SKU: HL.51487584

UPC: 196288122449. 6.75x9.5x0.187 inches.

Debussy wrote these two short dances to a commission from the instrument-making firm of Pleyel, which was keen to use famous names in the marketing of its newly-developed chromatic harp. The dances are also playable without problem on the pedal harp, which was to replace the chromatic harp on the concert platform. The archaic style of the pieces, including modal harmonies, used to express a “sacred” rite and a “profane” dance of joy, points to the enthusiasm for antiquity of Debussy himself and of the artistic world around 1900. This is Henle's first critical edition of the pieces, and is based on careful checking of the autograph and first edition.

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SKU: HL.48024524

ISBN 9781784542566. UPC: 888680925741. 8.25x11.75x0.212 inches.

Composer's Notes: “In writing this work I wanted to compose something which was both timeless and contemporary, both sacred and secular. The title (Sacred Songs) is therefore slightly misleading as the three poems are concerned with political repression in Latin America and are deliberately coupled with traditional religious texts to emphasise a deeper solidarity with the poor of that sub-continent. It was my interest in Liberation Theology which made me combine the poems of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina with the texts of the Latin mass in Búsqueda (an earlier music-theatre work) and has now led me to attempt a similar synthesis of ideas in Cantos Sagrados. The voices in Ariel Dorfman's poems belong to those who suffer a particular type of political repression: the 'disappearance' of political prisoners. Ana Maria Mendoza's poem about the Virgin of Guadeloupe tackles the same problem by asking a more fundamental cultural and historical question.”.

SKU: HL.1455263

ISBN 9781638879329. UPC: 196288209393. 9.0x12.0x0.545 inches.

Composed during the summer and fall of 1974, Barnes' FIRST SYMPHONY, Op. 35 was his master's thesis at The University of Kansas. It was premiered in the spring semester of 1976 by their Symphonic Band, Robert E. Foster conducting. The following year, the symphony was awarded the American Bandmasters Ostwald Composition prize, which led to a second performance (of only the first two movements) by the Northwestern Wind Ensemble at the American Bandmasters convention with Col. Jack Cline (U.S Marine Band) conducting. Following this performance, Barnes submitted the work to several publishers, all of which declined on the basis it was too long and difficult to be marketable. For this reason, Barnes set the work aside and there it remained until 2022, when an offer came from the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra to record all nine of Barnes'’symphonies to help celebrate their 100th anniversary. Barnes seized the opportunity, engraving all four movements, with revisions and corrections, an effort that took seven days a week for two months to complete. As a result, after almost fifty years, all nine of the Barnes symphonies are finally available for performance.