SKU: PR.114423620
ISBN 9781491137321. UPC: 680160690053.
MAYKA (Serbian for “motherâ€) is a fascinating collection of 10 short recital pieces, each inspired by Serbian folk-music traditions, enriched through a broad variety of non-traditional techniques. Serbian-born flutist Jovana Damnjanović created these teaching etudes in conjunction with her doctoral thesis introducing Eastern European traditions to Western flutists. Along with its 10 fresh and dazzling concert works, this publication includes a thorough preface on performance techniques and instructions for each etude.MAYKA attempts to represent the sounds of traditional Serbian music and also make them more familiar and accessible to flute players around the world. The overarching inspiration for the sound is one of the most popular instruments in Serbian traditional music: the frula. Inspirations from the tone colors of other instruments such as duduk, cevara, dvojnice, and kaval are also present. To read more about these instruments, refer to Chapter 1: Introduction (pg. 13-16) in the online dissertation.My intention was to create an original work exclusively for flute that holds characteristics of Serbian traditional music. An imitation of one of the Serbian traditional song forms can be found in “ČоÄek;†irregular time signatures can be found in “Igra,†“ČоÄek,†and “Vez.†The style is mostly present through trills, ornaments, and tonality, which are ubiquitous characteristics of Serbian traditional music.Each of the concert etudes has a narrative. The reason for narrative is to bring the style closer to the performer, and to help with understanding each etude’s expressive significance. Some etudes were inspired by people and events, some by specific dances, music, and literature from Serbia. As the etudes are of programmatic nature, they are a great choice for themed recitals. The idea was to write pieces short enough to be good program-fillers, not too hard to put together yet effective, and also suitable for short performances in venues that do not have a piano. To read more about each etude’s narrative, refer to Chapter 3: Performance Guide (pg. 24-75) in the dissertation.The book is titled MAYKA, Serbian for mother, to honor my mother, my mother’s mother, and my Motherland, Serbia. Motherland is represented through the style and tonal language of all of the concert etudes, and my mother and grandmother have been the biggest inspiration for the narrative of “Svila,†“Nana,†and “Uspavanka.â€.
SKU: PR.416415760
UPC: 680160636532. 9 x 12 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.41641576L
UPC: 680160636549. 11 x 17 inches.
SKU: PR.11140180S
UPC: 680160601691. Text: Nelly Sachs. Nelly Sachs. Text: Five Poems of Nelly Sachs, Translation from German of Nos. I, III and IV by Ruth and Matthew Mead, of No. II by Michael Roloff and No. V by Michael Hamburger.
O The Chimneys is a setting of five poems by Nelly Sachs, the great German-Jewish 1966 Nobel Prize co-winner in literature, whose writing concerned itself almost entirely with the subject of the holocaust. Composed in 1969, the work was my own personal way of saying, through my own art, do not forget. Shockingly, these words have as much relevance today as they did when the work was written. Today we find ourselves having to say do not forget, do not distort, do not deny it ever happened. I selected the five poems from Sachs' O The Chimneys collection, retaining its grimly evocative title even though I did not include the actual poem by that name. In scoring the work for female voice, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, cello, piano and percussion, I aimed to give myself the broadest possible palette of instrumental colors while using the smallest number of participants. Yet as I was planning the final moments of my cycle, I felt that instrumental sound alone would not suffice to express the horror. An electronic tape segment was added to the work's final climax. The first two poems (A Dead Child Speaks and Already Embraced by the Arm of Heavenly Solace), both depicting the tearing of a child away from his mother, are treated essentially as one unit, with the first acting as an introduction to the second. These two, and the cycle's apocalyptic fifth poem (Hell is Naked from Glowing Enigmas II), act as the two weighty pillar points, so to speak, surrounding the more introspective two middle poems (Fleeing and Someone Comes). To maximize dramatic differentiation within the constraints of a relentlessly tragic subject matter, I used range as a means to delineate contrast, by dividing the sounds available to me into low and dark (mvt. III) vs. high and, at times, eerily bright (mvt. IV) colors. Thus the two middle poems are intended to balance the frenzied madness of which the work's outer parts are made. The work received its first performance in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Grace Rainey Auditorium on January 19, 1970. --Shulamit Ran.
