String quartet String Quartet

SKU: PR.16400272S

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 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.

Dan Welcher’s most enduringly and frequently played orchestral work, Prairie Light is a fascinating musical companion to three of Georgia O’Keeffe’s most unusual paintings, Light Coming on the Plains, Canyon with Crows, and Starlight Night. This work is ideal for performances using visual projections of the paintings, and is frequently programmed for subscription concerts as well as those for educational settings. Duration: 14’ Parts available on rental.
This work for full orchestra was inspired by three paintings of the noted Americanartist Georgia O’Keeffe. These three watercolors were done in 1917 while the artist was living in Canyon, Texas (near Amarillo), and deal primarily with color and shape. Consequently, the music is primarily concerned with broad lines and shapes rather than rhythms, with subtle washes of color rather than constant harmonic movement, and with arching melody instead of linear counterpoint.The first movement, Light Coming on the Plains, is an elliptical-shaped painting, deep blue to indigo with a “horizon” at the bottom that seems flat and unchanging. The sun hasn’t risen yet, although it does in the course of this movement, but it seems instead to be providing light from behind the canvas. The music is unmoving in terms of rhythm or harmony (although there is a modulation midway through), a color-infused mantra of sound that is almost Eastern.At the height of the sun, we proceed to the second movement, entitled Canyon with Crows. The canyon is red-orange, with black crows circling above friendly unfolding hills. The music is gentle but lively and more rhythmic, with the birds represented by solo oboe, clarinet, and sometimes flute. Halfway through, the brass have a chorale version of the opening motive, played very slowly, over the unending triplets of woodwinds and strings. At the end of the movement, the birds return for a duo-cadenza, accompanied by the dying rays of the sun in muted strings and the ongoing triplets of the solo quartet.The stage is set for the final movement, Starlight Night. In O’Keeffe’s painting, the stars are represented by regularly-spaced rectangles of bright pale yellow on a blue-black sky, with the same shape to the field of vision and the horizon that is found in Light Coming on the Plains. The stars become audible: harp, celesta, glockenspiel, and string pizzicati all lend a sparkle while a solo flute introduces a slowly unfolding theme. After this theme has been heard twice and the sky has begun to really brighten, there is a sudden interruption: a xylophone and a piano begin another “mantra” in brittle staccato chords. This is the same mechanical eternity as O’Keeffe’s regularly-spaced square stars, and it continues on its own as the night progresses. The music builds and grows as the moon rises and arcs, then falls as the pre-dawn light that opened the work returns to bring it to a close. Acycle of light, changing with the movements of sun, moon, and stars, appearing differently from various points of view

(Words and Chords to Nearly 1200 Songs 9x12 Spiral Bound). Edited by Annie Patterson and Peter Blood. For Vocal. Vocal. Softcover. 304 pages. Published by Hal Leonard

(Words and Chords to Nearly 1200 Songs Spiral-Bound). Edited by Annie Patterson and Peter Blood. For Vocal. Vocal. Softcover. 304 pages. Published by Hal Leonard

The Group Singing Songbook. By Various. Vocal. Size 9.5x12 inches. 281 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.

For voice and C instrument. Format: fakebook. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. Folk. Series: Hal Leonard Fake Books. 536 pages. 9.6x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard.

For voice and C instrument. Format: fakebook. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. Traditional pop and vocal standards. Series: Hal Leonard Fake Books. 424 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard.

String Quartet

SKU: HL.14030964

Composed by Bent Sorensen. Music Sales America. Classical. Score. 10 pages. Music Sales #KP00510. Published by Music Sales (HL.14030964).

ISBN 9788759861455. English.

The Composer writes: 'In February 1987 I saw in the Tate Gallery in London a painting by the Victorian English painter John William Waterhouse. The painting kept haunting my memory, and as I at the same time planned to write a piece for solo Viola, my ideas for the music and the memory of the painting fused more and more. I decided, then, to let my piece borrow the title of Waterhouse's painting: The Lady Of Shalott. The picture of a mad-like, pale, and perhaps singing woman alone in a boat without sculls, which calmly slips out from the rush growth of the river is an illustration for the ending of Alfred Tennyson's poem by the same title, which again plaits into the old English legends about King Arthur. My piece tries to meander - like the river at Camelot - among these sources.' As suggested above the piece was originally written for Viola solo. This version for String Quartet is from 1993.

Orchestra Bass Trombone, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Celesta, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Contrabass, English Horn, Flute 1, Flute 2, Harp, Horn 1, Horn 2, Horn 3, Horn 4, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Percussion, Piccolo, Timpani, Trombone 1, Trombone 2, Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2 and more.

