SKU: HL.14021017
ISBN 9780711984677. 5.5x7.5x0.082 inches.
This work was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was first performed on 2nd May 2000 at the Barbican Centre, London, conducted by Peter Maxwell Davies. Duration c.23 minutes. Peter Maxwell Davies: The horn writing is extremely virtuoso throughout - not least in exploring the full range of the horn, from the deepest notes in the bass, normally exclusive to an orchestral fourth horn player, to the highest, most exposed sostenuto of a first horn soloist, presenting here challenges of embouchure and sheer stamina I should think fairly unprecedented. Solo part and piano reduction on sale (CH61758), Conductor's score and orchestral parts available for hire.
SKU: HL.14020969
ISBN 9781844491346. UPC: 884088435295. 5.5x7.5x0.136 inches.
Work for 2 Trumpets, 2 Horns and 2 Trombones premiered in the Museum of Scotland in 1998 by members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Maxwell Davies has relished incorporating brilliant tuckets and alarms for brass in his larger-scale scores too much to write a perfunctory fanfare; a seminal influence was the statue of St. Michael on the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, where he studied in the late 1950s, generator of high trumpet fanfares throughout his output which resurface in apocalyptic style towards the end of his orchestral work Roma, Amor. Parts available: SOS05301.
SKU: HL.14008415
UPC: 884088808242. 8.5x11.0x0.261 inches.
This work, written by Maxwell Davies in 1983 for chamber orchestra, was commissioned to celebrate the quartercentenary of Edinburgh University. The first performance was given by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Edward Harper in October 1983. Duration c. 29mins. This work was thought through in outline following a visit to the ruined pre-Reformation church of Hoy in Orkney, on a fine Spring afternoon after Maxwell Davies had played the harmonium for the tiny congregation in its large bleak Victorian replacement. The old church was surrounded by the graves of centuries, the more recent ones with familiar names, largely of people who lived in houses now ruinous - crofters, fishermen, clerics, sea-captains. Next to it stood the chief farmhouse, the Bu, going back to Viking times. He thought of the lives and deaths encompassed there, expressed through hundreds of years of music in the church, and in the big barn of the farm. The plainsongs 'Dies Irae' and 'Victimae Paschali Laudes' are used throughout the work - the first concerning the Day of Judgement, from the Mass for the Dead, the second particular to Easter Sunday and the Resurrection. These are subject to constant transformation - the intervallic contour slowly changes from one into the other, and their notes are made to dance through Renaissance astrological 'magic square' patterns. The orchestra consists of double woodwind, two horns, two trumpets and strings.
SKU: HL.14008425
ISBN 9780711933545.
Davies's feeling for the potency and bravura of the clarinet goes back to works of the 1960s; his concerto for the instrument is predictably a big, ranging piece, in two linked movements. The first, fast with a brief slow introduction, has the soloist in propulsive melodic flights slipping over into florid runs, but it is a virtuoso piece for the orchestra, especially for the marimba and pair of horns. The Adagio that follows is in the spare, cold, birdcall-riven style of other recent Davies slow movements, exploiting first the clarinet's low register and then, at its climax, the instrument's high extremes. A cadenza leads to the coda, where Davies introduces a Scots tune, previously hinted at, with which he brings the work to an end in F sharp major. Clarinet part with piano reduction of the orchestral score.
SKU: HL.14008426
ISBN 9780711942042.
The solo flute here is kept in high profile by the absence from the orchestra not only of other flutes, but also of violins and oboes; in addition, the trumpets are used sparingly (they do not, for instance, play in the slow movement), so that for much of the time the flute is playing against a mellow ensemble of clarinets, horns, bassoons and low strings. If this is, nevertheless, one of Davies's most open-spirited pieces, that comes partly from the ready flights of the soloist, partly from its glockenspiel accompaniments in the outer movements (replaced by ticking claves in the Adagio), partly from the dancing character of so much of the music, and partly from the harmonic clarity, in a light region not far from C minor. Flute part with piano reduction of the orchestral score.
SKU: HL.14020992
ISBN 9780711936805. 9.0x12.0x0.185 inches.
Unusually for him, Davies starts his Bassoon Concerto not with slow music but with speed and brilliance: the opening is a Presto, initiated by the strings, and only at the entry of the soloist does the tempo relax to that of a real introduction. Out of this grow a big dancing Allegro. The slow movement begins and ends with a simple song, around fantastical ornamentation from the soloist. The finale is again a recitative and dance, with a slow coda. The whole work is an immense show of stamina, poetry and athleticism for the bassoon, set against an orchestra coloured by low wind (alto flute, clarinet in A, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horns). Bassoon part with piano reduction of the orchestral score.
SKU: HL.14020975
UPC: 884088860066. 8.75x8.25 inches.
Chamber opera in a prologue and one act. A ghost story telling of the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in the Hebrides. This is a mystery story in the form of a chamber opera. The prologue is set as a court of enquiry into the unexplained disappearance of the three keepers from a lighthouse. Questions are posed by a solo horn, which may sound from among the audience, and three officers give answer. Gradually, they move from straight testimony into fantastical imaginings of evil during a 'flashback' to the lighthouse; but then we snap back to the courtroom. In the main act the three singers become the vanished keepers. They have been together for months, long enough to be fully aware of each other's weaknesses; petty bickerings suggest a relationship which is stable, but liable to become highly unstable at any moment. They sing songs to reduce the tension, Blazes beginning with a rough ballad of street violence, accompanied by violin and banjo. Sandy's song, with cello and out-of-tune upright piano, is a thinly disguised description of sexual bliss, and Arthur's with brass and clarinet, is a tub-thumping hymn. But the songs serve only to resurrect in their minds ghosts from the past, and as the fog descends each of the keepers becomes convinced that he is being claimed by the Beast. They prepare to meet its dazzling eyes, which become the lights of the relief vessel, and the three men reappear as officers, met at the lighthouse only by an infestation of rats. They leave, and at the end the last hours of Blazes, Sandy and Arthur begin to play over again. Libretto only. Duration c. 1h 25mins.