SKU: PR.111401800
UPC: 680160618132. 8.5 x 11 inches. Text: Nelly Sachs. Nelly Sachs. Text: Five Poems of Nelly Sachs, Translation from German of Nos. I, III and IV by Ruth and Matthew Mead, of No. II by Michael Roloff and No. V by Michael Hamburger.
SKU: CF.WF231
ISBN 9781491153314. UPC: 680160910816.
Stylistic Etudes for Trombone was written for intermediateto advanced level trombonists, seeking to meet thedemands of the modern marketplace for performers. AsI often tell my students, it’s simply not enough to mastera single style and fake the rest. To make a living as aperformer, trombonists are expected to play many, manydifferent styles authentically. Classical performers studyhard and devote themselves to mastering the stylisticnuances of various eras, various composers, variousforms; jazz musicians seek to accurately reflect the stylesof everything from bar-room burlesque to Coltrane; hornbands in the funk, rock, ska and hip-hop idioms mustreflect attention to the details of their influences even asthey create new paths through popular music.This etude collection is an attempt to help studentsand their teachers work on the details associated withmastering each of these various styles.In order to perform with the correct feel, articulationand sound, trombonists must first get these concepts intheir head through diligent listening and then disciplinedpractice playing in every single style. The same wayorchestral players study the symphonic literature andexcerpts, or the way a professional jazz musician mightwork on chord changes in excruciating detail, a wellroundedtrombone player must master styles by listeningto and playing with great recordings. Most of the etudesin this book are based on styles from specific orchestralliterature, jazz standards and other styles such as NewOrleans’ funk music (Meters) or the music of JamesBrown and Tower of Power.One final note: some of these are hard. On purpose. Theseare not warm-ups that you can play through mindlesslyto get your face going. These are “study pieces†in the oldfashionedsense. They are designed to challenge you asa player, to make you a little uncomfortable. Some aretougher than others, of course, but none of them are easy.If you can play through each of these well, with greatmusicianship and impeccable technique, you will be anincredibly versatile instrumentalist and be able to secureperformance opportunities that are outside the comfortzone of many trombonists.Thanks for buying this book. I hope you enjoy workingthrough these, whether you’re a teacher, student,performer, or weekend warrior. I learned a lot by puttingthese together and I hope you find them useful and helpful.Stylistic Etudes for Trombone was written for intermediate to advanced level trombonists, seeking to meet the demands of the modern marketplace for performers. As I often tell my students, it’s simply not enough to master a single style and fake the rest. To make a living as a performer, trombonists are expected to play many, many different styles authentically. Classical performers study hard and devote themselves to mastering the stylistic nuances of various eras, various composers, various forms; jazz musicians seek to accurately reflect the styles of everything from bar-room burlesque to Coltrane; horn bands in the funk, rock, ska and hip-hop idioms must reflect attention to the details of their influences even as they create new paths through popular music.This etude collection is an attempt to help students and their teachers work on the details associated with mastering each of these various styles.In order to perform with the correct feel, articulation and sound, trombonists must first get these concepts in their head through diligent listening and then disciplined practice playing in every single style. The same way orchestral players study the symphonic literature and excerpts, or the way a professional jazz musician might work on chord changes in excruciating detail, a well-rounded trombone player must master styles by listening to and playing with great recordings. Most of the etudes in this book are based on styles from specific orchestral literature, jazz standards and other styles such as New Orleans’ funk music (Meters) or the music of James Brown and Tower of Power.How these etudes were conceived, composed and transcribed: The style or concept of the etude was thought out in my head and ear. I then improvised in that style and concept on my trombone, recording my efforts until I was satisfied with the etude. All along, my goal was to play the range of the instrument while emphasizing certain articulations, rhythms, range and, fundamentally, the intended style of the etude. The resulting etude was then transcribed by a terrific graduate student named Zach Bornheimer, who also works with many other classical and jazz composers as a copyist/arranger.Tips for working on the etudes: Seek out professional recordings that match the style of each etude to get a good idea of what the etude should sound like musically. My recording of each of these etudes is available for download and can be purchased online for a modest fee. Search for “Brantley Etudes†at either iTunes or