Composed by Bernd Franke.
Full Scores. Edition
Peters. Score. 52 pages.
Duration 00:20:00.
Edition Peters
#98-EP14445. Published by
Edition Peters
(PE.EP14445).
ISBN
9790014135041. 297 x 420
mm inches.
German.
ARKA
stammt aus dem
Sanskrit und bedeutet so
viel wie Strahl, Blitz,
Sonne, Licht, aber auch
Lied, Feuer und Hymnus,
und entwickelt in meiner
Vorstellung sehr viele
unterschiedliche
Assoziationsfelder. In
ARKA stecken
auch die Worter arc
(beten) und ka (Wasser),
und es kann auch
ubersetzt werden mit:
,,Das Wasser stromt aus
dem heraus, der mehr
weiss.
Mein neues
Werk fur Pipa, Oboe,
Pauke, Schlagzeug und
Orchester entstand im
Auftrag der
Kammerakademie Neuss und
auf Anregung des Oboisten
Christian Wetzel. Es
entstanden drei Rituale
mit zum Teil szenischen
Elementen fur die
Solisten und das
Orchester.
Inspirationsquelle in
der Vorbeschaftigung
waren zwei Quellen und
Bucher. Das Daodejing von
Laozi in der
hervorragenden
Neuubersetzung von Viktor
Kalinke, eine der
wichtigsten Quellen
chinesischen Denkens und
der Philosophie dieser
grossen Kulturtradition
und die chinesische
Tradition der
5-Elementelehre und der
Wandlungsphasen. Als
zweites Buch hat mich
,,Die Glut von Roberto
Calasso inspiriert, ein
Buch uber die indischen
Veden in Verbindung mit
den Ursprungen des
Buddhismus und den damit
verbunden Ritualen.
In den letzten 20
Jahren habe ich mich
intensiv mit
ostasiatischer Musik,
Kunst und Philosophie
beschaftigt und habe das
auch durch langere
Studienreisen und
kompositorische Projekte
vertiefen konnen. U.a.
wurde 2012 mein Chorwerk
PRAN in Kolkata in Indien
uraufgefuhrt
(Goethe-Institut),
ebenfalls 2012 ,,in
between VI fur Sho und
Sheng in Tokyo und 2013
,,Mirror and Circle fur
Pipa, Cello und
chinesisches Orchester in
Taipeh/Taiwan
(Auftragswerk der
taiwanesischen
Regierung). Mit der
chinesischen
Pipa-Virtuosin Ya Dong
arbeite ich seit 2000
zusammen und habe fur sie
mehrfach komponiert
(Urauffuhrungen u.a. in
Hannover/EXPO 2000,
Rottweil 2001, Taipeh
2013, Magdeburg 2016).
Auch mit Christian Wetzel
arbeite ich seit uber 20
Jahren zusammen und habe
ebenfalls haufig fur ihn
komponiert (UA u.a. in
Bonn 1999, Hannover/EXPO
2000, Rottweil 2001,
Darmstadt 2004 und
etliche weitere
Projekte).
Jedes
dieser drei Rituale hat
eine Lange von ca. 6-7
Minuten und stellt
unterschiedliche
Qualitaten und
Besonderheiten der beiden
Soloinstrumente heraus,
immer in Verbindung mit
der Interaktion zwischen
Soli und Orchester. Die
Besetzung war fur mich
ausserst reizvoll, da
beide Instrumente in
dieser Kombination noch
nie so erklungen sind.
Die Pipa ist ein ungemein
modernes und
ungewohnliches
Instrument, reich an
Farben und vor allem an
perkussiven Effekten. Das
Tonmaterial wurde zum
grossten Teil aus den
Namen der beiden Solisten
gewonnen und ergibt
interessanter zwei
gespiegelte
Viertonmotive. In der
asiatischen Kultur
spielen der Spiegel und
der Kreis eine wichtige
Rolle, und so werden die
Tone, Rhythmen und Formen
eingewoben in diese drei
Rituale, welche am Ende
des dritten Satzes wieder
kreisformig an den Anfang
des ersten Rituals
anknupfen. Ein von den
Streichern und der Pauke
erzeugtes Gerausch,
verbunden mit dem
Rhythmus der grossen
Trommel, welcher einen
Herzschlag symbolisieren
soll. Die drei Untertitel
der Rituale Himmel, Erde
und (atmospharischer)
Raum spielen im vedischen
und chinesischen Denken
eine grosse Rolle und war
fur mich beim Komponieren
ebenfalls eine sehr
starke
Inspirationsquelle. In
vielen meiner
Kompositionen gibt es
Raumeffekte, Annaherungen
an das Publikum, das
Verschieben von
Perspektiven, die
Dekonstruktion und das
Hinterfragen der ublichen
Konzertsituation, so u.a
in meinem Beuys-Zyklus
oder in den Zyklen ,,CUT
und ,,in between.
In ARKA geht
es mir besonders um die
Interaktion zwischen
westlichem und ostlichem
Denken, um das
gegenseitige Durchdringen
dieser auf den ersten
Blick so
unterschiedlichen Denk-
und Lebensweisen, um eine
Verschmelzung scheinbarer
Gegensatze - um
Annaherung!
Bernd
Franke. Leipzig,
11.10.2019
W01476|C|Y
0.0000 Sheet Music
_x000D_ 9780193556799 Y
23.50 X556799 357665
9780193556799 MISC C 1
432 8030 0.00 Oxford Solo
Songs: Christmas 14 songs
with piano PAPER 14
9780193556799 A-B CAROLS
CHRISTMAS MISC
MISCELLANEOUS OXFORD
PIANO SOLO SONGS SONGS:
VOICE WITH AB 00:00:0 Low
voice & piano Low voice
book + downloadable
backing tracks 311x232 72
NEW NONE 29/07/2021 P
355580 9780193556799
Young: A babe is
born
Rutter:
Angels' Carol
McDowall: Before the
paling of the stars
Rutter:
Candlelight Carol
Rutter: I sing
of a maiden
Chilcott: Mid-winter
Todd: My Lord
has Come
Bullard: Scots Nativity
Quartel: Snow
Angel
Todd:
Softly
Chilcott: Sweet was the
song
Chilcott:
The Shepherd's Carol
Quartel: This
endris night
McGlade: What child is
this?
for
low voice and piano
This beautiful
collection of 14 songs
for low voice offers
Christmas settings by
some of Oxford's
best-loved composers.
Suitable for solo singers
and unison choirs alike,
each song is presented
with piano accompaniment,
and high-quality,
downloadable backing
tracks are included on a
companion website. With a
wonderful selection of
pieces, including
favourites such as Bob
Chilcott's 'The
Shepherd's Carol' and
John Rutter's
'Candlelight Carol', this
is the perfect collection
for use in carol services
and Christmas concerts or
for enjoying at home.
Also available in a
volume for high voice and
piano.
14
songs for solo
voice
Well-loved
composers, including John
Rutter and Bob
Chilcott
Wide
selection of Christmas
texts
Accessible
accompaniments
Includes backing tracks
downloadable from a
Companion
Website
Available in volumes for
high and low
voice
MISC|AU|Y
0.0000 Paperback _x000D_
EP73308R Y 0.00 73308R
P73308R 1 ORCHA 8000 0.00
Hover A (LARGE) BEAMISH
EP73308R GP:ORCHESTRAL
HOVER ONLY RENTAL SALLY
WORKS NONE ORCHA P 303000
EP73308R 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP14437A Y
22.95 14437A P14437A
FRANKE, BERND C
9790014137199 52A1 8000
0.00 AGNI A 9790014137199
AGNI BASS BERND CLARINET
EP14437A FRANKE
PHOTOPRINTS W01476
English / German 00:12:0
Instrumental Score 232 x
303 mm Bass clarinet 20
DETNT NEW PR43 23/04/2021
P 303006
AGNI is the
Hindu god of fire; the
elemental and
transformative force
inherent in
everything:
Every
flame, every fire, every
light, every warmth is
AGNI.
AGNI is
omnipresent, establishing
everything and ending
everything.
AGNI is
often depicted with seven
tongues which represent
different aspects of his
being.
These
include: creating,
sustaining, cleansing,
purifying, priestly,
martial, devastating,
destructive, and
consuming.
Derived
from Franke's concerto of
the same name, this solo
work for bass clarinet
compositionally traces
the transformative
processes initiated by
the divine fire. The solo
takes seven pieces from
the concerto, presenting
vivid character pieces
exploring the creative
possibilities and wide
tonal range offered by
the bass
clarinet.
This
version of AGNI
for bass clarinet solo
was premiered on 4
December 2020 in Leipzig
by Volker Hemken, the
principal bass
clarinetist of the
Gewandhausorchester
Leipzig. EP14437a
convinces with its
excellent and clear
notation, making the
piece a new standard for
bass clarinet.
W01476|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP68686 Y
165.00 68686 P68686 LEWIS
C 9790300761299 97 8000
0.00 Ikons A
9790300761299
CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
EP68686 GEORGE IKONS
LEWIS PHOTOPRINTS SMALL
W06652 English 00:14:0
Conductor Score & Parts
303 x 232 mm Fl (A-fl in
F).Cl.Bsn
(Cbsn).Tbn.Perc.Vln.Vlc.C
b 132 NEW PR43 USTNT
21/04/2021 P 303006
Ikons,
commissioned by the
Vancouver Cultural
Olympiad 2010, exists in
two forms. This 14-minute
acoustic version,
premiered by the Turning
Point Ensemble, calls for
an octet of live
musicians to execute
complex rhythms and
quarter-tone
harmonies.
The
interactive, electronic
version, created with
visual artist Eric
Metcalfe and designed to
be presented separately,
incorporates samples from
this acoustic version
into a sculptural
environment of seven
pyramidal structures that
respond sonically to the
viewer.
W06652|C|Y
0.0000 Sheet Music
_x000D_ EP73531 Y 31.95
73531 P73531 PANUFNIK,
ROXANNA C 9790577020976
61 8000 0.00 Sonnets
without Words A
9790577020976 EP73531
HORN PANUFNIK PHOTOPRINTS
PIANO ROXANNA SHAKESPEARE
SONNETS W03578 WILLIAM
WITHOUT WORDS English
Score & Instrumental
Parts 232 x 303 mm Horn
and piano 28 NEW PR43
UKTNT 21/04/2021 P 303006
Roxanna Panufnik's
Sonnets without
Words is a
contemporary piece for
Horn in F and piano.
Written for horn player
Ben Goldscheider,
Panufnik has reimagined
the lyrical vocal lines
from three of her
previous settings of
Shakespeare's sonnets
(Mine eye, Music to
hear and Sweet
Love Remember'd for
voice and piano) into a
purely instrumental
work.
Score and
horn
part.
Contempo
rary work for Horn in F
and
piano
Settings of
Sheakespeare's Sonnets 8,
24 & 29 in instrumental
form
W03578|C|Y
W06737|LY|N 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP73571 Y
15.95 73571 P73571
MCNEFF, STEPHEN C
9790577021317 20 8000
0.00 Trig for Solo Cello
A 9790577021317 (SOLO)
CELLO EP73571 MCNEFF
PHOTOPRINTS SOLO STEPHEN
TRIG W03150 English
00:07:0 Instrumental
Score 232 x 303 mm Solo
Violoncello 8 NEW PR43
UKTNT 21/04/2021 P 303006
Stephen McNeff's
Trig is a short
7-minute contemporary
work for solo cello,
written to celebrate the
bicentennial of the Royal
Academy of Music in 2022
and in memorium cellist
Mike Edwards
1948-2010.
Trig
was premiered by
Henry Hargreaves on 19
March 2021, livestreamed
from the Royal Academy of
Music.
Contemp
orary piece for solo
cello
Written for
the Royal Academy of
Music's
bicentennial
W03150|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP14528 Y
34.95 14528 P14528
SAUNDERS, REBECCA C
9790014136796 3 8000 0.00
to an utterance - study A
9790014136796 (SOLO) AN
EP14528 PHOTOPRINTS PIANO
REBECCA SAUNDERS STUDY TO
UTTERANCE W04191 English
Instrumental Score 420 x
297 mm Piano Solo 16
DETNT NEW PR43 21/04/2021
P 303006
to an
utterance - study
was commissioned by
Klangforum Wien for the
premiere commercial audio
recording on a portrait
CD in 2020 and first
performed by Joonas
Ahonen at the Berlin
Philharmonie on 4th
September 2020 at the
Musikfest Berlin.
W04191|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP71880 Y
75.00 71880 P71880
PANUFNIK, ROXANNA C
9790577008332 82 8000
0.00 Spirit Moves for
Brass Quintet A
9790577008332 BRASS
ENSEMBLE EP71880 MOVES
PANUFNIK PHOTOPRINTS
QUINTET ROXANNA SPIRIT
W03578 English 00:15:0
Score & Instrumental
Parts 232 x 303 mm
Trumpet 1 in B flat
(doubling Piccolo
Trumpet), Trumpet 2 in B
flat (doubling Flugel
Horn), Horn in F,
Trombone, Tuba 84 NEW
PR43 UKTNT 21/04/2021 P
303006
Roxanna
Panufnik's Spirit
Moves, for brass
quintet, was commissioned
by the Fine Arts Brass
Ensemble. This 15-minute
piece is scored for two
trumpets in Bb (one
doubling piccolo trumpet
and the other doubling
flugel horn), horn in F,
trombone and tuba. This
brass quintet is so
called because the outer
movements are highly
spirited and the
central one is
spiritual.
