Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52 pages. Duration 24
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #164-00272S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.16400272S).
UPC:
680160588442. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.164002720 Cassatt. Composed b...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.164002720
Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Spiral
and Saddle. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52+16+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 24 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00272. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.164002720).
UPC:
680160573042. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.
Colors of Time Orchestre d'harmonie [Conducteur] - Facile De Haske Publications
Concert Band/Harmonie - Grade 2 SKU: BT.DHP-1104865-140 Les couleurs d...(+)
Concert Band/Harmonie -
Grade 2
SKU:
BT.DHP-1104865-140
Les couleurs du
temps. Composed by
Thierry Deleruyelle.
Concert and Contest
Collection CBHA. Concert
Piece. Score Only.
Composed 2010. 32 pages.
De Haske Publications
#DHP 1104865-140.
Published by De Haske
Publications
(BT.DHP-1104865-140).
9x12 inches.
English-German-French-Dut
ch.
Gazing into
life is like gazing at
the colours of passing
time. Sometimes cool and
mysterious, sometimes
opalescent, warm or
luminous, the colours of
time, like life itself,
are ever-changing. When
colour materialises, it
becomes music. With
delicate and powerful
moods, brilliant and
intimate textures, and
joyful and nostalgic
sounds, music seeps into
our memory like stories
drawn from many
individual real-life
experiences.
Het
leven beschouwen is alsof
je naar de kleuren van de
verglijdende tijd kijkt.
Die zijn soms koel en
mysterieus, soms
ondoorzichtig als opaal,
soms warm of licht: de
kleuren van de tijd zijn
altijd in beweging, net
als het leven. Kleuren
kun je ook weergeven in
muziek. Met delicate of
krachtige sfeerbeelden,
glansrijke of intieme
texturen, en vreugdevolle
of nostalgische klanken
glipt muziek ons geheugen
binnen als verhalen die
zijn gebaseerd op
ervaringen uit het echte
leven.
In diesem
Werk portraitiert Thierry
Deleruyelle das Leben und
die Zeit, die verrinnt,
nicht in realen Bildern,
sondern in Farben, die
ganz wunderbar
Gefühle,
Erinnerungen und
Stimmungen
auszudrücken
vermögen. Die Farben
wiederum materialisieren
sich hier in Musik, die
mit zarten und
kraftvollen Stimmungen,
brillanten und innigen
Gefügen sowie
freudevollen und
nostalgischen Klängen
ins Gedächtnis
sickert.
Osservare
la vita è come
osservare i colori del
tempo chepassa. A volte
freddi e misteriosi, a
volte opalescenti, caldi
e luminosi, i colori del
tempo, come la stessa
vita, sono in perenne
mutamento. Ignorando le
frontiere dell’et
, proteggendo i nostri
segreti, il loro potere
è nel fatto che essi
suscitano emozioni,
sensazioni e ricordi.
Quando i colori si
materializzano, nasce la
musica. Colors of Time
entra nella nostra
memoria come tante storie
create dal vissuto di
ognuno di noi.
Colors of Time Orchestre d'harmonie [Conducteur et Parties séparées] - Facile De Haske Publications
Concert Band/Harmonie - Grade 2 SKU: BT.DHP-1104865-010 Les couleurs d...(+)
Concert Band/Harmonie -
Grade 2
SKU:
BT.DHP-1104865-010
Les couleurs du
temps. Composed by
Thierry Deleruyelle.
Concert and Contest
Collection CBHA. Concert
Piece. Set (Score &
Parts). Composed 2010. De
Haske Publications #DHP
1104865-010. Published by
De Haske Publications
(BT.DHP-1104865-010).
9x12 inches.
English-German-French-Dut
ch.
Gazing into
life is like gazing at
the colours of passing
time. Sometimes cool and
mysterious, sometimes
opalescent, warm or
luminous, the colours of
time, like life itself,
are ever-changing. When
colour materialises, it
becomes music. With
delicate and powerful
moods, brilliant and
intimate textures, and
joyful and nostalgic
sounds, music seeps into
our memory like stories
drawn from many
individual real-life
experiences.
Het
leven beschouwen is alsof
je naar de kleuren van de
verglijdende tijd kijkt.
