Three Calm Pieces

Ces trois pièces empruntent à trois moments de la liturgie des Heures : les matines de Noël (Quem vidistis), l'office de la vénération de la Croix pour l'après-midi du Vendredi Saint (Popule meus), la prière avant le repos de la nuit ou Complies (Nunc dimittis). Chacune est d'un caractère différent entre curiosité joyeuse, doute et interrogation, calme et sérénité. Il est possible de les chanter indépendamment, la musique se voulant au service de ces prières d'une grande intensité. / Choeur À 4 Voix Mixtes A Cappella

These three pieces for cello and piano are meditations – personal secular and musical – on images from religious poetry. The title of No. 1 Angels bending near the earth comes from a carol which begins‘It came upon the midnight clear’ by the Massachusetts pastor and poet Edmund Sears. The full reference is to “angels bending near the earth/to touch their harps of gold” and this is the inspiration forthe music with piano arpeggios swooping down over the rich central band of sound produced by the cello. No. 2’s title In death’s dark vale is a brief paraphrase (from a Scottish hymnal) of Psalm 23; thefull quotation is “yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil”. The image here is of human life lived against the prospect of impending death. The cello plays a hasty self-absorbed continuo whilst around it piano motifs and chords of different height and depth create an evolving backdrop. No. 3 O sapientia is the only movement which quotes a musical original; Hildegard ofBingen’s hymn O virtus sapientiae –“O strength of wisdom”. This is a calm elegaic set of variations for the cello on Hildegard’s melody accompanied by mostly bright optimistic refl ections from thepiano. Commissioned by cellist Jonathan Miller of Boston MA. First performance on 23 September 2016 at Hamilton Hall Salem MA by Jonathan Miller (cello) and Randall Hodgkinson (piano)

This collection of French Songs and Choruses includes a wealth of original choral music by French composers, as well as many wonderful arrangements of some of the greatest French songs ever composed. Suitable for Mixed-Voice Choirs of all sizes and abilities, this is the perfect collection for finding new performance pieces, but would work equally well as a complete concert programme. The selections in this songbook are second-to-none, with some of the most beautiful and affecting French choral music compiled into one volume. Many original works are included here, with these choral compositions by giants of French classical music often being regarded as some of their finest work. Pieces like Madrigal by Gabriel Fauré, a new edition of Maurice Ravel's incredible Trois Chansons, Camille Saint-Saëns's Calme Des Nuits and Trinquons as well as Reynaldo Hahn's three Rondels, originally written for SATB choir. French Songs And Choruses also features a great many arrangements of works that have been enjoyed by choirs and singers for many years. The harmonies of songs like Chanson D'Amour by Gabriel Fauré convey just how stunning a song this is to hear as well as to sing, while others like Debussy's Beau Soir offer a similarly beautiful take on a different theme. With all of these songs, the joy will be in careful selection, fantastic practice and the thrill of performance for you and your audience. Such a grand selection of Songs And Choruses For Mixed-Voice Choirs is sure to enhance or invigorate your choir's repertoire, giving you an enjoyable introduction to the finest choral music that France has to offer. The delightful arrangements of the carefully-selected French Songs And Choruses included in this collection will make a perfectly French-flavoured addition to your general repertoire, or simply a complete concert in itself. The clear and accurate engravings make this book a pleasure to dip in and out of in your search for the perfect song, and with so many great compositions included, we're sure you'll find it! Please note that most of the lyrics are in French, but translations are included that also serve the purpose of enhancing your understanding of such poetic music./ Recueil / Choeur Mixte (SATB) et Piano

This collection of French Songs & Choruses includes a wealth of original choral music by French composers as well as many wonderful arrangements of some of the greatest French songs ever composed. Suitable for Mixed-Voice Choirs of all sizes and abilities this is the perfect collection for finding new performance pieces but would work equally well as a complete concert programme. The selections in this songbook are second-to-none with some of the most beautiful and affecting French choral music compiled into one volume. Many original works are included here with these choral compositions by giants of French classicalmusic often being regarded as some of their finest work. Pieces like Madrigal by Gabriel Fauré a new edition of Maurice Ravel's incredible Trois Chansons Camille Saint-Saëns's Calme Des Nuits and Trinquons?as well as Reynaldo Hahn's three Rondels originally written for SATB choir.? French Songs And Choruses also features a great many arrangements of works that have been enjoyed by choirs and singers for many years. The harmonies of songs like Chanson D'Amour?by Gabriel Fauré convey just how stunning a song this is to hear as well as to sing while others like Debussy's Beau Soir?offer a similarly beautiful take on a different theme. With all of these songs the joy will be in careful selection fantastic practice and the thrill of performance for you and your audience. Such a grand selection of Songs And Choruses For Mixed-Voice Choirs?is sure to enhance or invigorate your choir's repertoire giving you an enjoyable introduction to the finest choral music that France has to offer. The delightful arrangements of the carefully-selected French Songs And Choruses?included in this collection will make a perfectly French-flavoured addition to your general

Quatre Pièces pour trois Flûtes avec une 4è Flûte ad lib.-Flutes En Vacances by Jacques Castérède was written in 1962 for three or four Flutes. Each Flute part is quite difficult on this quartet and would be for advanced-intermediate / advanced flautists. This piece features four sections each one expressing a different mood: Flûtes Pastorales is quite calm with some enthusiastic highlights Flûtes Joyeuses reflects a very joyful part with a small dance in the middle Flûtes rêveuses sounds timeless and reminiscent of a theme of Castérède’s 'Twelve Studies' and Flûtes Légères has a fast and lightmelody. Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) is a renowned composer and pianist. He has won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1953 and has composed numerous melodic pieces including ballets concertos symphonies ensemble and chamber music.

For solo Clarinet in Bb and Ensemble.Clarinet and Piano Reduction.Commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center through the generous support of the Mervyn Geffen M.D. and Norman Solomon M.D. New CommissionsFund.First performance by Brent Besner Clarinet and fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center August 2010.1. With Vigour2. Free and Enigmatic3. CalmoThere is usually some sort of extra-musicalstarting point for my pieces and for the Clarinet Concerto this was ‘The Cracked Bell’ by Baudelaire. In a short space of time the work seemed to take over and move further away the original stimulus with the character andinteractive roles of the soloist and ensemble were suggested by the wintry evocative atmosphere of the poem.The piece opens with declamatory cadenza-like passages in the clarinet that are in turn commented on by theensemble. A more playful section where the clarinet line is very virtuosic leads to a long gently-unfolding melody in the ensemble that begins in the depths of the bass register and gradually gets much higher. Virtuosicclarinet lines interject against the accompaniment and both pursue their own course until culminating in a high impassioned melody for the clarinet coloured by fast-moving passage work in the higher registers of ensemble. Themovement ends with the ‘call and response’ lines of its opening.The second movement opens with an extended solo for the clarinet in its haunting chalumeau register. With each rising phrase the clarinet line gets higheruntil the ensemble enters in unison. The movement becomes much faster and energetic from this point with brisk fleeting lines for soloist and ensemble.The third movement is the most reflective of the three. It opens witha flute solo leading to the solo clarinet line and makes much of the poignant singing style which is so characteristic of the instrument. A melancholy falling passage in the ensemble becomes a recurring feature before the