise Tonal Harmony is an outstanding and necessary accompaniment to all harmony studies..
SKU: AP.1-ADV11216
ISBN 9783892210566. UPC: 805095112160. English.
Jazz harmony, as taught at the Berklee College of Music, is based on the so-called chord scale theory. This method---further developed---is now available as a comprehensive textbook for the first time---The Chord Scale Theory & Jazz Harmony by Barrie Nettles and Richard Graf. Emerged from practice and designed for practical use, it provides theoretical knowledge necessary for improvisation, composing, and arranging. Titles: Introduction * Harmonic Structures * Diatonic Harmony * Dominant Chords and Diatonic Function * Minor Key Harmony * Blues * Diminished seventh Chords * Dominant Chords with Special Functions * Modal Interchange * Voicing Specific Chord Symbols and Structures * Modulations * Modal Systems * Nonfunctional Harmony * Introduction to Arranging.
SKU: AP.1-ADV11225
UPC: 805095112252. English.
Beyond Functional Harmony presents a system that creates melody and harmony, and allows them to function outside of the normal dependencies governing the principles of diatonic harmony, melody, and form. This system should give the composer a departure point from the harmonic and melodic characteristics grounded in the principles of tonal, key related, or functional harmony. This text should be undertaken in the same spirit in which it was written---an excitement of discovery, an enthusiasm for new ideas, and an ongoing pursuit for personal growth and development. Developed at the Berklee College of Music.
SKU: HL.48182689
UPC: 888680864590. 9.0x12.0x0.213 inches.
French composer Julien Falk (1902-1987) was a famous composition teacher at the Paris Conservatory. He wrote many popular theoretical music books, Complete and Progressive Technique of Harmony being no exception. Compiled in 1969, the second volume of Falk's Complete and Progressive Technique of Harmony addresses figured bass and chorale writing. Moreover, Complete and Progressive Technique of Harmony includes examples of homework which have been explained and corrected, commenting on how it could have been improved. Falk's harmony theoretical guide is essential to all musicians undergoing advanced, harmonic musical studies..
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