Die zijn soms koel en
mysterieus, soms
ondoorzichtig als opaal,
soms warm of licht: de
kleuren van de tijd zijn
altijd in beweging, net
als het leven. Kleuren
kun je ook weergeven in
muziek. Met delicate of
krachtige sfeerbeelden,
glansrijke of intieme
texturen, en vreugdevolle
of nostalgische klanken
glipt muziek ons geheugen
binnen als verhalen die
zijn gebaseerd op
ervaringen uit het echte
leven.
In diesem
Werk portraitiert Thierry
Deleruyelle das Leben und
die Zeit, die verrinnt,
nicht in realen Bildern,
sondern in Farben, die
ganz wunderbar
Gefühle,
Erinnerungen und
Stimmungen
auszudrücken
vermögen. Die Farben
wiederum materialisieren
sich hier in Musik, die
mit zarten und
kraftvollen Stimmungen,
brillanten und innigen
Gefügen sowie
freudevollen und
nostalgischen Klängen
ins Gedächtnis
sickert.
Osservare
la vita è come
osservare i colori del
tempo chepassa. A volte
freddi e misteriosi, a
volte opalescenti, caldi
e luminosi, i colori del
tempo, come la stessa
vita, sono in perenne
mutamento. Ignorando le
frontiere dell’et
, proteggendo i nostri
segreti, il loro potere
è nel fatto che essi
suscitano emozioni,
sensazioni e ricordi.
Quando i colori si
materializzano, nasce la
musica. Colors of Time
entra nella nostra
memoria come tante storie
create dal vissuto di
ognuno di noi.
For Recorder (soprano). Includes a high-quality printed music score and a compac...(+)
For Recorder (soprano).
Includes a high-quality
printed music score and a
compact disc containing
the accompaniments for
each piece. Published by
Music Minus One.
Christmas Encore Orchestre d'harmonie [Conducteur] - Facile RWS Music Company
Arranged by Robert W. Smith. Young Concert Band. RWS Beginning Band Series. Chri...(+)
Arranged by Robert W.
Smith. Young Concert
Band. RWS Beginning Band
Series. Christmas.
Oversized spiral-bound
score. Composed 2017.
Duration 2 minutes.
Published by RWS Music
Company (CL.RWS-1716-75).
Piano and orchestra - difficult SKU: HL.49046544 For piano and orchest...(+)
Piano and orchestra -
difficult
SKU:
HL.49046544
For
piano and orchestra.
Composed by Gyorgy
Ligeti. This edition:
Saddle stitching. Sheet
music. Edition Schott.
Softcover. Composed
1985-1988. Duration 24'.
Schott Music #ED23178.
Published by Schott Music
(HL.49046544).
ISBN
9781705122655. UPC:
842819108726.
9.0x12.0x0.224
inches.
I composed
the Piano Concerto in two
stages: the first three
movements during the
years 1985-86, the next
two in 1987, the final
autograph of the last
movement was ready by
January, 1988. The
concerto is dedicated to
the American conductor
Mario di Bonaventura. The
markings of the movements
are the following: 1.
Vivace molto ritmico e
preciso 2. Lento e
deserto 3. Vivace
cantabile 4. Allegro
risoluto 5. Presto
luminoso.The first
performance of the
three-movement Concerto
was on October 23rd, 1986
in Graz. Mario di
Bonaventura conducted
while his brother,
Anthony di Bonaventura,
was the soloist. Two days
later the performance was
repeated in the Vienna
Konzerthaus. After
hearing the work twice, I
came to the conclusion
that the third movement
is not an adequate
finale; my feeling of
form demanded
continuation, a
supplement. That led to
the composing of the next
two movements. The
premiere of the whole
cycle took place on
February 29th, 1988, in
the Vienna Konzerthaus
with the same conductor
and the same pianist. The
orchestra consisted of
the following: flute,
oboe, clarinet, bassoon,
horn, trumpet, tenor
trombone, percussion and
strings. The flautist
also plays the piccoIo,
the clarinetist, the alto
ocarina. The percussion
is made up of diverse
instruments, which one
musician-virtuoso can
play. It is more
practical, however, if
two or three musicians
share the instruments.
