Clarinet and Piano

SKU: ST.C129

Composed by Mark Tanner. Wind & brass music. Clifton Edition #C129. Published by Clifton Edition (ST.C129).

ISBN 9790570811298.

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.: SP1218.

Clarinet and piano

SKU: P2.30094

Composed by James Grant. Solo music, 20th century. Published by Potenza Music (P2.30094).

Mark My Words, originally for tuba (but just as fun to play on clarinet), was composed by James Grant in February of 2007 as a heartfelt gift to his great friend and staunch musical ally, tubist Mark Nelson, in celebration of their first collaboration fourteen years earlier (Three Furies for solo tuba). Grant writes, When I began composing Mark My Words, I told Mark to be prepared for something fun that sounded like Charlie Brown doing a funky bossa nova (think jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy). I did not tell him that the middle section of Mark My Words would make overt references to all of the principal shapes, motives and themes from the Three Furies - my way of thanking Mark Nelson, specifically, for opening wide the door of composing for tuba and euphonium those many years ago and for so enthusiastically escorting me over that threshold. I am but one of many grateful composers whom Mark has supported over the years by commissioning, then recording their music. Mark My Words is my humble attempts at giving back to this devoted educator, consummate musician, fervent promoter of new music for tuba, and - yes - kickass player..

Clarinet and piano

SKU: P2.30093

Composed by Maurice Saylor. Solo music, 20th century. Published by Potenza Music (P2.30093).

The titular confusion of this work came about in this way: the tunes first appeared in a 1991 musical I wrote based on Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid). Lacking faith in the musical but liking the tunes, I fashioned a few of them into the symphony - a comic symphony. Yet, it seemed to lack luster. When the opportunity came to write a work for my friend and fellow Snark Ensemble performer Ben Redwine, I decided what the material lacked was a solo voice. The tunes are still there, but now greatly elaborated and expanded upon. The final work is still very much a symphony - and no other title seems to suit it - but symphonies are generally for orchestra. Still, the size and the instrumentation for the form we call symphony have varied greatly over the years, so perhaps it's the nature of the music that makes it a symphony and not the scoring.

Clarinet and Piano

SKU: BT.EMBZ15061

Clarinette et piano. Composed by Claude Debussy. Book Only. Composed 2017. 12 pages. Editio Musica Budapest #EMBZ15061. Published by Editio Musica Budapest (BT.EMBZ15061).

Zoltán Kocsis (1952 - 2016) was not just a phenomenal pianist. He was also regarded as a musical 'polymath' whose genius embraced the activities of a composer, conductor, editor, instrumentalist, and arranger. In the last capacity, he added some 150 works to symphonic, chamber, song and piano repertoire. He gladly adapted music of the turn of the 20th century, as appears from his transcriptions of Richard Strauss, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Enescu, and above all, Debussy. (Many of these are distributed by Editio Musica Budapest.) 'In Debussy's case, (...) I was always interested in works that offered possibilities beyond the bounds of the piano, possibilities for orchestration.Just as with Liszt it was often possible to see that certain of his works had been written for piano for publication purposes, so with Debussy it is clear that mainly his song accompaniments exceeded the bounds of possibility for the piano,' Kocsis stated in one interview. Perhaps that recognition also encouraged him to arrange the popular piano work Valse romantique (1890) for clarinet and piano. The arrangement superbly pinpoints the sensitive, almost ingratiating tunefulness of the Waltz, adding a piece that sounds great and is rewarding to perform to the clarinet repertoire.

Mit dem unlängst verstorbenen Zoltán Kocsis betrauert die Nachwelt nicht nur einen phänomenalen Pianisten, sondern auch einen 'Polyhistor der Musik': Sein außergewöhnliches Talent entfaltete sich ebenfalls in seiner Tätigkeit als Komponist, als Dirigent, als Herausgeber und nicht zuletzt auch als Arrangeur und Bearbeiter organisch. Durch letztere Aktivität bereicherte er die symphonische, Kammer-, Lied- und Klavierliteratur um etwa einhundertfünfzig Werke. Sehr gern adaptierte er die Musik aus der Zeit der Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert, wie auch seine Richard-Strauss-, Ravel-, Rachmaninov-, Enescu- und vor allem Debussy-Transkriptionen belegen. (Mehrere davon werden auch von unseremVerlag vertrieben.).