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: PR.114423360
UPC: 680160686285.
When the Newport Music Festival commissioned me for a piano trio in honor of their 2021 season, I looked for a topic that would celebrate an aspect of the Newport community. While researching the area, I was struck by the nine lighthouses situated around the island. The dual nature of lighthouses was particularly appealing to me: not only do they serve a vital role in the navigation of ships around rocks and land, but they are also a beautiful sight, particularly at night when their blinking beacons are clearly visible to the eye. It occurred to me that lighthouses link the past with the present, and will endure long into the future, with their beacons serving the same purpose for every generation.I became fascinated with the lighthouse on the property of Castle Hill Inn, located at the opening of the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay. This squat thirty-four foot granite structure was erected in 1890 on a very picturesque spot, right at the water’s edge. Its “characteristic,†the nautical term for each lighthouse’s unique light sequence that allows ships to identify the lighthouse, is to alternate on for three seconds, then off for three seconds. The lighthouse has also served as the starting and finish line for numerous high profile yacht races, as well as survived a massive hurricane in 1938, though the lighthouse keeper’s nearby residence wasn’t so lucky. American novelist Thornton Wilder wrote much of his 1973 novel Theophilus North while staying at the Castle Hill Inn; a passage from the book perfectly captures the dual nature of lighthouses:“At a later visit I was able to engage the pentagonal room in a turret above the house; from that magical room I could see at night the beacons of six lighthouses and hear the booming and chiming of as many sea buoys.â€In Beacon of the Bay, we first hear the lighthouse’s characteristic as its ruby light blinks on and off. This is followed by a simple theme that represents the lighthouse performing its solitary duty. As the piece progresses, we hear waves playfully lapping around its base, then yachts gracefully floating by; this is followed by a violent storm that churns the waves with so much force that they crash against the lighthouse’s granite body. But the steadfast lighthouse holds firm to the rocks, grandly blinking its ruby light. The music quiets back down to its simple theme, with yachts sailing by once more as the piece concludes.
SKU: CF.FAS135
ISBN 9781491164785. UPC: 680160923694. Key: D major.
Snow Suite is the soundtrack to childhood’s winter adventures. Tasting snowflakes, watching a snowstorm through the living room window, or falling in the soft snow is always exciting and sparks the imagination. Each movement of this suite paints a scene. In Snowflakes, the pizzicato notes depict flakes landing on a nose or finger long enough to be marveled at before melting away. Snowstorm’s perpetual motion feel, with dramatic changes in dynamics, draws the listener into imagining wild winter winds. Finally, after the storm, children and adults alike fall into the powdery snow creating charming and delightful Snow Angels.Performance NotesMost students are adept at pizzicato by the grade 1 orchestra level, and this piece provides the opportunity to review pizzicato technique for good tone. Recommended pizzicato technique includes the thick part of the fingertip over the fingerboard, producing tone with depth and allowing the resonance to create a rich orchestra sound. The detaché bowing is truly detached in Snowstorm with contrasting legato bow strokes in Snow Angels.For schools that encourage writing across the curriculum, teachers may encourage students to write a short imaginative story about the snow themes in this music. STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts, and Mathematics) lessons may include snowflake crystal structures and snowstorm weather patterns.
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