Besides traditional
instruments the
percussion part calls
also for two simple wind
instruments: the swanee
whistle and the
harmonica. The string
instrument parts (two
violins, viola, cello and
doubles bass) can be
performed soloistic since
they do not contain
divisi. For balance,
however, the ensemble
playing is recommended,
for example 6-8 first
violins, 6-8 second, 4-6
violas, 4-6 cellos, 3-4
double basses. In the
Piano Concerto I realized
new concepts of harmony
and rhythm. The first
movement is entirely
written in bimetry:
simultaneously 12/8 and
4/4 (8/8). This relates
to the known triplet on a
doule relation and in
itself is nothing new.
Because, however, I
articulate 12 triola and
8 duola pulses, an
entangled, up till now
unheard kind of polymetry
is created. The rhythm is
additionally complicated
because of asymmetric
groupings inside two
speed layers, which means
accents are
asymmetrically
distributed. These
groups, as in the talea
technique, have a fixed,
continuously repeating
rhythmic structures of
varying lengths in speed
layers of 12/8 and 4/4.
This means that the
repeating pattern in the
12/8 level and the
pattern in the 4/4 level
do not coincide and
continuously give a
kaleidoscope of renewing
combinations. In our
perception we quickly
resign from following
particular rhythmical
successions and that what
is going on in time
appears for us as
something static,
resting. This music, if
it is played properly, in
the right tempo and with
the right accents inside
particular layers, after
a certain time 'rises, as
it were, as a plane after
taking off: the rhythmic
action, too complex to be
able to follow in detail,
begins flying. This
diffusion of individual
structures into a
different global
structure is one of my
basic compositional
concepts: from the end of
the fifties, from the
orchestral works
Apparitions and
Atmospheres I
continuously have been
looking for new ways of
resolving this basic
question. The harmony of
the first movement is
based on mixtures, hence
on the parallel leading
of voices. This technique
is used here in a rather
simple form; later in the
fourth movement it will
be considerably
developed. The second
movement (the only slow
one amongst five
movements) also has a
talea type of structure,
it is however much
simpler rhythmically,
because it contains only
one speed layer. The
melody is consisted in
the development of a
rigorous interval mode in
which two minor seconds
and one major second
alternate therefore nine
notes inside an octave.
This mode is transposed
into different degrees
and it also determines
the harmony of the
movement; however, in
closing episode in the
piano part there is a
combination of diatonics
(white keys) and
pentatonics (black keys)
led in brilliant,
sparkling quasimixtures,
while the orchestra
continues to play in the
nine tone mode. In this
movement I used isolated
sounds and extreme
registers (piccolo in a
very low register,
bassoon in a very high
register, canons played
by the swanee whistle,
the alto ocarina and
brass with a harmon-mute'
damper, cutting sound
combinations of the
piccolo, clarinet and
oboe in an extremely high
register, also
alternating of a
whistle-siren and
xylophone). The third
movement also has one
speed layer and because
of this it appears as
simpler than the first,
but actually the rhythm
is very complicated in a
different way here. Above
the uninterrupted, fast
and regular basic pulse,
thanks to the asymmetric
distribution of accents,
different types of
hemiolas and inherent
melodical patterns appear
(the term was coined by
Gerhard Kubik in relation
to central African
music). If this movement
is played with the
adequate speed and with
very clear accentuation,
illusory
rhythmic-melodical
figures appear. These
figures are not played
directly; they do not
appear in the score, but
exist only in our
perception as a result of
co-operation of different
voices. Already earlier I
had experimented with
illusory rhythmics,
namely in Poeme
symphonique for 100
metronomes (1962), in
Continuum for harpsichord
(1968), in Monument for
two pianos (1976), and
especially in the first
and sixth piano etude
Desordre and Automne a
Varsovie (1985). The
third movement of the
Piano Concerto is up to
now the clearest example
of illusory rhythmics and
illusory melody. In
intervallic and chordal
structure this movement
is based on alternation,
and also inter-relation
of various modal and
quasi-equidistant harmony
spaces. The tempered
twelve-part division of
the octave allows for
diatonical and other
modal interval
successions, which are
not equidistant, but are
based on the alternation
of major and minor
seconds in different
groups. The tempered
system also allows for
the use of the
anhemitonic pentatonic
scale (the black keys of
the piano). From
equidistant scales,
therefore interval
formations which are
based on the division of
an octave in equal
distances, the
twelve-tone tempered
system allows only
chromatics (only minor
seconds) and the six-tone
scale (the whole-tone:
only major seconds).
