SKU: PR.11441690S
UPC: 680160626021. 9 x 12 inches.
Ran's third string quartet was written for the Pacifica Quartet, who are featuring it in numerous performances from May 2014 through February 2016, across the country and abroad. Their blog page dedicated to the work also features the composer's notes, for more indepth insight. ...impassioned solos emerge from ominous quiet, and high arpeggios in the violins quiver alongside the earthy cello. Ms. Ran skillfully deploys these extremes of color, volume and pitch, yet the overall somewhat chilly impression is one of poise. -- Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times.My third string quartet was composed at the invitation of the Pacifica Quartet, whose music-making I have come to know closely and admire hugely as resident artists at the University of Chicago. Already in our early conversations Pacifica proposed that this quartet might, in some manner, refer to the visual arts as a point of germination. Probing further, I found out that the quartet members had special interest in art created during the earlier part of the 20th century, perhaps between the two world wars. It was my good fortune to have met, a short while later, while in residence at the American Academy in Rome in the fall of 2011, art conservationist Albert Albano who steered me to the work of Felix Nussbaum (1904-1944), a German-Jewish painter who, like so many others, perished in the Holocaust at a young age, and who left some powerful, deeply moving art that spoke to the life that was unraveling around him. The title of my string quartet takes its inspiration from a major exhibit devoted to art by German artists of the period of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) titled “Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920sâ€, first shown at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006-07. Nussbaum would have been a bit too young to be included in this exhibit. His most noteworthy art was created in the last very few years of his short life. The exhibit’s evocative title, however, suggested to me the idea of “Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory†as a way of framing a possible musical composition that would be an homage to his life and art, and to that of so many others like him during that era.  Knowing that their days were numbered, yet intent on leaving a mark, a legacy, a memory, their art is triumph of the human spirit over annihilation. Parallel to my wish to compose a string quartet that, typically for this genre, would exist as “pure musicâ€, independent of a narrative, was my desire to effect an awareness in my listener of matters which are, to me, of great human concern.  To my mind there is no contradiction between the two goals.  As in several other works composed since 1969, this is my way of saying ‘do not forget’, something that, I believe, can be done through music with special power and poignancy.   The individual titles of the quartet’s four movements give an indication of some of the emotional strands this work explores. 1) “That which happened†(das was geschah) – is how the poet Paul Celan referred to the Shoah – the Holocaust.  These simple words served for me, in the first movement, as a metaphor for the way in which an “ordinary†life, with its daily flow and its sense of sweet normalcy, was shockingly, inhumanely, inexplicably shattered. 2) “Menace†is a shorter movement, mimicking a Scherzo.  It is also machine-like, incessant, with an occasional, recurring, waltz-like little tune – perhaps the chilling grimace we recognize from the executioner’s guillotine mask.  Like the death machine it alludes to, it gathers momentum as it goes, and is unstoppable. 3) â€If I must perish - do not let my paintings dieâ€; these words are by Felix Nussbaum who, knowing what was ahead, nonetheless continued painting till his death in Auschwitz in 1944.  If the heart of the first movement is the shuddering interruption of life as we know it, the third movement tries to capture something of what I can only imagine to be the conflicting states of mind that would have made it possible, and essential, to continue to live and practice one’s art – bearing witness to the events.  Creating must have been, for Nussbaum and for so many others, a way of maintaining sanity, both a struggle and a catharsis – an act of defiance and salvation all at the same time. 4) “Shards, Memory†is a direct reference to my quartet’s title.  Only shards are left.  And memory.  The memory is of things large and small, of unspeakable tragedy, but also of the song and the dance, the smile, the hopes. All things human.  As we remember, in the face of death’s silence, we restore dignity to those who are gone.—Shulamit Ran .
SKU: CF.MXE19
ISBN 9780825872945. UPC: 798408072940. 9 x 12 inches.
Winner of the 2009 MTNA Composition Competition, promising young composer Joshua Green gives us a striking new work for clarinet, cello and piano, borne of an unlikely muse. According to the composer: For the better part of three months I fought an exasperating battle. While trying to compose a piece for clarinet, cello, and piano, a plethora of distractions had consumed my mind. This frustration seemed to amplify with the amount of time that passed. It was then that the following quotation came to my attention: Life does not consist mainly, or even largely of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one’s head.-Mark Twain. And so The Muse of Distraction was born. Rather than trying to fight the storm of thoughts, I allowed myself to compose a piece that embraced the frustration and irritation of those previous three months. Eventually these distractions were no longer my adversary. They became my muse. For advanced players.For the better part of three months I fought an exasperating battle. While trying to composea piece for clarinet, cello, and piano, a plethora of distractions had consumed my mind.This frustration seemed to amplify with the amount of time that passed. It was then that thefollowing quotation came to my attention:“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of thestorm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one’s head.†—Mark TwainAnd so The Muse of Distraction was born.Rather than trying to fight the “storm of thoughts,†I allowed myself to compose a piecethat embraced the frustration and irritation of those previous three months. Eventually thesedistractions were no longer my adversary.They became my muse.
