Chamber Music English Horn, Oboe SKU: CF.WF229 15 Pieces for Oboe and ...(+)
Chamber Music English
Horn, Oboe
SKU:
CF.WF229
15 Pieces
for Oboe and English
Horn. Composed by
Gustave Vogt. Edited by
Kristin Jean Leitterman.
Collection - Performance.
32+8 pages. Carl Fischer
Music #WF229. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.WF229).
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.
Chamber Music SKU: PR.164002120 Composed by Dan Welcher. Set of Score and...(+)
Chamber Music
SKU:
PR.164002120
Composed
by Dan Welcher. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
32+16+12+12+12 pages.
Duration 16 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00212. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.164002120).
UPC:
680160037582.
Works
of chamber music
including flute and
strings are not nearly as
numerous as those for
clarinet, or even the
oboe. Probably the reason
for this is the less
assertive, more pure tone
the flute possesses - it
can't compete for volume
or range with the
clarinet, except in its
top octave, and the
oboe's tone is more
penetrating and easily
discerned from within a
string texture.
Consequently, composers
who have written for
flute and strings have
done so in lightweight
divertimento works:
compare, for instance,
the delicate flute
quartets of Mozart with
his monumental quintet
for clarinet and strings.
When Karl and Joan
Karber approached me with
the ideas of writing a
work for flute and string
trio, I originally
thought it would be best
to write a humorous,
rather offhand piece -
but a look at their
repertoire (mostly
comprised of smaller
works of the Rococo
period) convinced me that
it was the last thing
they needed. In spite of
the challenge (or maybe
because of it?), I
determined to write a
large work, and a serious
work. Zephyrus (named for
the God of the West Wind,
in deference to the
flute) is a
three-movement work, with
each movement cast in a
very different form, but
all three being built of
the same twelve-note
series. There is also a
rhythmic motive and a
pair of themes that
appear in all three
movements. The
first movement plays with
the idea of contrast and
persuasion. The flute, at
the outset, is the
hell-for-leather
protagonist, charging and
swooping around the
strings - who seem oddly
unconcerned by his
passion. Indeed, they
have a more somber song
to sing - and as the
movement unfolds, the
flute becomes less and
less active, while the
strings become
increasingly enlivened.
By the midpoint, when all
four instruments are
finally in the same meter
and the same tempo, the
flute's energy has
finally infected the
other three players, and
this energy does not let
up until the movement's
abrupt final cadence.
The second
movement begins with a
tag from the first - as
if the energy left over
was too great to simply
stop. At length, though,
a very poignant flute
melody appears over an
almost bluesy harmony in
the strings. After this
has been fully exposed, a
slight increase in
motion, marked gently
rocking in triplets,
features a theme-fragment
from Leonard Bernstein's
Symphony No. 2 (Kaddish).
Bernstein died as I was
writing this work, and it
seemed quite natural to
encourage what was
already implicit in the
music, and create an
Elegy for L.B. The music
rises and peaks, then in
the recapitulation of the
opening the Kaddish theme
reappears, as the
ensemble suggests a
gentle song of sleep.
The final movement
is a Rondo-Variations
form, with the slight
alteration of adding the
main theme of the second
movement in what would be
the trio of the form. The
ritornello theme is a
kind of ethnic dance
music, almost an allusion
to the Klezmer ensembles
of Eastern Europe. The
successive episodes
between the ritornelli
are loosely organized
variations on the basic
theme, but always
beginning with a metric
modulation, a rhythmic
changing of gears. The
movement reaches and apex
of speed and furious
pulsing, then abruptly
pirouttes, and finishes.
Zephyrus was
written between April and
November of 1990 in
Austin, Aspen, and
Honolulu, and is
dedicated to Karl Kraber
and The Chamber Soloists
of Austin. --Dan
Welcher.
SKU: PR.16400212S Composed by Dan Welcher. With Standard notation. Durati...(+)
SKU: PR.16400212S
Composed by Dan Welcher.
With Standard notation.
Duration 16 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00212S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16400212S).
UPC:
680160037605.
Works
of chamber music
including flute and
strings are not nearly as
numerous as those for
clarinet, or even the
oboe. Probably the reason
for this is the less
assertive, more pure tone
the flute possesses - it
can't compete for volume
or range with the
clarinet, except in its
top octave, and the
oboe's tone is more
penetrating and easily
discerned from within a
string texture.