Moreover, the division of
the octave into four
parts only minor thirds)
and three parts (three
major thirds) is
possible. In several
music cultures different
equidistant divisions of
an octave are accepted,
for example, in the
Javanese slendro into
five parts, in Melanesia
into seven parts, popular
also in southeastern
Asia, and apart from
this, in southern Africa.
This does not mean an
exact equidistance: there
is a certain tolerance
for the inaccurateness of
the interval tuning.
These exotic for us,
Europeans, harmony and
melody have attracted me
for several years.
However I did not want to
re-tune the piano
(microtone deviations
appear in the concerto
only in a few places in
the horn and trombone
parts led in natural
tones). After the period
of experimenting, I got
to pseudo- or
quasiequidistant
intervals, which is
neither whole-tone nor
chromatic: in the
twelve-tone system, two
whole-tone scales are
possible, shifted a minor
second apart from each
other. Therefore, I
connect these two scales
(or sound resources), and
for example, places occur
where the melodies and
figurations in the piano
part are created from
both whole tone scales;
in one band one six-tone
sound resource is
utilized, and in the
other hand, the
complementary. In this
way whole-tonality and
chromaticism mutually
reduce themselves: a type
of deformed
equidistancism is formed,
strangely brilliant and
at the same time
slanting; illusory
harmony, indeed being
created inside the
tempered twelve-tone
system, but in sound
quality not belonging to
it anymore. The
appearance of such
slantedequidistant
harmony fields
alternating with modal
fields and based on
chords built on fifths
(mainly in the piano
part), complemented with
mixtures built on fifths
in the orchestra, gives
this movement an
individual, soft-metallic
colour (a metallic sound
resulting from
harmonics). The fourth
movement was meant to be
the central movement of
the Concerto. Its
melodc-rhythmic elements
(embryos or fragments of
motives) in themselves
are simple. The movement
also begins simply, with
a succession of
overlapping of these
elements in the mixture
type structures. Also
here a kaleidoscope is
created, due to a limited
number of these elements
- of these pebbles in the
kaleidoscope - which
continuously return in
augmentations and
diminutions. Step by
step, however, so that in
the beginning we cannot
hear it, a compiled
rhythmic organization of
the talea type gradually
comes into daylight,
based on the simultaneity
of two mutually shifted
to each other speed
layers (also triplet and
duoles, however, with
different asymmetric
structures than in the
first movement). While
longer rests are
gradually filled in with
motive fragments, we
slowly come to the
conclusion that we have
found ourselves inside a
rhythmic-melodical whirl:
without change in tempo,
only through increasing
the density of the
musical events, a
rotation is created in
the stream of successive
and compiled, augmented
and diminished motive
fragments, and increasing
the density suggests
acceleration. Thanks to
the periodical structure
of the composition,
always new but however of
the same (all the motivic
cells are similar to
earlier ones but none of
them are exactly
repeated; the general
structure is therefore
self-similar), an
impression is created of
a gigantic, indissoluble
network. Also, rhythmic
structures at first
hidden gradually begin to
emerge, two independent
speed layers with their
various internal
accentuations. This
great, self-similar whirl
in a very indirect way
relates to musical
associations, which came
to my mind while watching
the graphic projection of
the mathematical sets of
Julia and of Mandelbrot
made with the help of a
computer. I saw these
wonderful pictures of
fractal creations, made
by scientists from Brema,
Peitgen and Richter, for
the first time in 1984.
