SKU: PR.16400272S
UPC: 680160588442. 8.5 x 11 inches.
My third quartet is laid out in a three-movement structure, with each movement based on an early, middle, and late work of the great American impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Although the movements are separate, with full-stop endings, the music is connected by a common scale-form, derived from the name MARY CASSATT, and by a recurring theme that introduces all three movements. I see this theme as Mary's Theme, a personality that stays intact while undergoing gradual change. I The Bacchante (1876) [Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] The painting shows a young girl of Italian or Spanish origin, playing a small pair of cymbals. Since Cassatt was trying very hard to fit in at the French Academy at the time, she painted a lot of these subjects, which were considered typical and universal. The style of the painting doesn't yet show Cassatt's originality, except perhaps for certain details in the face. Accordingly the music for this movement is Spanish/Italian, in a similar period-style but using the musical signature described above. The music begins with Mary's Theme, ruminative and slow, then abruptly changes to an alla Spagnola-type fast 3/4 - 6/8 meter. It evokes the Spanish-influenced music of Ravel and Falla. Midway through, there's an accompanied recitative for the viola, which figures large in this particular movement, then back to a truncated recapitulation of the fast music. The overall feeling is of a well-made, rather conventional movement in a contemporary Spanish/Italian style. Cassatt's painting, too, is rather conventional. II At the Opera (1880) [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts] This painting is one of Cassatt's most well known works, and it hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting shows a woman alone in a box at the opera house, completely dressed (including gloves) and looking through opera glasses at someone or something that is NOT on the stage. Across the auditorium from her, but exactly at eye level, is a gentleman with opera glasses intently watching her - though it is not him that she's looking at. It's an intriguing picture. This movement is far less conventional than the first movement, as the painting is far less conventional. The music begins with a rapid, Shostakovich-type mini-overture lasting less than a minute, based on Mary's Theme. My conjecture is that the woman in the painting has arrived late to the opera, busily stumbling into her box. What happens next is a kind of collage, a kind of surrealistic overlaying of two different elements: the foreground music, at first is a direct quotation of Soldier's Chorus from Gounod's FAUST (an opera Cassatt would certainly have heard in the brand-new Paris Opera House at that time), played by Violin II, Viola, and Cello. This music is played sul ponticello in the melody and col legno in the marching accompaniment. On top of this, the first violin hovers at first on a high harmonic, then descends into a slow melody, completely separate from the Gounod. It's as if the woman in the painting is hearing the opera onstage but is not really interested in it. Then the cello joins the first violin in a kind of love-duet (just the two of them, at first). This music isn't at all Gounod-derived; it's entirely from the same scale patterns as the first movement and derives from Mary's Theme and its scale. The music stays in a kind of dichotomy feeling, usually three-against-one, until the end of the movement, when another Gounod melody, Valentin's aria Avant de quitter ce lieux reappears in a kind of coda for all four players. It ends atmospherically and emotionally disconnected, however. The overall feeling is a kind of schizophrenic, opera-inspired dream. III Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun (1909) [Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts] The painting, one of Cassatt's last, is very simple: just a figure, looking sideways out of the picture. The colors are pastel and yet bold - and the woman is likewise very self-assured and not in the least demure. It is eight minutes long, and is all about melody - three melodies, to be exact (Young Woman, Green, and Sunlight). No angst, no choppy rhythms, just ever-unfolding melody and lush harmonies. I quote one other French composer here, too: Debussy's song Green, from Ariettes Oubliees. 1909 would have been Debussy's heyday in Paris, and it makes perfect sense musically as well as visually to do this. Mary Cassatt lived her last several years in near-total blindness, and as she lost visual acuity, her work became less sharply defined - something akin to late water lilies of Monet, who suffered similar vision loss. My idea of making this movement entirely melodic was compounded by having each of the three melodies appear twice, once in a pure form, and the second time in a more diffuse setting. This makes an interesting two ways form: A-B-C-A1-B1-C1. String Quartet No.3 (Cassatt) is dedicated, with great affection and respect, to the Cassatt String Quartet, whose members have dedicated themselves in large measure to the furthering of the contemporary repertoire for quartet.
SKU: PR.164002720
UPC: 680160573042. 8.5 x 11 inches.
SKU: AY.CM3655PM
ISBN 9790803752435.
Composed in 2012, Musikphantome for string quartet was awarded first prize in the 2015 Malta International Composition Competition (Valletta, Malta). From the composer: Musikphantome is a term used by Christoph Ruths and can be translated as phantoms of music or musical ghosts. The germinal idea of the piece was to transfigure from psychic imagery to a musical language a recollection of memories which involuntarily kept appearing in my mind. These ghosts manifested themselves in groups conformed by individual abstract figures, each group with distinct characteristics, forms, colors, textures, and essences. Somehow, I managed to explore and ultimately externalize these ghosts by making way for them through a very intuitive compositional process..
SKU: CF.CAS36
ISBN 9780825863646. UPC: 798408063641. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: F major.
