SKU: CA.1040248

ISBN 9790007312459. Key: F sharp minor. French. Text: Montesquiou, Robert de.

Gabriel Fauré’s Pavane is certainly one of his most popular compositions. You may, however, be surprised to learn that the premiere of this stylized dance in April 1888 was actually performed in a version for mixed choir rather than the now more familiar orchestral setting or other instrumental arrangement. The text, in the style of Verlaine, sketches the carefree society of the Belle Époque, in particular the various flirtations and dalliances of the dancers. Supplementing the new edition of the version for mixed choir (Carus 10.402/00), Carus is publishing this contemporary version for choir and two piano for four hands. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1040200.

SKU: HL.49047189

UPC: 196288152224.

The New Robert Schumann Edition (RSA) sees itself as a historical-critical complete edition. All works should be carefully prepared and presented as a whole in accordance with the latest state of the art in musicological edition technology. Also fragmentary attempts, sketches and drafts, i. H. Everything authentically handed down by Schumann and in most cases consciously preserved by himis collected, examined in terms of its significance and documented in a suitable form in the complete edition. The aim of the edition is to reproduce authentic texts that – cleaned of spelling, copying and printing errors, cleaned of later additions and/or healed of other textual corruptions – should come as close as possible to the intended originals. Last but not least, the critical edition should create a solid basis for the faithful cultivation of Robert Schumann's music in musical practice.

SKU: BT.PWM5447

''Stabat Mater'' by Karol Szymanowski for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, Op. 53, is one of the most famous and, at the same time, most personal works of the composer, making its appeal to the audience through the depth of its expression and sheer artistry. The first sketches of the work were made in the spring of 1925, while work on the full score occupied the composer from 20 January to 2 March 1926. Józef Jankowskis Polish translation of the medieval sequence formed the basis of the composition. This text, which was simple in a folk-like way, devoid of pathos but full of religious zeal, harmonized perfectly from the poetic point of view with the composers creative design. In an interview for the monthly Muzyka Szymanowski stated: ''in its Polish vestments that eternal, naive hymn was filled for me with its own immediate expressive content; it became something painted in colours which were recognisable and comprehensible as distinct from the black and white of the archaic original'' (''A Footnote to Stabat Mater'', Muzyka 1926, Nos. 11/12). In the score, the Latin text is given beside the Polish text, making it possible for the work to be performed more easily by foreign performers. In this work, the universal tradition of the Christian church was fused with the Polish religious tradition. The composer creates the religious folk-like climate primarily through the character of the melodies which are akin to to the plainchant melodies to the text of Stabat Mater (the sequence, and especially the hymn) and their paraphrases in Polish religious songs (e.g. Sta a Matka Bole ciwa [The Dolorous Mother was standing]) as well as motifs from Polish Lenten songs and Gorzkie ale (Bitter Laments). Szymanowski did not introduce them as quotations, but intersperses the melodic lines, which are more fully developed and frequently highly chromatic, with diatonic phrases, based on modal scales. They appear in all the movements of the work determining its cohesion. In dividing the twenty-stanza text into separate segments, Szymanowski created a six- movement cantata. He took care to distinguish between the emotional shades of the various movements, varying his selection of solo voices (soprano, contralto, baritone), the voices of the chorus (female or mixed) and the orchestral forces. In the first and third movements the lyrical idiom prevails; the first movement, portraying the Mother of God at the foot of the cross, has a narrative character, whereas the third is a kind of prayer from a man who sympathizes with, and who wishes to be associated with Mater Dolorosas pain. In these movements only the female voices are used (soprano, contralto and female chorus), while the orchestra is employed in a chamber style, sometimes drawing on solo accompanying parts (e.g. the beginning of the third movement). The fourth movement, which continues the mood of prayerful contemplation, is designed for soprano and contralto solo as well as unaccompanied chorus. On the other hand, the second and fifth movements, involving the participation of solo baritone and the full chorus and orchestra, are similar with regard to forces and their dramatic character, which is austere in expression, harsh in tone, and markedly dissonant. Here grand climaxes appear with powerful orchestral tutti. The sixth movement crowns the whole. The lyrical, soft melody of the solo soprano at the beginning is gradually strengthened by the addition of the female chorus and the solo contralto, and in the final section, the solo baritone as well as the tutti of chorus and orchestra. The conclusion, subdued and full of concentration, suggests the introvert character of the experience as opposed to its dramatic pathos. Stabat Mater by Szymanowski is part of a long tradition of compositions based on the text of the medieval sequence - ranging from polyphonic works by Josquin des Prés and Palestrina to the romantic Stabat by Giuseppe Verdi and Anton n Dvo ák. And it was perhaps because of his consciousness of this tradition that Szymanowski used stylizing devices in the spirit of early music. The archaization manifests itself not only in the character of the melodies and their modal framework, but also in the harmonies (with their predominance of triads, open fourths and fifths chords and doubled thirds), the simple rhythms as well as the texture of the choruses (esp. the fourth movement). The composer does not, however, imitate the style of any specific historical epoch, but combines resources taken from early music with modern tonal and harmonic techniques. Archaization in Stabat Mater serves, moreover, a symbolic function; in evoking the many-centuries old tradition of church music, it emphasizes the universal nature of the idea contained in the text of the sequence, while the re-reading of the text by the composer gives the work its individual features. [Zofia Helman, translated by Ewa Cholewka].

ISBN 9783795793968. 9.25x12.5x1.473 inches.

Arnold Schonberg is the central figure in the musical world of this century. His musical significance was already apparent during his life-time, but his posthumous influence has increased immensely. His work paved the way for ground-breaking changes in musical perception. This complete edition aspires to be equally indispensable for research as well as for performance. The edition is published in two series: series A in folio format contains all completed works, all piano scores prepared by the composer himself and all unfinished works suitable for performance; also fragments (large scores) which are better suited to be printed in such a format. Series B, in quarto format, contains early versions, sketches, ideas and fragments as well as genesis and a Critical Commentary.