From that time they have
played a great role in my
musical concepts. This
does not mean, however,
that composing the fourth
movement I used
mathematical methods or
iterative calculus;
indeed, I did use
constructions which,
however, are not based on
mathematical thinking,
but are rather craftman's
constructions (in this
respect, my attitude
towards mathematics is
similar to that of the
graphic artist Maurits
Escher). I am concerned
rather with intuitional,
poetic, synesthetic
correspondence, not on
the scientific, but on
the poetic level of
thinking. The fifth, very
short Presto movement is
harmonically very simple,
but all the more
complicated in its
rhythmic structure: it is
based on the further
development of ''inherent
patterns of the third
movement. The
quasi-equidistance system
dominates harmonically
and melodically in this
movement, as in the
third, alternating with
harmonic fields, which
are based on the division
of the chromatic whole
into diatonics and
anhemitonic pentatonics.
Polyrhythms and harmonic
mixtures reach their
greatest density, and at
the same time this
movement is strikingly
light, enlightened with
very bright colours: at
first it seems chaotic,
but after listening to it
for a few times it is
easy to grasp its
content: many autonomous
but self-similar figures
which crossing
themselves. I present my
artistic credo in the
Piano Concerto: I
demonstrate my
independence from
criteria of the
traditional avantgarde,
as well as the
fashionable
postmodernism. Musical
illusions which I
consider to be also so
important are not a goal
in itself for me, but a
foundation for my
aesthetical attitude. I
prefer musical forms
which have a more
object-like than
processual character.
Music as frozen time, as
an object in imaginary
space evoked by music in
our imagination, as a
creation which really
develops in time, but in
imagination it exists
simultaneously in all its
moments. The spell of
time, the enduring its
passing by, closing it in
a moment of the present
is my main intention as a
composer. (Gyorgy
Ligeti).
Ultimate Beginner Have Fun Playing Hand Drums. (Congas, Steps One and Two). By W...(+)
Ultimate Beginner Have
Fun Playing Hand Drums.
(Congas, Steps One and
Two). By With Brad Dutz.
For World Percussion.
Method/Instruction;
Percussion - Drum DVD.
The Ultimate Beginner
Series. Latin. Beginner.
DVD. Published by Alfred
Music Publishing
Christmas Encore Orchestre d'harmonie [Conducteur] - Débutant RWS Music Company
Arranged by Robert W. Smith. Holiday. RWS Beginning Band Series. Christmas. Scor...(+)
Arranged by Robert W.
Smith. Holiday. RWS
Beginning Band Series.
Christmas. Score only.
Duration 0:02:00.
Published by RWS Music
Company (CL.RWS-1716-01).
Band Bass Clarinet, Bass
Drum, Bassoon 1, Bassoon
2, Bongos, Castanets,
Celesta, Clarinet,
Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2,
Clarinet 3, Contrabass
Clarinet, Contrabassoon,
English Horn, Euphonium,
Euphonium T.C., Flute 1,
Flute 2, Horn 1, Horn 2,
Horn 3 and more.
SKU:
PR.16500100F
Hymns
for Wind Ensemble.
Composed by Dan Welcher.
Sws. Full score. 48
pages. Duration 10
minutes, 41 seconds.
Theodore Presser Company
#165-00100F. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16500100F).
ISBN
9781491114421. UPC:
680160669783. 9 x 12
inches.
Commissione
d 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€cons
tantly 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 praiseâ€
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
“Amenâ€
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.
For
Chamber Orchestra.
Composed by James
Matheson. This edition:
Version 6/10/10. Sws.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
Composed February 13
2003. 84 pages. Duration
18 minutes. Theodore
Presser Company
#416-41423. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.416414230).
ISBN
9781598066630. UPC:
680160602087. 9x12
inches.
Colonnade
is James
Matheson’s
intriguing response to
the Albany
Symphony’s
commission to create a
work inspired by the NY
State Board of Education
Building, designed by the
renowned architect Rafael
Guastavino. Matheson
explains that “A
colonnade acts as a
metaphor for the tension
between knowledge and
perception. The columns
are the same height and
equidistant from each
other; while the mind
understands this fully,
there exists no place
from which one can
perceive this –
the columns always appear
to be of uneven height
and spacing. If one then
adds motion to
perspective, identical
columns acquire
elasticity, and begin to
change kaleidoscopically
– they shrink,
grow, become closer, and
then further
apart.†This
structural paradox is
given musical life in the
outer sections of
Colonnade, while the
long, arching middle
section is inspired by
the vaulted ceiling of
one of the
building’s largest
rooms, enhancing the
structure’s
spacious openness and
lightness. Colonnade
is inspired by
Albany’s majestic
New York State Board of
Education Building, and
written on a commission
from the Albany Symphony
Orchestra. It was an
intriguing task, in part
because in order to
accept the commission I
had to agree to write a
work “inspired
by†a building I
had not yet seen.