This product consists of
score and parts.
W03578|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP73585 Y
4.00 73585 P73585 369282
WILLIAMS, RODERICK C
9790577021591 1 151 8000
0.00 Eriskay Love Lilt A
9790577021591 (SECULAR)
CHORAL EP73585 ERISKAY
HALSTAN-USA LILT LOVE
RODERICK TRADITIONAL
W05152 WILLIAMS WORKS
English 00:03:0 190 x 272
mm SATB (divisi) and
piano 16 NEW PR30 UKTNT
20/05/2021 P 377788
A
gently flowing 3-minute
arrangement by Roderick
Williams for SATB (with
divisi) with piano
accompaniment that
captures the beauty of
this famous traditional
Hebridean love song. The
song text uses both old
dialect and English, each
verse ending with the
words, 'Sad am I without
thee'.
Commiss
ioned by The Sixteen
choir and recorded on
their 2021 album
'Goodnight
Beloved'
Roderick
Williams is a
composer/arranger and
also a world-renowned
baritone
The
arrangement is described
by Williams as 'having a
little nod to Ravel and
Grieg'
W05152|C|Y W04819|LY|N
0.0000 Sheet Music
_x000D_ 9780193556782 Y
23.50 X556782 357665
9780193556782 MISC C 1
432 8030 0.00 Oxford Solo
Songs: Christmas 14 songs
with piano PAPER 14
9780193556782 A-B CAROLS
CHRISTMAS MISC
MISCELLANEOUS OXFORD
PIANO SOLO SONGS SONGS:
VOICE WITH AB 00:00:0
High voice & piano High
voice book + downloadable
backing tracks 311x232 72
NEW NONE 29/07/2021 P
355580 9780193556782
Young: A babe is
born
Rutter:
Angels' Carol
McDowall: Before the
paling of the stars
Rutter:
Candlelight Carol
Rutter: I sing
of a maiden
Chilcott: Mid-winter
Todd: My Lord
has Come
Bullard: Scots Nativity
Quartel: Snow
Angel
Todd:
Softly
Chilcott: Sweet was the
song
Chilcott:
The Shepherd's Carol
Quartel: This
endris night
McGlade: What child is
this?
for
high voice and piano
This beautiful
collection of 14 songs
for high voice offers
Christmas settings by
some of Oxford's
best-loved composers.
Suitable for solo singers
and unison choirs alike,
each song is presented
with piano accompaniment,
and high-quality,
downloadable backing
tracks are included on a
companion website. With a
wonderful selection of
pieces, including
favourites such as Bob
Chilcott's 'The
Shepherd's Carol' and
John Rutter's
'Candlelight Carol', this
is the perfect collection
for use in carol services
and Christmas concerts or
for enjoying at home.
Also available in a
volume for low voice and
piano.
14
songs for solo high
voice
Well-loved
composers, including John
Rutter and Bob
Chilcott
Wide
selection of sacred and
secular Christmas
texts
Accessible
accompaniments
Includes backing tracks
downloadable from a
Companion
Website
Available in volumes for
high and low solo
voice
MISC|AU|Y
0.0000 Paperback _x000D_
9780193559066 Y 4.25
X559066 357665
9780193559066 YOUNG C 1
444 8030 0.00 O splendour
of God's glory bright
PAPER 9780193559066
BRIGHT CHORAL GLORY GOD'S
MIXED OF OXFORD SACRED
SPLENDOUR TOBY VOICES
W06576 YOUNG C 00:03:30
SATB & organ Vocal score
254x178 SATB 20 NONE P
355580 9780193559066
for SATB and organ
This energetic
setting of words by St
Ambrose of Milan is a
real showstopper. With
pop-influences and a
sparkling organ part,
Young effortlessly fuses
modern and traditional
sound worlds, while
changes in key and metre
build up to an
invigorating finish.
Perfect for accomplished
choirs looking for
something different.
W06576|C|Y 0.0000
Paperback _x000D_
9780193554399 Y 2.60
X554399 357665
9780193554399 LASSUS,
ORLANDO DE C 1 445 8030
0.00 Oculus non vidit
PAPER 9780193554399
CHORAL DE KEANE LASSUS
MARK NON OCULUS ORLANDO
OXFORD SACRED UPPER VIDIT
VOICES W02750 B 00:01:30
SA unaccompanied Vocal
score 254x178 Upper
Voices - 3 parts or more
4 NONE 10/06/2021 P
355580 9780193554399
for SA unaccompanied
This simple, charming
two-part motet features
long melismatic phrases
that reflect the text (1
Corinthians 2: 9), such
as the rising melodic
line over three bars on
the word 'ascended'
(ascendit).
W02750|C|Y
W06960|E|N 0.0000
Paperback _x000D_
9780193954298 Y 3.35
X954298 357665
9780193954298 TALLIS,
THOMAS C 1 448 8030 0.00
Honor, virtus et potestas
PAPER 9780193954298
CANTICLES DUNKLEY ET
HONOR OXFORD POTESTAS
SALLY SERVICES TALLIS
THOMAS VIRTUS W04705 C
00:06:0 SAATB
unaccompanied Vocal score
MSER00020 SATB 12 NONE
28/05/2021 P 355580
9780193954298
for
SAATB unaccompanied.
This glorious musical
depiction of the honour,
strength, power and
authority of the Holy
Trinity by Thomas Tallis
is the third issue in the
CMS's series of great
English Responds from the
16th century, edited by
Sally Dunkley. Scored for
SAATB, it can be
performed either as a
motet or as a full
Responsory with plainsong
alternating with
polyphony.
W04705|C|Y
W01184|E|N 0.0000
Paperback _x000D_ EP73527
Y 6.95 73527 P73527
BEAMISH, SALLY C
9790577020891 50 8000
0.00 The Parting Glass A
9790577020891 (SOLO)
BEAMISH CLARINET EP73527
GLASS PARTING PHOTOPRINTS
SALLY W00306 English
Score 232 x 303 mm
Clarinet 4 NEW PR43 UKTNT
12/12/2020 P 303006
Based on a traditional
Scottish/Irish 'farewell'
song, this short piece is
one of six works written
to express my love of
Scotland. After living
there for nearly half my
life, and raising a
family, I moved back to
England in 2018, and
remarried in 2019.
Of course, there were
many different emotions
attached to the move
south: especially the joy
and excitement of new
beginnings, and
reconnection with friends
from my youth.
But this piece
expresses the wrench I
experienced after a last
family meal in Glasgow,
and the realisation of
all I was about to leave
behind.
I have
taken the melody of the
original song, and
expanded it, exploring
the detail of its
patterns, so that it
becomes a timeless
meditation.
The
six pieces in the
'farewell' series are for
6 violas, string quintet,
string quartet, trio,
violin and clarinet duo,
and solo clarinet.
The Parting Glass
was composed in 2020
during the coronavirus
lockdown, which
intensified the feeling
of separation from my
Scottish family, as well
as from other musicians.
It was
commissioned by Vittorio
Ceccanti for the
ContempoArtEnsemble.
W00306|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP73516 Y
6.95 73516 P73516
BEAMISH, SALLY C
9790577020747 20 8000
0.00 Maple A
9790577020747 (SOLO)
BEAMISH CELLO EP73516
MAPLE PHOTOPRINTS SALLY
W00306 English 00:06:0
Score 232 x 303 mm
Contemporary cello solo 8
NEW PR43 UKTNT 12/12/2020
P 303006 Seed; Spinning
Seed; Roots, shoots;
Leaves ; Flowers; Tree ;
Autumn ; Cello
Maple arose
from a commission to
write a work for solo
cello, to be performed
alongside readings from
artist John Newling's
collection of letters
entitled 'Dear Nature'; a
poetic manifestation of
our relationship with the
natural world.
The
piece is in eight short
sections, to be
interspersed with
readings of groups of the
poems. It may also be
performed as a single
movement. It begins with
a seed - the seed of a
maple tree, as it hangs
on the mature tree, ready
to drop. The seeds are
like propellers,
sometimes travelling more
than a mile before
landing on the ground.
Maple follows
the growth of the tree to
maturity - which in
reality would take at
least a hundred years.
'Roots, shoots' grows
downwards and upwards
from a pedal note, and
the dance-like 'Flowers'
is followed by the
stately 'Tree', and then
the warm, cascading
'Autumn'. Maple is very
often the wood of choice
for the back of a
stringed instrument, and
the last section uses
open strings to explore
the full resonance of the
cello.
The piece
starts with a 'seed' of
only five notes, which
grows into different
configurations. It is
intended to be played in
an improvisatory
style.
Maple was
co-commissioned by
Brighton Festival, Ars et
Terra Festival with SACEM
and Ditchling Arts and
Crafts Museum, to be
performed by Margarita
Balanas as part of the
Brighton Festival's 'Dear
Nature' project.
W00306|C|Y 0.0000 Sheet
Music _x000D_ EP73508 Y
39.95 73508 P73508
DILLON, JAMES C
9790577020648 3 8000 0.00
echo the angelus A
9790577020648 (SOLO)
ANGELUS DILLON ECHO
EP73508 JAMES PHOTOPRINTS
PIANO W01097 English
00:25:0 Score 232 x 303
mm Piano Solo 44 NEW PR43
UKTNT 12/01/2021 P 303006
First performed by
Noriko Kawai for
Huddersfield Contemporary
Music Festival, in a
broadcast from the Radio
Theatre, BBC Broadcasting
House, November
2020.
Full of
beautifully crafted,
delicate
tintinnabulations -
Richard Morrison, The
Times
This
product is Printed on
Demand and may take
several weeks to fulfill.
Please order from your
favorite retailer.
Composed by Camille
Saint-Saens. Edited by
Michael Stegemann. This
edition: Edition of
selected works, Urtext
edition. Linen.
Saint-Saens, Camille.
Oevres instrumentales
completes I/3. Edition of
selected works, Score.
Opus 78. Duration 39
minutes. Baerenreiter
Verlag #BA10303_01.
Published by Baerenreiter
Verlag (BA.BA10303-01).
ISBN 9790006559503. 33
x 26 cm inches. Key: C
minor. Preface: Michael
Stegemann.
The
third symphony by Camille
Saint-Saens, known as the
Organ Symphony, is the
first publication in a
complete
historical-critical
edition of the French
composer's instrumental
works.
I gave
everything I was able to
give in this work. [...]
What I have done here I
will never be able to do
again.Camille Saint-Saens
was rightly proud of his
third Symphony in C minor
Op.78, dedicated to the
memory of Franz Liszt.
Called theOrgan
Symphonybecause of its
novel scoring, the work
was a commission from the
Philharmonic Society in
London, as was
Beethoven's Ninth, and
was premiered there on 19
May 1886. The first
performance in Paris
followed on 9 January
1887 and confirmed the
composer's reputation
asprobably the most
significant, and
certainly the most
independent French
symphonistof his time, as
Ludwig Finscher wrote in
MGG. In fact the work
remains the only one in
the history of that genre
in France to the present
day, composed a good half
century after the
Symphonie fantastique by
Hector Berlioz and a good
half century before
Olivier Messiaen's
Turangalila
Symphonie.
You
would think that such a
famous, much-performed
and much recorded opus
could not hold any more
secrets, but far from it:
in the first
historical-critical
edition of the Symphony,
numerous inconsistencies
and mistakes in the
Durand edition in general
use until now, have been
uncovered and corrected.
An examination and
evaluation of the sources
ranged from two early
sketches, now preserved
in Paris and Washington
(in which the Symphony
was still in B minor!)
via the autograph
manuscript and a set of
proofs corrected by
Saint-Saens himself, to
the first and subsequent
editions of the full
score and parts. The
versions for piano duet
(by Leon Roques) and for
two pianos (by the
composer himself) were
also consulted. Further
crucial information was
finally found in his
extensive correspondence,
encompassing thousands of
previously unpublished
letters. The discoveries
made in producing this
edition include the fact
that at its London
premiere, the Symphony
probably looked quite
different from its
present appearance
...
No less
exciting than the work
itself is the history of
its composition and
reception, which are
described in an extensive
foreword. With his
Symphony, Saint-Saens
entered right into the
dispute which divided
French musical life into
pro and contra Wagner in
the 1880s and 1890s. At
the same time, the work
succeeded in preserving
the balance between
tradition and modernism
in masterly fashion, as a
contemporary critic
stated:The C minor
Symphony by Saint-Saens
creates a bridge from the
past into the future,
from immortal richness to
progress, from ideas to
their
implementation.
On
19 March 1886 Saint-Saens
wrote to the London
Philharmonic Society,
which commissioned the
work:
Work on the
symphony is in full
swing. But I warn you, it
will be terrible. Here is
the precise
instrumentation: 3 flutes
/ 2 oboes / 1 cor anglais
/ 2 clarinets / 1 bass
clarinet / 2 bassoons / 1
contrabassoon / 2 natural
horns / [3 trumpets /
Saint-Saens had forgotten
these in his listing.] 2
chromatic horns / 3
trombones / 1 tuba / 3
timpani / organ / 1 piano
duet and the strings, of
course. Fortunately,
there are no harps.
Unfortunately it will be
difficult. I am doing
what I can to mitigate
the
difficulties.
As
in my 4th Concerto [for
piano] and my [1st]
Violin Sonata [in D minor
Op.75] at first glance
there appear to be just
two parts: the first
Allegro and the Adagio,
the Scherzo and the
Finale, each attacca.