Consequently, composers
who have written for
flute and strings have
done so in lightweight
divertimento works:
compare, for instance,
the delicate flute
quartets of Mozart with
his monumental quintet
for clarinet and strings.
When Karl and Joan
Karber approached me with
the ideas of writing a
work for flute and string
trio, I originally
thought it would be best
to write a humorous,
rather offhand piece -
but a look at their
repertoire (mostly
comprised of smaller
works of the Rococo
period) convinced me that
it was the last thing
they needed. In spite of
the challenge (or maybe
because of it?), I
determined to write a
large work, and a serious
work. Zephyrus (named for
the God of the West Wind,
in deference to the
flute) is a
three-movement work, with
each movement cast in a
very different form, but
all three being built of
the same twelve-note
series. There is also a
rhythmic motive and a
pair of themes that
appear in all three
movements. The
first movement plays with
the idea of contrast and
persuasion. The flute, at
the outset, is the
hell-for-leather
protagonist, charging and
swooping around the
strings - who seem oddly
unconcerned by his
passion. Indeed, they
have a more somber song
to sing - and as the
movement unfolds, the
flute becomes less and
less active, while the
strings become
increasingly enlivened.
By the midpoint, when all
four instruments are
finally in the same meter
and the same tempo, the
flute's energy has
finally infected the
other three players, and
this energy does not let
up until the movement's
abrupt final cadence.
The second
movement begins with a
tag from the first - as
if the energy left over
was too great to simply
stop. At length, though,
a very poignant flute
melody appears over an
almost bluesy harmony in
the strings. After this
has been fully exposed, a
slight increase in
motion, marked gently
rocking in triplets,
features a theme-fragment
from Leonard Bernstein's
Symphony No. 2 (Kaddish).
Bernstein died as I was
writing this work, and it
seemed quite natural to
encourage what was
already implicit in the
music, and create an
Elegy for L.B. The music
rises and peaks, then in
the recapitulation of the
opening the Kaddish theme
reappears, as the
ensemble suggests a
gentle song of sleep.
The final movement
is a Rondo-Variations
form, with the slight
alteration of adding the
main theme of the second
movement in what would be
the trio of the form. The
ritornello theme is a
kind of ethnic dance
music, almost an allusion
to the Klezmer ensembles
of Eastern Europe. The
successive episodes
between the ritornelli
are loosely organized
variations on the basic
theme, but always
beginning with a metric
modulation, a rhythmic
changing of gears. The
movement reaches and apex
of speed and furious
pulsing, then abruptly
pirouttes, and finishes.
Zephyrus was
written between April and
November of 1990 in
Austin, Aspen, and
Honolulu, and is
dedicated to Karl Kraber
and The Chamber Soloists
of Austin. --Dan
Welcher.
Composed by Harl
Mcdonald. This edition:
Study Score.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
84 pages. Duration 15
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #466-41177.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.466411770).
UPC:
680160640850. 9 x 12
inches.
Mississippi
I. Father of Waters: born
of the Highlands and the
Lakes; the Glaciers, the
Mountains, and the
Prairies. The picture of
your birth is clounded in
the ice and mists of
ancient ages but your
spirit remains our life
stream. II. The Red Man
knew your bountiful gifts
and gave thanks to the
Great Spirit on your
banks. -- The Spanish and
French Fathers brought
the glory of Christianity
to America on
Mississippi. But all men,
white and dark; --
Indian, Spaniard, and
Negro; Bourbon and
Yankee, combined to make
Mississippi the heart of
America. Saga of the
Mississippi Harl McDonald
Born near Boulder,
Colorado, July 27, 1899
Now living in
Philadelphia The original
suggestion for a
symphonic work on the
subject of the
Mississippi came
indirectly from the late
Booth Tarkington who saw
in it color and movement
and atmosphere
translatable into the
terms of music. In the
course of time, by the
mysterious processes of
composers' chemistry, it
took shape as a tone-poem
of two sections, one
representing the rise of
the great stream from its
primeval geologic
sources, the other the
human history of the
river. Mr. McDonald
devised the following
verbal outline of the
general scheme of his
diptych: I. Father of
Waters: born of the
Highlands and the Lakes;
the Glaciers, the
Mountains, and the
Prairies. The picture of
your birth is clounded in
the ice and mists of
ancient ages but your
spirit remains our life
stream. II. The Red Man
knew your bountiful gifts
and gave thanks to the
Great Spirit on your
banks. -- The Spanish and
French Fathers brought
the glory of Christianity
to America on
Mississippi. But all men,
white and dark; --
Indian, Spaniard, and
Negro; Bourbon and
Yankee, combined to make
Mississippi the heart of
America. The first of the
two movements, beginning
molto andante, is vaguel
modal to hint at
antiquity. It is built
upon the conventional two
themes, with an episode,
poco piu mosso,
misterioso, for
prehistoric murk and
muck. There are various
changes of pace and mood.
