SKU: BR.EB-9387

ISBN 9790004188576. 0 x 0 inches.

Commissione d by the Kolner Philharmonie (KolnMusik) for the non bthvn projekt 2020 and the Cite de la musique / Philharmonie de Paris Dedicated to Arditti Quartet Each movement of this quartet explores a single state, its lights and its shadows. Each movement, you could say, is a moment . And these moments could last for more or less time without compromising their essential nature. The processes could be extended or compressed, repeated or reversed, but the core ideas - if they are ideas, but maybe they are simply experiences? - are what they are. Despite this, the precise sequence of movements matters a great deal. Heard together they do articulate some kind of linear narrative, maybe even a metaphorical journey (albeit a circular one where the arrival might, who knows, prove to be a new departure). One situation gives way to another and instrumental relationships within the quartet vary, but ultimately the imaginative impulse behind the piece preferences states of unity. Whether or not this unity is expressed texturally - sometimes literal unisons pervade, but not always - there is generally a sense that even seemingly diverse aspects relate to a fundamental condition of concord: a conscious limitation in the pitch structure to spectral emanations of the root notes E-flat and C. At the opening this is unambiguously audible in the perpetual alternation of these two notes in the low cello register. Later the two spectra are woven into a micro-tonal 'double-spectral-mode' (derived from the first 24 partials of the C and E-flat fundamentals), which defines the subtle melodic inflection of the second movement, and the never-quite-chromatic ascending scales of the third. For now this feels like a rich source of melodic possibility, so far only just glimpsed... And why the insistence on E-flat? Probably by way of historical anecdote. Apparently Karl Holz (a member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet) said to Beethoven: We performed your Quartet in E-flat Op. 127 in his [Weber's] honour; he found the Adagio too long; but I told him: Beethoven also has a longer feeling and a longer imagination than anyone standing or not standing today. - Since then, even Linke (another member of the quartet) can no longer stand him: we cannot forgive him for this. Listening again to Op. 127, in light of these comments, I was struck by the opening moment: the unfolding of an E-flat 7th chord over the course of a few bars. Every time I hear it I find myself wishing that Beethoven would have lingered longer there, without resolution or progression, just enjoying that sonority. And maybe - why not? - tune the 7th naturally. And what would it be to stretch that moment into an entire piece? What would Weber think of that?! In the end I was not so extreme in my self-limitation, and other concerns took over, but it was from these thoughts that the composition process began... Lastly, about the title: it comes from a book called 'The Clock of the Long Now' by Stewart Brand, published at the turn of the millennium. It's about the creation of a thousand-year clock to embody the aspiration to thinking in terms of longer time-spans than are presently habitual. If the music of Beethoven embodied a 'longer' feeling and imagination than some of his contemporaries were able to appreciate, what is our relation to time now? Longer or shorter? Maybe it depends who you ask... It's probably more extreme in both directions: attention spans might be diminishing in the digital world, but conversely there is an awareness of distant pasts and potential futures which would have been inconceivable at the time of Beethoven. In any case, the interesting thing is to ponder how societal conditions, assumptions and expectations might - whether consciously or unconsciously - influence the time of art, for listeners and creators alike. And what if time is running out? (Christian Mason)

World premiere: Paris, Cite de la musique, January 14, 2020.

SKU: HL.35029350

UPC: 884088955731. 5x5 inches.

Uses: Good Friday, Holy Week

Scripture: Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11; Matthew 26:21-22; John 3:16-17; Galatians 2:20

A moving choral lamentation for the crucified Christ is presented in this anthem for Good Friday. From the shadows of Golgotha, this poignant paean weeps with emotion through expressive music and cries of “Kyrie Eleison.” The anthem is dependent on two soloists that soar above the dramatic choral. The classic chorale “Ah, Holy Jesus” is a sensitive ending to the piece. StudioTrax CD has 3 tracks - Accompaniment, Split, Performance.

SKU: FP.FBS02

ISBN 9790570500192.

Sara h Baker is Vocal Composer in Residence at Education Music Services, an ABRSM examiner and a well known composer of songs and musicals for primary schools and massed-choral events.

All this experience has come together in the creation of this first published album of piano pieces, inspired by the sounds heard at night from the woodland just beyond Sarah’s childhood home.

Suitable for players of around grade 4-5 standard, her evocative sound pieces begin at the tranquillity of dusk and end with the exuberant dawn chorus.

