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: PR.11641861SP

UPC: 680160685202.

What?! - my composer colleagues said - A concerto for the piano? It's a 19th century instrument! Admittedly we are in an age when originally created timbres and/or musico-technological formulations are often the modus operandi of a piece. Actually, this Concerto began about two years ago when, during one of my creative jogs, the sound of the uppermost register of the piano mingled with wind chimes penetrated my inner ear. The challenge and fascination of exploring and developing this idea into an orchestral situation determined that some day soon I would be writing a work for piano and orchestra. So it was a very happy coincidence when Mona Golabek phoned to tell me she would like discuss the Ford Foundation commission. After covering areas of aesthetics and compositional styles, we found that we had a good working rapport, and she asked if I would accept the commission. The answer was obvious. Then began the intensive thought process on the stylistic essence and organization of the work. Along with this went a renewed study of idiomatic writing for the piano, of the kind Stravinsky undertook with the violin when he began his Violin Concerto. By a stroke of great fortune, the day in February 1972 that I received official notice from the Ford Foundation of the commission, I also received a letter from the Guggenheim Foundation informing me I had been awarded my second fellowship. With the good graces of Zubin Mehta and Ernest Fleischmann, masters of my destiny as a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I was relieved of my orchestral duties during the Hollywood Bowl season. Thus I was able to go to Europe to work and to view the latest trends in music concentrating in London (the current musical melting pot and showcase par excellence), Oslo, Norway, for the Festival of Scandinavian Music called Nordic Days, and Warsaw, Poland, for its prestigious Autumn Festival. Over half the Concerto was completed in that summer and most of the rest during the 72-73 season with the final touches put on during a month as Resident Scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy. So much for the external and environmental influences, except perhaps to mention the birds of Sussex in the first movement, the bells of Arhus (Denmark) in the second movement and the bells of Bellagio at the end of the Concerto. Primary in the conception was the personality of Miss Golabek: she is a wonderfully vital and dynamic person and a real virtuoso. Therefore, the soloist in the Concerto is truly the protagonist; it is she (for once we can do away with the generic he) who unfolds the character and intent of the piece. The first section is constructed in the manner of a recitative - completely unmeasured - with letters and numbers by which the conductor signals the orchestra for its participation. This allows the soloist the freedom to interpret the patterns and control the flow and development of the music. The Concerto is actually in one continuous movement but with three large divisions of sufficiently contrasting character to be called movements in themselves. The first 'movement' is based on a few timbral elements: 1) a cluster of very low pitches which at the beginning are practically inaudibly depressed, and sustained silently by the sostenuto pedal, which causes sympathetic vibrating pitches to ring when strong notes are struck; 2) a single powerful note indicated by a black note-head with a line through it indicating the strongest possible sforzando; 3) short figures of various colors sometimes ominous, sometimes as splashes of light or as elements of transition; 4) trills and tremolos which are the actual controlling organic thread starting as single axial tremolos and gradually expanding to trills of increasingly larger and more powerful scope. The 'movement' begins in quiescent repose but unceasingly grows in energy and tension as the stretching of a string or rubber band. When it can no longer be restrained, it bursts into the next section. The second 'movement,' propelled by the released tension, is a brilliant virtuosic display, which begins with a long solo of wispy percussion, later joined in duet with the piano. Not to be ignored, the orchestra takes over shooting the material throughout all its sections like a small agile bird deftly maneuvering through nothing but air, while the piano counterposes moments of lyricism. The orchestra reaches a climax, thrusting us into the third 'movement' which begins with a cadenza-like section for the piano. This moves gently into an expressive section (expressive is not a negative term to me) in which duets are formed with various instruments. There are fleeting glimpses of remembrances past, as a fragmented recapitulation. One glimpse is hazily expressed by strings and percussion in a moment of simultaneous contrasting levels of activity, a technique of which I have been fond and have utilized in various fixed-free relationships, particularly in my Percussion Concerto, Contextures and Games: Collage No. 1. The second half of the third 'movement; is a large coda - akin to those in Beethoven - which brings about another display of virtuosity, this time gutsy and driving, raising the Concerto to a final climax, the soloist completing the fragmented recapitulation concept as well as the work with the single-note sforzando and low cluster from the very opening of the first movement.

SKU: PR.11642169L

UPC: 680160692118.