The second, Allegro ma
vigorosamente, prefigures
an Indian ceremony. A
theme presented by flute,
clarinet and bassoon is a
Canadian Indian fishing
call collected by the
late J.B. Beck. A later
passage of
quasi-Gregorian chant
identifies the French and
Spanish priests who made
the great river their
highway. The fishing-call
is altered in rhythm and
harmony to represent
Negro field hands and
roustabous. A turbulent
close brings all these
elemts together in the
muddy swirling currents
of the Mississippi. The
work was begun in the
summer of 1945, and was
revised and completed in
the summer of 1947. Harl
McDonald, who is the
manager of The
Philadelphia Orchestra,
has concerned himself
with music as an art, as
a science and as a
business in course of his
career. He was born on a
cattle ranch in the
Rockies, but since his
was a musical family, his
up-bringing combined
piano lessons with ranch
life. Years of study and
professional experience
followed in Los Angeles
and in Germany. In 1927
he was appointed lecuter
in composition at the
University of
Pennsylvania and he has
since then made is home
in Philadelphia. In 1933
under a grant of the
Rockefeller FOundation he
collaborated with
physicists in research
dealing with the
measurement of
instrumental and vocal
tone, new scale divisions
and the resultant
harmonies. In that same
year he was named head of
the University's music
faculty and conductor of
its choral organizations.
In 1939, having been a
member of the Board of
Directors for five years,
he was appointed manager
of The Philadelphia
Orchestra. He continus to
write, but otherwise his
entire attention is now
devoted to managerial
duties. Chief items in
the catalogue of his
compositions are four
symphonies, three
orchestra suites, a
half-dozen tone-poems,
three concertos and
considerable quantity of
choral music.
(Over 850 Classical Themes and Melodies in the Original Keys) For C instrument. ...(+)
(Over 850 Classical
Themes and Melodies in
the Original Keys) For C
instrument. Format:
fakebook (spiral bound).
With vocal melody
(excerpts) and chord
names. Lassical. Series:
Hal Leonard Fake Books.
646 pages. 9x12 inches.
Published by Hal Leonard.
The Last Hour Chorale SATB SATB A Cappella [Partie séparée] Theodore Presser Co.
Five Choruses for S.A.T.B., A Cappella. By Leo Smit. Text: Emily Dickinson. Choi...(+)
Five Choruses for
S.A.T.B., A Cappella. By
Leo Smit. Text: Emily
Dickinson. Choir (SATB,
keyboard). For SATB
Chorus, Piano Rehearsal.
Choral. Choral Part(s).
18 pages. Duration 9:00.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company.
Chamber Music Cello,
Flute, Viola 1, Viola 2,
Violin
SKU:
CF.MXE219
Composed by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Arranged by Robert
Stallman. Sws.
56+16+16+16+16+12 pages.
Carl Fischer Music
#MXE219. Published by
Carl Fischer Music
(CF.MXE219).
ISBN
9781491157794. UPC:
680160916399. 9 x 12
inches.
Composed by Dan Welcher.
With Standard notation.
Duration 15 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00261S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16400261S).
UPC:
680160038411.
Since
the bassoon is my own
instrument, many people
have asked me why I've
written so little for the
instrument. Beyond my
early Concerto Da Camera
for bassoon and small
orchestra, written for
Leonard Sharrow in 1975,
I've not written a single
piece that features the
bassoon as a solo vehicle
(though I have written
three woodwind quintets).