CDBaby. Practice each etude very slowly and in segments as needed, using a metronome. Record yourself and listen for good technique, musicianship and authenticity of style with your sound, feel and articulations. Compare your own efforts to the sounds you’ve heard on recordings. Would you fit in that ensemble or band? If range is an issue, take certain notes or passages down or up an octave. Work on your fundamentals every day, including the techniques and skills needed for these etudes. Be patient! Small improvements every day result in big success over time. Always play with a wide dynamic range. Always play with line and direction. Always play with impeccable time as well as rhythm. Use a metronome to help with this. Always play in tune. You can work on this with a tuner as well as with drones. Play these for teachers, friends, peers and colleagues not only for their feedback but also for the experience of informal performance. An audience changes everything. Make music, listen to music, record yourself, play in public and have fun!One final note: some of these are hard. On purpose. These are not warm-ups that you can play through mindlessly to get your face going. These are “study pieces†in the old-fashioned sense. They are designed to challenge you as a player, to make you a little uncomfortable. Some are tougher than others, of course, but none of them are easy. If you can play through each of these well, with great musicianship and impeccable technique, you will be an incredibly versatile instrumentalist and be able to secure performance opportunities that are outside the comfort zone of many trombonists.Thanks for buying this book. I hope you enjoy working through these, whether you’re a teacher, student, performer, or weekend warrior. I learned a lot by putting these together and I hope you find them useful and helpful.Best wishes,—Tom Brantley.
SKU: PR.165001000
ISBN 9781491129241. UPC: 680160669776. 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,â€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.â€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,â€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 tuneâ€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 sightâ€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.16500100F
ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 9 x 12 inches.
SKU: PR.114423500
ISBN 9781491137758. UPC: 680160691531.
Commissioned by The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, IMPRESSIONS FROM THE CHINESE ZODIAC is a suite of three characteristic pieces within reach of advanced pre-college saxophonists, and introducing advanced techniques. The work is equally satisfying and impressive for top-level performers. The movements are titled:1. Rooster Singing Out in the Morning2. Monkey Jumping Around in the Forest3. Tiger Walking Down from the Mountain.Commissioned by The Juilliard School for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, Impressions from the Chinese Zodiac was composed for any size saxophone in 2022. It consists of three independent movements featuring different musical characteristics with various performing techniques. The inspiration for the music came from impressions of three animal signs (rooster, monkey, and tiger), from the twelve in the Chinese Zodiac.The first piece begins with a repeated phrase imitating a rooster’s loud singing in the morning; the pitch with fluttertongue sounds like the noise from the rooster’s throat), followed by phrases of a pentatonic melody drawn from The Sun Is Rising With Our Joy, a Chinese folk song from Sichuan province. There are descending passages, simulating the dropping-down sound of the singing. Each passage is different from others, each of which should be played accurately and smoothly. The melody is moved up a step with variation, followed by an echo of the rooster singing at the end of the piece. Now the sky is bright, so the rooster call returns up four scale steps!The second piece includes two Chinese folk songs: Thinking of My Darling (from Shanxi province) and Guessing (from Yunnan province). Both songs have large interval skips spanning different registers, as well as microtonal intervals in their original singing, which show the characteristics of the regional musical languages respectively. The tone colors should be matched when registers are changed. The microtonal pitches (quarter-tone flat or three-quarter-tone flat) may be done by bending the tone with one’s lips. The image is the monkey jumping around lively, and the music is played humorously. The high and long pitch with a yelling-down effect at the end of the piece brings the music to an exciting peak.The third piece features the strong and brave tiger, with accented tones in the lowest register. The first 3-pitch motive is developed throughout the piece, while peristaltic chromatic material is formed in various shapes and directions, to show the gestures of a mighty and fierce image.Getting accustomed to special fingerings for the chromatic passages and trills, along with precisely notated articulations, and the techniques of tongue slap and key clicks, are the basic goals to achieve in this piece.