Thisproblem was
compounded by the fact
that, for me, the very
notion of extra-musical
inspiration is a complex
one, particularly with
respect to literary or
visual sources. I
generally find ideas and
abstracted notions more
generative of musical
ideas than specific ones
(a poem, an experience, a
painting). So when I went
to seeand tour the
building, I sought to
identify fundamental
formal aspects of the
building which I could
process into musical
ideas, and would then be
linked to the building
through a sense of formal
relationship. In theend,
two characteristics of
the building stood out as
noteworthy and
undiminished by time
(compared with, for
instance, the
building’s
rotunda, which contains a
series of quaintly
outdated allegorical
paintings): theexterior
colonnade and a beautiful
interior vaulted ceiling,
designed by Rafael
Guastavino.For me, a
colonnade acts as a
metaphor for the tension
between knowledge and
perception. We all know,
for instance, that the
columns are of the same
height and are
equidistant from each
other. Nevertheless,
while the mind
understands this fully,
it is also the case that
there exists no place
– no standpoint or
viewpoint –
anywhere in the universe
– from which one
can perceive this; the
columns always appear to
be of uneven height and
spacing. If one then adds
motion to perspective
– a walk along the
colonnade, for instance
– the fixed, even,
rigidly identical columns
acquire elasticity, and
begin to change
kaleidoscopically
– they shrink,
grow, become closer, and
then further apart.
Further, the detail of
the building’s
façade behind the
colonnadeshifts into and
out of visibility, with
different portions
obscured by the columns
from each vantage point.
These considerations
underlie the outer
sections of Colonnade, in
which a continuously
repeated, continuously
varied rising figure
– suggestive of a
column –
dominates. The iterations
of this elastic,
evolvingfigure are
interspersed with other
music – suggestive
of the building’s
façade. The second
feature of the building
that caught my attention
was the vaulted ceiling,
designed by Guastavino,of
one of the
building’s largest
rooms. The ceiling
enhances the spaciousness
of the room, giving it an
openness and lightness
that is quite
captivating. The middle
section of Colonnade has
this openness at its
core, and is dominated by
long, arching lines that,
to me, suggest the
refined beauty of this
ceiling.World premiere
March 8, 2003; Albany
Symphony Orchestra
conducted by David Alan
Miller.
Horn and Piano - very easy, easy SKU: BT.DHP-1196128-404 Corno (Fa)(+)
Horn and Piano - very
easy, easy
SKU:
BT.DHP-1196128-404
Corno (Fa).
Arranged by Markus
Schenk. Ascolta, Leggi e
Suona. Classical. Book
with Part and
Audio-Online. Composed
2019. 80 pages. De Haske
Publications #DHP
1196128-404. Published by
De Haske Publications
(BT.DHP-1196128-404).
ISBN 9789043157384.
Italian.
Ascolta
, leggi & suona
rappresenta oggi il testo
di riferimento dedicato
all’insegnamento
della musica per ottoni e
legni. Questo fantastico
metodo, costituito da
libro e CD, include
canzoni, indovinelli
musicali e giochiche
permetteranno all'allievo
principiante di
progredire nella
conoscenza della musica,
fornendogli al contempo
utilissime informazioni
sul suo strumento e
numerosi brani da suonare
divertendosi. I tre
volumi che
compongonol’opera
sono i primi della
collana e sono affiancati
da testi contenenti
materiale supplementare
per i differenti livelli
del corso.
Incontra
l’opera offre
utile materiale
complementare a tutti e
tre i volumi della
serieAscolta, leggi &
suona e include arie
famose, cori e
ouvertures, proposti
secondo un ordine di
difficolt crescente. Una
selezione delle più
belle melodie mai scritte
per l’opera,
corredate da un quadro
storico
esplicativo.L’alli
evo potr esercitarsi da
solo, utilizzando le
tracce registrate
disponibili online,
scaricabili o ascoltabili
in streaming. Questa
edizione contiene
l’accompagnamento
pianistico, arrangiato
sapientemente a un
moderatolivello di
difficolt .
