Bassoon and Piano SKU: ST.C130 Composed by Mark Tanner. Wind & brass musi...(+)
Bassoon and Piano
SKU:
ST.C130
Composed by
Mark Tanner. Wind & brass
music. Clifton Edition
#C130. Published by
Clifton Edition
(ST.C130).
ISBN
9790570811304.
As I
sit myself down to write
this brief foreword, I
ask myself can there be
music more stirring than
these old Cornish folk
melodies? Though not
Cornish myself (I confess
to being born a little
further up the road, in
Bristol), I feel I have
spent sufficient time in
these 'ere parts to
resonate with the sturdy
brass band tradition that
continues to permeate
this incomparably
beautiful, rugged county.
One can almost detect a
French 'accent' when
listening to the piano
music of Debussy, and
likewise, speaking as a
lapsed brass player,
there is undoubtedly
something of the Cornish
twang about Trelawny when
played on a cornet or
euphonium. Then again,
one gets a different, yet
entirely convincing
effect upon hearing these
melodies rendered on
woodwind instruments;
hence, with a little
gamesmanship on my part,
I am pleased to see my
collection of these
fifteen delectable
ditties come to fruition
in the form of
arrangements for treble
clef brass instruments
(in B flat and E flat),
trombone and tuba (bass
clef), horn in F, flute,
clarinet and bassoon.
While many will find
themselves humming the
likes of Going up
Camborne Hill, Lamorna or
The Helston Furry Dance
even before they have
turned to the first page
- for these are indelibly
intertwined with Cornish
culture – I wonder if I
might draw your attention
to The Cornish Squire,
The Pool of Pilate and
Cold Blows the Wind Today
Sweetheart, which are
quite simply sublime
melodies, perhaps needing
that extra bit of help in
bringing them to mind
nowadays. In the best
tradition of musical
hand-me-downs, Cornish
folk music works equally
ideally sung and played,
and only by doing so on a
regular basis can such
traditions hope to
continue forward with
vigour and authority. A
legitimate way of
achieving this is to
revitalise the harmonic
scheme of these ancient
tunes and bring them up
to date for a modern
audience; after all, it
was such an approach that
fuelled the imagination
of Benjamin Britten and
Ralph Vaughan Williams in
decades past, while
skilfully paying homage
to the underlying charm
and, for want of a better
word, simplicity, of the
original music. But this
is only a start – for
without an energetic
response from younger
generations, Cornish folk
music is destined to
wither on the vine in
much the same way as is
happening with the
Cornish dialect. So, put
your instrument to your
lips and proceed, not
with caution, but with
enthusiasm and a smile,
for your great
grandparents (and perhaps
even their grandparents)
would surely raise a
glass if they could hear
you doing your bit to
ensure the survival of
this splendid
heritage. Timeless
Cornish melodies, cooked
up for hungry clarinet
players Grades
1–4 Former Spartan
Press Cat. No.:
SP1219.
Bassoon and Piano SKU: ST.C183 Composed by Graham Sheen. Wind & brass mus...(+)
Bassoon and Piano
SKU:
ST.C183
Composed by
Graham Sheen. Wind &
brass music. Clifton
Edition #C183. Published
by Clifton Edition
(ST.C183).
ISBN
9790570811830.
Drunken Sailor —
the
sequel This
needs a plaintive tone
especially in the upper
register where the
dynamics are particularly
important. To capture the
mood of the piece those
slurs in bars 35 and 36,
for example, might even
be close to a glissando.
Use your imagination to
recreate the sailor’s
state of
health!
Th
e Vulgar
Boatman Not
only more hidden melodies
but more appalling puns!
(Volga Boatman for those
not versed in Russian
folksongs). This is like
a waltz: it is written in
3/4 time but played so as
to give the impression of
one beat in bar. The
melodies need to be well
sustained so that we hear
four, eight or even more
bars as a single phrase.
Clues for the musical
detective:- in addition
to the Volga Boatman, you
might spot just a hint of
Sailing down the
River on a Sunday
Afternoon, We
Sail the Ocean Blue
(H.M.S. Pinafore),
The Eton Boating
Song and even
Wagner’s Flying
Dutchman.
Last Tango in
Harris Everyo
ne must surely know these
thinly disguised Scottish
tunes, but can you make
them sound like a tango?
Bear in mind that tangos
are not jazz: the rhythm
is quite strict, but the
tango character is in the
tone and the phrasing.
Notice how expressive the
occasional shorter note
value can be, as in bars
4 and 5 in the bassoon
part.
Rheu
manian
Stretches Or
was that Rumanian
Sketches? This is a
chance to play the main
melody in two registers
of the bassoon. Try to
make a good even sound in
both octaves. This piece
requires careful counting
since the phrases in the
bassoon part don’t
always begin where you
might expect. Think of
this piece as a
song. Four Pieces for
Bassoon and
Piano