Before I Go to Sleep

SKU: XC.ICB2201FS

12 x 9 inches.

Before I Go to Sleep is a sensitive and musically expressive piece from composer Jason K. Nitsch. This piece has already received its premiere at the prestigious Midwest Clinic. Beautiful arching melodies and rich harmonic movements are sure to pull at the heartstrings of your audiences.

SKU: AP.1-ADV7426

ISBN 9783892215806. UPC: 805095074260. English. Traditional.

The Sleep of the Infant Jesus is a ballad carol that is also a lullaby. Traditionally French, the tune dates before 1800, but the composer is unknown. Although little known, the tune is a beautiful and serene Christmas folk melody.

This arrangement for saxophone quartet (SATBar), rather than favoring a soprano solo with accompaniment, strives to include all the players in the music making, particularly by distributing melodic material. In addition, all dynamics and articulations should be taken as suggestions only, as performers are encouraged to make their own interpretations. Arranged for saxophone quartet.

SKU: CF.YPS208F

ISBN 9781491152966. UPC: 680160910465.

A stunning and heart-wrenching composition based on the Jewish folk son Shlof, Mayn Kind. You can hear the emotional content pour out of this piece written in memory of an outstanding orchestra director. The piece beginnings with original material to set the tone, followed by a clarinet solo on the song. It then develops through a variety of different harmonic presentation before building to a nice key change and climatic moment. The piece ends as it began, but with a more hopeful tone. An amazing piece.
Sleep, My Child was commissioned by the Madison Middle School Band and Orchestra in Tampa, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Orchestras Kevin Frye. Director of Bands Chris Shultz championed the commissioning of this piece to honor Kevin after he passed away in December 2016. Mr. Frye was a beloved member of the staff at Madison Middle as well as the music community of Tampa and the state of Florida. I was a personal friend of Kevin’s. We were in several musical groups together when we were young that were formative to both of our musical careers. I also guest conducted his Madison Middle School Orchestra several times over the past four years. His musicianship, teaching skills and love for his students were exemplary.When taking on the challenge of writing a piece to honor Kevin’s legacy, Mr. Shultz and I decided to try and include several important aspects of Kevin’s life into the piece. Kevin was proudly Jewish, a fantastic trumpet player and loved Jazz. With that in mind, and after a lot of research, a Jewish folk song Shlof, Mayn Kind was selected as the basis for the piece, not to be religious, but to honor his faith and heritage. Plus it is a beautiful song, and I felt the title reflected the sentiment I was looking to express, which is of someone taking rest after a long battle with illness. Thus, a lullaby seemed appropriate.I also wanted to incorporate Jazz into the piece, but in a concert setting, so you will hear as the piece develops, the harmonies of the folk song expand into ones found more commonly in Jazz compositions. Not in a far out way, but in a subtle way to again honor this part of his life. For example the climactic moment of the piece at the fermata in m. 57 is a Dbmaj9#11 chord. It appropriately give the piece the angst that I was looking for at this moment in the piece, while honoring the importance of Jazz in Kevin’s musical life.The piece was also conceived to include both the Madison band and orchestra in the performance at the premiere. I wanted the pieces to work separately by the band and separately by the orchestra, but I also wanted them to be able to play the piece together to honor Kevin.The piece begins with original material designed to set the mood of the piece with a tempo/style marking of pensive, but also as material that I used as connective musical tissue between statements of the folk song.  After this introduction, the folk song is presented by a solo violin (or clarinet) with orchestral accompaniment in a simple straight forward presentation of the song. This is followed by a woodwind section statement of the folk song accompanied by muted trumpets. During this presentation the harmony starts to expand with more color notes in the chords. The low brass are added half way through this statement to add depth and lushness.The introductory material returns, but with some angry hits in the lower voices. This leads to a full ensemble state of new material that is used to transition to the climax of the piece, and to build tension. After the build, the piece modulates to a shortened statement of the folk song with more advanced harmonies and an active counter line in the violas, horns, saxes and first clarinets to further build the tension.  This tension is released at the fermata in m. 57, as mentioned above. After a thoughtful pause, the piece concludes with a completion of the folk song again with a solo violin (or clarinet) followed by a return of the introductory material to tie the piece together. The piece ends hopeful, with a solo trumpet (Kevin’s instrument) that is dissonant at first, but then resolves as if to say - everything will be OK! It has been my distinct honor to have been asked to write this piece in Kevin’s memory! I hope that in some small way the piece helps to bring comfort to his family, students, colleagues and to all those that knew him!–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL  2017.

SKU: CF.YAS186

ISBN 9781491151518. UPC: 680160909018. 9 x 12 inches. Key: D minor.