SKU: SU.21000213
UPC: 820821003284.
Jazz Sonorities (2002) was composed for Esther Lamneck at her request and premiered by her and Barbara Allen on drums at the Loewe Theater of New York University on May 30, 2002. Ms. Lamneck asked me to compose a piece for either solo clarinet or clarinet and piano. I decided on the former to continue my Sonorities series of works for solo instruments which eventually resulted in Sonorities VII for solo b-flat clarinet (2003-04). However, shortly after getting started with my Sonorities VII I kept hearing the swinging sounds of a jazz clarinet backed up by a jazz drum set. Part of the reason I kept hearing these sounds is that I grew up listening to the big swing bands of such clarinet leaders as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, and Jimmy Dorsey. These musicians were my first exposure to the clarinet. So I decided to first compose a piece for clarinet with a jazz quality and a swinging partly ad lib part for the drums and to put my solo clarinet piece for Esther on hold for a year. There was also a personal reason to use the drums in the piece. My first ambition in music was to be a jazz drummer and indeed I studied drums with a jazz drummer and played drums professionally in dance bands for several years. Ms. Lamneck's part in this piece is almost entiirely written out except for a few measures of improvisation around the middle of the piece. The jazz quality of her part comes mostly in the prasing and using bluesy like pitch bends, slides, and microtones. The jazz quality of the drum set part is in the swinging beat that is used throughout most of the piece. The influence of the famous recording of Sing Sing Sing, with a swing by Benny Goodman & his orchestra in 1937 featuring Gene Krupa on drums is heard in the middle section when the drummer switches to a beat on the floor tom and high tom for several measures. Also, the Afro Cuban section toward the end of the piece was influenced by the many recordings of Stan Kenton & his orchestra particularly the 1950 Pete Rugolo arrangement of Cole Porter's Love for Sale. In the drum solo of the Afro Cuban section which is near the end can use optional claves and/or maracas (1-2 additional players). At the premiere the composer joined in this section on maracas. The drum set calls for a bass drum, floor tom, snare drum, high tom, ride cymbal, sizzle cymbal, and hi-hat. --Patrick Hardish.
SKU: YM.GTW01101388
ISBN 9784636110005. 8.75 x 12 inches.
The ultimate full score medley of beautiful melodies from the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke (1997, dir. Hayao Miyazaki), arranged for concert band in the series: New Sounds in Brass (NSB). Grade 3; Duration: approx.8'50; Composed by Joe Hisaishi; Arranged by Takashi Hoshide. Arranger Takashi Hoshide says, I have selected beautiful melodies from the soundtrack of 'Princess Mononoke' (1997, directed by Hayao Miyazaki) and arranged them into a medley. What can be said about these songs as a whole is that they combine a grand continental scale with the delicacy that reflects Japanese emotions. Since there are no upbeat songs in this selection, I had to work hard on the arrangement, but this allowed for creating contrasts and transitions between each scene in the performance. 'Ashitaka Sekki (English title: The Legend of Ashitaka)' - 'Sekki' means a story that is not recorded but passed down orally. In this anime, this can be considered a sub-main theme. The song starts with a feeling that the story is about to begin and, once the theme kicks in, aim for a grand performance to convey its scale. 'Encounter' - This is the music that plays during the scene where the protagonist Ashitaka meets San. Interestingly, the motif of the main theme 'Princess Mononoke' is used in this melody. Here, let's pursue the shifts in the timbre of individual phrases, creating a beautiful and aesthetic soundscape. 'Princess Mononoke' - This is the main title of the anime. The melody line is carried by horns and trumpets.
SKU: PR.41641301L
UPC: 680160619795.
