SKU: CF.H84
ISBN 9781491165539. UPC: 680160924530.
Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. Over his long career, he added a significant catalogue of very beautiful works to the harp repertoire. Many of his solo works, almost one hundred, have been consistently in print since they were first published. But in recent years harpist Carl Swanson has discovered a treasure trove of pieces by Tournier heretofore unknown and unpublished. These include the Déchiffrages in this edition, as well as songs set for voice, harp, and string quartet, and ensemble arrangements of some of his most beloved works.All of the works that Carl Swanson found were in manuscript only. With the help of the great harpist Catherine Michel, he has put these pieces into playable form, and they are being published for the very first time. He and Catherine often had to re-notate passages to show clearly how they could be played, adding fingerings and musical nuances, tempos, pedals, and pedal diagrams.Tournier wrote these pieces when he was in his 20s, and before he became the impressionistic composer those familiar with his work know so well. They are written in the late nineteenth-century romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. They are beautiful short, intermediate level pieces by a first rate composer, and add much needed repertoire to that level of playing.Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory with a first prize in harp in 1899. He also studied composition there and won a second prize in the prestigious Prix de Rome competition, as well as a first prize in the Rossini competition, another major composition competition of the day. From 1912 to 1948 he taught the harp class at the Paris Conservatory. But composition, and almost entirely, composition for the harp, was the main focus of his life. His published works, including many works for solo harp, a few for harp and other instruments, and several songs, number around one hundred pieces.In 2019, while researching Tournier for my edition MARCEL TOURNIER: 10 Pieces for Solo Harp, I discovered that there was a significant list of pieces by this composer that had never been published and were not included on any inventory of his music. Principal on this list were his déchiffrages (pronounced day-she-frahge, like the second syllable in the word garage).The word déchiffrage means sight-reading exercise, and that was their original purpose. Tournier numbered and dated these pieces, with dates ranging from 1900 to 1910, indicating that they were in all likelihood written for Alphonse Hasselmans’ class at the Paris Conservatory. Tournier was probably told how long to make each one, and how difficult. They range in length from two to four pages, with only one in the whole series extending to five, and from thirty to fifty-five measures, with only one extending to eight-five. The level of difficulty for the whole series is intermediate, with some at the easier end, and others at the middle or upper end.We don’t know if they were intended to test students trying to enter the harp class, or if they were used to test students in the class as they played their exams. The fact that they were never published means that students had to not only sight read them, but sight read them in manuscript form!I worked from digital images of the original manuscripts, which are in the private music library of a harpist in France. She had twenty-seven of these pieces, and this edition is the second in a series of three that will publish, for the first time, all of the ones that I have found thus far. The manuscripts themselves consist of little more than notes on the page: no pedals written in, no fingerings, few if any musical nuances and tempo markings, and no clear indication as to which hand plays which notes. These would have been difficult to sight read indeed! My collaborator Catherine Michel and I added musical nuances, fingerings, pedals and pedal diagrams, and tempo indications to put them into their current condition.At the time these were written, Tournier would have been in his twenties, having just graduated from the harp class himself (1899), and might still have been in the composition class. These are the earliest known pieces that he wrote, and they were written at the very beginning of a cultural revolution and upheaval in Paris that was to completely and profoundly alter musical composition. Tournier himself would eventually be caught up in this new way of composing. But not yet.All of the déchiffrages are written in the late romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. Each one is built on a clear musical idea, and the variety over the whole series makes them wonderful to listen to as well as to learn. They are also great technical lessons for intermediate level players.The obvious question is: Why didn’t Tournier publish these