When I first began
composing seriously,
critics were quick to
point out that my
orchestral writing
revealed nothing of my
roots as a woodwind
player--and bassoonists
asked why my pieces
didn't have more bassoon
solos. Perhaps I was so
aware that people were
looking at me as a
bassoonist/composer that
I was determined to
remove that stigma. Now
that my transformation
from performer to
composer is complete,
however, it's time to
re-address my instrument.
I wanted this new piece
to be serious rather than
whimsical. The Wind Won't
Listen represents my
return to the bassoon as
the highly expressive,
poetic soul that it is.
As such, it
shouldn't come as a
surprise that the piece
is based on a poem, and
that the title of the
piece as well as both its
movement titles come from
lines in that poem. I
first read Beth Gylys'
poem Split at the
MacDowell Colony in the
summer of 2001, and it
made a big impression on
me. My personal life had
been ruptured by divorce
in the preceding year.
This poem, with its dry
insistence on observation
rather than feeling,
expressed the wrung-out
state of my emotions at
the time better than any
I had seen. I set it to
music, as a song,
immediately. In this
format, for voice and
piano, I was able to put
a musical note to every
word of the poem. The
first lines of the poem,
Everyone I know is
crying, or should be
crying, became a melody
that haunted me even
without the words.
The work for bassoon and
string quartet is an
outgrowth of the song.
The first movement is
labeled Romanza, and has
a loose formal arch
structure of A-B-C-B-A,
with B and C being fast
sections framed by the
lamenting A music. In
addition to hearing the
bassoon's first notes
attached to the lines
Everyone I know is
crying, there's a sense
of agitation, of loss, of
longing, and at times of
desperation in the music.
At one point, the opening
theme from Tristan even
appears in the strings.
The second
movement follows, without
a real pause--the
pizzicato final chords of
the first movement
becoming the increasingly
aggressive opening chords
of the second. The
recitative is actually a
foreshadowing of the
basic theme that will be
varied, again to the
words of the song: Life
makes itself without us.
Don't let me tell you how
it is. Go out. Look. The
recitative begins in an
anguished state, but
subsides into more gentle
singing by the end, when
it simply falls into an
ostinato 5/8-3/4 pattern
to begin the variations.
Marked Very steady tempo;
Dancing, this set of
variations consists of
three dances, each faster
than the previous. The
first, in the
aforementioned 5/8-3/4
meter, gives way to a 3/8
scherzo, which in turn
takes on a furious 2/4
scurrying motion. The
music becomes breathless,
almost pulse-less, and an
ethereal theme appears in
the violins while the
rushing music continues,
sotto voce in the
bassoon. This new theme
is also from the song:
Why do I do this? The
wind won't listen. The
bassoon re-states its
Everyone I know is crying
melody from the first
movement, and at length
the 5/8-3/4 music
returns, more subdued
this time. The piece ends
on a major-minor chord,
suspended. The
Wind Won't Listen is
dedicated to the man who
commissioned it,
bassoonist Steven
Dibner--who shares my
passion for poetry and
language. --Dan
Welcher.
Chamber Music Violin SKU: CF.BF131 Composed by Roland Vamos. With Standar...(+)
Chamber Music Violin
SKU: CF.BF131
Composed by Roland Vamos.
With Standard notation.
168 pages. Carl Fischer
Music #BF131. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.BF131).
ISBN
9781491153765. UPC:
680160911264. 9 x 12
inches.
Inspired by
Clarence Cameron
White’s book The
Violinist’s Daily
Dozen, The
Violinist’s Daily
Sixteen is a collection
of daily exercises
compiled by Roland Vamos.
Intended for student and
professional violinists,
the collection provides
the performer with a
variety of exercises for
daily warm-ups. Mr. Vamos
also focuses on
developing dexterity and
flexibility in the
fingers and joints, the
first and fourth fingers
in particular. Each of
the sixteen exercises is
notated for each of the
four strings, and Vamos
recommends that the
exercises be practiced as
warm-ups, choosing a
different string for each
day of practice.Also
included with the Daily
Sixteen is a
comprehensive set of
studies for developing
fluency with scales and
arpeggios. Mr.