This fiendish symphony
has crept up by a
semitone; it did not want
to stay in B minor, and
is now in C
minor.
It would be
a pleasure for me to
conduct this symphony.
Whether it would be a
pleasure for others to
hear it? That is the
question. It is you who
wanted it, I wash my
hands of it. I will bring
the orchestral parts
carefully corrected with
me, and if anyone wants
to give me a nice
rehearsal for the
symphony after the full
rehearsal, everything
will be fine.
When
Saint-Saens hit upon the
idea of adding an organ
and a piano to the usual
orchestral scoring is not
known. The idea of adding
an organ part to a
secular orchestral work
intended for the concert
hall was thoroughly novel
- and not without
controversy. On the other
hand, Franz Liszt, whose
music Saint-Saens'
Symphony is so close to,
had already demonstrated
that the organ could
easily be an orchestral
instrument in his
symphonic poem
Hunnenschlacht (1856/57).
There was also a model
for the piano duet part
which Saint-Saens knew
and may possibly have
used quite consciously as
an exemplar: theFantaisie
sur la Tempetefrom the
lyrical monodrama Lelio,
ou le retour a la Vie op.
14bis (1831) by Berlioz.
The name of the organist
at the premiere ist
unknown, as,
incidentally, was also
the case with many of the
later performances; the
organ part is indeed not
soloistic, but should be
understood as part of the
orchestral
texture.
In fact
the subsequent success of
the symphony seems to
have represented a kind
of breakthrough for the
composer, who was then
over 50 years of age.My
dear composer of a famous
symphony, wrote
Saint-Saens' friend and
pupil Gabriel Faure:You
will never be able to
imagine what a pleasure I
had last Sunday [at the
second performance on 16
January 1887]! And I had
the score and did not
miss a single note of
this Symphony, which will
endure much longer than
we two, even if we were
to join together our two
lifespans!
About
Barenreiter
Urtext
What can I
expect from a Barenreiter
Urtext
edition?<
/p>
MUSICOLOGICA
LLY SOUND - A
reliable musical text
based on all available
sources - A
description of the
sources -
Information on the
genesis and history of
the work - Valuable
notes on performance
practice - Includes
an introduction with
critical commentary
explaining source
discrepancies and
editorial decisions
... AND
PRACTICAL -
Page-turns, fold-out
pages, and cues where you
need them - A
well-presented layout and
a user-friendly
format - Excellent
print quality -
Superior paper and
binding
Piano and orchestra - difficult SKU: HL.49046544 For piano and orchest...(+)
Piano and orchestra -
difficult
SKU:
HL.49046544
For
piano and orchestra.
Composed by Gyorgy
Ligeti. This edition:
Saddle stitching. Sheet
music. Edition Schott.
Softcover. Composed
1985-1988. Duration 24'.
Schott Music #ED23178.
Published by Schott Music
(HL.49046544).
ISBN
9781705122655. UPC:
842819108726.
9.0x12.0x0.224
inches.
I composed
the Piano Concerto in two
stages: the first three
movements during the
years 1985-86, the next
two in 1987, the final
autograph of the last
movement was ready by
January, 1988. The
concerto is dedicated to
the American conductor
Mario di Bonaventura. The
markings of the movements
are the following: 1.
Vivace molto ritmico e
preciso 2. Lento e
deserto 3. Vivace
cantabile 4. Allegro
risoluto 5. Presto
luminoso.The first
performance of the
three-movement Concerto
was on October 23rd, 1986
in Graz. Mario di
Bonaventura conducted
while his brother,
Anthony di Bonaventura,
was the soloist. Two days
later the performance was
repeated in the Vienna
Konzerthaus. After
hearing the work twice, I
came to the conclusion
that the third movement
is not an adequate
finale; my feeling of
form demanded
continuation, a
supplement. That led to
the composing of the next
two movements. The
premiere of the whole
cycle took place on
February 29th, 1988, in
the Vienna Konzerthaus
with the same conductor
and the same pianist. The
orchestra consisted of
the following: flute,
oboe, clarinet, bassoon,
horn, trumpet, tenor
trombone, percussion and
strings. The flautist
also plays the piccoIo,
the clarinetist, the alto
ocarina. The percussion
is made up of diverse
instruments, which one
musician-virtuoso can
play. It is more
practical, however, if
two or three musicians
share the instruments.
Besides traditional
instruments the
percussion part calls
also for two simple wind
instruments: the swanee
whistle and the
harmonica. The string
instrument parts (two
violins, viola, cello and
doubles bass) can be
performed soloistic since
they do not contain
divisi. For balance,
however, the ensemble
playing is recommended,
for example 6-8 first
violins, 6-8 second, 4-6
violas, 4-6 cellos, 3-4
double basses. In the
Piano Concerto I realized
new concepts of harmony
and rhythm. The first
movement is entirely
written in bimetry:
simultaneously 12/8 and
4/4 (8/8). This relates
to the known triplet on a
doule relation and in
itself is nothing new.
Because, however, I
articulate 12 triola and
8 duola pulses, an
entangled, up till now
unheard kind of polymetry
is created. The rhythm is
additionally complicated
because of asymmetric
groupings inside two
speed layers, which means
accents are
asymmetrically
distributed. These
groups, as in the talea
technique, have a fixed,
continuously repeating
rhythmic structures of
varying lengths in speed
layers of 12/8 and 4/4.
This means that the
repeating pattern in the
12/8 level and the
pattern in the 4/4 level
do not coincide and
continuously give a
kaleidoscope of renewing
combinations. In our
perception we quickly
resign from following
particular rhythmical
successions and that what
is going on in time
appears for us as
something static,
resting. This music, if
it is played properly, in
the right tempo and with
the right accents inside
particular layers, after
a certain time 'rises, as
it were, as a plane after
taking off: the rhythmic
action, too complex to be
able to follow in detail,
begins flying. This
diffusion of individual
structures into a
different global
structure is one of my
basic compositional
concepts: from the end of
the fifties, from the
orchestral works
Apparitions and
Atmospheres I
continuously have been
looking for new ways of
resolving this basic
question. The harmony of
the first movement is
based on mixtures, hence
on the parallel leading
of voices. This technique
is used here in a rather
simple form; later in the
fourth movement it will
be considerably
developed. The second
movement (the only slow
one amongst five
movements) also has a
talea type of structure,
it is however much
simpler rhythmically,
because it contains only
one speed layer. The
melody is consisted in
the development of a
rigorous interval mode in
which two minor seconds
and one major second
alternate therefore nine
notes inside an octave.
This mode is transposed
into different degrees
and it also determines
the harmony of the
movement; however, in
closing episode in the
piano part there is a
combination of diatonics
(white keys) and
pentatonics (black keys)
led in brilliant,
sparkling quasimixtures,
while the orchestra
continues to play in the
nine tone mode. In this
movement I used isolated
sounds and extreme
registers (piccolo in a
very low register,
bassoon in a very high
register, canons played
by the swanee whistle,
the alto ocarina and
brass with a harmon-mute'
damper, cutting sound
combinations of the
piccolo, clarinet and
oboe in an extremely high
register, also
alternating of a
whistle-siren and
xylophone). The third
movement also has one
speed layer and because
of this it appears as
simpler than the first,
but actually the rhythm
is very complicated in a
different way here. Above
the uninterrupted, fast
and regular basic pulse,
thanks to the asymmetric
distribution of accents,
different types of
hemiolas and inherent
melodical patterns appear
(the term was coined by
Gerhard Kubik in relation
to central African
music). If this movement
is played with the
adequate speed and with
very clear accentuation,
illusory
rhythmic-melodical
figures appear. These
figures are not played
directly; they do not
appear in the score, but
exist only in our
perception as a result of
co-operation of different
voices. Already earlier I
had experimented with
illusory rhythmics,
namely in Poeme
symphonique for 100
metronomes (1962), in
Continuum for harpsichord
(1968), in Monument for
two pianos (1976), and
especially in the first
and sixth piano etude
Desordre and Automne a
Varsovie (1985). The
third movement of the
Piano Concerto is up to
now the clearest example
of illusory rhythmics and
illusory melody. In
intervallic and chordal
structure this movement
is based on alternation,
and also inter-relation
of various modal and
quasi-equidistant harmony
spaces. The tempered
twelve-part division of
the octave allows for
diatonical and other
modal interval
successions, which are
not equidistant, but are
based on the alternation
of major and minor
seconds in different
groups. The tempered
system also allows for
the use of the
anhemitonic pentatonic
scale (the black keys of
the piano). From
equidistant scales,
therefore interval
formations which are
based on the division of
an octave in equal
distances, the
twelve-tone tempered
system allows only
chromatics (only minor
seconds) and the six-tone
scale (the whole-tone:
only major seconds).
Moreover, the division of
the octave into four
parts only minor thirds)
and three parts (three
major thirds) is
possible. In several
music cultures different
equidistant divisions of
an octave are accepted,
for example, in the
Javanese slendro into
five parts, in Melanesia
into seven parts, popular
also in southeastern
Asia, and apart from
this, in southern Africa.
This does not mean an
exact equidistance: there
is a certain tolerance
for the inaccurateness of
the interval tuning.
These exotic for us,
Europeans, harmony and
melody have attracted me
for several years.
However I did not want to
re-tune the piano
(microtone deviations
appear in the concerto
only in a few places in
the horn and trombone
parts led in natural
tones). After the period
of experimenting, I got
to pseudo- or
quasiequidistant
intervals, which is
neither whole-tone nor
chromatic: in the
twelve-tone system, two
whole-tone scales are
possible, shifted a minor
second apart from each
other. Therefore, I
connect these two scales
(or sound resources), and
for example, places occur
where the melodies and
figurations in the piano
part are created from
both whole tone scales;
in one band one six-tone
sound resource is
utilized, and in the
other hand, the
complementary. In this
way whole-tonality and
chromaticism mutually
reduce themselves: a type
of deformed
equidistancism is formed,
strangely brilliant and
at the same time
slanting; illusory
harmony, indeed being
created inside the
tempered twelve-tone
system, but in sound
quality not belonging to
it anymore. The
appearance of such
slantedequidistant
harmony fields
alternating with modal
fields and based on
chords built on fifths
(mainly in the piano
part), complemented with
mixtures built on fifths
in the orchestra, gives
this movement an
individual, soft-metallic
colour (a metallic sound
resulting from
harmonics). The fourth
movement was meant to be
the central movement of
the Concerto. Its
melodc-rhythmic elements
(embryos or fragments of
motives) in themselves
are simple. The movement
also begins simply, with
a succession of
overlapping of these
elements in the mixture
type structures. Also
here a kaleidoscope is
created, due to a limited
number of these elements
- of these pebbles in the
kaleidoscope - which
continuously return in
augmentations and
diminutions. Step by
step, however, so that in
the beginning we cannot
hear it, a compiled
rhythmic organization of
the talea type gradually
comes into daylight,
based on the simultaneity
of two mutually shifted
to each other speed
layers (also triplet and
duoles, however, with
different asymmetric
structures than in the
first movement). While
longer rests are
gradually filled in with
motive fragments, we
slowly come to the
conclusion that we have
found ourselves inside a
rhythmic-melodical whirl:
without change in tempo,
only through increasing
the density of the
musical events, a
rotation is created in
the stream of successive
and compiled, augmented
and diminished motive
fragments, and increasing
the density suggests
acceleration. Thanks to
the periodical structure
of the composition,
always new but however of
the same (all the motivic
cells are similar to
earlier ones but none of
them are exactly
repeated; the general
structure is therefore
self-similar), an
impression is created of
a gigantic, indissoluble
network. Also, rhythmic
structures at first
hidden gradually begin to
emerge, two independent
speed layers with their
various internal
accentuations. This
great, self-similar whirl
in a very indirect way
relates to musical
associations, which came
to my mind while watching
the graphic projection of
the mathematical sets of
Julia and of Mandelbrot
made with the help of a
computer. I saw these
wonderful pictures of
fractal creations, made
by scientists from Brema,
Peitgen and Richter, for
the first time in 1984.
From that time they have
played a great role in my
musical concepts. This
does not mean, however,
that composing the fourth
movement I used
mathematical methods or
iterative calculus;
indeed, I did use
constructions which,
however, are not based on
mathematical thinking,
but are rather craftman's
constructions (in this
respect, my attitude
towards mathematics is
similar to that of the
graphic artist Maurits
Escher). I am concerned
rather with intuitional,
poetic, synesthetic
correspondence, not on
the scientific, but on
the poetic level of
thinking. The fifth, very
short Presto movement is
harmonically very simple,
but all the more
complicated in its
rhythmic structure: it is
based on the further
development of ''inherent
patterns of the third
movement. The
quasi-equidistance system
dominates harmonically
and melodically in this
movement, as in the
third, alternating with
harmonic fields, which
are based on the division
of the chromatic whole
into diatonics and
anhemitonic pentatonics.
Polyrhythms and harmonic
mixtures reach their
greatest density, and at
the same time this
movement is strikingly
light, enlightened with
very bright colours: at
first it seems chaotic,
but after listening to it
for a few times it is
easy to grasp its
content: many autonomous
but self-similar figures
which crossing
themselves. I present my
artistic credo in the
Piano Concerto: I
demonstrate my
independence from
criteria of the
traditional avantgarde,
as well as the
fashionable
postmodernism. Musical
illusions which I
consider to be also so
important are not a goal
in itself for me, but a
foundation for my
aesthetical attitude. I
prefer musical forms
which have a more
object-like than
processual character.