Chinese mythology is a cultural heritage that has been passed down through the ages. It is full of bizarre andsupernatural artistic charm. Shan Hai Jing is like a history book, which contains many mythological stories depictingthousands of mountains and waters, geography and humanities, The Concerto for Orchestra Shan Hai Jing is using alarge scyle orchestra in multi-movements, inspired by the anceint supernatural aesthetics, and creates an imaginaryuniverse and human illusion with an abstract sound world. This work is not based on the story of the ancient gods, butbased on the geographical distribution of the Fivering Mountains, metaphorical waters, mountains range, folkcustoms, and rituals of the gods, depicting the north, west, east, south, and middle respectively in five movements. Thecharacteristics of the mountain system and the regional customs.The first movement, Beishan Jing (Largo) (page 1-30). In this movement, folk music elements such as the traditionalMongolian “Humai” and the traditional Tibetan “Bon’e’ri” are used to Ode the folk customs and heroism of the vastmountains and plains and different ethnic groups.The second movement, Xishan Jing (Allegro and Adagio) (page 31-52). The music of this movement has the westernstyle of Gansu and Qinghai Plateau.The third movement, Dongshan Jing (Adagio and Allegro) (page 53-86). The legend of great bells that ringspontaneously without being struck has origins in the ancient Classic of Mountains and Seas, in which we read:“Upon the Mountains of Plenty, Nine Bells ring with Knowledge of the Frost.”Tales of those blasts of wind that pulse like a heartbeat through caverns in the limestone cliffs, setting off a mysterioussympathetic ringing from bells encrusted in frost, led to “Frost-Bell” becoming a word during the Tang dynasty, almosta millennium after the Mountains and Seas classic first appeared.The fourth movement, Nanshan Jing (Adagio and Andante) (page 87-100) . The music is characterized by thewoodwinds and string harmonics texture depicting of the cloud mountain in the south of the Yangtze River, Fujian,Guangdong and Hunan.The fifth movement, Zhongshan Jing (Allegretto) (page 101-118) symbolizes the end of the ritual ceremony, which isroughly centered on the sacred place of Chu. The people danced together, waving flowers and hitting the bronze drums,just like sending the Divine Comedy, the scene is lively, the atmosphere is Solemn and lively.

SKU: CF.YPS212

ISBN 9781491152317. UPC: 680160909810. Key: C minor.

Taking its title from a poem about grief and loss by Chrissie Pinney, Live On honors the life of band director Linda Mann, to whom the piece is dedicated. The piece begins with a pensive intro before shifting to a whimsical theme that brings about happy thoughts of a life well-lived. After a return to the poignant opening material, the music surges to a triumphant conclusion based on an augmented version of the whimsical theme.
Live On was commissioned by Diplomat Middle School's staff, faculty and students, in Cape Coral, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Bands, Linda Mann. Director of Orchestras, Roland Forti, championed the commissioning of this piece to honor the life of Linda after her untimely passing in February of 2017. Linda Mann’s impact on the field of music education was profound and wide-reaching. She was a beloved member of the staff at Diplomat Middle School, as well as the music community of Cape Coral and the state of Florida. Linda was highly respected throughout the state, serving as recent past-president of the Florida Bandmasters Association.In discussing the type of piece the school wanted to honor Ms. Mann, they indicated the piece should “depict Linda’s personality: dynamic, sassy, yet thoughtful and almost mentor-like.” They wanted a piece that was upbeat, yet still had moments that were thoughtful, portraying the grief that the Diplomat Middle School community has suffered from the sudden loss of such a beloved teacher.After contemplating their thoughts, I did some research to find inspiration for the piece. This led me to poetry about grief and loss. In time, I stumbled upon a short, yet poignant poem that I felt perfectly depicted the sentiment that I wanted the piece to convey.  That poem is entitled Live On by Chrissie Pinney.Live OnNow as I live onWithout youI hope to keepThe pieces of youThat I loved so dearlyYour mannerismsAnd compassionate characterAnd smiles through struggleSo that youMay live on too -Chrissie PinneyI reached out to Ms. Pinney, and she graciously agreed to allow me to quote her powerful poem in these notes. She expressed that she was deeply touched that her work would inspire me to write a piece in honor of Linda Mann.The piece begins with a poignant, pensive opening section. The use of the musical interval of a tritone between the first two openly voiced chords are used to represent the sadness we all feel from this type of loss. When I sat in front of my piano and started to work on this piece, my hands seemed to naturally and immediately play these first two chords, which set the process in motion of composing the piece.After the somber opening, the piece shifts to a whimsical theme that I hope brings about happy thoughts of Linda and her personality. It was also my intent, however, to include some musical dissonance in the theme that still reflected the bittersweet loss at the same time. The piece develops into a secondary theme that is a quasi inversion of the main fast theme. This section is followed by a return of the opening material, with snippets of the fast theme intertwined, before the piece builds to a triumphant, augmented presentation of the main theme in a lush form to complete the work.It is my hope that in some small way, this piece will bring comfort to those affected by the loss of Linda Mann, and that the music will allow her memory to Live On.–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL 2017.