Under the Sun's Gaze as a title for a musical composition conjures up many possibilities. It is, in fact, an imagined line from an unwritten poem, invented with the idea of capturing something of the visual aura the sounds and energy of this work invoke in its composer' mind. An omnipotent presence in all of nature, a source of life yet also capable of its destruction, the sun affects the light and dark in our physical existence as it defines the daily and seasonal life. The music of this work, in three interlocking parts, takes turns being exuberant, caressing, scorching, receding, hazy, lazy, blazing, dissolving into darkness, blinding in its intensity. Subtitled Concerto da Camera III, this work is written for what has become known as the standard Pierrot instrumentation of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano plus percussion. The difference here is that the winds are doubled - the two flutists alternating with piccolo and alto flute and both clarinetists also doubling on bass clarinets. The ninth member of the ensemble, a soprano saxophone, appears well into the piece, its lyrical, plaintively expressive quality dominating the musical terrain for a while. While occasionally joining the others for some tutti outbursts, it maintains its position as something of a guest throughout. Of the various thematic ideas that populate this work, a six-note descending line played by the clarinet appearing right at the work's opening then arching back up reveals itself, as the music unfolds, to be the principal melodic building block of Under the Sun's Gaze. Its various transformations include the plaintive soprano saxophone melody appearing in the middle section. Just under 20 minutes in length, the work in its totality can be heard as being in a loose arch form, its ending receding into a distant darkening horizon which carries in it the seed of the new dawn that lies beyond. Under the Sun's Gaze was commissioned by the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress for the San Francisco Contemporary Players, David Milnes, conductor.
SKU: PR.416413010
UPC: 680160605682.
SKU: PR.114409570
UPC: 680160014330.
As the title suggests, Music for Flute and Electronic Sounds explores the relationships between the flute - lyrical, then percussive; sometimes sustained, other times in sweeping lines - and electronic sounds - sometimes pitched, sometimes more clangorous and bell-like. The individual electronic sounds were designed and built using editors that are now readily available for synthesizers. This made it possible to produce accompanimental sounds that support and blend with the articulation and timbre of the flute in a way that until recently was awkward to accomplish. In addition to the electroacoustic blending, the flute and electronic sounds also share compositional structure, both rhythmic and melodic. There are two musical ideas that are germinal to the pitch and structure of the work. The first is a four-pitch interval set (in two pairs) of descending minor third, intervening ascending major second, and concluding ascending major third. This gesture is presented at the outset. The second idea is a palindromic interval set which appears for the first time in measure 25. Formally, the work is in three parts. Part One is used to introduce several musical characters, most of which are generated from the materials just mentioned. Part Two consists of a juxtaposition of two of these characters. One is jazzy and is generated entirely by the synthesizers while the flute joins the electric sounds in a serene chorale. The flute additionally has the responsibility of interrupting the fast motion of the jazzy character so that the chorale can be heard. Part Three recalls the first part but also includes a cadenza, which uses the serene character of Part Two as basic material. After the cadenza there is a short section that again recalls the beginning. The work closes with a cadenza-like flourish.
SKU: HL.357348
UPC: 840126943306. 6.75x10.5x0.029 inches. Isaiah 55:12, Luke 19:40.
Swinging with joy, this cheerful original is filled with confidence, boldly sharing a song of praise and devotion. An infectious theme sounds in unison before giving over to urban gospel-styled harmonies that sweep the listener along in celebration. Special vocal effects accompany a soloist in the middle section, building energy to a rollicking recap of the theme. A powerful finale to your service or concert, you won't want to miss this easy-to-learn affirmation of faith!
SKU: HL.4002107
UPC: 884088074609. 9.0x12.0x0.055 inches.
This amazing work opens with the sounds of distant villages as their drumming echoes through the African rain forests (or school gymnasium). As the players return to their â??normalâ? seats in the band, the various elements of this composition gradually come together in a joyous unified celebration. Thoroughly researched to include authentic African patterns, Michael Sweeney has created a stunningly effective work that is playable by young ensembles. Includes performance and program notes on how to make your own percussion instruments and involve other departments in your school. Not just a piece of music...this is an event! (4:45).
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