Vamos’ unique
methodology is to begin
with major scales and
arpeggios, followed by
minor scales and
arpeggios, all of which
are notated in two, three
and four octaves.
Alternate fingers are
provided, as well as a
variety of slurred and
mixed bowings using the
three parts of the bow
whenever feasible. It is
a remarkably systematic
approach to performing
scales and arpeggios on
the violin and will
surely benefit students
and professionals
alike. ForewordThis
short hand-setting set of
exercises was inspired by
a book entitled The
Violinist’s Daily
Dozen, conceived by
Clarence Cameron White, a
prominent
African-American
violinist, composer and
arranger who enjoyed the
bulk of his career in the
first half of the
twentieth century.I have
practiced this set of
exercises since I was
twelve years old. It has
served me as a superb
warm-up and hand setting
tool. Over the years, I
have found that there are
some aspects of this
warm-up routine that were
not given sufficient
attention or not
addressed at all.
Consequently, I have
expanded the Daily Dozen
to create a new work
entitled The
Violinist’s Daily
Sixteen.I have also paid
particular attention in
this work as to how these
exercises are to be
practiced. In exercises
one and two, I have
indicated some notes to
be played before the
actual written exercises.
This is to ensure that
the fourth finger will be
over the string in a
position ready to strike
even though it is not
being used. Before
playing exercises three,
four, nine, ten, eleven
and twelve, I have
indicated silent fingers
to be placed on the notes
they would be playing if
they were being used.I
have replaced Mr.
White’s grace
notes with notes of
specific value and have
slowed down the exercises
so that the first joint
(the joint nearest the
string) of each finger
can move with flexibility
and strength. At no time
should the first joint
buckle.In Mr.
White’s version,
the last exercise gave
the first finger some
very valuable backward
extensions. In this
exercise (number 14 in
this book), I caution the
student not to move the
hand along with the first
finger. The hand should
remain in position while
the first finger
independently moves back
and forth.It became
obvious to me that if the
first finger were given
the opportunity to
develop the dexterity
that Mr. White’s
twelfth exercise
emphasizes, the fourth
finger could benefit from
an exercise that gives it
a forward extension.
Consequently, I added
another exercise to
create a Baker’s
Dozen (thirteen).Several
years later, I felt that
the second and third
fingers should also have
an exercise to further
develop their
dexterity…hence
exercise fourteen was
added to create a
“Vamos
Dozen.â€Because the
first finger did not have
sufficient practice in
the development of the
first joint in the
original version, I have
added two exercises to
precede White’s
fifth exercise. After
re-working and
re-numbering these
exercises, I have come up
with a total of sixteen
exercises. It is my
suggestion that these be
practiced as a warm-up,
choosing a different
string each
day.—Roland
VamosEvanston, Illinois
2017Â PrefaceScales are
a means of teaching a
person the fingerboard on
his or her instrument.
The fingers move across
the strings and are
required to make shifts,
all in highly organized
patterns. Scales and
arpeggios are the
foundation upon which our
repertoire is built. Many
scale books have been
written; each one being
organized in its own
specific way. The Flesch
Scale System has been a
standard for many
decades. It is very
comprehensive and
systematic. From the
point of view of
establishing similar
patterns, it has one
drawback: it is organized
by starting with a major
key, followed by its
relative minor, going
through the circle of
fifths. I believe that it
is more profitable to do
only major scales with
their arpeggios first,
going up chromatically,
and then follow them in a
similar way with the
minor scales. In using
this approach, the
similarities in
fingerings between the
various scales are more
apparent. It is also
profitable to have
alternate fingerings
whenever possible. My
approach to scales and
arpeggios includes a
variety of slurred and
mixed bowings using the
three parts of the bow
whenever feasible. These
bowings are not
all-inclusive. Whenever a
particularly awkward
bowing pattern is
encountered in the
repertoire, it can be
practiced as an
additional bowing
variation in the scales
and arpeggios. Â Â I
have chosen to introduce
the three and four octave
scales by teaching two
octave scales across the
strings in one position
going up chromatically
through seven positions;
starting on the first,
second, third, and
finally fourth fingers in
major and melodic
minor.—Roland
VamosEvanston, Illinois
2017.
