SKU: PR.16500100F

ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 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,”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.”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,”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 tune”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 sight”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.114423470

ISBN 9781491137314. UPC: 680160687473.

A commission from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, for any combination of instruments of her choosing, quickly sparked Shulamit Ran to create a trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp. She writes of this instrumentation: “something about its color palette reminded me of the image I have of Santa Fe as a sun-drenched city of warm hues, a thriving arts scene, and a spirit of relaxed tolerance.” In this subtle, yet dramatic work, the instruments begin the journey with distinct, contrasting musical personalities, which gradually begin to coalesce, though not without surprise twists along the road.
Being commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival to create a new work for the major milestone of its 50th anniversary was both an honor and a special delight. My choice of the flute, viola, and harp combination for this composition was reached quickly and almost instinctively, motivated not only because I relished the thought of composing for an instrumental ensemble I had not previously written for, but also because something about its color palette reminded me of the image I have of Santa Fe as a sun-drenched city of warm hues, a thriving arts scene, and a spirit of relaxed tolerance.In All Roads Leading I treat the instruments intermittently as three distinct characters who have their own individual “voices” and musical materials, while at other times they coalesce into a single, more unified entity. In the sections expressive of the instruments’ individual “souls”—as I like to call them—the music ranges from the songful, to the impassioned, but also the volatile. In contrast, where all three instruments act as a single entity, the music tends to be highly rhythmic, sometimes dance-like, even angular, and spiky.As the work progresses, the boundaries between these contrasting approaches become deliberately blurrier and more intertwined, perhaps reminding one of a tale with various twists and turns in the plot. And although eschewing a formal recapitulation, various motivic threads as well as emotive “states” are eventually brought full circle, as if to fulfill an intended role that crystallizes only as All Roads Leading plays out its full journey. Simultaneously with the general unwinding and relaxation that is reached nearthe end, a mutation of an earlier more threatening element appears at the very closing of the work, perhaps a reminder that the unknown always lies ahead.

SKU: FJ.ST6490

UPC: 241444411858. English.

The joy of the Christmas season flows through every measure of this delightful holiday reel that turns your violin section into Celtic fiddlers. Good King Wenceslas and Deck the Hall are intertwined with the classic reel Christmas Eve that will challenge and delight your players. Use optional bodhran (hand drum), guitar and pennywhistle to bring the true spirit of Scotland to your holiday concert.

About FJH String Orchestra

More emphasis on bow technique and independence of lines. For the accomplished middle, high school, college, or professional group. Grade 3 and up