PARTITIONS GRATUITES :
- Dissolved

SKU: HL.49016219

ISBN 9790001146449. UPC: 884088202538. 9.0x12.0x0.195 inches.

The chiaroscuro-technique developed by painters of the Italian renaissance served to intensify contrasts and effects of optical depth. In Klar/Obskur, I tried to transfer the general idea of this technique on the rather unusual instrumentation of two double-reed woodwinds and piano. On the one hand, a clear, well articulated playing is characteristic for these instruments, on the other hand, they have an often underestimated potential of 'twilight': air-sounds and fragile, shady colours have a especially attractive when being produced by double-reed instruments (which are often, and superficially regarded as being less capable of differentiated sounds than flute or clarinet). The piano, too, has a broad bandwidth of possibilities between percussive and delicate playing to complement the woodwinds which, in return, can absorb and continue the fading piano sounds.The beginning introduces the two contrasting elements that form the basic material for the piece: a clear, sharp chord, followed by fragile, dim sounds. The changes between these elements as well as their combination and amalgamation produce an enormous spectrum of colours and gesture. After this 'motto-like' opening follow four quite clearly separated short sections, each of them being characterised by a well-defined texture: a partly almost imperceptible air-sound passage, a short sequence of microintervallic notes, a burst of virtuosity and a recourse to the fragile sounds of the beginning.The second, longer main part consists of three sections merging subtly into each other: a short unisono-passage, marked elastic [federnd], is being dissolved into its basic elements; from these remainders, a confrontation of low, 'arcane' bassoon and piano sounds and a strongly ornamented melodic line of the oboe emerges, leading to a short but powerful climax. The piece is concluded by an extended, relaxed epilogue, containing a short piano solo and a duet of oboe and bassoon and, finally, a quotation of the 'elastic' character of the middle section.Benjamin Schweitzer.

SKU: BA.BA08362-01

ISBN 9790006496471. 27.5 x 20 cm inches.

Georg Anton Benda's melodrama ,,Medea(1775) was one of the most successful German musical theatre works of the late 18th century. With a libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, the work soon became a great influence within the melodrama genre. For several decades, it was performed all over central Europe, developing an impressive reception history. Between 1775 and about 1790, the melodrama was considered an extremely popular (albeit controversial) part of musical theatre, in particular in German-speaking regions. Consequently, Benda's ,,Medeawas at the center of many heated debates.

Unlike opera, the melodrama does not present the libretto in sung form, but rather, the text is spoken and combined with orchestral music and scenes. The traditional opera forms (aria, recitative, ensemble, chorus) are dissolved and replaced by a new interplay of music, speech, and scenes. A focus on a single protagonist and the quick, delicate alternation between spoken text and music allows for the development of conflicting and contradictory psychological profiles with a heightened intensity within the melodrama.

Near the end of his life, Benda revised the work significantly, drawing from his experience of real performances and their effectiveness. The changes leading to the new version of his ,,Medeamusic were quite extensive, affecting almost every single measure: numerous details of the part writing (tempi, voice leading, rhythms, accompanying figures etc.) were revised, the instrumentation was changed, middle voices were led in a more lively manner, and the music as a whole was shortened and effectively compressed. The composer regarded the latter, modified ,,Medeaas the authorized version of the work. The premiere took place in 1784 in Mannheim, however, the altered work received little attention since then and has become tangible again for the first time with the OPERA Edition. All previous editions of the work - and along with them, all previous recordings - are based on the earlier version of 1775.

The third volume of the OPERA seriesMedeacontains a linen-bound book and the edirom on a USB stick in credit card format. The number of users permitted to simultaneously use the digital content of the edition is not limited.

For further information regarding the work and the OPERA series, please visit www.opera-e dition.com and Takte online

SKU: OU.9780193583245

ISBN 9780193583245. 12 x 8 inches.

For violin and piano The composer writes: The structure is a short set of double variations, the two themes following a short introduction. One is flamboyant and rhetorical, the other gentle and lyrical. The first develops rhythmically, through a toccata to a vigorous dance, the second becomes increasingly decorated so that the line is almost dissolved, but finally emerges in its clearest, simplest form. In a coda each musical character disappears into silence.

SKU: UT.BCE-8

ISBN 9790215325388. 9 x 12 inches.

The Quintets nos. 1-7, 9 and the 12 Variazioni sulla Ritirata di Madrid, for guitar and string quartet, are not listed in Boccherini’s autograph catalogues, nor in the Catalogo Boccherini y Calonje, nor in the Catalogue Baillot. However they are mentioned in the Catalogue Picquot, and they have come down to us through three non-autograph manuscripts and three unauthorized printed editions of the early twentieth century. The documentary evidence establishes their authorship, their dating and the relevant musical source, as the single movements for the most part are transcriptions of compositions for other instrumental settings.

The primary source of the Quintets 1-6 is ms. Wc, Washington (DC), Library of Congress, Ms. M. 574. B Case, olim M. 572. B65 Case [RISM A/II: deest]. Written in Madrid in 1811 by François de Fossa, it derives from a copy prepared by Boccherini for the commissioner of the pieces, Francisco Borja de Riquer y de Ros, marquis of Benavent, an amateur guitarist and patron of Boccherini from 1796.

The primary source of the Quintets 7, 9 and the 12 Variazioni sulla Ritirata di Madrid is ms. L520, a codex comprising 5 volumes, dating from the first half of the nineteenth century, certainly assembled at Bar-Le-Duc, the residence of Louis Picquot from 1832 to 1853, who probably was the commissioner and first owner. Upon Picquot’s death, the codex was sold at auction in 1904 by the Berlin antiquarian Leo Liepmannssohn as lot 520. In 1911 it was acquired by the Gitarristische Vereinigung of Munich. During the twentieth century this institution dissolved, and the ex lot 520 passed into anonymous private hands. Rediscovered and examined in 2010 by Andreas Stevens and Fulvia Morabito, the codex was acquired by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich.

SKU: HL.4008699