SKU: HL.263232
ISBN 9781540021038. UPC: 888680729318. 9.0x12.0x0.586 inches.
Romance, heartbreak, optimism, melancholy, or just a lovely autumn day - it's all been captured by American songwriters. A generation of the country's finest songwriters captured universal feelings and experiences in such an infectious combination of words and music that their songs still inspire today. This collection features 100 classics by treasured composers arranged for ukulele: All the Things You Are (Jerome Kern) * Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) * Come Fly with Me (Sammy Cahn) * Georgia on My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael) * Mood Indigo (Duke Ellington) * On the Street Where You Live (Lerner & Loewe) * People Will Say We're in Love (Rodgers & Hammerstein) * Somebody Loves Me (George Gershwin) * You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (Cole Porter) * and more.
SKU: PR.111402850
ISBN 9781491132005. UPC: 680160680627. What the Living Do by Maria Howe.
The poetry of Marie Howe has a special place in Ricky Ian Gordon’s heart and mind, both haunting and soothing. WITHOUT MUSIC is a five-movement work in which Howe’s words and Gordon’s music together give voice to longterm grieving for a loved one lost to AIDS. The work was commissioned by Music Academy of the West for their 2019 Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners’ Recital Tour.For a long time, I have been in dialogue with the poems of Marie Howe. Some poets speak so directly to you that they become a second voice inside you. I have so many of her poems memorized, and I speak them so often because at certain moments I know she will say it better than me.Many I have set or tried to set and felt dissatisfied and put them away. Marie’s poems are so plain spoken, you want them to feel, if you are taking the trouble to set them to music, that the songs are plain spoken as well... because it would be criminal to set Marie’s poems in a way that obscures the words and makes them feel distant or remote.I first heard Kelsey Lauritano in a Master Class that Stephanie Blythe was giving at Juilliard. I was bowled over by her poise, the beauty of her voice, her engagement with her body and her connection to text. She is a real artist through and through. I wanted to create a cycle for her where it felt like she was talking to the audience in the most intimate way possible. I wanted to be able to see her heart.These five poems are from Marie’s book, “What the Living Do,†the book which was published eight years after her brother Johnny died at 28 from AIDS. The book is impossibly beautiful, as clear as a spring in a remote forest... the poems simply tell the story of Johnny’s illness and Marie’s relationship with it, and him... as Marie would put it, they are “how some of it happened.â€I lost my partner Jeffrey Grossi to AIDS in 1996, so needless to say, this book, and Marie’s poems were balm for me... one of the myriad ways I got through an excruciating time, as Jeffrey’s death followed practically, the death of my entire community. I feel bad, and even awkward, that this is still so much a part of my story, but it is. Is it PTSD, or just, not wanting to forget? I don’t know. But these songs are steeped in that time.
SKU: ST.C133
ISBN 9790570811335.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry brass playersGrades 1–4 (ABRSM Grades 1, 2 & 4 syllabuses)Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1213.
SKU: ST.C129
ISBN 9790570811298.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry clarinet playersGrades 1–4Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1218.
SKU: ST.C132
ISBN 9790570811328.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry brass playersGrades 1–4 (ABRSM Grade 4 syllabus)Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1214.
SKU: ST.C130
ISBN 9790570811304.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry clarinet playersGrades 1–4Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1219.
SKU: ST.C131
ISBN 9790570811311.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry horn playersGrades 1–4 (ABRSM Grade 3)Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1216.
SKU: ST.C134
ISBN 9790570811342.
As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword, I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road, in Bristol), I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful, rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy, and likewise, speaking as a lapsed brass player, there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again, one gets a different, yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence, with a little gamesmanship on my part, I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat), trombone and tuba (bass clef), horn in F, flute, clarinet and bassoon. While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill, Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture – I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire, The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart, which are quite simply sublime melodies, perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs, Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played, and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all, it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past, while skilfully paying homage to the underlying charm and, for want of a better word, simplicity, of the original music. But this is only a start – for without an energetic response from younger generations, Cornish folk music is destined to wither on the vine in much the same way as is happening with the Cornish dialect. So, put your instrument to your lips and proceed, not with caution, but with enthusiasm and a smile, for your great grandparents (and perhaps even their grandparents) would surely raise a glass if they could hear you doing your bit to ensure the survival of this splendid heritage.Timeless Cornish melodies, cooked up for hungry brass playersGrades 1–4 (ABRSM Grade 1 syllabus)Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1215.
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