Le point de départ de cette composition est la mystique entourant la vie et la mort. Je souhaitais composer une uvre sans récit et jai plongé dans une sorte de quote musicale vers de nouveaux mondes sonores des enchaînements de mesures originaux des mélodies riches en tensions et des tonalités orchestrales particulières. Ce qui a indirectement donné lieu à cette composition cest la naissance de mon premier enfant qui a eu lieu à peu près au même moment que le décès dun membre cher de ma famille. Et cest dans de tels moments que lon apprend à ses dépens combien la vie et la mort sont intimement liées et combien malgré leur immense contraste elles se ressemblent paressence. Car dune part ces deux événements bouleversants sont des passages vers un nouveau monde et dautre part ils ont tous deux un énorme impact émotionnel. En outre le donneur dordre de luvre est un orchestre qui sappelle « Nieuw Leven » (Nouvelle Vie) et cet orchestre a lui-même perdu un musicien décédé dans un accident davion ce qui ma conforté dans lidée dune parfaite adéquation de ce thème avec lensemble de la situation.Je souhaite ne pas dévoiler les passages de luvre qui parlent de la vie (la naissance) et ceux qui parlent de la mort. Car il me semble justement intéressant de remettre en question la conception traditionnelle y afférente et de laisser la porte ouverte aux auditeurs. Quand vous pensez qu'un passage parle de la naissance et que vous inversez cette donnée cela suscite des questions passionnantes aussi bien sur le plan musical que métaphysique. De façon indirecte mais formidablement pénétrante la musique est capable dexprimer la quote infinie de l'homme. Elle peut si lon peut sexprimer ainsi toucher l'éternité pendant un bref instant et nous donner le sentiment d'être en mesure de dépasser la mort. Cette quote (et aussi cette aspiration) éternelle se retrouve partout dans luvre : aussi bien dans les champs de sonorité et les glissements daccent de la première partie que dans les énormes tensions et les thèmes

‘Panem et Circenses’ Bread and Games were essential for keeping the citizens of ancient Rome in check. While the bread was meant for the poorest among the Romans the Games were Popular Pastime Number One for everybody.There were different kinds of games such as chariot races (especially popular with female spectators) or wild-beast fights where lions tigers bulls or bears were set on one another or even on human beings. Most popular however were the Gladiator fights. In ‘Bread and Games’ William Vean depicts one of the many fights in the antique Colosseum. 1. Entrance of the Gladiators: By powerful bugle-calls the attention of the peoplewas asked for after which the Gladiators entered the Arena at the sound of heroic marching-music.2.Swordfight: We can hear that the fights were not mere child’s play in this part.On the contrary they were a matter of life and death and were fought accordingly.3.Mercy of the Emperor: Sometimes a wounded gladiator could be fortunate depending on the mercy of the audience. Waving one’s handkerchief meant mercy a turned-down thumb meant no pardon. The Emperor had the right to take the final decision but he usually complied with the wish of the majority of the public. 4.Lap of Honour: Gladiators were mainly selected among slaves convicted criminals or prisoners of war. Consequently winning was very important as it would mean fame honour and sometimes even wealth. A lap of honour therefore was the winner’s due reward.

This large-scale three-movement work commissioned by Ray Cramer and the Indiana University Wind Ensemble embodies the transformation of silence into sound. The opening movement is sparse utilizing mallet percussion harp andpiano to create a floating sense of timelessness. Featuring extensive solo flute this floating texture gradually builds over several minutes ultimately launching itself into a grandiose warm harmonically consonant blanket ofsound. The second movement continues the focus on solo flute and again opens slowly gradually gaining momentum but at a faster pace than in the first movement. The music spirals upward and outward but instead of reaching aplateau winds itself out and comes to a grinding halt in the upper range of the ensemble. Five brief solemn chords conclude the movement which immediately erupts into Movement III music of unceasing unsettling motion propelled by a driving ostinato which is repeatedly interrupted by bittersweet moments of lyricism all the while pushing toward an unforgiving climax. The movements may also be performed separately. There is no explicit narrativeto the piece though many particular elements do have personal quasi-biographical significance. Ultimately this is music of both personal and musical transformation.NOTE: This work is available as a rental item directlyfrom the composer. For details e-mail rental@stevenbryant.com. The score is also available separately for purchase from Hal Leonard.