Music as frozen time, as
an object in imaginary
space evoked by music in
our imagination, as a
creation which really
develops in time, but in
imagination it exists
simultaneously in all its
moments. The spell of
time, the enduring its
passing by, closing it in
a moment of the present
is my main intention as a
composer. (Gyorgy
Ligeti).
Composed
by Chen Yi. Full score.
58 pages. Duration 20
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #116-41963S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.11641963S).
UPC:
680160684472.
The
violin concerto is
commissioned by Friends
of Dresden Music
Foundation for American
soloist Mira Wang and the
New York Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted
by Ivan Fischer. Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimes lyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three note
motive) consists of big
leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minor seventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for the cadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments. The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty. Happy Rain
on a Spring Night by Du
Fu (712-770 in Tang
Dynasty) Happy rain comes
in time, When spring is
in its prime. With night
breeze it will fall, And
quietly moisten all.
Clouds darken wild roads,
Light brightens a little
boat. Saturated at dawn,
With flowers blooming the
town. (English
translation by Chen Yi
from the original poem in
Chinese) The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction on
the structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in Dresden. It's
like the welcome rain on
a quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our new society is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
the expression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it's being
unfolded line by line.
Although the tempo is set
63 quarter notes per
minute throughout (played
vividly, never slow
down), the tension is
being built up from the
quiet background in the
beginning, to the
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures 39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to the rustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokes produced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in Rehearsal C
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a little light
in the boat is shimmering
on the lake... The
breathy sound and key
slaps on the flutes
create a mysterious
atmosphere, in a dialogue
with other instruments.
The cello glissandi
recite the poem in the
tone of Mandarin, echoed
by the string harmonics.
The music in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led by the
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G, the
location of the Golden
Section, according to the
length of the music
without cadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
which stands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short, yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high string
harmonics. On the top,
there is a recall of the
three note motive in the
sound of wonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone meaningfully.
The music is written for
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2
clarinets (in Bb), 2
bassoons, 4 French horns
(in F), 2 trumpets (in
Bb), 3 trombones, tuba,
harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc. 1:
xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and strings.
Duration is about 20
minutes. The violin
concerto is commissioned
by Friends of Dresden
Music Foundation for
American soloist Mira
Wang and the New York
Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted by
Ivan Fischer.Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimeslyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three
notemotive) consists of
big leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minorseventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for thecadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments.The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty.Happy Rain
on a Spring Nightby Du Fu
(712-770 in Tang
Dynasty)Happy rain comes
in time,When spring is in
its prime.With night
breeze it will fall,And
quietly moisten
all.Clouds darken wild
roads,Light brightens a
little boat.Saturated at
dawn,With flowers
blooming the
town.(English translation
by Chen Yi from the
original poem in
Chinese)The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction
onthe structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in
Dresden.It’s like
the welcome rain on a
quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our newsociety is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
theexpression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it’s
being unfolded line by
line.Although the tempo
is set 63 quarter notes
per minute throughout
(played vividly,
neverslow down), the
tension is being built up
from the quiet background
in the beginning, tothe
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to therustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokesproduced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in RehearsalC
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a littlelight in
the boat is shimmering on
the lake... The breathy
sound and key slaps on
theflutes create a
mysterious atmosphere, in
a dialogue with other
instruments. The
celloglissandi recite the
poem in the tone of
Mandarin, echoed by the
string harmonics.
Themusic in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led bythe
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G,the location
of the Golden Section,
according to the length
of the music
withoutcadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
whichstands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short,yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high
stringharmonics. On the
top, there is a recall of
the three note motive in
the sound ofwonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone
meaningfully.The music is
written for 2 flutes, 2
oboes, 2 clarinets (in
Bb), 2 bassoons, 4 French
horns (in F), 2 trumpets
(in Bb), 3 trombones,
tuba, harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc.
1:xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and
strings.Duration is about
20 minutes.
Composed by Chen Yi.
Part. 11 pages. Duration
20 minutes. Theodore
Presser Company
#116-41963SP. Published
by Theodore Presser
Company (PR.11641963SP).
UPC:
680160684496.
The
violin concerto is
commissioned by Friends
of Dresden Music
Foundation for American
soloist Mira Wang and the
New York Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted
by Ivan Fischer. Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimes lyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three note
motive) consists of big
leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minor seventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for the cadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments. The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty. Happy Rain
on a Spring Night by Du
Fu (712-770 in Tang
Dynasty) Happy rain comes
in time, When spring is
in its prime. With night
breeze it will fall, And
quietly moisten all.
Clouds darken wild roads,
Light brightens a little
boat. Saturated at dawn,
With flowers blooming the
town. (English
translation by Chen Yi
from the original poem in
Chinese) The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction on
the structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in Dresden. It's
like the welcome rain on
a quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our new society is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
the expression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it's being
unfolded line by line.
Although the tempo is set
63 quarter notes per
minute throughout (played
vividly, never slow
down), the tension is
being built up from the
quiet background in the
beginning, to the
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures 39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to the rustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokes produced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in Rehearsal C
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a little light
in the boat is shimmering
on the lake... The
breathy sound and key
slaps on the flutes
create a mysterious
atmosphere, in a dialogue
with other instruments.
The cello glissandi
recite the poem in the
tone of Mandarin, echoed
by the string harmonics.
The music in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led by the
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G, the
location of the Golden
Section, according to the
length of the music
without cadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
which stands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short, yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high string
harmonics. On the top,
there is a recall of the
three note motive in the
sound of wonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone meaningfully.
The music is written for
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2
clarinets (in Bb), 2
bassoons, 4 French horns
(in F), 2 trumpets (in
Bb), 3 trombones, tuba,
harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc. 1:
xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and strings.
Duration is about 20
minutes. The violin
concerto is commissioned
by Friends of Dresden
Music Foundation for
American soloist Mira
Wang and the New York
Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted by
Ivan Fischer.Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimeslyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three
notemotive) consists of
big leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minorseventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for thecadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments.The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty.Happy Rain
on a Spring Nightby Du Fu
(712-770 in Tang
Dynasty)Happy rain comes
in time,When spring is in
its prime.With night
breeze it will fall,And
quietly moisten
all.Clouds darken wild
roads,Light brightens a
little boat.Saturated at
dawn,With flowers
blooming the
town.(English translation
by Chen Yi from the
original poem in
Chinese)The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction
onthe structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in
Dresden.It’s like
the welcome rain on a
quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our newsociety is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
theexpression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it’s
being unfolded line by
line.Although the tempo
is set 63 quarter notes
per minute throughout
(played vividly,
neverslow down), the
tension is being built up
from the quiet background
in the beginning, tothe
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to therustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokesproduced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in RehearsalC
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a littlelight in
the boat is shimmering on
the lake... The breathy
sound and key slaps on
theflutes create a
mysterious atmosphere, in
a dialogue with other
instruments. The
celloglissandi recite the
poem in the tone of
Mandarin, echoed by the
string harmonics.
Themusic in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led bythe
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G,the location
of the Golden Section,
according to the length
of the music
withoutcadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
whichstands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short,yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high
stringharmonics. On the
top, there is a recall of
the three note motive in
the sound ofwonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone
meaningfully.The music is
written for 2 flutes, 2
oboes, 2 clarinets (in
Bb), 2 bassoons, 4 French
horns (in F), 2 trumpets
(in Bb), 3 trombones,
tuba, harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc.
1:xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and
strings.Duration is about
20 minutes.
Composed
by Chen Yi. Large Score.
58 pages. Duration 20
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #116-41963L.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.11641963L).
UPC:
680160684489.
The
violin concerto is
commissioned by Friends
of Dresden Music
Foundation for American
soloist Mira Wang and the
New York Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted
by Ivan Fischer. Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimes lyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three note
motive) consists of big
leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minor seventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for the cadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments. The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty. Happy Rain
on a Spring Night by Du
Fu (712-770 in Tang
Dynasty) Happy rain comes
in time, When spring is
in its prime. With night
breeze it will fall, And
quietly moisten all.
Clouds darken wild roads,
Light brightens a little
boat. Saturated at dawn,
With flowers blooming the
town. (English
translation by Chen Yi
from the original poem in
Chinese) The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction on
the structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in Dresden. It's
like the welcome rain on
a quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our new society is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
the expression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it's being
unfolded line by line.
Although the tempo is set
63 quarter notes per
minute throughout (played
vividly, never slow
down), the tension is
being built up from the
quiet background in the
beginning, to the
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures 39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to the rustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokes produced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in Rehearsal C
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a little light
in the boat is shimmering
on the lake... The
breathy sound and key
slaps on the flutes
create a mysterious
atmosphere, in a dialogue
with other instruments.
The cello glissandi
recite the poem in the
tone of Mandarin, echoed
by the string harmonics.
The music in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led by the
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G, the
location of the Golden
Section, according to the
length of the music
without cadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
which stands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short, yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high string
harmonics. On the top,
there is a recall of the
three note motive in the
sound of wonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone meaningfully.
The music is written for
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2
clarinets (in Bb), 2
bassoons, 4 French horns
(in F), 2 trumpets (in
Bb), 3 trombones, tuba,
harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc. 1:
xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and strings.
Duration is about 20
minutes. The violin
concerto is commissioned
by Friends of Dresden
Music Foundation for
American soloist Mira
Wang and the New York
Philharmonic and
Staatskapelle Dresden as
an American commemoration
of the reconstruction of
the Dresden Frauenkirche,
60 years after its
destruction in World War
II by American and
British Forces. The world
premiere is given at the
Semperoper in Dresden,
Germany, on October 9, 10
& 11, 2005, conducted by
Ivan Fischer.Full of
excitement and inner
power, the musical image
is vivid, energetic,
sometimeslyrical and
sometimes dramatic. The
major angular thematic
material (a three
notemotive) consists of
big leaps in interval (a
perfect fourth downward
and then a minorseventh
upward, first introduced
by the violin solo in
measures 27-29). Except
for thecadenzas which
stand at the middle
(Rehearsal E, measure
127) and the two ends of
the piece as a frame, the
virtuosic violin solo
line is always
accompanied by the ever
moving and growing
textures in the
background. The rests
between long and short
phrases symbolize the
space in Chinese
paintings. The Beijing
Opera reciting tune, and
the fingerings to produce
sliding tones in the
performance of the
Chinese fiddle erhu are
also borrowed in the
writing and the
performing of the western
instruments.The musical
imagination of the violin
concerto came from an
ancient Chinese poem with
the same title, written
by Du Fu (712-770) in
Tang Dynasty.Happy Rain
on a Spring Nightby Du Fu
(712-770 in Tang
Dynasty)Happy rain comes
in time,When spring is in
its prime.With night
breeze it will fall,And
quietly moisten
all.Clouds darken wild
roads,Light brightens a
little boat.Saturated at
dawn,With flowers
blooming the
town.(English translation
by Chen Yi from the
original poem in
Chinese)The following is
the poem in its original
Chinese form, and the
detailed introduction
onthe structural plan of
the violin concerto
Spring in
Dresden.It’s like
the welcome rain on a
quiet spring night that
nurtures the budding
seeds, our newsociety is
pushing us forward to the
new future. The music
reflects the scenes and
theexpression according
to the meaning of the
poem when it’s
being unfolded line by
line.Although the tempo
is set 63 quarter notes
per minute throughout
(played vividly,
neverslow down), the
tension is being built up
from the quiet background
in the beginning, tothe
sustained climax towards
the end. The musical
image in Rehearsal A and
B (measures39-80)
represents the first four
lines of the poem. The
wind instruments response
to therustling of fast
moving notes on muted
string triplets,
decorated by occasional
strokesproduced by
metallic string sound and
high woodwind gestures.
The music in RehearsalC
and D (measures 81-126)
represents the next two
lines of the poem. It's
so dark, a littlelight in
the boat is shimmering on
the lake... The breathy
sound and key slaps on
theflutes create a
mysterious atmosphere, in
a dialogue with other
instruments. The
celloglissandi recite the
poem in the tone of
Mandarin, echoed by the
string harmonics.
Themusic in Rehearsal F,
G and H (m 129-202) is a
toccata, starting in the
orchestra (led bythe
marimba), which builds up
a big shape, to reach the
climax in m. 157
(Rehearsal G,the location
of the Golden Section,
according to the length
of the music
withoutcadenzas), and
keeps the vivid scene
towards the coda (from
Rehearsal I, m. 203),
whichstands on the
energetic peak until the
clear cutoff on measure
239, followed by the
short,yet powerful solo
conclusion with the
lingering echo produced
by the high
stringharmonics. On the
top, there is a recall of
the three note motive in
the sound ofwonderland,
touched by the motor-on
vibraphone
meaningfully.The music is
written for 2 flutes, 2
oboes, 2 clarinets (in
Bb), 2 bassoons, 4 French
horns (in F), 2 trumpets
(in Bb), 3 trombones,
tuba, harp, 3 percussion
players (Perc.
1:xylophone; Perc. 2:
suspended cymbal,
Japanese high woodblock,
snare drum, bass drum and
vibraphone; Perc. 3:
marimba and tam-tam),
solo violin, and
strings.Duration is about
20 minutes.
Band Bass Clarinet, Bass
Drum, Bassoon 1, Bassoon
2, Bongos, Castanets,
Celesta, Clarinet,
Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2,
Clarinet 3, Contrabass
Clarinet, Contrabassoon,
English Horn, Euphonium,
Euphonium T.C., Flute 1,
Flute 2, Horn 1, Horn 2,
Horn 3 and more.