SKU: HL.14020998
ISBN 9780711930766. UPC: 884088435059. 5.5x7.5 inches.
A short piece for small orchestra, written in 1989 when the composer heard of Michael Vyner's death. Premiered in October 1989 at Glyndebourne Sussex, by the London Sinfonietta and conducted by the composer just six days after Vyman's death. Approximately six minutes in duration, it is based on the plainsong 'Cor meum et caro mea exultaverunt in Deum vivum' and is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.
SKU: HL.48011700
UPC: 073999758016. 7.25x10.25x0.2 inches.
HPS 1290.
SKU: HL.14021038
ISBN 9780711991248. 5.5x7.5x0.148 inches.
Peter Maxwell Davies' Swinton Jig was inspired by his youth spent in Salford. These variations on a traditional melody portray the community spirit during wartime and the impromptu concerts and dances held within the air shelters. The instrumentation reflects this, with banjos, bells, bones and horns, and even an out of tune upright piano! This work was commissioned by the BBC and first performed in November 1998 by the BBC Philharmonic. In miniature pocket score format.
SKU: HL.14042931
Stormwatch, Stormfall By Peter Maxwell Davies Was Commissioned By The Aventa Ensemble With Assistance From The Scottish Arts Council.
SKU: HL.48011278
UPC: 073999246179. 5.5x7.5x0.252 inches.
HPS 1209.
SKU: HL.49002539
ISBN 9790220120237. UPC: 884088095499. 8.5x11.5x0.072 inches.
Flute, oboe, clarinet (B flat), bassoon, French horn, viola, cello and percussion (7 Player).
SKU: HL.48010716
UPC: 073999320763. 9.25x12.25x0.25 inches.
Instrumentation: Flute (doubling Piccolo) * Oboe * Clarinet in A (dbl. Bass Clarinet) * Horn in F * Trumpet in C * Trombone * Percussion (3 Players) * Harp * String Quartet.
SKU: IS.BC6925EM
ISBN 9790365069255.
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies on the music of Marc Yeats: Marc Yeats’ musical voice is quite unlike anything else; the music is challenging to both performers and audiences, and very communicative. He produces extraordinary compositions that not only look and sound good, but demonstrate a very high level of academic learning, while being breathtakingly original. This composition was written for bass clarinet soloist Sarah Watts, who did extensive research on bass clarinet multiphonics. This piece is a great illustration on the integration of multiphonics in contemporary music.
SKU: IS.BC6927EM
ISBN 9790365069279.
Gareth Churchill trained in London with Rhian Samuel and in Cardiff with Anthony Powers (PhD Composition 2007); other teachers having included Peter Maxwell Davies, Judith Weir, John Metcalf and Charles Camilleri. Commissions include works for Vale of Glamorgan Festival for Arvo Pärt's 75th birthday, Aberystwyh Musicfest, Bangor New Music Festival, Mavron Quartet and South Wales Gay Men's Chorus. Performances have reached audiences in Belgium, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, the USA and throughout the UK. His output reflects an interest in musical cryptography with many works' titles providing the key to understanding their musical means. He has taught at Cardiff University School of Music, at Aberystwyth Musicfest and is composition teacher for Cardiff University Centre for Continuing and Professional Education.This composition was written for bass clarinet soloist Sarah Watts, who did extensive research on bass clarinet multiphonics. This piece is a great illustration on the integration of multiphonics in contemporary music.
SKU: IS.BC6934EM
ISBN 9790365069347.
SKU: HL.48010104
UPC: 073999276152. 8.25x11.75 inches.
SKU: HL.14008404
UPC: 884088435356. 8.75x11.75x0.406 inches.
Chamber opera in a prologue and one act. A ghost story telling of the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in the Hebrides. This is a mystery story in the form of a chamber opera. The prologue is set as a court of enquiry into the unexplained disappearance of the three keepers from a lighthouse. Questions are posed by a solo horn, which may sound from among the audience, and three officers give answer. Gradually, they move from straight testimony into fantastical imaginings of evil during a 'flashback' to the lighthouse; but then we snap back to the courtroom. In the main act the three singers become the vanished keepers. They have been together for months, long enough to be fully aware of each other's weaknesses; petty bickerings suggest a relationship which is stable, but liable to become highly unstable at any moment. They sing songs to reduce the tension, Blazes beginning with a rough ballad of street violence, accompanied by violin and banjo. Sandy's song, with cello and out-of-tune upright piano, is a thinly disguised description of sexual bliss, and Arthur's with brass and clarinet, is a tub-thumping hymn. But the songs serve only to resurrect in their minds ghosts from the past, and as the fog descends each of the keepers becomes convinced that he is being claimed by the Beast. They prepare to meet its dazzling eyes, which become the lights of the relief vessel, and the three men reappear as officers, met at the lighthouse only by an infestation of rats. They leave, and at the end the last hours of Blazes, Sandy and Arthur begin to play over again. Study Score. Duration c. 1h 25mins.
SKU: HL.49002523
ISBN 9790220105005. UPC: 073999696370. 6.0x9.0x0.205 inches.
17 Wind Instruments (2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in B flat, 2 Bassoons, 3 Horns in F, 1 Trumpet in D, 1 Trumpets in B flat, 2 Tenor-Trombones, 1 Tuba).
