SKU: B7.B363
8.5x11 inches.
This riveting work showcases the piccolo and clarinet, exploring their different registers and colors. It provides exciting contrasts between lyrical and technical sections. Night Flight was commissioned for the 1999 National Flute Association Convention in Atlanta and was premiered at the event by Rebecca Arrenson, piccolo; Robert E. Price, clarinet; & Paula Peace, piano. Recorded by Lois Herbine, piccolo; Allison Herz, clarinet; and Charles Abramovic, piano on the critically-acclaimed Crystal Records CD TAKE WING.
SKU: B7.B152
NOCTURNE FOR PIANO by Marc Douyon is based on the Haitian folk song, Ouangolo. The main theme quotes this folk melody, which is then developed with various compositional techniques. Original secondary themes and motives by the composer are an integral part of the colorful musical tapestry as well. The work begins with an accompaniment that has the feel of someone gently rocking a chair and enjoying the relaxation it brings to the body. Among various themes heard in succession, the first is developed through variations and tempo changes. Shortly thereafter follow, new melodic fragments and accompaniment styles, a change of key, a recitative, all which bring a new sense of motion. Near the end, the last theme of the first section returns. The work closes with a coda which suggests that the person in the rocking chair has fallen asleep.
SKU: B7.B310
CELESTIAL VISIONS for solo piano by Howard J. Buss. This colorful composition consists of 3 contrasting sections. The first is characterized by vibrant tone clusters and powerful exclamations juxtaposed with gentle harmonics and delicate arpeggiated figurations. The beautiful, lyrical central section gives way to a lilting 12-tone toccata.
SKU: B7.B150
RECUERDOS DE ESPANA Memories of Spain for solo piano by Marc Douyon was inspired by the very diverse music of Spain. This colorful and engaging work uses a triplet rhythm that prevails throughout much of the composition. The music starts with an ambiguity of keys between major and minor, and subsequently travels to different keys. The first two sections are military-like, and feature the melody mostly in the left hand. The middle section is relatively calm with melodic fragments played over an ostinato-like figure in a sequential fashion. The fourth section features idiomatic Spanish rhythms reminiscent of the Andalusian region of Spain. Here, melodic fragments are played over a relentless bass accompaniment.
SKU: B7.B111
TRIBUTE TO KEROUAC, version for solo piano by David Alpher was inspired by the work, life, and times of Jack Kerouac, King of the Beat Generation. Cast in 7 movements, this significant composition is hugely influenced by jazz. In the preface to the score the composer writes: Kerouac demonstrated the epic contradiction of America: on the one hand its wild energy, joy of life, and expansiveness; on the other, its tendency to self-destruct. Tribute to Kerouac is my musical response to, and commemoration of, this important American writer who liked to describe himself as a 'jazz.poet.'The ensemble version of this work (for clarinet, tenor sax, piano & string bass) is recorded on Ongaku Records #024-112.
SKU: B7.B495
La Sonata modello The Template Sonata for solo piano by Howard J. Buss is dedicated to pianist James Helton. The music traverses a wide rage of moods and sonic atmospheres. The composer designed a template of meter changes derived from the numerical series in mathematics codified by the medieval Italian mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci. In this adaptation of the Fibonacci sequence each number represents a quarter note and is expressed in the succession of meters 4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 4/4, 4/4, 5/4, 3/4, 5/4, 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, and 5/4. This series of measures is repeated throughout the work. While each 13-bar segment implies that the music fits into a particular metrical scheme, the composer exerts independence in a variety of ways, such as with phrasing that sometimes ignores the underlying structure. Buss states: This metrical template was at times useful, but often seemed arbitrary and counter to the thrust and development of the musical material. My challenge was to find a way to work with the template while using its rigidity to spark creative solutions. Although the music evolves within the template, my ultimate goal was that the listener be unaware of the structural underpinnings and simply enjoy the beauty of the music..
SKU: BT.BVP0373
SKU: BT.SONZ2888
SKU: B7.B151
CAFE for solo piano by Marc Douyon is based on the Haitian folk tune Manmam voyem peze cafe. The main theme quotes this folk melody, which is then developed with various compositional techniques. Original secondary themes and motives by the composer are an integral part of the colorful musical tapestry as well. Cafe is divided into two main parts, the Prelude and the Dance. This work begins with lyrical melodic fragments over a light chordal accompaniment. A recitative follows with a theme, which is also lyrical in nature. But, soon after, that same theme from the recitative takes on a happier character in a waltz accompanied by a walking bass. There, syncopated rhythm, sequences, chromatic harmony, and refrain-like passages take the dance to new heights until the end.
SKU: B7.B504
TOCCATA AND RETRO-INVENTION for solo piano by Howard J. Buss is dedicated to University of Arizona piano professor, Dr. Rex Woods. The titles of the two movements of this composition form a kinship with the toccatas and inventions of the Baroque era, but with a modern twist. They capture the spirit of the earlier forms, rather than the actual compositional procedures.
SKU: B7.B770
Scherzi for Piano by Allen Molineux - These miniatures are 6 different ways of looking at the scherzo genre. The first deals with allowing the performer to freely play the material. The second, at times, hints at a jazz-like swing style. The third is a special kind of quodlibet in that it uses snippets of well-known scherzi for piano and also for orchestra with numerous appearances of the Chopin Scherzo No. 2 holding it all together, while some actually interact with each other. For example, Brahms, Clara and Robert Schumann do get in a bit of a tangle and Bruckner seems to be at odds with the early Romantics of Beethoven and Schubert. The fourth is a conversational contrast between herky-jerky and groove motion. The fifth, which is the briefest, is a contest between a short staccato figure and an ever-expanding legato one. The final scherzo is a distorted ragtime piece where the left hand avoids the typical march-like accompaniment pattern. (9'50) Grade V.
SKU: B7.B153
PRELUDE AND TOCCATA FOR PIANO by Marc Douyon is based on the Haitian folk tune Linglinsou. The main theme quotes this folk melody, which is then developed with various compositional techniques. Original secondary themes and motives by the composer are an integral part of the colorful musical tapestry as well. The composition opens with a lyrical melody that suggests an atmosphere of complaint, anguish, and despair. But soon, the lyrical main theme, which makes use of hemiola figures, takes the shape of a gracious tribal dance in compound meter. Shortly thereafter, however, the character of the piece changes into an agitated toccata characterized by driving staccato notes, accents, and a close hand position at the piano. The final moments of the piece are heroic-like in nature, but also convey a sense of calm after the storm.
SKU: B7.B154
IMPROMPTU FOR PIANO by Marc Douyon is an intriguing and vibrant composition. Its rapid notes, relaxed rhythm, and quick tempo changes, contribute to the improvisatory character that permeates the work. The interplay of the different melodic ideas and motives, key changes, rhythmic figures, and the extensive range of the composition create a sense of purpose and direction.
SKU: B7.B103
Inspired by the visual variations that Pablo Picasso painted in 1957 on Velasquez' 1656 masterpiece commonly known as Las Meninas. Several different musical styles are employed during this Theme and 21 Variations in a manner analogous to the stylistic changes Picasso effected from one painting to the next.