The composer writes:

'I grew up with woods behind my house, and the nocturnal noises and images that I remember were the inspiration for these eight short sound pictures on the theme of night. The music moves first from the tranquility of dusk and evening mists, to the emerging starlight of twilight. As night falls it takes on on a darker quality with shadows and dreams disturbing peace and calm.The night birds and bats swoop and flit past as they seek their prey, but gradually dawn approaches and peaceful sleep is restored. The morning is heralded in the joyful exuberance of the dawn chorus.'.

SKU: PR.14440515S

UPC: 680160667819. 9 x 12 inches.

In 1979, Martin produced a set of three quintets, in consideration of Gorky's piece Nighttime Enigma Nostalgia. Each is scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. One role of music is to evoke. Therefore, Nighttime is a nocturne, a night piece suggestive of flickering shadows, perhaps created by firelight. It is a recurrent setting in human existence. The music opens with the scene of twilight calm, gently disturbed with the slight uncertainty about what is around us, what we cannot see. Later, the clarinet takes on a solo role, and the notes bleed like careless paint into the other instruments that quietly sustain them. Next, the flute takes over the role of solo. The piece ends with a repeated cadence of morning light. (From the performance notes.).

SKU: HL.14030976

ISBN 9788759853757. 9.5x14.25x0.086 inches. English.

The composer writes, 'Quite some time ago I heard - through a conversation in a mobile phone - a wonderful concert of ringing church bells from an European capital. I found it very hard to concentrate about the conversation, because I was so engrossed by the chaotic world of bell sound. The night after, I dreamt that the sound of those low singing bells was rising up from a piano in a huge empty concert hall. That experience became the starting point for my piano piece, 'The Shadows of Silence'. But before the piece gets to the ringing bells it moves through a landscape of shadows - Shadows of the silence before the bells - Silence before the storm - Shadows of melodies which all the time leaves traces even in the short passages of storm. After the passage with the low ringing bells the shadows of silence returns melted in to a lament, which are sending two regards. One to two small beautiful - not very well known - bars by Mozart, and one to the sextet in my own opera, 'Under the Sky'.

SKU: HL.388205

ISBN 9781705156049. UPC: 196288025337. 5.0x5.0x0.076 inches.

This brief choral cantata is well suited for use during Holy Week as a Tenebrae observance or as a time of reflection. A musical service of shadows, Candles of Grace is filled with emotive texts and deeply expressive music portraying the events of the Passion. A thoughtful orchestration adorns this chamber cantata with refined beauty and grace, giving directors an instrumental or track option for their presentations. From the delicate opening phrases to the fragile whispered ending, this work is essential for remembering and experiencing the suffering of the Lord. Songs include: Prelude (The Shadow Falls); Bring Me to the Cross; The Garden Call; Man of Sorrows, What a Name; Jesus, Lover of My Soul; Keep Me Near the Cross; Scenes from a Solemn Cross; Epilogue. Score and Parts (pno, fl, vn 1-2, va, vc) available as a digital download. For the Accompaniment and Part Dominant Tracks: Audio is accessed online using the unique code generated upon purchase and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. HL00388204: Accompaniment Tracks HL00388214: Part Dominant Tracks.

SKU: HL.388213

ISBN 9781705156063. UPC: 196288025351. 6.75x10.5x0.255 inches.

This brief choral cantata is well suited for use during Holy Week as a Tenebrae observance or as a time of reflection. A musical “service of shadows,” Candles of Grace is filled with emotive texts and deeply expressive music portraying the events of the Passion. A thoughtful orchestration adorns this chamber cantata with refined beauty and grace, giving directors an instrumental or track option for their presentations. From the delicate opening phrases to the fragile whispered ending, this work is essential for remembering and experiencing the suffering of the Lord. Songs include: Prelude (The Shadow Falls); Bring Me to the Cross; The Garden Call; Man of Sorrows, What a Name; Jesus, Lover of My Soul; Keep Me Near the Cross; Scenes from a Solemn Cross; Epilogue. Score and Parts (pno, fl, vn 1-2, va, vc) available as a digital download. For the Accompaniment and Part Dominant Tracks: Audio is accessed online using the unique code generated upon purchase and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. HL00388204: Accompaniment Tracks HL00388214: Part Dominant Tracks.