SKU: PR.416413290

(After The Painting By Gustav Klimt) for Orchestra. Composed by Daniel Dorff. Sws or watkiss. Program notes provided on pg. 3. Contemporary. Full score. With Standard notation. Composed 1-Aug. 80 pages. Duration 14 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #416-41329. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.416413290).

ISBN 9781598064674. UPC: 680160612086. 9x12 inches.

Inspired by the passion and dazzle of Gustav Klimt’s celebrated painting “The Kiss,” Daniel Dorff has created a dramatic and sensual tone poem capturing the growing thrill of the painting’s young lovers. Dorff’s 14-minute work is suitable for choreography, and a favorite for Valentine’s Day programming. The composer's website (www.danieldorff.com/pn-t hekiss.htm) offers full program notes and more. Duration: 14'.

Choral SSA choir

SKU: CF.CM9580

Composed by Richard Rasch. Arranged by Richard Rasch. Fold. Performance Score. 4 pages. Duration 2 minutes, 42 seconds. Carl Fischer Music #CM9580. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.CM9580).

ISBN 9781491154021. UPC: 680160912520. 6.875 x 10.5 inches. Key: D mixolydian. English, Latin. 15th Century Medieval Carol.

The text of this poem is from the Trinity Carol Roll, an English manuscript housed at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is originally in the Norfolk dialect of Middle English but has been modernized for use in this setting. Also, it's macaronic, meaning it combines words from two languages, the other being Latin which was in use by the church when this carol was written. The Latin phrases come from different parts of the Advent/Christmas liturgies; a sequence called Laetabundus, the title of an Introit antiphon called Gaudeamus, and the shepherds response in the gospel of Luke 2:15, Transeamus. Latin phrase translation source Alleluia Alleluia Laetabundus Res miranda A thing to be wondered at Laetabundus Pari forma of equal form Laetabundus Gaudeamus Let us rejoice! Gaudeamus Transeamus Let us go Luke 2:15 The poet compares the Virgin Mary to a rose. She has a special place among all women in being chosen as the mother of Jesus, and likewise the rose has a special place among all flowers surpassing them in complexity and beauty. The music in this setting mimics the petals of a rose as it blooms. Imagine the petals unfurling over time as does the music which starts in unison for each verse and expands outward into two and three vocal lines with increasingly complex harmonic twists. Word painting is employed in several places but none are as important as the dramatic climax in the fourth verse where the shepherds along with all the angels in heaven proclaim Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God on high). What a sound that must be! On these words the music reaches it loudest point as the sopranos rise to their highest note and the compassthe distance between the highest and lowest noteis at its widest. The setting is brought to a close as the five Latin phrases that finished each verse are repeated as a coda and musically summarize the five verses of the carol.
The text of this poem is from the Trinity Carol Roll, an English manuscript housed at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is originally in the Norfolk dialect of Middle English but has been modernized for use in this setting. Also, it's macaronic, meaning it combines words from two languages, the other being Latin which was in use by the church when this carol was written. The Latin phrases come from different parts of the Advent/Christmas liturgies; a sequence called Laetabundus, the title of an Introit antiphon called Gaudeamus, and the shepherdas response in the gospel of Luke 2:15, Transeamus. Latin phraseA translation source Alleluia Alleluia Laetabundus Res miranda A thing to be wondered at Laetabundus Pari forma of equal form Laetabundus Gaudeamus Let us rejoice! Gaudeamus Transeamus Let us go Luke 2:15 The poet compares the Virgin Mary to a rose. She has a special place among all women in being chosen as the mother of Jesus, and likewise the rose has a special place among all flowers surpassing them in complexity and beauty. The music in this setting mimics the petals of a rose as it blooms. Imagine the petals unfurling over time as does the music which starts in unison for each verse and expands outward into two and three vocal lines with increasingly complex harmonic twists. Word painting is employed in several places but none are as important as the dramatic climax in the fourth verse where the shepherds along with all the angels in heaven proclaim Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God on high). What a sound that must be! On these words the music reaches it loudest point as the sopranos rise to their highest note and the compassathe distance between the highest and lowest noteais at its widest. The setting is brought to a close as the five Latin phrases that finished each verse are repeated as a coda and musically summarize the five verses of the carol.