SKU:
PR.16500100F
Hymns
for Wind Ensemble.
Composed by Dan Welcher.
Sws. Full score. 48
pages. Duration 10
minutes, 41 seconds.
Theodore Presser Company
#165-00100F. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16500100F).
ISBN
9781491114421. UPC:
680160669783. 9 x 12
inches.
Commissione
d for a consortium of
high school and college
bands in the north Dallas
region, FOR THEMYSTIC
HARMONY is a 10-minute
inspirational work in
homage to Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon,patrons
of the Fort Worth
Symphony and the Van
Cliburn Competition.
Welcher draws melodic
flavorfrom five American
hymns, spirituals, and
folk tunes of the 19th
century. The last of
these sources toappear is
the hymn tune For the
Beauty of the Earth,
whose third stanza is the
quatrain: “For the
joy of earand eye, For
the heart and
mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound
and sight,â€giving
rise to the work’s
title. This work,
commissioned for a
consortium of high school
bands in the north Dallas
area, is my fifteenth
maturework for wind
ensemble (not counting
transcriptions). When I
asked Todd Dixon, the
band director
whospearheaded this
project, what kind of a
work he most wanted, he
first said
“something
that’s basically
slow,†butwanted to
leave the details to me.
During a long subsequent
conversation, he
mentioned that his
grandparents,Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon, were
prime supporters of the
Fort Worth Symphony,
going so far as to
purchase anumber of high
quality instruments for
that orchestra. This
intrigued me, so I asked
more about his
grandparentsand was
provided an 80-page
biographical sketch.
Reading that article,
including a long section
about theirdevotion to
supporting a young man
through the rigors of the
Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition fora
number of years, moved me
very much. Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon
weren’t just
supporters of the arts;
theywere passionate
lovers of music and
musicians. I determined
to make this work a
testament to that love,
and tothe religious faith
that sustained them both.
The idea of using extant
hymns was also suggested
by Todd Dixon,and this
10-minute work is the
result.I have employed
existing melodies in
several works, delving
into certain kinds of
religious music more than
a fewtimes. In seeking
new sounds, new ways of
harmonizing old tunes,
and the contrapuntal
overlaying of one
tunewith another, I was
able to make works like
ZION (using 19th-century
Revivalist hymns) and
LABORING SONGS(using
Shaker melodies) reflect
the spirit of the
composers who created
these melodies, without
sounding likepastiches or
medleys. I determined to
do the same with this new
work, with the added
problem of
employingmelodies that
were more familiar. I
chose five tunes from the
19th century: hymns,
spirituals, and
folk-tunes.Some of these
are known by differing
titles, but they all
appear in hymnals of
various Christian
denominations(with
various titles and
texts). My idea was to
employ the tunes without
altering their notes,
instead using aconstantly
modulating sense of
harmony —
sometimes leading to
polytonal harmonizations
of what are
normallysimple four-chord
hymns.The work begins and
ends with a repeated
chime on the note C: a
reminder of steeples,
white clapboard
churchesin the country,
and small church organs.
Beginning with a
Mixolydian folk tune of
Caribbean origin
presentedtwice with
layered entrances, the
work starts with a
feeling of mystery and
gentle sorrow. It
proceeds, after along
transition, into a second
hymn that is sometimes
connected to the sea
(hence the sensation of
water andwaves throughout
it). This tune, by John
B. Dykes (1823-1876), is
a bit more chromatic and
“shifty†than
mosthymn-tunes, so I
chose to play with the
constant sensation of
modulation even more than
the original does. Atthe
climax, the familiar
spiritual “Were you
there?†takes over,
with a double-time
polytonal feeling
propelling itforward at
“Sometimes it
causes me to
tremble.â€Trumpets
in counterpoint raise the
temperature, and the
tempo as well, leading
the music into a third
tune (ofunknown
provenance, though it
appears with different
texts in various hymnals)
that is presented in a
sprightlymanner. Bassoons
introduce the melody, but
it is quickly taken up by
other instruments over
three
“verses,â€cons
tantly growing in
orchestration and volume.
A mysterious second tune,
unrelated to this one,
interrupts it inall three
verses, sending the
melody into unknown
regions.The final melody
is “For the Beauty
of the Earth.†This
tune by Conrad Kocher
(1786-1872) is commonly
sung atThanksgiving
— the perfect
choice to end this work
celebrating two people
known for their
generosity.Keeping the
sense of constant
modulation that has been
present throughout, I
chose to present this
hymn in threegrowing
verses, but with a twist:
every four bars, the
“key†of the
hymn seems to shift
— until the
“Lord of all,
toThee we praiseâ€
melody bursts out in a
surprising compound
meter. This, as it turns
out, was the
“mystery
tuneâ€heard earlier
in the piece. After an
Ivesian, almost polytonal
climax, the Coda begins
over a long B( pedal. At
first,it seems to be a
restatement of the first
two phrases of “For
the Beauty†with
long spaces between them,
but it soonchanges to a
series of
“Amenâ€
cadences, widely
separated by range and
color. These, too, do not
conform to anykey, but
instead overlay each
other in ways that are
unpredictable but
strangely comforting.The
third verse of “For
the Beauty of the
Earth†contains
this quatrain:“For
the joy of ear and eye,
–For the heart and
mind’s delightFor
the mystic harmonyLinking
sense to sound and
sightâ€and it was
from this poetry that I
drew the title for the
present work. It is my
hope that audiences and
performerswill find
within it a sense of
grace: more than a little
familiar, but also quite
new and unexpected.
Hymns
for Wind Ensemble.
Composed by Dan Welcher.
Folio. Set of Score and
Parts.
4+24+24+16+8+4+4+24+12+12
+8+4+4+4+4+8+8+8+8+4+4+4+
4+8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8+4+16+4+
8+4+8+8+4+4+4+48 pages.
Duration 10 minutes, 41
seconds. Theodore Presser
Company #165-00100.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.165001000).
ISBN
9781491129241. UPC:
680160669776. 9 x 12
inches.
Commissione
d for a consortium of
high school and college
bands in the north Dallas
region, FOR THEMYSTIC
HARMONY is a 10-minute
inspirational work in
homage to Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon,patrons
of the Fort Worth
Symphony and the Van
Cliburn Competition.
Welcher draws melodic
flavorfrom five American
hymns, spirituals, and
folk tunes of the 19th
century. The last of
these sources toappear is
the hymn tune For the
Beauty of the Earth,
whose third stanza is the
quatrain: “For the
joy of earand eye, For
the heart and
mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound
and sight,â€giving
rise to the work’s
title. This work,
commissioned for a
consortium of high school
bands in the north Dallas
area, is my fifteenth
maturework for wind
ensemble (not counting
transcriptions). When I
asked Todd Dixon, the
band director
whospearheaded this
project, what kind of a
work he most wanted, he
first said
“something
that’s basically
slow,†butwanted to
leave the details to me.
During a long subsequent
conversation, he
mentioned that his
grandparents,Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon, were
prime supporters of the
Fort Worth Symphony,
going so far as to
purchase anumber of high
quality instruments for
that orchestra. This
intrigued me, so I asked
more about his
grandparentsand was
provided an 80-page
biographical sketch.
Reading that article,
including a long section
about theirdevotion to
supporting a young man
through the rigors of the
Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition fora
number of years, moved me
very much. Norwood and
Elizabeth Dixon
weren’t just
supporters of the arts;
theywere passionate
lovers of music and
musicians. I determined
to make this work a
testament to that love,
and tothe religious faith
that sustained them both.
The idea of using extant
hymns was also suggested
by Todd Dixon,and this
10-minute work is the
result.I have employed
existing melodies in
several works, delving
into certain kinds of
religious music more than
a fewtimes. In seeking
new sounds, new ways of
harmonizing old tunes,
and the contrapuntal
overlaying of one
tunewith another, I was
able to make works like
ZION (using 19th-century
Revivalist hymns) and
LABORING SONGS(using
Shaker melodies) reflect
the spirit of the
composers who created
these melodies, without
sounding likepastiches or
medleys. I determined to
do the same with this new
work, with the added
problem of
employingmelodies that
were more familiar. I
chose five tunes from the
19th century: hymns,
spirituals, and
folk-tunes.Some of these
are known by differing
titles, but they all
appear in hymnals of
various Christian
denominations(with
various titles and
texts). My idea was to
employ the tunes without
altering their notes,
instead using aconstantly
modulating sense of
harmony —
sometimes leading to
polytonal harmonizations
of what are
normallysimple four-chord
hymns.The work begins and
ends with a repeated
chime on the note C: a
reminder of steeples,
white clapboard
churchesin the country,
and small church organs.
Beginning with a
Mixolydian folk tune of
Caribbean origin
presentedtwice with
layered entrances, the
work starts with a
feeling of mystery and
gentle sorrow. It
proceeds, after along
transition, into a second
hymn that is sometimes
connected to the sea
(hence the sensation of
water andwaves throughout
it). This tune, by John
B. Dykes (1823-1876), is
a bit more chromatic and
“shifty†than
mosthymn-tunes, so I
chose to play with the
constant sensation of
modulation even more than
the original does. Atthe
climax, the familiar
spiritual “Were you
there?†takes over,
with a double-time
polytonal feeling
propelling itforward at
“Sometimes it
causes me to
tremble.â€Trumpets
in counterpoint raise the
temperature, and the
tempo as well, leading
the music into a third
tune (ofunknown
provenance, though it
appears with different
texts in various hymnals)
that is presented in a
sprightlymanner. Bassoons
introduce the melody, but
it is quickly taken up by
other instruments over
three
“verses,â€cons
tantly growing in
orchestration and volume.
A mysterious second tune,
unrelated to this one,
interrupts it inall three
verses, sending the
melody into unknown
regions.The final melody
is “For the Beauty
of the Earth.†This
tune by Conrad Kocher
(1786-1872) is commonly
sung atThanksgiving
— the perfect
choice to end this work
celebrating two people
known for their
generosity.Keeping the
sense of constant
modulation that has been
present throughout, I
chose to present this
hymn in threegrowing
verses, but with a twist:
every four bars, the
“key†of the
hymn seems to shift
— until the
“Lord of all,
toThee we praiseâ€
melody bursts out in a
surprising compound
meter. This, as it turns
out, was the
“mystery
tuneâ€heard earlier
in the piece. After an
Ivesian, almost polytonal
climax, the Coda begins
over a long B( pedal. At
first,it seems to be a
restatement of the first
two phrases of “For
the Beauty†with
long spaces between them,
but it soonchanges to a
series of
“Amenâ€
cadences, widely
separated by range and
color. These, too, do not
conform to anykey, but
instead overlay each
other in ways that are
unpredictable but
strangely comforting.The
third verse of “For
the Beauty of the
Earth†contains
this quatrain:“For
the joy of ear and eye,
–For the heart and
mind’s delightFor
the mystic harmonyLinking
sense to sound and
sightâ€and it was
from this poetry that I
drew the title for the
present work. It is my
hope that audiences and
performerswill find
within it a sense of
grace: more than a little
familiar, but also quite
new and unexpected.
Score and Parts.
Composed by Mohammed
Fairouz. Sws. Score and
parts. With Standard
notation. 68 pages.
Duration 25 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#114-41903. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.114419030).
ISBN
9781491114124. UPC:
680160669851. 9 x 12
inches.
A
fascination with
polycultural synergy
between diverse literary
textsdrives the
inspiration for much of
Mohammed Fairouz’s
prodigiouscreative
output, including
instrumental music as
well as vocal. Inhis
profound and extensive
essay preceding the
score, Fairouz shedslight
on how Edgar Allen
Poe’s “Israfel”
relates to the
prophetsand prophesies of
the Quran, Old Testament,
and New Testament.The
eight-movement quartet
may be heard as a
dramatic galleryof
portraits and of
story-telling,
flourishing in a
post-traditionallanguage
that is at once
vernacular and spiritual,
Middle Easternand
Western. The complete set
of score and parts is
included in
thispublication. (See
pages 2-3 of score for
clear distinction of
paragraphs,
etc.)Prophesies, by
Mohammed FairouzEdgar
Allen Poe’s rendition
of Israfel was the point
of departure for the
final movement of my
previous stringquartet
which is titled The Named
Angels. At the opening of
his poem, Poe evokes the
Quran:“And the angel
Israfel, whose
heartstrings are a lute,
and who has the sweetest
voice of all God’s
creatures.”This informs
the first lines of the
poem that, in turn, gave
me the title for the
final movement of The
Named
Angels,“Israfel’s
Spell”:In Heaven a
spirit doth dwell“Whose
heartstrings are a
lute”None sing so
wildly wellAs the angel
Israfel,And the giddy
stars (so legends
tell),Ceasing their
hymns, attend the spellOf
his voice, all mute.It is
the end of that poem,
however, that is the
starting point for the
current quartet,
Prophesies, which
concernsitself with
mortal prophets rather
than eternal Angelic
spirits.If I could
dwellWhere IsrafelHath
dwelt, and he where I,He
might not sing so wildly
wellA mortal melody,While
a bolder note than this
might swellFrom my lyre
within the sky.Islamic
thought has asked us to
look at the example of
the prophets. That’s
significant because of
the fact thatJoseph and
all the prophets were
human beings with the
flaws of human beings. No
prophet was perfect,
andIslamic tradition has
never asked its followers
to aspire to the example
of the Angels, the
perfected ones. Instead
weare given the gift of
our prophets. While The
Named Angels drew on the
motion and energy of
everlasting
spirits,Prophesies is a
depiction of the
movements within our own
mortal coil.This quartet
is a continuation of a
long tradition of Muslim
artists telling their
stories and singing their
songs.Many of these
renditions are, in fact,
figurative and (contrary
to popular belief) the
Quran contains no
“Islamicedict”
prohibiting figurative
renditions of the figures
described in the Old
Testament, New Testament,
or Quran.The majority of
artists, however, have
preferred eternal and
abstract forms such as
words and their
calligraphicrepresentatio
ns, poems (Yusuf and
Zuleikha or the
Conference of Birds come
immediately to mind),
architecture,and many
other non-figurative art
forms to the
representation of man.