This major concert work cosists o five movements.1st movement: La Laguna del ShimbeSituated high up in the Andes mountains in Northern Peru are the Huaringas a group of lagoons in isolated and mysterious surroundings. The water has healing powersand for centuries traditional healers have settled there in small villages. From far the sick come to the Huaringas to be treated in nightly rituals in which the hallucinating juice of the San Pedro cactus gives the prophet a look inside hispatient. The biggest lagoon is the ?Laguna del Shimbe? one of the countless wells of the immense Amazon stream.2nd movement: Los AguarunasFurther downstream in Northern Peru we come across the rain tribe of Los Aguarunas. It?s a proud beautiful andindependent race which has never succumbed to domination not even from the Incas. They live from everything the forest has to offer: fish fruit plants ... . They also grow some crops and live as semi-nomads. They take their fate into their ownhands and after having made contact with modern civilisation they have integrated new elements into their lives without betraying their own ways.3rd movement: MekaronMekaron is an Indian word meaning ?picture? ?soul? ?essence?. The Indians are theorigina inhabitants of the Amazon region. They either live in one place as a group or move around a large region. They all have their own political system their own language and an intense social life. At the same time they are master of music andmedicine. ?Everywhere the white man goes he leaves a wilderness behind him? wrote the North American Indian leader Seatl in 1885. As a result of these contacts with the whites the disruption of most Indian societies began. (In this century alone 80 tribes have vanished completely).4th movement: KêêtuajêThis is the name of the initiating ceremony of the Krahô tribe in the Brazilian state of Goias in which young boys and girls enter adult life. They are cleansed with water painted with redpaint and covered with feathers after which the ritual dance holds the entire tribe spell-bound.5th movement: Paulino FaiakanIn 1988 the Indian chiefs Faiakan and Raoni Kaiapo came to Europe to protest against the building of the Altamira dam inBrazil. As a result of the dam the Indians would be driven from their traditional land and enormous artificial would be created. The project was supported financially by amongst others the European Community. In February 1989 the Indian tribesaround Altamira held a protest march for the first time in their history together. Amongst other things they paid tribute tot Chico Mendez who murdered in 1988 was the leader of the rubber syndicate and a fierce opponent of the destruction of theBrazilian rain forest. Brazilian and world opinion was awakened. The building of the dam was -albeit temporarily - stopped.