(31 Duets That Can Be Played by Any Combination of String Instruments). By Larry...(+)
(31 Duets That Can Be
Played by Any Combination
of String Instruments).
By Larry Clark. Edited by
Doris Gazda. Arranged by
Larry Clark. For viola.
Compatible Duets for
Strings. Part book
(softcover). 48 pages.
Published by Carl Fischer
(The Journey from Darkness to Light). By Lloyd Larson. Arranged by Mary Mcdonald...(+)
(The Journey from
Darkness to Light). By
Lloyd Larson. Arranged by
Mary Mcdonald. Orchestra.
For Flute, Clarinet, 2
Trumpet, Horn, 2
Trombone, Percussion,
Piano, Synthesized
Strings. Cantata. Choral:
Advent. Orchestral Score
and Parts. Published by
Lorenz Publishing Company
Chamber Music Flute, Harp SKU: PR.164001780 For Flute and Harp. Co...(+)
Chamber Music Flute, Harp
SKU: PR.164001780
For Flute and
Harp. Composed by Dan
Welcher. Classical. Set
of Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed Apr-86. Duration
7 minutes. Theodore
Presser Company
#164-00178. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.164001780).
UPC:
680160037056.
The
American imagist poet Amy
Lowell (1874-1925)
provided both the title
and the substance for
this brief descriptive
work in her poem Night
Clouds. I had been
commissioned by the
flute/harp duo Chaski to
write a piece that had a
different sound than most
flute and harp pieces.
The image of these
elusive beasts cavorting
through the night, before
the appearance of the
tiger sun, seemed to me
perfectly suited for the
flute and harp and would
give me the chance to
write a work for that
combination that did NOT
have overtones of nymphs
and shepherds. I wanted
to make much use of the
harp's more violent
sounds (beating the
strings and the
soundboard, for instance)
as well as its unusual
and idiomatic effects,
such as pedal glissandi.
For the flute, there are
jet-whistle effects,
extremes of register,
pitch-bending and other
decidedly non-pastoral
gestures. The work was
composed in 1986.
--Dan Welcher.
Dan Welcher’s most enduringly and frequently played orchestral work, Prai...(+)
Dan Welcher’s most
enduringly and frequently
played orchestral work,
Prairie Light is a
fascinating musical
companion to three of
Georgia
O’Keeffe’s
most unusual paintings,
Light Coming on the
Plains, Canyon with
Crows, and Starlight
Night. This work is ideal
for performances using
visual projections of the
paintings, and is
frequently programmed for
subscription concerts as
well as those for
educational settings.
Duration: 14’
Parts available on
rental. This work for
full orchestra was
inspired by three
paintings of the noted
Americanartist Georgia
O’Keeffe. These
three watercolors were
done in 1917 while the
artist was living in
Canyon, Texas (near
Amarillo), and deal
primarily with color and
shape. Consequently, the
music is primarily
concerned with broad
lines and shapes rather
than rhythms, with subtle
washes of color rather
than constant harmonic
movement, and with
arching melody instead of
linear counterpoint.The
first movement, Light
Coming on the Plains, is
an elliptical-shaped
painting, deep blue to
indigo with a
“horizon†at
the bottom that seems
flat and unchanging. The
sun hasn’t risen
yet, although it does in
the course of this
movement, but it seems
instead to be providing
light from behind the
canvas. The music is
unmoving in terms of
rhythm or harmony
(although there is a
modulation midway
through), a color-infused
mantra of sound that is
almost Eastern.At the
height of the sun, we
proceed to the second
movement, entitled Canyon
with Crows. The canyon is
red-orange, with black
crows circling above
friendly unfolding hills.
The music is gentle but
lively and more rhythmic,
with the birds
represented by solo oboe,
clarinet, and sometimes
flute. Halfway through,
the brass have a chorale
version of the opening
motive, played very
slowly, over the unending
triplets of woodwinds and
strings. At the end of
the movement, the
birds return for a
duo-cadenza, accompanied
by the dying rays of the
sun in muted strings and
the ongoing triplets of
the solo quartet.The
stage is set for the
final movement, Starlight
Night. In
O’Keeffe’s
painting, the stars are
represented by
regularly-spaced
rectangles of bright pale
yellow on a blue-black
sky, with the same shape
to the field of vision
and the horizon that is
found in Light Coming on
the Plains. The stars
become audible: harp,
celesta, glockenspiel,
and string pizzicati all
lend a sparkle while a
solo flute introduces a
slowly unfolding theme.