A stunning and heart-wrenching composition based on the Jewish folk son Shlof, Mayn Kind. You can hear the emotional content pour out of this piece written in memory of an outstanding orchestra director. The piece beginnings with original material to set the tone, followed by a violin solo on the song. It them develops through a variety of different harmonic presentation before building to a nice key change and climatic moment. The piece ends as it began, but with a more hopeful tone. An amazing piece.
Sleep, My Child was commissioned by the Madison Middle School Band and Orchestra in Tampa, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Orchestras Kevin Frye. Director of Bands Chris Shultz championed the commissioning of this piece to honor Kevin after he passed away in December 2016. Mr. Frye was a beloved member of the staff at Madison Middle as well as the music community of Tampa and the state of Florida. I was a personal friend of Kevin’s. We were in several musical groups together when we were young that were formative to both of our musical careers. I also guest-conducted his Madison Middle School Orchestra several times over the past four years. His musicianship, teaching skills and love for his students were exemplary.When taking on the challenge of writing a piece to honor Kevin’s legacy, Mr. Shultz and I decided to try and include several important aspects of Kevin’s life into the piece. Kevin was proudly Jewish, a fantastic trumpet player and loved Jazz. With that in mind, and after a lot of research, a Jewish folk song Shlof, Mayn Kind was selected as the basis for the piece, not to be religious, but to honor his faith and heritage. Plus it is a beautiful song and I felt the title reflected the sentiment I was looking to express, which is of someone taking rest after a long battle with illness, so a lullaby seemed appropriate.I also wanted to incorporate Jazz into the piece, but in a concert setting, so you will hear as the piece develops, the harmonies of the folk song expand into ones found more commonly in Jazz compositions.  Not in a far out way, but in a subtle way to again honor this part of his life. For example the climactic moment of the piece at the fermata in m. 57 is a Dbmaj9#11 chord. It appropriately give the piece the angst that I was looking for at this moment in the piece, while honoring the importance of Jazz in Kevin’s musical life.The piece was also conceived to include both the Madison band and orchestra in the performance at the premiere. I wanted the pieces to work separately by the band and separately by the orchestra, but I also wanted them to be able to play the piece together to honor Kevin.The piece begins with original material designed to set the mood of the piece with a tempo/style marking of pensive, but also as material that I used as connective musical tissue between statements of the folk song.  After this introduction, the folk song is presented by a solo violin (or clarinet) with orchestral accompaniment in a simple straight forward presentation of the song. This is followed by a woodwind section statement of the folk song accompanied by muted trumpets. During this presentation the harmony starts to expand with more color notes in the chords. The low brass are added half way through this statement to add depth and lushness.The introductory material returns, but with some angry hits in the lower voices. This leads to a full ensemble state of new material that is used to transition to the climax of the piece, and to build tension. After the build, the piece modulates to a shortened statement of the folk song with more advanced harmonies and an active counter line in the violas, horns, saxes and first clarinets to further build the tension.  This tension is released at the fermata in m. 57 as mentioned above. After a thoughtful pause, the piece concludes with a completion of the folk song again with a solo violin (or clarinet) followed by a return of the introductory material to tie the piece together. The piece ends hopeful, with a solo trumpet (Kevin’s instrument) that is dissonant at first, but then resolves as if to say, Everything will be OK! It has been my distinct honor to have been asked to write this piece in Kevin’s memory! I hope that in some small way the piece helps to bring comfort to his family, students, colleagues and to all those that knew him!–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL  2017.

About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
--Occasionally extending to third position
--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty
--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts
--Viola T.C. part included
--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels

SKU: BT.MUSAM1011626

ISBN 9781785582554. English.

This updated Kids  edition of the bestselling Uke'n Play Ukulele  series will get young beginners strumming, singing and playing easy songs that only feature 3 chords. Written by professional player and educator Mike Jackson , the book features his unique instant play method, some simple songs that are familiar to all children, together with downloadable play-along audio. The book opens with how to tune up, before detailing Jackson 's innovative instant play method, which kids are guaranteed to love. Once they've mastered this, Uke'n Play Ukulele For Kids  teaches 25 simple songs that are instantly-recognisable and well-known. The first few songs use justone chord, before introducing two more. Each features chord diagrams, lyrics and chord symbols, helping children learn to play the Ukulele by practising strumming the chords and getting used to finger positions, while also playing fun tunes. Songs include Row, Row, Row Your Boat, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Jingle Bells , and many more. The accompanying audio downloads will help you tune up, get familiar with the songs, then play along with a full backing band. Some songs also feature Mike 's handy hints so learning the Uke goes as smoothly as possible. Uke'n Play Supa Easy Ukulele  is a fantastic resource for the classroom, or other groups of young beginners. Featuring valuable advice for introducing children to music through the Ukulele, the book will enable them to start making music straight away. With well-known songs like  My Darling Clementine  and Michael Finnegan , this is a beginner's instant play method for kids that truly does work. Mike Jackson  is a professional Ukulele player and multi-instrumentalist who has sold over 250,000 albums and performed extensively across Australia and the rest of the world.

SKU: HL.14003993

ISBN 9781844495139. 9.0x12.0x0.158 inches.

Version for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano. Commissioned jointly by BBC Radio 3 and the Royal Philharmonic Society as part of the New Generation artists scheme. The texts for the work were taken from the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes.

SKU: FT.FM525

ISBN 9790570484249.

Dream Angus is an old Scottish folk song, the origins of which cannot be traced. Numerous groups have portrayed the song as a lullaby, most notably Annie Lennox. Angus is the purveyor of dreams and the song is sung to children (bairns) at night time to quieten them before sleep. There is also a hymn with the same tune but very different words. This arrangement should be played with continued legato throughout and with as much feeling as the ensemble can give. Care should be taken with the comma breaks - not all need the slight rallentando and a tempo, some are merely breath marks. When playing, always remember this is a lullaby.

SKU: FT.FM526

ISBN 9790570484256.

Dream Angus is an old Scottish folk song, the origins of which cannot be traced. Numerous groups have portrayed the song as a lullaby, most notably Annie Lennox. Angus is the purveyor of dreams and the song is sung to children (bairns) at night time to quieten them before sleep. There is also a hymn with the same tune but very different words. This arrangement should be played with continued legato throughout and with as much feeling as the ensemble can give. Care should be taken with the comma breaks - not all need the slight rallentando and a tempo, some are merely breath marks. When playing, always remember this is a lullaby.