pieces, and why didn’t he list them on his own inventory of his music? Actually, four of them were published, with small changes, as his collection Four Preludes, Op. 16. These came from the ones that will be in volume three of this series from Carl Fischer. His first large piece, Theme and Variations, was published in 1908, and his two best known and frequently played pieces, Féerie and Au Matin, followed in 1912 and 1913 respectively. We can only speculate because there is so much still unknown about Tournier and about these unpublished pieces. He may have looked at them, fresh out of school as he was, as simply a way to make some quick money. The first several pieces that he did publish are much longer than any of the déchiffrages. So it could be that, because of their shorter length, as well as the earlier musical style that he was moving away from, he chose not to publish any more of them. We may never know the full story. But all these years later, more than a century after they were composed, we can listen to them for their own merits, and not measured against whatever else was going on at the time. The numbers on these pieces are the ones that Tournier assigned to them, and the gaps between some of the numbers suggest that there are perhaps thirty or more of these pieces still to be found, if they still exist. They will, in all likelihood, be found, as these were, in private collections of harp music, not in institutional libraries. We can only hope that more of them will be located in years to come.—Carl SwansonGlossary of French Musical TermsTournier was very precise about how he wanted his pieces played, and carefully communicated this with many musical indications. He used standard Italian words, but also used French words and phrases, and occasionally mixed both together. It is extremely important to observe and understand everything that he put on the page.Here is a list of the French words and phrases found in the pieces in this edition, with their translation.bien chanté well sung, melodiousdécidé firm, resolutediminu peu à peu becoming softer little by littleen diminuant becoming softeren riten. slowing downen se perdant dying awayGaiement gayly, lightlygracieusement gracefully, elegantlyLéger light, quickLent slowmarquez le chant emphasize the melodyModéré at a moderate tempopeu à peu animé more lively, little by littleplus lent slowerRetenu held backsans lenteur without slownesssans retinir without slowing downsec drily, abruptlysoutenu sustained, heldtrès arpegé very arpeggiatedTrès Modéré Very moderate tempoTrès peu retenu slightly held backTrès soutenu very sustainedun peu retenu slightly held back.
SKU: HL.232108
ISBN 9781783052738. UPC: 888680677329. 4.5x7.5x0.899 inches.
Complete lyrics and chords to 195 Beatles songs, including: Across the Universe • All My Loving • All You Need Is Love • And I Love Her • Back in the U.S.S.R. • The Ballad of John and Yoko • Birthday • Blackbird • A Day in the Life • Day Tripper • Dear Prudence • Drive My Car • Eight Days a Week • Eleanor Rigby • Good Day Sunshine • Got to Get You into My Life • A Hard Day's Night • Help! • Helter Skelter • Here Comes the Sun • Hey Jude • I Saw Her Standing There • I Want to Hold Your Hand • In My Life • Let It Be • The Long and Winding Road • Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds • Penny Lane • Revolution • Something • Ticket to Ride • Twist and Shout • When I'm Sixty-Four • While My Guitar Gently Weeps • Yellow Submarine • Yesterday • and more. 4-1/2 inches x 7-1/2 inches.
SKU: PR.114417130
ISBN 9781491110409. UPC: 680160626687. 9x12 inches.
A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant, Not Alone is inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai's poem Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow. The premiere was given on April 26, 2014 by the PRISM Quartet with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which commissioned the work to celebrate its 25th Anniversary NYC Season. From the Program Note by Matthew Levy (The PRISM Quartet), Not Alone (2014) is an interdisciplinary work...but it stands alone in a chamber music setting. The work spans a stunning range of textures, from introspective solos for each of the four saxophones to majestic hyper-active gestures. The PRISM Quartet recorded Not Alone for a 2017 release on XAS Records titled Paradigm Lost. But we're excited for a wider community of saxophonists to embrace the work, and share it with their own audiences. Not Alone is published together with Happy Birthday to PRISM, a brief miniature that Chen Yi wrote for the quartet's 20th anniversary celebration in 2004. For advanced performers._________________________Text from the scanned back cover:NOT ALONE for Saxophone QuartetHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PRISM for Saxophone QuartetNot Alone is a 14-minute saxophone quartet and dance score inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai’s “Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.