SKU: PR.362034230

ISBN 9781598069556. UPC: 680160624225. Letter inches. English.

When the Texas Choral Consort asked Welcher to write a short prologue to Haydn's The Creation, his first reaction was that Haydn already presents Chaos in his introductory movement. As he thought about it, Welcher began envisioning a truer void to precede Haydn's depiction of Chaos within the scope of 18th-century classical style - quoting some of Haydn's themes and showing human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation melange of color, mood, and atmosphere. Welcher accepted this challenge with the proviso that his prologue would lead directly into Haydn's masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause in between. Scored for mixed chorus and Haydn's instrumentation, Without Form and Void is a dramatically fresh yet pragmatic enhancement to deepen any performance of Haydn's The Creation. Orchestral score and parts are available on rental.
When Brent Baldwin asked me to consider writing a short prologue to THE CREATION, my first response was “Why?”  THE CREATION already contains a prologue; it’s called “Representation of Chaos”, and it’s Haydn’s way of showing the formless universe.  How could a new piece do anything but get in the way? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  The Age of Enlightenment’s idea of “Chaos” was just extended chromaticism, no more than Bach used (in fact, Bach went further).Perhaps there might be a way to use the full resources of the modern orchestra (or at least, a Haydn-sized orchestra) and the modern chorus to really present a cosmic soup of unborn musical atoms, just waiting for Haydn’s sure touch to animate them.  Perhaps it could even quote some of Haydn’s themes before he knew them himself, and also show human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation mélange of color, mood, and atmosphere. So I accepted the challenge, with the proviso that my new piece not be treated as some kind of “overture”, but would instead be allowed to lead directly into Haydn’s masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause.  I crafted this five minute piece to begin with a kind of “music of the spheres” universe-hum, created by tuned wine glasses and violin harmonics.  The chorus enters very soon after, with the opening words of Genesis whispered simultaneously in as many languages as can be found in a chorus.  The first two minutes of my work are all about unborn human voices and unfocused planetary sounds, gradually becoming more and more “coherent” until we finally hear actual pitches, melodies, and words.  Three of Haydn’s melodies will be heard, to be specific, but not in the way he will present them an hour from now.  It’s almost as if we are listening inside the womb of the universe, looking for a faint heartbeat of worlds, animals, and people to come.  At the end of the piece, the chorus finally finds its voice with a single word: “God!”,  and the orchestra finally finds its own pulse as well.  The unstoppable desire for birth must now be answered, and it is----by Haydn’s marvelous oratorio. I am not a religious man in any traditional sense.  Neither was Haydn, nor Mozart, nor Beethoven.  But all of them, as well as I, share in what is now called a humanistic view of how things came to be, how life in its many forms developed on this planet, and how Man became the recorder of history.  The gospel according to John begins with a parody of Genesis:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”   I love that phrase, and it’s in that spirit that I offer my humble “opener” to the finest work of one of the greatest composers Western music has ever known.  My piece is not supposed to sound like Haydn.  It’s supposed to sound like a giant palette, on which a composer in 1798 might find more outrageous colors than his era would permit…but which, I hope, he would have been delighted to hear.

SKU: HL.49003135

ISBN 9780946535132. UPC: 884088991623. 8.25x11.75x0.436 inches. English.