« N?écoutez les conseils de personne sinon du vent qui passe et nous raconte l?histoire du monde. » Claude Debussy / Depuis la nuit des temps le vent a toujours occupé une place importante dans les civilisations. Dieu vénéré ou égérie des poètes force motrice ou messager aérien il emprunte toutes les formes selon les peuples ou les époques. Les chemins du vent sont ceux qui ne sont pas tracés d?avance ; ils nous racontent mille histoires venues d?ailleurs. Les murmures du vent sont les sentiers diaphanes de l?âme les couleurs de l?éphémère la poésie des sons. Avec Claude Debussy la musique écoutait les voix de la nature et l'imagination retrouvait auprès d'elleses droits primitifs. Chaque instrument semblait fait d?impressions et de suggestions. La partition cessait d'être développement pour devenir enveloppement. C?est cette sensibilité toute française que Debussy contribua à façonner que nous retrouvons dans Whispering Wind (?Les Murmures du Vent?) de Maxime Aulio. Des climats en suspens des traits vaporeux des couleurs lumineuses. Le vent caresse la toile suggère évoque seulement mais avec une éblouissante précision. Le vent est une parole nomade qui voyage dans notre intérieur très longtemps.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Par BRUCKNER ANTON / DOSS THOMAS (Arr.). Anton Bruckner (b. 4.9.1824, Ansfelden, d. 11.10.1896, Vienna) didn?t have it easy. Throughout his life, the Austrian composer was plagued by self-doubt. Anton Bruckner came from a simple, rural background. After the death of his father, he was accepted as a choirboy at the monastery of Sankt Florian in 1837. After several years as a school assistant and his own organ and piano studies, he first worked as organist in St. Florian, then from 1855 as cathedral organist in Linz. Introduced to music theory and instrumentation by Simon Sechter and Otto Kitzler, he discovered Richard Wagner as an artistic role model, whom he admired throughout his life and also visited several times in Bayreuth. In 1868 Anton Bruckner became professor of basso continuo, counterpoint and organ at the Vienna Conservatory; ten years later court organist; and in 1891 finally honorary doctor of the University of Vienna. He was considered an important organ virtuoso of his era, but had to wait a long time for recognition as a composer. It was not until Symphony No.7 in E major, composed between 1881 and 1883, with the famous Adagio written under the effects of Wagner's death, that he achieved the recognition he had hoped for, even if he was reluctant to accept it given his inclination towards scepticism and self-criticism. Anton Bruckner was a loner who did not want to follow a particular school or doctrine. He composed numerous sacred vocal works, such as his three masses, the Missa Solemnis in B flat minor (1854), the Te Deum (1881-84) and numerous motets. As a symphonic composer, he wrote a total of nine symphonies and many symphonic studies from 1863 onwards, tending to revise completed versions several times over. Bruckner's orchestral works were long considered unplayable, but in fact were merely exceptionally bold for the tonal language of their time, uniting traditions from Beethoven through Wagner to folk music, on the threshold between late Romanticism and Modernism. Anton Bruckner composed about 40 motets during his lifetime, the earliest a setting of Pange lingua around 1835, and the last, Vexilla regis, in 1892. Thomas Doss has compiled some of these motets in this volume for symphonic wind orchestra. These motets show many characteristics of personal expression, especially Bruckner's colourful harmony in the earlier works, which is in places aligned with Franz Schubert (changes between major and minor; and movements in thirds). Later works are characterised by many components which, in addition to the expanded stature of the movements, include above all a sense of the instrumentation as an outward phenomenon and the harmony as a compositional feature that works more internally. Some aspects of Bruckner's work are the result of his long period of study, which familiarised him not only with the tradition of his craft, but also gave him insights into the 'modernity' of his time in such composers as Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. From this developed his personal standpoint, which always pursues the connection between the old and the new. / Date parution : 2023-08-12/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

« Jolly Roger » est le nom donné au célèbre et terrifiant pavillon pirate à tête de mort. Hissé peu avant l?abordage pour intimider l?équipage du bateau convoité il lui intimait l?ordre de se rendre sans résistance. Le pavillon noir est devenu un symbole de la piraterie cruelle mais aussi pleine d?aventures romantiques. Jolly Roger d?Armin Kofler raconte l?histoire d?un bateau pirate voguant en haute mer. L?ouverture est sereine ; la mer est calme. Mais le calme est trompeur c?est le calme avant la tempête. Le climat change la musique se fait plus sinistre. Le pavillon noir est hissé. Le bateau toutes voiles dehors file sur la mer quand soudain les piratesrepèrent une proie. Commence alors une poursuite dramatique chaotique et pleine de rebondissements. Après un passage puissant la musique dessine la fin du combat. Le « thème du pavillon noir » réapparaît et trouve sa conclusion dans un accord Majeur qui modifie complètement le décor : la menace pirate s?est enfin éloignée. La musique se focalise sur la fin heureuse de l?équipage du bateau abordé. On ressent un soulagement un signal d?apaisement. Les débuts sont hésitants fragiles ; le doute s?efface progressivement. Les marins finissent par comprendre que le danger est définitivement écarté. La ligne mélodique serpente vers le finale de l?œuvre dans lequel le thème principal légèrement modifié se présente sous une forme majestueuse.