†The expansively-textured sax quartet matches the exploratory and dramatic movements and gestures in the dance. NOT ALONE was commissioned by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company which premiered the work in collaboration with the PRISM Quartet. Also included in this publication is Chen Yi’s fascinating take on “Happy Birthday to You,†composed in celebration of Prism’s 25th anniversary season.A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant, Not Alone is inspiredby the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai’s poem “Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.†The premierewas given on April 26, 2014 by the PRISM Quartet with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which commissioned thework to celebrate its 25th Anniversary NYC Season. Program Note by composer Chen YiThe original inspiration for this work for both the choreographer and the composer came from the Tang Dynasty poem - Alone Under the Moon by Li Bai. The poem describes the poet being alone in a garden. The moon and his shadow became his companions that night. The choreographer brings this idea to modern life in an urban setting. She created a series of “mindscapes†which are the result of the exploration of the different mental and physical states of being alone.Through self-examination, the choreographer raises the question: are we ever really alone? Our physical being may be standing by itself, but what about our introspective self? When we are still, we let our thoughts pass by like flowing water. If we could engage with our shadows, what would it be like?Program Note by Matthew Levy, The PRISM QuartetThe PRISM Quartet has commissioned a great many composers since our founding days in 1984. Chen Yi is among ahandful of our very favorites, and one to whom we’ve returned time and time again. Her music is powerful, expansive,intimate, and draws connections between Eastern and Western, ancient and modern traditions in a voice all her own.Chen Yi has written or adapted four works for the PRISM Quartet. She penned a wonderful miniature called HappyBirth day to PRISM to celebrate the ensemble’s 20th anniversary back in 2004 (Dedication, Innova Recordings).We subsequently commissioned her to compose Septet (2008) for Erhu, Pipa, Percussion, and Saxophone Quartet(2008), premiered and recorded with the New York ensemble Music From China (Antiphony, Innova Recordings 2010).In 2015, the PRISM Quartet performed and recorded (XAS Records) a new version of her saxophone quartet concerto,BA YIN, with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Wind Ensemble under the baton of Steven Davis (originally writtenfor the Rascher Quartet and scored for saxophones and string orchestra.).Finally, Not Alone (2014) is an interdisciplinary work written for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company with the PRISMQuartet, but it stands alone in a chamber music setting. The work spans a stunning range of textures, from introspectivesolos for each of the four saxophones to majestic hyper-active gestures. The PRISM Quartet recorded Not Alonefor a 2017 release on XAS Records titled Paradigm Lost. But we’re excited for a wider community of saxophonists toembrace the work, and share it with their own audiences.In his liner notes for the recording, WNYC’s John Schaefer writes: “As with much of her music, Chen employs percussiveeffects and glissandi; in Chinese music these are not considered “extended techniques†or special effects, but animportant part of the performer’s arsenal. Here, they help create the twilit mood of the opening moments. The piecesoon becomes more dramatic, suggesting the arrival of the drinker’s companions (real or imagined) and his or herincreasingly garrulous outbursts. Passages of consonance and discord can easily be heard as companionable singingand bouts of drunken argument. The piece bustles along on a kind of restless energy, until, finally, that restlessnesssubsides, giving way to a gently humorous ending where a short falling phrase signals the drinker falling asleep.â€.
SKU: HL.242081
ISBN 9781785588617. UPC: 888680704407. 4.75x7.75x0.956 inches.
A pocket-sized collection of 195 Beatles hits presented in chord songbook format. Includes complete lyrics, chord names & a handy chord box reference sheet. Including classic hits such as: All You Need Is Love • Can't Buy Me Love • Day Tripper • Do You Want to Know a Secret • Eleanor Rigby • From Me to You • Get Back • Help! • Hey Jude • I Want to Hold Your Hand • Let It Be • Magical Mystery Tour • Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da • Please Please Me • Ticket to Ride • Twist and Shout • and more.
SKU: PR.110418370
ISBN 9781491135075. UPC: 680160686247.