A warm and richly scored setting of the popular Christmas carol Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella, this full sounding arrangement will greatly enrich seasonal programming. Roy Phillippe has employed a broad palette of harmonic and instrumental colors to craft a memorable holiday selection.Bring a Torch is a lovely Christmas carol. Using techniques such as suspensions, re-harmonization and modulations, my goal is to provide an interesting showcase for this familiar melody. the introduction in F major features sustained violins with a pattern of moving eighth notes in the violas and cellos. This pattern recurs throughout the piece. The first statement of the melody is in the first violins. The second violins supply harmonic support along with the viola/cello pattern. Measures 13-29 feature a section of tutti chordal playing. Measure 30 crescendos into the modulation to D major at m. 32. Here, the dynamic is forte, and the viola/cello pattern returns. At m. 40, the violas and cellos have the melody with violin accompaniment. A crescendo begins at m. 44 and builds to fortissimo at m. 48, featuring a modulation to G major. At this point the melody should soar. A descrescendo at m. 60 is followed by a ritard at m. 64. The final four measures are in the original tempo ending on a tutti chord.Careful attention to dynamics, especially in the accompanying parts, will result in a fine performance.
About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series
This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
SKU: CA.1808549
Language: all languages.
The Concerto for organ, strings and percussion by Kay Johannsen, Kantor of the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, is a valuable addition to the repertoire for organ and orchestra. It is a work composed to appeal to both performer and audience alike - with thrilling rhythmic sections as well as moments of great intimacy. The organ part, for a three manual instrument if possible, is shown to its best advantage in many and varied tonal colors, ranging from the most delicate solo registrations to powerful forte. The organ writing is demanding, but well within the capabilities of experienced organists. Precise registration suggestions are contained in the score. The string orchestra (minimum 4/4/3/3/1) is scored with sophistication, with solos for all instruments. The percussion is for two players - a part for timpani and one for other, readily available percussion instruments. By avoiding the use of wind and brass instruments, the work can also be performed where the tuning of the organ is not ideally suited to modern orchestral pitch. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1808500.
SKU: CA.1808500
ISBN 9790007163952. Language: all languages.
The Concerto for organ, strings and percussion by Kay Johannsen, Kantor of the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, is a valuable addition to the repertoire for organ and orchestra. It is a work composed to appeal to both performer and audience alike - with thrilling rhythmic sections as well as moments of great intimacy. The organ part, for a three manual instrument if possible, is shown to its best advantage in many and varied tonal colors, ranging from the most delicate solo registrations to powerful forte. The organ writing is demanding, but well within the capabilities of experienced organists. Precise registration suggestions are contained in the score. The string orchestra (minimum 4/4/3/3/1) is scored with sophistication, with solos for all instruments. The percussion is for two players - a part for timpani and one for other, readily available percussion instruments. By avoiding the use of wind and brass instruments, the work can also be performed where the tuning of the organ is not ideally suited to modern orchestral pitch.
SKU: SU.29030030
Three short movements (Tranquil, Harmonic Dance, and Mass Sound) explore the different colors of the string quartet playing in settings with high reverb. Beautiful, fun, and dramatic for chamber concerts.String Quartet Duration: 11' Composed: 2018 Published by: Melissa D'Albora Music.
SKU: PR.446412830
UPC: 680160608324. 8.5 x 11 inches.
SKU: PR.44641283L
UPC: 680160608331. 11 x 17 inches.
SKU: CF.CAS36F
ISBN 9780825863653. UPC: 798408063658. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: F major.
A warm and richly scored setting of the popular Christmas carol Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella, this full sounding arrangement will greatly enrich seasonal programming. Roy Phillippe has employed a broad palette of harmonic and instrumental colors to craft a memorable holiday selection.
SKU: HL.51481083
ISBN 9790201810836. UPC: 888680950804. 9.5x12.25x0.359 inches.
Brahms's First String Sextet became very popular after its publication in 1861, yet his publisher Simrock still hesitated when the composer offered him a second such work in 1865, “in the same cheerful mood.†So Brahms made overtures to other publishers, and then Simrock finally agreed to take it on. The critics were initially rather skeptical towards this Sextet op. 36, but Brahms's friends thoroughly approved of it. Clara Schumann praised its accomplished motivic work, while others enthused about its magical sound colors. This practical edition by Katrin Eich, based on the Brahms Complete Edition, now offers performers the opportunity to form their own opinion, whether in performance or by perusing our study edition. The parts include player-friendly cue notes and have excellent page-turns.
About Henle Urtext
What I can expect from Henle Urtext editions:
SKU: BT.EMBZ2990
Arioso for cello and piano by Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000) is one of the composer s earliest-known compositions. He wrote the piece in 1926 during his student years, although it was originally intended to be the slow movement of a viola sonata which was never published. Only later did Farkas rework it as a stand-alone work for cello. The composition, like Kodály's Adagio which was published 20 years prior and also written for cello, focuses on the singing melody of the string instrument while simultaneously showing Farkas creative preference for Mediterranean colors and Latin proportion.