After this theme has been
heard twice and the sky
has begun to really
brighten, there is a
sudden interruption: a
xylophone and a piano
begin another
“mantra†in
brittle staccato chords.
This is the same
mechanical eternity as
O’Keeffe’s
regularly-spaced square
stars, and it continues
on its own as the night
progresses. The music
builds and grows as the
moon rises and arcs, then
falls as the pre-dawn
light that opened the
work returns to bring it
to a close. Acycle of
light, changing with the
movements of sun, moon,
and stars, appearing
differently from various
points of view
Choral (Vocal Score) SKU: HL.402077 For Soprano Solo, Children's Choir...(+)
Choral (Vocal Score)
SKU: HL.402077
For Soprano Solo,
Children's Choir and
Orchestra. Composed
by Nico Muhly. Choral.
Classical. Octavo.
Duration 1500 seconds.
St. Rose Music
#SRO100186-01. Published
by St. Rose Music
(HL.402077).
ISBN
9781705160084. UPC:
196288056829.
9.0x12.0x0.276
inches.
The Right
of Your Senses is a set
of nine songs for
children's voices, solo
soprano, and orchestra
written for the National
Children's Chorus,
American Youth Symphony
and Los Angeles
Philharmonic Association.
The texts are primarily
17th-century, by Thomas
Traherne and George
Herbert, but two of them
come from the
11th-century Enchiridion
by Byrhtferth. The
overarching theme is the
story of creation, but
not just the list of
objects created: the
texts deal with the
emotional resonances of
the sun, the sea, the
air, and the moon with
all their mysterious,
bright, and dark
potential. There is a
recurring gesture in the
strings, introduced at
the very top: a simple
descending pattern which
binds many of the
movements together, even
when hidden in the more
tumultuous sections. The
first two movements are
bright, whereas the
middle three movements
are violent and deal with
the angrier natural
elements. The seventh
movement is the most
abstract and playful, and
here a direct nod to
Benjamin Britten's A
Ceremony of Carols, with
a fast three-part canon
depicting the behavior of
the atom. The eighth
movement, Night, is the
slowest, and depicts the
night sky. The final
movement is calm, and
encourages us: Be
faithful in a little, and
you shall be master over
much. The piece ends with
five strokes of high
bells. x Nico Muhly.
Study Score Choral SKU: HL.402076 For Soprano Solo, Children's Choir a...(+)
Study Score Choral
SKU: HL.402076
For Soprano Solo,
Children's Choir and
Orchestra. Composed
by Nico Muhly. Choral.
Classical. Softcover. 72
pages. Duration 1500
seconds. St. Rose Music
#SRO100186. Published by
St. Rose Music
(HL.402076).
ISBN
9781705160077. UPC:
196288056812.
9.0x12.0x0.167
inches.
The Right
of Your Senses is a set
of nine songs for
children's voices, solo
soprano, and orchestra
written for the National
Children's Chorus,
American Youth Symphony
and Los Angeles
Philharmonic Association.
The texts are primarily
17th-century, by Thomas
Traherne and George
Herbert, but two of them
come from the
11th-century Enchiridion
by Byrhtferth. The
overarching theme is the
story of creation, but
not just the list of
objects created: the
texts deal with the
emotional resonances of
the sun, the sea, the
air, and the moon with
all their mysterious,
bright, and dark
potential. There is a
recurring gesture in the
strings, introduced at
the very top: a simple
descending pattern which
binds many of the
movements together, even
when hidden in the more
tumultuous sections. The
first two movements are
bright, whereas the
middle three movements
are violent and deal with
the angrier natural
elements. The seventh
movement is the most
abstract and playful, and
here a direct nod to
Benjamin Britten's A
Ceremony of Carols, with
a fast three-part canon
depicting the behavior of
the atom. The eighth
movement, Night, is the
slowest, and depicts the
night sky. The final
movement is calm, and
encourages us: Be
faithful in a little, and
you shall be master over
much. The piece ends with
five strokes of high
bells. x Nico Muhly.