Composed as an organ solo by the 17-year-old Ives for his own performance purposes, the beloved Variations on America is a treat for any occasion, whether a holiday concert, a serious recital, or other special event. Danny Holt’s transcription for Piano, Four Hands adds a dazzling new option to play at home or on stage, taking best advantage of Ives’ tremendous contrasts in color, dynamics, and texture.Composed when Charles Ives was a teenager, Variations on “America†is both a convenient introduction to Ives’ body of work, and an early example of his iconoclastic musical voice and creative genius. Just a few years after composing this piece, Ives would leave home to study music at Yale. But until then he had been taught by his father, George (who had been a bandmaster in the Civil War). George subjected the young Ives to experiments such as singing a song in one key while being accompanied in another, or arranging for two marching bands to converge on a town center, with the resulting cacophony that ensued.The Variations exemplifies an early period of experimentation in Ives’ work, spurred on by the unusual pedagogy of his father. The piece is particularly notable for its use of bitonality in the two interludes, subtly foreshadowing more well-known examples by Stravinsky, Bartók, and others by approximately two decades.The bitonal interludes were so ahead of their time, in fact, they were omitted from the first copy that was submitted to a publisher in 1892. (Alas, the piece was rejected even despite these “shocking†elements having been left out, and it wasn’t published until more than five decades later.) There is some ambiguity about when exactly Ives added the interludes into his manuscript copy, though ample evidence suggests he had performed the piece with the interludes around the time he notated the piece in 1891-92. In any case, in light of this piece and his other polytonal explorations from the last decade of the 19th century, it seems fair to give Ives credit for being a pioneer in this area!This arrangement for Piano, Four Hands, closely follows Ives’ original version for organ, setting aside William Schuman’s popular adaptation for symphony orchestra and William Rhoads’ band transcription of the Schuman orchestration. Pianists will find that the piece translates well to the instrument. Ideally, the choreography and logistics of elbow-to-elbow four-hands playing approximates the wild joy one gets from watching an organist play the piece (e.g., the elaborate pedal part in the final variation).In preparing this publication, attention was paid to details in the dual Critical Editions (Presser 443-41003) of both Ives’ manuscript edition and the 1949 publication edited by organist E. Power Biggs (who is credited with discovering what had been a long-lost, forgotten work.) But as with much of Ives’ output, attempting to create a true ‘urtext’ score is a futile endeavor, and especially with a piece such as this one – in which Ives incorporated improvisation in live performance – seems unnecessary anyhow. True die-hards are of course encouraged to consult the critical editions and even find inspiration in the orchestrated version. Generally, performers are advised to be wild, have fun, and not to be too rigid in their interpretive choices.Dynamics in this arrangement mostly follow the organ score closely. Pianists will use good judgment about pedaling throughout, which should be straightforward and intuitive. Courtesy accidentals have been provided frequently – without parentheses – balancing the need for extra clarity in the context of Ives’ murky musical language, and a desire to avoid unnecessary clutter.A few notes that might inform interpretive decisions:mm. 15-16: There are inconsistencies here between Ives’ original manuscript and the 1949 Biggs edition, regarding the top voice in m. 15, beat 3 (C# vs. Cn) and m. 16 (D Major vs. D Minor).mm. 76-84 & 143-146: In both Interludes, Ives emphatically notates extreme dynamic contrast, in order to highlight the bitonality. Although it may seem counterintuitive (or even a misprint, as has apparently been misconstrued by some), performers are urged to follow the composer’s marking!m. 109: Two-note slurs have been added here for clarity and consistency with other similar passages, though they do not appear in either the original manuscript or Biggs.m. 112: The last two eighth notes of Primo appear as 16ths in the original manuscript.mm. 183-186: The original manuscript has a slightly different bass line.mm. 184 & 186: Primo gestures have been re-written to be slightly more idiomatic for Piano, Four Hands.m. 186: The breath mark at the end of this bar does not appear in either the manuscript or Biggs, but is an editorial suggestion – aside from being appropriately dramatic, it will indeed be necessary in a reverberant hall!I would like to thank Steven Vanhauwaert, the other half of my piano duo, 4handsLA, for his input on early drafts of this arrangement.— Danny Holt, April 2022.
© 2000 - 2024 Home - New realises - Composers Legal notice - Full version
