SKU: HL.234744

9.0x12.0x0.035 inches.

Composer's Note: The Lullaby from The Unicorns arose from an opera libretto I commissioned from John Heath-Stubbs (1918-2006) in the late 1960s. In his story two unicorns are discovered in a remote part of Africa. Both the East and West want to obtain them for research so they send out rival expeditions. The Western technique is to lure the unicorn with a young girl singing a lullaby. Both East and West capture unicorns but the mythical animals escape in the end. I never completed the opera but I made a six-movement suite from it called The Unicorns. There are three songs and three instrumental numbers and the first performance was given with Elisabeth Soderstrom and Solna Brass under Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund at Ekensbergskyrkan, Solna, Sweden on 31 October 1982. This version was recorded and my arrangement of the three songs for voice and piano was recorded by Marilyn Hill Smith. The career of the Lullaby continued with a version for clarinet and piano, which I premiered with Jack Brymer aboard the Sea Princess in the Mediterranean on 29 September 1986. The oboe version was for Sarah Francis, and Duke Dobing and I have recorded it for flute an piano. Lullaby can be played with a variety of solo instruments and is also available for piano left hand and piano solo.

SKU: HL.14034480

8.25x11.75x0.078 inches.

SKU: CF.YPS233F

ISBN 9781491158456. UPC: 680160917051. 9 x 12 inches.

From the beginning of Unicorn Ranch, and revisited at times, there is a metric subdivision of the sixteen quarter notes in a four-measure phrase into seven, seven, and two. This pattern will soon feel quite natural after a few repetitions. There are several possible ways to conduct this, but a straight two-beat pattern is probably best at first. The accent patterns will drive the phrase. Major-seventh chord harmonies are used in several passages, so some half-step dissonances do occur. Balancing these harmonies will let these blend prettily. In keeping with the Fantasy Western style marking, many of the rhythmic patterns are meant to evoke a horse-like galloping feel.