The text of this poem is from the Trinity Carol Roll, an English manuscript housed at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is originally in the Norfolk dialect of Middle English but has been modernized for use in this setting. Also, it's macaronic, meaning it combines words from two languages, the other being Latin which was in use by the church when this carol was written. The Latin phrases come from different parts of the Advent/Christmas liturgies; a sequence called Laetabundus, the title of an Introit antiphon called Gaudeamus, and the shepherd's response in the gospel of Luke 2:15, Transeamus. Latin phrase translation source Alleluia Alleluia Laetabundus Res miranda A thing to be wondered at Laetabundus Pari forma of equal form Laetabundus Gaudeamus Let us rejoice! Gaudeamus Transeamus Let us go Luke 2:15 The poet compares the Virgin Mary to a rose. She has a special place among all women in being chosen as the mother of Jesus, and likewise the rose has a special place among all flowers surpassing them in complexity and beauty. The music in this setting mimics the petals of a rose as it blooms. Imagine the petals unfurling over time as does the music which starts in unison for each verse and expands outward into two and three vocal lines with increasingly complex harmonic twists. Word painting is employed in several places but none are as important as the dramatic climax in the fourth verse where the shepherds along with all the angels in heaven proclaim Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God on high). What a sound that must be! On these words the music reaches it loudest point as the sopranos rise to their highest note and the compass--the distance between the highest and lowest note--is at its widest. The setting is brought to a close as the five Latin phrases that finished each verse are repeated as a coda and musically summarize the five verses of the carol.
The text of this poem is from the Trinity Carol Roll, an English manuscript housed at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is originally in the Norfolk dialect of Middle English but has been modernized for use in this setting. Also, it's macaronic, meaning it combines words from two languages, the other being Latin which was in use by the church when this carol was written. The Latin phrases come from different parts of the Advent/Christmas liturgies; a sequence called Laetabundus, the title of an Introit antiphon called Gaudeamus, and the shepherd's response in the gospel of Luke 2:15, Transeamus. Latin phrase translation source Alleluia Alleluia Laetabundus Res miranda A thing to be wondered at Laetabundus Pares forma of equal form Laetabundus Gaudeamus Let us rejoice! Gaudeamus Transeamus Let us go Luke 2:15 The poet compares the Virgin Mary to a rose. She has a special place among all women in being chosen as the mother of Jesus, and likewise the rose has a special place among all flowers surpassing them in complexity and beauty. The music in this setting mimics the petals of a rose as it blooms. Imagine the petals unfurling over time as does the music which starts in unison for each verse and expands outward into two and three vocal lines with increasingly complex harmonic twists. Word painting is employed in several places but none are as important as the dramatic climax in the fourth verse where the shepherds along with all the angels in heaven proclaim Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God on high). What a sound that must be! On these words the music reaches it loudest point as the sopranos rise to their highest note and the compass--the distance between the highest and lowest note--is at its widest. The setting is brought to a close as the five Latin phrases that finished each verse are repeated as a coda and musically summarize the five verses of the carol.
The text of this poem is from the Trinity Carol Roll, an English manuscript housed at the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is originally in the Norfolk dialect of Middle English but has been modernized for use in this setting. Also, it's macaronic, meaning it combines words from two languages, the other being Latin which was in use by the church when this carol was written.The Latin phrases come from different parts of the Advent/Christmas liturgies; a sequence called Laetabundus, the title of an Introit antiphon called Gaudeamus, and the shepherd’s response in the gospel of Luke 2:15, Transeamus.Latin phrase  translation sourceAlleluia Alleluia LaetabundusRes miranda A thing to be wondered at LaetabundusPares forma of equal form LaetabundusGaudeamus Let us rejoice! GaudeamusTranseamus Let us go Luke 2:15The poet compares the Virgin Mary to a rose. She has a special place among all women in being chosen as the mother of Jesus, and likewise the rose has a special place among all flowers surpassing them in complexity and beauty.The music in this setting mimics the petals of a rose as it blooms. Imagine the petals unfurling over time as does the music which starts in unison for each verse and expands outward into two and three vocal lines with increasingly complex harmonic twists.Word painting is employed in several places but none are as important as the dramatic climax in the fourth verse where the shepherds along with all the angels in heaven proclaim Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God on high). What a sound that must be! On these words the music reaches it loudest point as the sopranos rise to their highest note and the compass—the distance between the highest and lowest note—is at its widest.The setting is brought to a close as the five Latin phrases that finished each verse are repeated as a coda and musically summarize the five verses of the carol.

Orchestra Bassoon, Cello, Clarinet, Contrabass, Flute, Harp, Horn, Marimba, Oboe, Vibraphone, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2

SKU: PR.416414230

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.

C Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Broadway, Country, Jazz, Pop, Standards. Softcover. 802 pages. Published by Hal Leonard

Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Celesta, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Contrabass, English Horn, Flute 1, Flute 2, Harp, Horn 1, Horn 2, Horn 3, Horn 4, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Percussion, Piccolo, Timpani, Trombone 1, Trombone 2, Trombone 3, Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2 and more.

SKU: PR.41641329L

After The Painting By Gustav Klimt. Composed by Daniel Dorff. With Standard notation. 80 pages. Duration 14 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #416-41329L. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.41641329L).

11 x 17 inches.

Choral (SSA Choir)

SKU: HL.1312734

Composed by Ruth Morris Gray. Shawnee Press. Concert. Octavo. 12 pages. Duration 180 seconds. Published by Shawnee Press (HL.1312734).

ISBN 9798350109511. UPC: 196288177654. 6.75x10.5x0.029 inches.

“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh is the composer's inspiration for this choral, which is filled imagery from the painting. The text is created from a quote by Van Gogh, “For my part, I know nothing with any certainly, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” The composer has included discussion points about the painting and choral that can be used in rehearsal or classroom. Incredible teaching opportunities abound!

Choral (SAB Choir)

SKU: HL.1312733

Composed by Ruth Morris Gray. Shawnee Press. Concert. Octavo. 12 pages. Duration 180 seconds. Published by Shawnee Press (HL.1312733).

ISBN 9798350109504. UPC: 196288177647. 6.75x10.5x0.029 inches.

“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh is the composer's inspiration for this choral, which is filled imagery from the painting. The text is created from a quote by Van Gogh, “For my part, I know nothing with any certainly, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” The composer has included discussion points about the painting and choral that can be used in rehearsal or classroom. Incredible teaching opportunities abound!

Choral (SATB)

SKU: HL.1312732

Composed by Ruth Morris Gray. Shawnee Press. Concert. Octavo. 12 pages. Duration 180 seconds. Published by Shawnee Press (HL.1312732).

ISBN 9798350109498. UPC: 196288177630. 6.75x10.5x0.036 inches.

“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh is the composer's inspiration for this choral, which is filled imagery from the painting. The text is created from a quote by Van Gogh, “For my part, I know nothing with any certainly, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” The composer has included discussion points about the painting and choral that can be used in rehearsal or classroom. Incredible teaching opportunities abound!

Chamber Music Piano, alto Saxophone

SKU: PR.114419850

Composed by Stacy Garrop. Sws. See lengthy program note on prefatory page. Set of Score and Parts. 44+24 pages. Duration 23 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #114-41985. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.114419850).

ISBN 9781491135808. UPC: 680160681044. 9 x 12 inches.

Both a spectacular concerto for saxophone, and a dramatic tone poem on Roman mythology, QUICKSILVER is a 23-minute concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble by one of the sax literature’s most commissioned and admired composers.Through worded captions as well as gorgeously expressive tone painting, Movement 1 depicts the birth and childhood pranks of Mercury, Movement 2 shows him escorting souls to the gates of the Underworld, and Movement 3 is a phantasmagoric finale portraying Mercury as messenger amid the conflicts of other mythological figures. There are many YouTube performances available, both in the original version with Wind Ensemble, and with Piano.
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making.In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld.The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.

Orchestra Bassoon, Clarinet, Contrabass, Flute, Harp, Horn, Marimba, Oboe, Vibraphone, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violoncello

SKU: PR.41641423L

For Chamber Orchestra. Composed by James Matheson. This edition: Version 6/10/10. Contemporary. Large Score. With Standard notation. Composed February 13 2003. 84 pages. Duration 18 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #416-41423L. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.41641423L).

UPC: 680160602094. 11 x 14 inches.

Colonnade is inspired by Albanys 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. This problem 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 see and 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 the end, two characteristics of the building stood out as noteworthy and undiminished by time (compared with, for instance, the buildings rotunda, which contains a series of quaintly outdated allegorical paintings): the exterior 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 buildings facade behind the colonnade shifts 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, evolving figure are interspersed with other music suggestive of the buildings facade. The second feature of the building that caught my attention was the vaulted ceiling, designed by Guastavino, of one of the buildings 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.

Arranged by Peter Blood, Annie Patterson. Vocal. Size 7.5x10.5 inches. 283 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.

Seven Songs About Poets and Poetry for Mezzo-Soprano (or Soprano) and Piano. By Leo Smit. Text: Emily Dickinson. For Mezzo-Soprano, Soprano, Piano. The Ecstatic Pilgrimage: Cycle VI. Classical. Piano/Vocal Score. Composed 1989. 12 pages. Duration 9:30. Published by Theodore Presser Company.