SKU: PR.114423770
UPC: 680160688579.
When RoseWind Duo’s Clifford Leaman and Scott Herring commissioned me for Silver Linings, we could not have anticipated that we would be in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when I composed the piece. In the early summer of 2020, when the three of us met virtually to discuss possible topics, we had all been in lockdown for several months; the causes and effects of the lockdown were at the forefront of our discussion. In themidst of daily tragedies, I had been seeing news stories using the words “silver lining†to describe unexpectedly positive situations arising from our global situation, ranging from small effects (i.e. people having time to work on projects they never could get around to doing) to global ramifications (resurging animal populations in areas where they’re no longer challenged for space with humanity).Silver Linings consists of two movements. Groundhog Day, the first movement, is slow and brooding. It embodies the strong feeling of déjà vu that so many of us experienced early on into lockdown, as we seemed to live the same day repeatedly with minor variances to our schedules. There are two main musical gestures: the first opens the piece as a slow, ascending minor chord which is a representation of uncertainty, and the secondis a falling minor scale. These gestures depict how our lives were reduced to the basic building blocks of life – wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep – as our daily activities and livelihoods were suddenly knocked down. These same two gestures are utilized in the energetic second movement, Making Lemonade, except that they are spun around to reveal their silver linings: the minor chord falls to sound centered and decisive, and the minor scale rises as it bubbles with activity. Among the seeds of despair are also foundseeds of hope, and the saxophone and marimba explore this hopefulness with great vigor and excitement.
SKU: CA.2300400
ISBN 9790007240783. English/German. Text: Newman, John Henry.
This is the best of me, wrote Edward Elgar after the final measure of his Dream of Gerontius. Premiered in 1900, in Great Britain the work has long been a standard work in the repertoire of large oratorio choirs. Elgar's moving, poetic setting of the eponymous poem by Cardinal John Henry Newman is about a dying man and his journey beyond death to God. Before the eyes of the listeners, a musical image of the soul is created which flies past mocking demons to God with its protecting angel at its side, is allowed to look at God briefly, then faces the purgatory confident and comforted. The work is a real rarity in the history of oratorio, and for large choirs it is a thrilling alternative to the established repertoire of Requiem settings. Its popularity is thanks to the suggestive, often sensuous power of the music, the great choral scenes of the demons and the angels, and the three impressive solo parts.All previous editions were reprints based on the historic first printed materials, which are inconsistent. By contrast, Carus has produced a modern, newly-engraved edition, compatible in all sections, which takes all the sources into consideration and evaluates the autograph manuscript in detail. For this edition the complete orchestral material is available on sale, and the vocal score and full score contain both English and German singing texts. The full score is also available digitally.*,A milestone of late Romantic choral music, and a standard work in Great Britain*,First modern score with a full Critical Report and complete performance material- English and german singing texts
SKU: TM.14315SC
Beginning of Part II through Figure 16. First words: I went to sleep. Duet between Angel and Gerontius. Harp II ad lib.
SKU: TM.14315SET
SKU: TM.14587SET
Transposed to lower key of Ab. Inserts into the complete Dream of Gerontius (#07345) at reh. 39-57, in place of the original Bb version.
SKU: CA.2300403
ISBN 9790007240790. English/German. Text: Newman, John Henry.
SKU: TM.14587SC
SKU: SU.50600030
Commissioned by the Colonial Symphony, Paul Hostetter, Music Director and Conductor First performed in 2006 Published by: Dunsinane Music Composer's Note: My inspiration for Smiling Dennis is the great bass clarinet virtuoso Dennis Smylie. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Dennis over the past several years owing to our mutual affiliation at Montclair State University. We would meet unintentionally in the halls and begin conversations regarding all manners of topics: from the colorful history of the bass clarinet—and bass clarinetists—to the furious appetite of the New Jersey groundhog. Dennis inevitably finds the humor in things—he revels in discovering the comic story that can often be found, just underneath the topic. When Maestro Hostetter asked me to compose a new piece during his initial season with the Colonial Symphony, and mentioned the possibility of a work related to humor, I immediately thought of the Dennis. When I spoke with Maestro Hostetter the following day, I had already conceived of the title (very unusual for me—I’m much more a musical/visual thinker than a verbal one) as well as the overall musical narrative. Smiling Dennis is a concerto in one movement for one bass clarinetist and twenty string players. Somewhat unusually, each performer has a unique musical assignment—that is, the string players are not aligned into their typical alliances of first violins, second violins and so forth. This permits a more complex string texture, allowing each performer to assert his or her individuality. Indeed, the notion of individuality is essential to this concerto, as it often is in concerti. For example, Smiling Dennis begins with the bass clarinet not quite obeying the conventions of tuning to the orchestra. Rather than simply take the A offered by the Concertmaster, the soloist playfully performs a gently descending series of notes. Offered another A, the soloist repeats this gesture (though with a different descending series). This exchange occurs four times. In the final one, members of the string orchestra join the soloist in the first significant statement of one of the central melodies. The bass clarinet completes this introductory section alone, playing all the way down to a low A, a third below the lowest note in the celli. Following the introduction, Smiling Dennis consists of six sections, somewhat along the lines of a dance suite: an energetic Allegro, a lyric Arioso, a forward Piú mosso, a light-hearted and syncopated dance, a even more energetic passage for strings alone, and finally a modified return to the introduction. In the return, the string ensemble is no longer at all oppositional to the soloist. Rather, in response to the soloist’s gentle cajoling and supportive commentary, the strings accompany—with pleasure, you might say—the quiet, individual playfulness of the bass clarinet. The work ends with a return to the soloist’s substratum A, accompanied quietly by the strings.