These cold, ancient, and
everlasting shapesof
unending time flourished,
and the divine infinity
of representing geometric
forms gained favor over
the placementof the
explicit representation
of mankind and our own
likeness at the center of
the universes.Adding the
string quartet to these
forms which express the
recursive spheres of
heavens and earth
abstractly shouldexplain
why I have chosen to
render higher things
through the use of music
without the addition of
words or anyother
art-form. It is the
abstract art of pure
form, in which all is
form and all is content,
which compels me.
Thisquartet should be
seen as no more
programmatic than the
arches of the Great
Mosque at Cordoba.The
first movement, Yāqub
(Jacob), is slow, quiet
and prayerful. It evokes
the patient sorrow of a
slow choraledeveloping
over time as it coaxes
our pulse out of the
ticking of a clock-like
meter that defines our
day-to-day livesand into
a divine eternity.The
second, Saleh, imagines
the spirit of that
desert-prophet through
the use of a Liwa; the
dance-sequence that
hasbeen such a prevalent
form of expression in the
Arabian Peninsula for
much of our recorded
history.The third
movement is titled
Dawoōd, and it is
emblematic of the beloved
Prophet, King, and
Psalmist, David.Though it
has no lyrics, the
movement functions as a
dabkeh (an ancient dance
native to the Levant) and
also “sets”the
opening of Psalm 100
(Make a joyful noise unto
the Lord, all ye lands).
This line is never set to
music or sung inthe
quartet but is evoked
through the rhythmic
shape of the violin part
which imitates the
phonology and rhythmof my
speaking the opening line
in the Hebrew and
develops the contours of
that line incessantly
throughout
themovement.3The fourth
movement is an ode to
Yousef (Joseph) and
relates to the first
movement in tempo and
tone just as
Josephrelates to Jacob,
his father. Together, the
first and fourth
movements provide a sort
of Lamentation and
relief.Joseph had the
appearance of a noble
angel, but he was very
much a human being. And
the story of this
particularprophet had
tragic beginnings many
years before he found
himself in a position of
power in Egypt. Back in
his youth,still among the
Israelites, Joseph
experienced a series of
revelations through his
dreams that spoke of his
impendingcareer in
prophecy. He confided his
dreams to his father, the
Prophet Jacob, who told
his son of the greatness
thatawaited him in his
future only to have his
brothers throw him into a
well and leave him for
dead. Joseph
eventuallyfound his way
from Israel to Egypt and
rose out of slavery into
a position of power.
Meanwhile, famine engulfs
Israel.Forty years pass,
and back in the land of
Jacob and Rachel, of
Joseph’s brothers and
Abraham’s tribe, Israel
wasnot spared the effects
of the famine. They
sorely lacked Joseph’s
prophecy and his vision.
The Qur’an then tells
usthat Jacob, sensing
Joseph, sends the other
brothers to Egypt
instructing them to come
back with food and
grain.Arriving in Egypt,
they unwittingly appear
before Joseph. They
don’t recognize their
little brother who has
risen toa position of
might, dressed in his
Egyptian regalia. They
ask for the food and the
grain.After some
conversation, Joseph is
no longer able to contain
his emotion. Overcome, he
reveals himself to his
nowterrified brothers. He
embraces them. He asks
them eagerly, “How is
our father?” Joseph
gives them the gift of
thefood and the grain
that they came in search
of. He relieves them from
hunger and alleviates
their fear. He sendsthem
back with proof that he
is alive, and it is this
joyful proof from the
miraculous hands of a
prophet that bringsback
the ancient Jacob’s
vision after 40 years of
blindness.In this story,
I am struck by the fact
that Joseph may not have
made the decision to
forgive his brothers on
thespot, but that
something inside the
prophet’s soul found
forgiveness and peace for
the brothers who had so
gravelywronged him at
some point along his
journey. I would suspect
this point to have been
present at Joseph’s
inception,even before he
had ever been
wronged.This is proof, if
we needed it, that
Joseph’s angel-like
beauty was not only
physical and external,
but also internalas well:
Joseph possessed a
profound loveliness of
spirit that bound his
appearance and his soul.
In Joseph, formand soul
are one.Time is to
musicians what light is
to a painter. In this
way, the story of Joseph
also shows us that time
can affectour perception
of even the most tragic
wounds. In fact, the most
common Arabic word for
“human being” is
insaan,which shares its
roots with the word
insaa, “to forget.”
While our ability to
remember is essential to
how we learnabout
ourselves, our capacity
to “forgive and
forget” may also be one
of our great gifts as
human beings.The fifth
movement follows my ode
to Joseph with a
structural memory of
Mūsa (Moses). The
movement consistsentirely
of descending motifs
which I constructed as an
indication of Moses’
descending movement as he
emergedto his people from
the heights of Mt. Sinai.
The music is constructed
in five phrases which
function as a
formalreference to the
five books of Moses, the
Pentateuch. The movement
is placed as the fifth of
the quartet for the
samereason.While Joseph
is always evoked as
supremely beautiful in
the Books of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam,
Suleiman(Solomon) is
described as surpassing
in his quicksilver
intelligence. This
movement is composed of a
seven-partriddle which
passes by in an instant
but can be caught by the
attentive listener. From
Solomon, we work our
wayback to Yishak (Isaac)
in a seventh movement
that evokes Isaac’s
literal meaning in Arabic
and Hebrew: laughter.The
eighth and final movement
of this quartet is named
for the Patriarch of the
entire Book: Ibrahim
(Abraham). Itrelates to
Isaac just as Joseph
relates to Jacob; they
are father and son. The
lines are prayerful and
contemplative;the form of
the music evolves from a
fugue joining together
many different forms of
prayer into a single
tapestry ofcounterpoint,
to the cyclical form of
this entire quartet which
is rendered through the
motion of pilgrims
circling theKaaba (cube)
in Mecca — a structure
which was built by
Abraham for Hagaar and
their son Ismail.These
are just some of the
figures that are
cherished by all three of
the Middle Eastern
monotheisms
(Judaism,Christianity,
and Islam) that the
Qur’an refers to
collectively as Ahl
Al-Kitab. This Arabic
phrase is most
commonlytranslated as
“The People of the
Book,” but here the
most common translation
is a flawed one: the
Arabic word“ahl”
means “family” and
not just “people.” A
better translation would
be “Family of the
Book.” Each of the
eightmovements of
Prophesies grows from a
single musical cell.This
quartet is a family
album.—Mohammed Fairouz
(2018.
Choral SSA choir SKU: CF.CM9580 Composed by Richard Rasch. Arranged by Ri...(+)
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.
Holderlin lesen
III. Composed by Hans
Zender. Chamber music;
stapled.
Kammermusik-Bibliothek
(Chamber Music Library).
World premiere: Museum
Island Hombroich, May 31,
1992. Music post-1945;
New music (post-2000).
Performance score.
Composed 1991. 36 pages.
Duration 24'. Breitkopf
and Haertel #KM 2432.
Published by Breitkopf
and Haertel (BR.KM-2432).
ISBN 9790004502020. 10
x 15 inches.
In den
alten Kulturen war das,
was wir heute ,,Musik und
,,Dichtung nennen, eine
Einheit. Denken wir nur
an die lotrijgn<'
[musike] der Griechen,
oder an Beschreibungen,
die wir in den
klassischen chinesischen
Schriften finden. Aber
naturlich:
Kulturgeschichte ist ein
Differenzierungsprozess,
und so finden wir zur
Zeit unserer europaischen
Klassiker den Vorstoss
der Musik zu ihrer
,,Autonomie - ihrer
offiziellen Scheidung von
dem Metier der Dichter.
(Noch 1739 hatte
Mattheson in seinem
Vollkommenen
Capellmeister von jedem
Musiker ,,Gewandtheit in
der Dicht-Kunst und
genaueste Kenntnis der
Verslehre verlangt.)Seit
dieser Scheidung sind nun
die Musiker sehr eifrig
damit beschaftigt, eine
autonome Grammatik und
Syntax der ,,Tonkunst,
wie die Musik jetzt
genannt wird, zu
entwickeln, wahrend in
der Dichtung - besonders
naturlich in der
experimentellen, von Jean
Paul und Mallarme bis zu
Joyce und Celan - gerade
das ,,Musikalische in der
Poesie gesucht wird.
Hierunter ist oft der
Wunsch verborgen, die
Verhartung, welche die
Wortsprache durch ihre
begriffliche Fixierung -
extrem in der
Wissenschaft! - erfahrt,
wieder aufzuheben und sie
in einen ,,musikalischen
Zustand von
Unbestimmtheit, von
Offenheit zuruck zu
versetzen.Oberflachlich
betrachtet entwickeln
sich die beiden Kunste in
der Moderne also
auseinander; eine
Beruhrung zwischen ihnen
wird immer schwieriger.
Zu gross die Gefahr, dass
die muhsam errungene
Autonomie der einen
wieder der Ubermacht der
andern geopfert wird!
Entweder wird die Musik,
wenn sie schwach ist, zu
blosser Illustration und
Stimmungskulisse; oder
sie verschlingt in ihrer
klanglichen und
zeitlichen Ausformung den
eigenen Klang und
Rhythmus der
Dichtung.Manche Musiker
haben in den letzten
Jahrzehnten dieses
Problem noch
verinnerlicht und eine
Art Bilderverbot auch
innerhalb der Musik
aufgestellt: Gestik,
Expressivitat,
Assoziationsfahigkeit der
musikalischen Strukturen
wurden unterdruckt. Ich
halte das fur ein
neurotisches Verhalten
und ausserdem fur
irrefuhrend. Es gibt
schon seit jeher auch
eine musikalische
Semantik - das vergessen
manche vor lauter Syntax
und Grammatik; und es ist
kein Grund einzusehen,
warum in der Situation
der Autonomie nicht
musikalische und
sprachliche Semantik in
eine neue Art von
Verhaltnis treten
konnten. In der
Bach-Kantate, im
Schubert-Lied, in der
Wagnerischen Leitmotivik
waren das 1:1-Losungen;
aber schon Wagner hat
gezeigt, dass man diese
Identitat auch
dialektisch aufsprengen
kann.Und wie erst in der
Vielsprachigkeit der
heutigen Moderne! In
meiner Oper Stephen
Climax habe ich den
Hauptpersonen des Ulysses
von James Joyce bestimmte
- historisch ortbare -
Musiksprachen zugeteilt
(welche jeweils wieder
bestimmte intervallische
und rhythmische
Struktureigenschaften
zeigen, welche ihrerseits
wieder seriell oder
statistisch geordnet sind
- es geht bis ins
kleinste Detail ganz
,,autonom zu!!); der
Kosmos unserer
europaischen
Musikgeschichte wird
sowohl dem Kosmos der
Joyceschen Figuren
(ihrerseits
,,geschichtstrachtig!)
wie auch dem aktuellen
musikalischen Bewusstsein
zugeordnet, aber eben oft
auch uber Kreuz, paradox,
mehrschichtig, mehrdeutig
... Die Tatsache, dass
diese spezifische
Moglichkeit einer
neuartigen Einheit von
Sprache und Musik von den
berufenen Musikologen
noch kaum bemerkt worden
ist, zeigt nicht nur
deren Langsamkeit,
sondern auch die Dominanz
des ,,bildlosen Denkens
in der - jetzt
abgelaufenen - Phase der
Neuen Musik.In meinen
Holderlin lesen-Stucken
ging es mir darum, Wege
zu finden, die gewaltigen
Sprachstrukturen
Holderlins so in die
zeitliche Form der Musik
zu integrieren, dass sie
Funktionen der
musikalischen Form
ubernehmen, ohne in ihrer
Eigenkraft (sowohl
akustisch wie auch im
Sinne expressiver
,,Deutung) im geringsten
geschmalert zu werden.
Das hiess zunachst:
Sprechen, nicht singen! -
Aber das wurde nur
bedeuten, dass es nicht
um die Musikalisierung
von Text geht; ebenso
wichtig ist es, dass es
auch nicht um
melodramatisch
,,erzahlende Musik geht.
Sondern: Zwei autonome
Kunste durchdringen sich
auf diaphane Weise, ohne
sich zu uberformen oder
auszuloschen; es handelt
sich um einen Dialog,
nicht um eine
Vereinnahmung durch
Hierarchisierung.Ein
weiteres Thema, das in
der musikalischen
Diskussion der letzten
Jahrzehnte zu kurz
gekommen ist und deswegen
jetzt neu am Horizont
erscheint, ist die
Rhetorik. Inwieweit kann
musikalische Form nicht
nur logisch bzw.
syntaktisch, sondern auch
rhetorisch verstanden
werden? Rhetorik und
Satztechnik z.B. hangen
zusammen. Ich kann diese
Problematik (die ich in
meinem vierteiligen,
abendfullenden Shir
Hashirim ,,auskomponiert
habe) hier nur
andeuten.Musik steht
zwischen Zahl und Wort;
sie hat an beidem teil.