Orchestra strings - beginner SKU: KJ.SO336F Composed by Raymond Brown. Ar...(+)
Orchestra strings -
beginner
SKU:
KJ.SO336F
Composed by
Raymond Brown. Arranged
by Raymond Brown. Score.
Neil A. Kjos Music
Company #SO336F.
Published by Neil A. Kjos
Music Company
(KJ.SO336F).
UPC:
8402704167.
Into
the Dragon's Den focuses
on playing F-sharps and
F-naturals, and helps
students become more
comfortable with 2-note
slurs. The piece centers
around E minor, offering
the perfect mood for the
subject: confronting
difficult things and
handling fear. As Mr.
Brown mentions in his
program notes, Like the
brave knight [heading
into the dragon's den],
beginning string students
have to venture into the
dark unknown to confront
F-natural. Approx. time -
2:30
Steps to
Successful Literature
presents exceptional
performance pieces -
concert and festival
works for beginning to
intermediate string
orchestras. Each piece is
correlated with a
specific location in
String BasicsTM Books 1
or 2. Literature
reinforces musical
skills, concepts, and
terms introduced in the
method. Sometimes, a few
new concepts are included
and are officially
introduced and defined in
the score and parts. Each
string orchestra work
offers extended learning
opportunities and briefly
taps into one or more
elements related to
common core state
standards.
Orchestra string orchestra - Grade 1 SKU: KJ.SO343F Composed by Jeremy Wo...(+)
Orchestra string
orchestra - Grade 1
SKU: KJ.SO343F
Composed by Jeremy
Woolstenhulme. Arranged
by Jeremy Woolstenhulme.
Score. Neil A. Kjos Music
Company #SO343F.
Published by Neil A. Kjos
Music Company
(KJ.SO343F).
UPC:
8402704185.
Maiden'
s Rescue, in D Major,
includes note and rest
values limited to quarter
notes/rests, half notes,
and whole rests. It can
be successfully performed
at a range of tempos,
depending on the
experience level of the
orchestra. Rather than
writing for 1st and 2nd
violins, this piece
features a single violin
part.
Jeremy
Woolstenhulme composed
this work for his
beginning string
orchestra. He decided
that it should be a
programmatic work
accompanied by a short
story and artwork. Once
students became
comfortable with the
music and story, Mr.
Woolstenhulme assigned an
art project to them! Some
samples of their work are
printed in this
publication. Connecting
music, creative writing,
and visual arts
strengthened the entire
experience and students
definitely enjoyed the
process. Approx. time -
2:00
Steps to
Successful Literature
presents exceptional
performance pieces -
concert and festival
works for beginning to
intermediate string
orchestras. Each piece is
correlated with a
specific location in
String BasicsTM Books 1
or 2. Literature
reinforces musical
skills, concepts, and
terms introduced in the
method. Sometimes, a few
new concepts are included
and are officially
introduced and defined in
the score and parts. Each
string orchestra work
offers extended learning
opportunities and briefly
taps into one or more
elements related to
common core state
standards.
(You Can Play the Accordion Now Vol. 2). Taught by Cuco Mendoza and Enrique Mart...(+)
(You Can Play the
Accordion Now Vol. 2).
Taught by Cuco Mendoza
and Enrique Martinez. For
Accordion (Button).
method. Mexican. Level:
Beginning. DVD. Size
5.38x7.50. 60 pages.
Published by Mayas Music.
By Barrie Gott. Edited by Bruce Pearson. For concert band. Concert Band. Standar...(+)
By Barrie Gott. Edited by
Bruce Pearson. For
concert band. Concert
Band. Standard of
Excellence - in Concert.
Score. Published by Neil
A. Kjos Music Company.
Level: Grade 1.5.
Third String Quartet Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle Theodore Presser Co.
Los Tangos Azules. Composed by Carter Pann (1972-). Sws. Score-and-parts. Dura...(+)
Los Tangos Azules.
Composed
by Carter Pann (1972-).
Sws.
Score-and-parts. Duration
18
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-41969.
Published
by Theodore Presser
Company