This anthology of 72 music examples, consisting of the Teacher's Manual, Pupil's Questions, Music Book and two recordings on CD or cassettes, is intended to provide comprehensive resource materials for the listening component of the GCSE music syllabuses. The extracts have been selected especially to illustrate the periods, styles and rudiments of music encompassed within the syllabuses, and the four components of the publication produced to ensure maximum assistance to the teacher in the classroom. Selected contents: MUSIC IN THE LATE RENAISSANCE O quam gloriosum est regnum * T. Morley: MUSIC IN THE BAROQUE ERA: H. Purcell: Hark, each tree (from Ode for St Cecilia's Day) * A. Vivaldi: Second Allegro (from Op. 3 No. 11) * G.F. Handel: Lascia ch'io * J.S. Bach: Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag (BWV 629) * F. Couperin: Le Petit-Rein MUSIC IN THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: F. Schubert: Am Meer (from Schwanengesang) * H. Berlioz: Un Bal (from Symphonie fantastique) * F. Chopin: Mazurka (Op. 7 No. 5) * R. Schumann: Fantasiestuck (Op. 73 No. 1) * R. Wagner: Prelude (to Tristan and Isolde) * R. Strauss: Epilog (from Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche) * MUSIC IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: B. Bartok: Third movement (from Sonata for two Pianos and Percussion) * K. Stockhausen: Zyklus * C. Berberian: Stripsody * JAZZ AND POP: F. Molton: Peace in the Valley * Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang: Jazz Me Blues * The Platters: Only You * E. Fitzgerald: Mack the Knife * S. Getz and A. Gilberto: The Girl From Ipanema and more.

SKU: BT.DHP-1094655-010

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

In his comic opera Banditenstreiche, Suppé uses all the qualities that have made him so well-loved by a wide audience. The appealing music is brimming with unexpected ideas and written in a light and fluent style. There’s much to enjoy with elegant arias and ensembles, pure Viennese waltzes and attractive ballet music. The arrangement of the overture contains many highlights from this opera and makes a superb light item for any concert.

Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) behoort tot de belangrijkste vertegenwoordigers van de klassieke Weense operette. In de komische opera Banditenstreiche haalt Suppé alle kwaliteiten uit de kast die hem zo geliefd maakten bij hetgrote publiek: de aanstekelijke muziek is doorspekt met onverwachte invallen en in een lichte en vloeiende stijl geschreven. Er valt veel te genieten met elegante aria’s en ensembles, onvervalste Weense walsen en aantrekkelijke balletmuziek.De ouverture bevat enkele hoogtepunten uit deze opera, die vaak ten onrechte een operette wordt genoemd.

Franz von Suppé prägte nachhaltig die klassische Wiener Operette. In seiner komischen Oper Banditenstreiche zog Suppé alle kompositorischen Register, die ihn bei einem so breiten Publikum beliebt gemacht haben: reizvolle Melodien, überraschende Ideen, ein leichter, flüssiger Stil und elegante Arien sind nur einige der charakteristischen Merkmale. Die Transkription der Ouvertüre für Blasorchester enthält einige Höhepunkte der Oper.

Né d’un père belge et d’une mère autrichienne, Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) révèle un évident talent de musicien dès son plus jeune ge. Plus tard, il parfait ses connaissances musicales Vienne, où il résidera jusqu’ sa mort. Suppé a consacré sa vie la composition et bien qu'il ait écrit plus de deux cents œuvres, dont de nombreuses opérettes telles que La belle Galatée, Fatinitza et Boccaccio, il reste connu principalement pour ses ouvertures dont certaines bénéficient toujours d'une grande notoriété comme Cavalerie légère, La Dame de pique, Matin, midi et soir Vienne ou encore Poète et paysan. Franz von Suppé fut avec Johann Strauss etKarl Millöcker un des plus éminents représentants de l’ ge d’or de l’opérette classique viennoise.Dans sa version originale, l’opéra-comique Banditenstreiche (1867, Les joyeux bandits) était une œuvre courte en un acte, mais la version de Suppé fut modifiée deux reprises, en 1940 et 1955. D’une composition sans grande prétention, elle devint alors une œuvre d’envergure. En puisant dans le répertoire existant de Suppé, les « arrangeurs » réunirent six pièces originales pour en faire une partition solide et complète. Le résultat final est parfaitement équilibré.Banditenstreiche rassemble tous les traits caractéristiques de Suppé qui ont conquis un large public : une musique originale foisonnant d’idées inattendues ; un style fluide et léger. On y trouve des airs et des passages d’ensemble élégants, quelques authentiques valses viennoises et de belles pages de musique de scène. L’ouverture constitue une synthèse des meilleurs moments de l’opéra, très souvent qualifié tort, d’opérette.