So konnte sie das Zentrum
der ,,Sieben Freien
Kunste in alten Zeiten
bilden ... (Heinrich
Schutz sagte, dass sie zu
diesen - also zu den
mathematisch-astronomisch
en und den literarischen
Kunsten - wie die ,,Sonne
zu den Planeten sich
verhalte.) Mir scheint,
dass wir die Komposition
seit 50 Jahren zu
einseitig nur von der
Zahl her definieren; sie
hat geschichtlich ebenso
viel mit Sprachstruktur
zu tun. Wir konnen
Neuland gewinnen, wenn
wir als heutige Musiker
dies neu durchdenken.Es
handelt sich hier um
meinen dritten Versuch
einer Annaherung an das
Problem einer
,,Verzeitlichung der
Holderlinschen Texte d.h.
einer Moglichkeit, diese
Texte in einer
Performance darzustellen:
da die Musik das
eigentliche Element der
zeitlichen Darstellung
ist, werden die
Holderlinschen Worte mit
Tonen konfrontiert.Im
Fall von denn
wiederkommen geht es um
neun Zeilen aus
Holderlins Patmos-Hymne.
Je eine solche Zeile wird
einem Formabschnitt der
Musik zugeordnet (das
Stuck ist also, wie meine
Lo-Shu-Stucke,
neunteilig). Die
betreffende Zeile
erklingt nicht nur
einmal, sondern wird, in
der gleichen Weise wie
auch das musikalische
Material, nach einem
chaotischen
Repetitionsprinzip
mehrfach
wiederholt.Auffallig ist
ferner, dass fur jeden
der neun Teile ein von
einem der vier
Quartettspieler
festgehaltener ,,Grundton
gewahlt wurde; durch
diese orgelpunktartige
Wirkung wird jeder der
neun Teile
zusammengehalten, und der
Horer kann die langsame
Bewegung der Grossform im
unmittelbaren Horprozess
mitvollziehen.Die neun
Satze von Holderlin
lauten:1. Furchtlos gehen
die Sohne der Alpen uber
den Abgrund weg auf
leicht gebaueten
Brucken...2. Sie horen
ihn und liebend tont es
wieder von den Klagen des
Manns...3. Im goldenen
Rauche bluhte schnell
aufgewachsen mit
Schritten der Sonne, mit
tausend Gipfeln duftend,
mir Asia auf, und
geblendet...4. Gegangen
mit dem Sohne des
Hochsten, unzertrennlich,
denn es liebte der
Gewittertragende die
Einfalt des Jungers...5.
Wenn aber stirbt alsdenn,
an dem am meisten die
Schonheit hing...6.
Eingetrieben war wie
Feuer in Eisen das, und
ihnen ging zur Seite der
Schatten des Lieben. Drum
sandt er ihnen den Geist
und freilich bebte das
Haus und die Wetter
Gottes rollten
ferndonnernd...7. Uber
die Berge zu gehn allein,
wo zwiefach erkannt, war
einstimmig und
gegenwartig der
Geist...8. Und hier ist
der Stab des Gesanges,
niederwinkend, denn
nichts ist gemein. Die
Toten wecket er auf...9.
Denn wiederkommen sollt
es, zu rechter Zeit.
Nicht war es gut gewesen,
spater, und schroff
abbrechend...(Hans
Zender)CD:Salome Kammer
(voice), Arditti String
QuartetCD Montaigne MO
782094Bibliography:Nyffel
er, Max: Fluchtpunkt
Patmos. Hans Zenders
Komposition ,,Denn
wiederkommen. Holderlin
lesen III, in: Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik 180
(2019), Heft 1, S.
44-47.ders.: Lesen,
Schreiben, Horen. Zum
Verhaltnis von Musik und
Sprache bei Hans Zender,
dargestellt an der
Komposition ,,,denn
wiederkommen`. Holderlin
lesen III, in: ,,Ein
Zeichen sind wir,
deutungslos. Holderlin
lesen, Ikkyu Sojun horen,
Musik denken, hrsg. von
Violetta L. Waibel,
Gottingen: Wallstein
2020, S. 299-329Waibel,
Violetta L.: Holderlin
Lesen, Ikkyu Sojun Horen,
Musik Denken, in:
Festivalkatalog Wien
Modern 29 (2016), Essays,
pp. 196-198.Zenck,
Martin: Holderlin lesen -
seiner ,,Stimme zuhoren.
Holderlin-Lekturen von
Klaus Michael Gruber,
Hans Zender und Bruno
Ganz, in: Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik 172
(2011), Heft 6, pp.
25-29.Zender, Hans: Zu
meinem Zyklus ,,Holderlin
lesen, in: Mnemosyne.
Zeit und Gedachtnis in
der europaischen Musik
des ausgehenden 20.
Jahrhunderts, hrsg. von
Dorothea Redepenning und
Joachim Steinheuer,
Saarbrucken: Pfau 2006,
pp. 26-40.
World
premiere: Museum Island
Hombroich, May 31,
1992.
For
Band. Composed by Dan
Welcher. Folder.
Premiered by the
University of Texas
Symphony Band, Scott S.
Hanna, conductor, at
Butler School of Music,
UT/Austin, Austin, Texas.
Contemporary. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed 14-Sep. 40
pages. Duration 7
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #165-00097.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.165000970).
ISBN
9781491100462. UPC:
680160626717. 9x12
inches.
Commissione
d by a consortium of 20
high school and
university bands
coordinated by Scott
Hanna of the University
of Texas at Austin,
Downshifting is inspired
by Welcher’s joy
of bicycle riding.
Welcher explains in the
program note: When I
decided to write a piece
for band that was
basically entertaining
and uplifting, it made
perfect sense to call it
Downshifting... With
three gears on the front
sprocket and seven on the
rear, it’s
possible to keep
one’s legs going
at a constant speed (for
me, q = 126) while the
bike itself may be moving
very slowly or very
quickly. I determined to
capitalize on this in
writing Downshifting,
which keeps the same
mathematical inner pulse,
‘shifting’
(with a ratchet) as the
terrain changes.. One
of the joys of life for
me is riding my 21-speed
bicycle. As a
basically non-athletic
person who nonetheless
likes to stay in shape, I
have found that riding my
bike provides just the
exercise I need. The
workout is strenuous, but
pleasant—and the
infinite variety of
scenery I pass keeps me
alert and wide awake.Â
When I decided to write a
piece for band that was
basically entertaining
and uplifting, it made
perfect sense to call it
Downshifting.With three
gears on the front
sprocket and seven on the
rear, it’s
possible to keep ones
legs going at a constant
speed (for me,
that’s 126 to the
quarter note) while the
bike itself may be moving
very slowly or very
quickly. I determined
to capitalize on this in
writing the music, which
manages to keep the same
mathematical inner pulse,
“shiftingâ€
(with a ratchet) as the
terrain changes. So
Downshifting begins with
that steady pulse, on a
grid of eighth notes in
2/4 to propel the little
vehicle forward.Â
There’s a joyous
little tune in our heads
as we begin our ride.Â
As the initial thrill of
riding on the flat gives
way to monotony, we stay
in that pulse for the
first minute or so of the
ride. Then, as the
first hill becomes
visible, we shift the
bike down: even though
the eighths are equal,
the pulse feels slower
(and we’re now in
6/8 time). Ultimately
the compound meter shifts
again as the climb
begins, and we’re
now plodding doggedly up
the hill. (The music
reflects all of these
changes, with subtitles
such as “Working
harder—Seeing the
climb, aheadâ€,
“Steady and
committed…the climb
begins!â€,
“Straining against
the gradeâ€,
etc.).There are two
hills, and two long
climbs (but in different
keys, reflecting the
change in scenery).Â
When at last the summit
of the second hill is
reached (“Flying,
Over the Topâ€), we
coast at last down the
other side at breakneck
speed. The initial
joyous melody returns,
but now in a spread-out
coasting pulse. At
the end of the ride, we
slow to a
stop—then take one
last sprint (shifting
five times in the
process) in order to end
on a biker’s
high.Downshifting was
commissioned by a
consortium of fourteen
high school and college
bands, overseen by my
longtime colleague at the
University of Texas,
Scott Hanna. The
piece is dedicated to him
(and to all bicycle
enthusiasts).
Bass Flute, Electronics, Scene SKU: CA.1631000 (georgiques I), fur bas...(+)
Bass Flute, Electronics,
Scene
SKU:
CA.1631000
(georgiques I), fur
bass flute and live
electronics. Composed
by Walter Feldmann. This
edition: Paperbound.
(r)TELLEMENT FROID QUE-
(GEORGIQUES I). Full
score. Composed 1995-96.
66 pages. Duration 20
minutes. Carus Verlag #CV
16.310/00. Published by
Carus Verlag
(CA.1631000).
ISBN
9790007242800. Language:
all
languages.
1989.
Stay in Aix-en-Provence,
France, doing a language
course. Reading,
discussing and analyzing
Les Georgiques; this
pursuit is going to be
the foundation of the
multiple intellectual and
literary levels of my
composing. 2. THE WOODEN
PLATFORM IS COVERED WITH
FINE WHITE SAND (OR
SALT), THE TWO SHELVES
WITH BLACK CLOTH ... At
the time I work on my
first serious piece,
still a far cry from the
under-standing of writing
music I have today. <<
tellement froid que >>
(georgiques I) for bass
flute, electronics and
scene (1995-96), sections
1-7. << comme si le froid
>> (georgiques II) for
baritone saxophone,
timpani and piano (1998),
sections 18-24. <<
n'etait le froid >>
(georgiques III) for
orchestra (2000-2002),
sections not yet decided.
3. THE INTERPRETER WILL
BE DRESSED IN BLACK AND
WHITE, MAINLY WHITE IF
BLUISH LIGHT IS AT HAND
... The enormously rich
vocabulary and the
accuracy of expression -
in temporal, spatial and
material terms - is
particularly impressive.
To comprehend all of it,
a reading on three
different levels is
called for: a first
reading of one passage,
then the acquisition of
unknown vocabulary;
thirdly a repeated -
knowing - reading, which
points out the utopia of
precise expression: The
text is treated in a
rather problematic (cold:
le froid?) manner: it's
not the semantic content
that is primarily
dominant, but rather the
outward appearance, the
mise en page and the
syntactic structure. 4.
THE INTERPRETER ENTERS
THE STAGE WITH ALL THE
FLUTES (S)HE WILL PLAY
DURING THE CONCERT AND
DEPOSITS THEM - EXCEPT
FOR THE BASS FLUTE - ON
SHELF B; IF (S)HE ONLY
PLAYS THIS PIECE, (S)HE
SHOULD PUT THE PROGRAMME
OF THE CONCERT THERE; IN
ANY CASE THE INSTRUCTIONS
IN BAR 195 MUST BE
FOLLOWED ... In concrete
terms the 10 centimetres
of a line in the minuit
edition correspond to 10
seconds of musical
structure (which is three
times as slow as the
average reading speed).
Only seven years later is
the term / expression
casse ferique changed
into casse ferrique, and
thus its secret is
revealed, which almost
becomes - due to its
unreadability - the key
to the planned musical
cycle. The text is
measured from section to
section (big format: each
section is marked with a
continuous, ,,cold chord
by the bass flute, played
on tape recorder), from
full stop to full stop
(new entry of keynote
material), from comma to
comma (tripling of
continuous resonances)
etc. 5. DURING THE
PERFORMANCE UP TO BAR
195, THE INTERPRETER WILL
TRY - IN A KIND OF
THEATRICAL ADAPTATION -
TO EXPRESS HIS/HER OWN
FEELING OF IRREPRESSIBLY
GROWING FRUSTRATION; FROM
BAR 195 ONWARDS (S)HE
WILL DEFINITELY HAVE PUT
UP WITH THE BASS FLUTE
... Brackets in the text
bring about a reduction
of sound (the
differentiating micro
tones are no longer
used), the syntactical
progression to
subordinate clauses of
the remotest degree has
its immediate effect on
dynamics (degree of
volume). Then: the
perception of a logical
and yet erratic syntax,
vastly progressive layers
of subordinate clauses
and brackets (lowering
tone of voice?), a
polyphony of ,,memoire,
which leads to a
maelstrom of attention, a
tonally centric /
concentrated (main
material?) and
progressive (subordinate
and brackets-material?)
reading, listening and
proceeding. The different
levels are constantly in
touch - transferring the
sensuous moment of scenes
of bodily encounter
(Tryptique) that are
evoked again and again -
in perpetual excitement
of text and imagination,
memory and remembering
sensitivity. 6. THE BODY
MOVEMENTS AND FIXATION
(FIGE) , BOTH CLEARLY
PERCEPTIBLE, WILL EVOKE
AND SUPPORT THE SAME
EMOTIONS ... The basic
moods of the text will be
reflected in the
relationship (which is
very important here) of
the interpreter to the
music; (s)he is somehow
at the mercy of given
(and not always
transparent) structures
on the one hand and the
complexity of musical
sensations on the other,
which has to be defeated
inspite of exhaustion.