Le Rubicon est un fleuve du nord de l?Italie franchi par Jules C?sar et son arm?e (en 49 avant J?sus-Christ) contre la volont? des dirigeants de Rome qui craignaient sa puissance. S?en est suivie une guerre civile contre son rival Pomp?e ? l?issue de laquelle C?sar s?est empar? du pouvoir et a r?gn? en souverain absolu sur Rome. ? Franchir le Rubicon ? est devenu une expression signifiant que l?on franchit une ?tape dangereuse d?cisive et irr?versible.L??uvre se compose de trois parties d?crivant les principaux moments de l?histoire. La premi?re partie (? Meditation ?) symbolise le moment o? C?sar invoque l?aide des Dieux pour op?rer ce choix difficile. Uneintroduction lente fait entendre les sons m?lancoliques et implorants du duduk (saxo soprano optionnel) et du solo soprano au-dessus d?un accompagnement de bourdon. Apr?s cela le solo soprano chante ? dona tibi pacem ? (donnez-leur la paix) sur un th?me m?lodieux et interrogatif.Dans la deuxi?me partie des trompettes et des trombones r?sonnent en alternance en une solennelle fanfare romaine avec des effets de double ch?ur. Cela se termine par un th?me martial o? l?impressionnante arm?e de C?sar part en guerre contre celle de son rival Pomp?e (? Battle of Pharsalus ?). Tandis que le th?me de l?arm?e de C?sar s?att?nue le th?me de Pomp?e point comme une danse na?ve dans une mesure 6/8. Son arm?e est en majorit? lourde et pense pouvoir surclasser l?ennemi. Soudain les trompettes et les trombones se font toutefois entendre des deux c?t?s de l?orchestre : l?arm?e de C?sar progresse et attaque. S?ensuit une violente confrontation dans laquelle les deux th?mes sont jou?s en alternance et se m?langent. Gr?ce ? son astucieuse tactique guerri?re C?sar parvient encore ? gagner cette bataille l?gendaire : son th?me r?sonne de plus en plus fort dans les trompettes et les cors jusqu?? s??teindre et ? devenir une sorte de r?conciliation des soldats des deux arm?es. Le m?lancolique ? dona tibi pacem ? de la premi?re partie fait maintenant office de th?me

A collection of Broadway songs arranged to be played by either full band or by individual soloists with optional accompaniment CD or tape. Each arrangement is correlated with a specific page in the Essential Elements Band Method Books. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cabaret Circle of Life Don't Cry for Me Argentina Edelweiss Get Me to the Church on Time Go Go Go Joseph I Dreamed a Dream Memory The Phantom of the Opera and Seventy Six Trombones.

A collection of Broadway songs arranged to be played by either full band or by individual soloists with optional accompaniment CD or tape. Each arrangement is correlated with a specific page in the Essential Elements Band Method Books. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cabaret Circle of Life Don't Cry for Me Argentina Edelweiss Get Me to the Church on Time Go Go Go Joseph I Dreamed a Dream Memory The Phantom of the Opera and Seventy Six Trombones.

A collection of Broadway songs arranged to be played by either full band or by individual soloists with optional accompaniment CD or tape. Each arrangement is correlated with a specific page in the Essential Elements Band Method Books. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cabaret Circle of Life Don't Cry for Me Argentina Edelweiss Get Me to the Church on Time Go Go Go Joseph I Dreamed a Dream Memory The Phantom of the Opera and Seventy Six Trombones.

A collection of Broadway songs arranged to be played by either full band or by individual soloists with optional accompaniment CD or tape. Each arrangement is correlated with a specific page in the Essential Elements Band Method Books. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cabaret Circle of Life Don't Cry for Me Argentina Edelweiss Get Me to the Church on Time Go Go Go Joseph I Dreamed a Dream Memory The Phantom of the Opera and Seventy Six Trombones.

Le flash-back est un phénomène psychologique. Des événements du passé imprimés dans la mémoire à long terme resurgissent comme une réponse inconsciente et soudaine à un stimulus lié à une expérience antérieure.Cette œuvre a été composée à l?occasion du cinquantième anniversaire de l?Orchestre de Fanfare National des Jeunes des Pays-Bas une formation talentueuse dont Jan de Haan fut lui-même membre au cours des années 1960. Jeune musicien il éprouvait un profond respect pour le chef d?alors Piebe Bakker (1929-2002) un homme passionné avec un style de direction très stimulant. En revenant sur cette période quarante ans après Jan de Haan a revécu lesnombreuses interprétations de la pièce Deep Harmony. La mélodie scintillante - extraite d?un cantique anglais - lui est alors apparue comme un flash-back et c?est comme un éclair mental qu?il a choisi de lui redonner vie dans le passage final de cette œuvre.

A collection of Broadway songs arranged to be played by either full band or by individual soloists with optional accompaniment CD or tape. Each arrangement is correlated with a specific page in the Essential Elements Band Method Books. Includes: Beauty and the Beast Cabaret Circle of Life Don't Cry for Me Argentina Edelweiss Get Me to the Church on Time Go Go Go Joseph I Dreamed a Dream Memory The Phantom of the Opera and Seventy Six Trombones.