It's not only here that
semantic agreement
(besides the
materialistic structure)
of music and text can be
felt: On top of that
there's the existential
helplessness in view of
the mercilessly flowing
polyphony of levels and
events -- as a mirror of
this there are the
remembered scenes of the
Flemish cold in the
second chapter (Les
Georgiques). The
interpreters are
confronted with unusual
directions which
correspond to the
adjectives in the
respective passages of
the text: anachronique,
engourdi, glace et acre,
monotone et desert etc.
The possibilities of
interpretation are
amplified, the ability to
perceive and personal
reaction is opened. The
impression of this
inexorability is
multiplied in the
extremest way by the fact
that the particular
layers can be found in
Simon's complete works.
It's a continuous work of
art in which each novel
turns into a chapter of a
complex, cyclic whole;
its title denoting only
one main strand, as it
were. A personal comment
is made also as regards
the clearly defined
stage; the mise en scene
points out the
extra-musical elements
and the correlation
between text, human being
and music. 7. THE
INTERPRETER IS ASKED TO
MOVE FREELY WITHIN A
DEFINED SPOT WITHOUT
LOOKING ARTIFICIAL;
SOUNDS CAUSED BY THE FEET
MOVING ON THE SAND ARE
WELCOME DURING THE WHOLE
PIECE ... And here the
idea of a cycle is born,
an attempt to transfer
these nuances of
memorized structures,
this clarity and
coldness, to transform
the text into musical
material. Walter
Feldmann.
Vistas. Composed
by Shulamit Ran. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation. 42 +
112 pages. Duration 25
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-40698.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114406980).
UPC:
680160010806.
Shula
mit Ran’s second
string quartet, subtitled
“Vistas,â€
occupies a large canvas
that is cast in a
traditional fourmovement
mold, where the outer
movements present,
explore, and later return
to the work’s
principal musical
materials, surrounding a
slow movement and
scherzo-type third
movement with a trio. In
addition to tempo-based
titles, the individual
movements have subtitles
that are evocative of
each movement’s
character, as follows: I.
Concentric: from the
inside out II. Stasis
III. Flashes IV.
Vistas. My second
string quartet,
“Vistasâ€, is
a work cast in a
traditional four-movement
formal mold, with the
outer movements,
presenting and later
returning to the
work’s principal
musical materials,
surrounding a slow
movement and a
scherzo-type third
movement.While the four
movements’
“properâ€
names -- Maestoso con
forza, Lento, Scherzo
impetuoso, and
Introduzione; Maestoso e
grande – give some
indication of the general
character of the
individual movements, I
have also subtitled, less
formally, each movement
as follows:Â 1)
Concentric:Â from the
inside out 2)Â
Stasis 3) FlashesÂ
4) Vista. The images
evoked by these titles
tell one, I think, a bit
more about the inner
workings of the
quartet.In the first
movement, a prominently
presented opening pitch
(E) reveals itself, as
the movement unfolds, to
be a center of gravity
from which ever-growing
cycles of activity
gradually evolve.Â
While various important
themes come into being as
the movement progresses,
their impact on the
listener has, I believe,
a great deal to do with
their juxtaposition and
relationship to the
initial central point of
gravity.Stasis is, as the
name implies, a movement
where activity seems, at
times, almost
suspended. Being
also, as Webster’s
Dictionary reminds us,
“a state of static
balance and equilibrium
among opposing tendencies
or forces,†it
develops various
materials, including ones
from the first movement,
without bringing them to
points of
resolution.Flashes is
short and very fast,
evoking in my mind the
quick shimmer of
fireflies, a
“sudden burst of
lightâ€, but also a
“brief
timeâ€. Perhaps,
even, a
“smile�Final
ly, the last movement,
Vista, is not only
“a view or
outlookâ€, but also
“a comprehensive
mental view of a series
of remembered or
anticipated
events.â€Â After
a brief recall of the
opening of the second
movement, this movement
brings back all the
important themes of the
first movement in their
original order. But
just as going back can
never really mean going
back in time, the
movement is much more
than recapitulatory.Â
By cutting through
previously transitory
passages and presenting
the main ideas in a
fashion more direct yet
more evolved, it also
sheds new light on
earlier events, offering
a retrospective, synoptic
view of the first
movement as it brings to
culmination the work as a
whole. “Vistasâ
€ was commissioned by
C. Geraldine Freund for
the Taneyev String
Quartet of what was then
Leningrad. It was the
first commission given in
this country to a Soviet
chamber ensemble since
the 1985 cultural
exchange accord between
the Soviet Union and the
United States.
Composed by
Zachary Cairns. Folio.
Yps. Set of Score and
Parts.
8+8+4+8+8+4+2+6+4+4+4+8+8
+8+8+6+6+6+4+6+4+2+2+4+6+
10+24 pages. Duration 4
minutes, 48 seconds. Carl
Fischer Music #YPS217.
Published by Carl Fischer
Music (CF.YPS217).
ISBN 9781491156544.
UPC: 680160915088. 9 x 12
inches.
Hope
Remains Within was
commissioned by and
composed for the Mount
Nittany Middle School 7th
and 8th Grade Concert
Bands. Having heard the
students of Mount Nittany
perform another work of
mine, I was very excited
when their director,
Johanna Steinbacher,
approached me about
writing a piece
specifically for them. I
knew right away that I
wanted to write something
that would tie in with
their non-music
curriculum in some way,
but I wasn't exactly sure
how, or what. Johanna
talked to some of her
students and learned
that, in 7th grade, the
students spend a good
deal of time studying
mythology in their
English class. In
particular, two clarinet
students mentioned how
much they enjoyed the
story of Pandora. As
such, I decided to use
that story as the basis
of this composition. Hope
Remains Within doesn't
attempt to re-tell the
story, event by event, in
musical terms. Instead,
my goal was to address
what seems to be one of
the central issues of the
Pandora myth. Though
there are some
variations, we probably
all know the basics as
told by the ancient Greek
poet Hesiod. Zeus decides
to punish Prometheus for
stealing fire from heaven
and giving it to humans.
He and the other gods
create Pandora, a
beautiful and deceitful
woman, and they give her
to Prometheus's brother
Epimetheus as a bride.
Pandora is herself given
a jar (according to many
sources, jar seems to be
a more accurate
translation for what we
commonly call Pandora's
box) which contained
numerous evils, diseases,
and other pains. Out of
curiosity, Pandora opens
the jar and releases all
of these evils into the
world. But one thing
remains in the jar: hope.
The issue of hope seems
to be one of the big
interpretive questions of
the Pandora myth. Why
does hope remain within
the jar? Why doesn't it
come out of the jar to
help humanity? Is hope
being held on a pedestal
of some sort? Is hope
deliberately withheld
from humanity? Why was
hope in the jar with all
those evils in the first
place? I'm not enough of
a mythological scholar to
claim to have definitive
answers to those
questions, but these are
the questions that I've
tried to engage from a
musical perspective in
Hope Remains Within. I
encourage the students
and listeners to consider
their own ideas of what
hope is, and where you
can find your own hope
when needed. Musically,
Hope Remains Within draws
one of its main themes
from the Prometheus
Symphony by Alexander
Skryabin (Scriabin). The
note sequence F-D-Gb -F,
heard near Hope's
beginning played by alto
saxophones and chimes,
comes from the opening
measures of Skyrabin's
work. Given the important
role that Prometheus
plays in the Pandora
myth, this seemed like an
appropriate musical
gesture to quote. This
Prometheus motive is
varied throughout the
course of the piece, and
even provides closure at
the end, recast in a
major key. Additionally,
I have tried to involve a
manageable amount of
chromaticism in this
piece. I have worked from
the key of Bb major, no
doubt familiar to every
student who has ever
played an instrument in a
band. But I have added
three extra notes: Db,
Gb, and Ab, which are
drawn from the key of Bb
minor. During the piece's
slow opening, I have
allowed these minor key
pitches to mingle freely
within the Bb major
tonality, adding extra
color and (I hope!)
beauty. As the piece
progresses, though, the
tempo increases, and we
lose sense of the Bb
major key entirely, and
these extra notes play a
more important role. But
finally, Bb major returns
triumphantly and all the
extra notes are gone,
except for a brief memory
near the very end. (Ok,
there are a couple of
E-naturals that sneak in
there along the way. I
couldn't
resist.). Hope Remains
Within was commissioned
by and composed for the
Mount Nittany Middle
School 7th and 8th Grade
Concert Bands. Having
heard the students of
Mount Nittany perform
another work of mine, I
was very excited when
their director, Johanna
Steinbacher, approached
me about writing a piece
specifically for them. I
knew right away that I
wanted to write something
that would tie in with
their non-music
curriculum in some way,
but I wasn’t
exactly sure how, or
what. Johanna talked to
some of her students and
learned that, in 7th
grade, the students spend
a good deal of time
studying mythology in
their English class. In
particular, two clarinet
students mentioned how
much they enjoyed the
story of Pandora.As such,
I decided to use that
story as the basis of
this composition. Hope
Remains Within
doesn’t attempt to
re-tell the story, event
by event, in musical
terms. Instead, my goal
was to address what seems
to be one of the central
issues of the Pandora
myth. Though there are
some variations, we
probably all know the
basics as told by the
ancient Greek poet
Hesiod. Zeus decides to
punish Prometheus for
stealing fire from heaven
and giving it to humans.
He and the other gods
create Pandora, a
beautiful and deceitful
woman, and they give her
to Prometheus’s
brother Epimetheus as a
bride. Pandora is herself
given a jar (according to
many sources,
“jar†seems
to be a more accurate
translation for what we
commonly call
“Pandora’s
boxâ€) which
contained numerous evils,
diseases, and other
pains. Out of curiosity,
Pandora opens the jar and
releases all of these
evils into the world. But
one thing remains in the
jar: hope.The issue of
hope seems to be one of
the big interpretive
questions of the Pandora
myth. Why does hope
remain within the jar?
Why doesn’t it
come out of the jar to
help humanity? Is hope
being held on a pedestal
of some sort? Is hope
deliberately withheld
from humanity? Why was
hope in the jar with all
those evils in the first
place?I’m not
enough of a mythological
scholar to claim to have
definitive answers to
those questions, but
these are the questions
that I’ve tried to
engage from a musical
perspective in Hope
Remains Within. I
encourage the students
and listeners to consider
their own ideas of what
hope is, and where you
can find your own hope
when needed.Musically,
Hope Remains Within draws
one of its main themes
from the Prometheus
Symphony by Alexander
Skryabin (Scriabin). The
note sequence F-D-Gb -F,
heard near Hope’s
beginning played by alto
saxophones and chimes,
comes from the opening
measures of
Skyrabin’s work.
Given the important role
that Prometheus plays in
the Pandora myth, this
seemed like an
appropriate musical
gesture to quote. This
Prometheus motive is
varied throughout the
course of the piece, and
even provides closure at
the end, recast in a
major key.Additionally, I
have tried to involve a
manageable amount of
chromaticism in this
piece. I have worked from
the key of Bb major, no
doubt familiar to every
student who has ever
played an instrument in a
band. But I have added
three extra notes: Db,
Gb, and Ab, which are
drawn from the key of Bb
minor. During the
piece’s slow
opening, I have allowed
these minor key pitches
to mingle freely within
the Bb major tonality,
adding extra color and (I
hope!) beauty. As the
piece progresses, though,
the tempo increases, and
we lose sense of the Bb
major key entirely, and
these extra notes play a
more important role. But
finally, Bb major returns
triumphantly and all the
extra notes are gone,
except for a brief memory
near the very end. (Ok,
there are a couple of
E-naturals that sneak in
there along the way. I
couldn’t
resist.).
Can You Imagine? Chorale 3 parties 3 parties aigues Boosey and Hawkes
(CME Beginning). By Rupert Lang. For Choral (3 Part Treble). CME Beginning Serie...(+)
(CME Beginning). By
Rupert Lang. For Choral
(3 Part Treble). CME
Beginning Series. 16
pages. Boosey and Hawkes
#M051476145. Published by
Boosey and Hawkes
Choral SSA Choir and Piano SKU: CF.CM9575 Born on a Fishing Boat. ...(+)
Choral SSA Choir and
Piano
SKU:
CF.CM9575
Born on
a Fishing Boat.
Composed by Braeden
Ayres. Fold. Performance
Score. 8 pages. Duration
2 minutes, 51 seconds.
Carl Fischer Music
#CM9575. Published by
Carl Fischer Music
(CF.CM9575).
ISBN
9781491153970. UPC:
680160912476. 6.875 x
10.5 inches. Key: F
minor. English. Mei-Li
Medvar.
Original.
Discovery Level 1.
Composed by Joe Raposo.
Arranged by Roger
Emerson. Discovery
Choral. Pop, Tv. Octavo.
Duration 135 seconds.
Published by Hal Leonard
(HL.249523).
UPC:
888680711153.
6.75x10.5x0.036
inches.
“Sing
of good things, not
bad†is certainly a
wonderful mantra for all
of us and it is the theme
of this iconic Joe Raposo
song from “Sesame
Street.†With a
driving and rhythmic
piano accompaniment here
is an incredibly creative
arrangement of this
positive song.
Quintette de Cuivres: 2 trompettes, Cor, trombone, tuba - Intermédiaire Kendor Music Inc.
By Irving Berlin. Arranged by Arthur Frackenpohl. For 2 trumpets, french horn, t...(+)
By Irving Berlin.
Arranged by Arthur
Frackenpohl. For 2
trumpets, french horn,
trombone and tuba. Brass
Quintet. Level: Grade 4.
Published by Kendor Music
Inc.