SKU: FJ.BB212CS
ISBN 9781619281998. English.
This supplemental band book provides a comprehensive and extensive approach to improving band intonation. Written by Texas band director Robert Herrings and composer Brian Balmages, the book contains comprehensive studies in every major and minor key, over 30 chorales with block chord studies, and free downloadable drones in every key for directors who do not have access to more expensive solutions or need an on the go option!
SKU: BR.PB-5650
ISBN 9790004215470. 10.5 x 14 inches.
Daphnis et Chloe is certainly not only one of Ravel's best works, but also one of French music's most beautiful creations, thus, Stravinsky's view of this ballet in his memoirs, published in 1935. Composing the work, commissioned by the Ballets Russes, turned out to be problematic, involving linguistic differences and remuneration disagreements that dragged on among the choreographer, impresario, and composer. Too few rehearsals, a difficult choreography, tricky 5/4-meter, and other oddities in the music probably led, ultimately, to a subdued reception of the work at its Paris premiere in 1912. Only a later production with costumes and set by Chagall significantly contributed to the ballet's success. Today the work is a monument to Impressionist orchestration, incorporating the narration within the sound material. Each instrument is treated in the most effective way possible. Remarkable are the strings' extreme divisi, their harmonics' glissandi, and other enigmatic effects, such as utilizing a wordless chorus. Individual performances without choir likely go back to a makeshift arrangement that Ravel produced to facilitate performance at less prominent venues. The appendix to the Urtext edition includes this alternative version. The Ravel specialist Jean-Francois Monnard has also edited this ballet with detailed attention to the customary Urtext standard. The preface and critical report include numerous references to both genesis and performance history as well as interpretation, correcting also previously handed-down errors. The large format of the conductor's score and orchestral parts are easy to read and support the clarity and transparency of the modern notation without any loss to the magic of Ravel's music. Stay tuned for the publication of the corresponding suites in the upcoming years.
SKU: FG.55011-334-3
ISBN 9790550113343.
Composer, pianist and conductor Kirmo Lintinen is equally at home in jazz as in the world of classical music. Since the turn of the millennium, his main job has specifically been composing concert music. Stylistically, he has found his biggest inspiration in the Baroque and in early 20th-century Neoclassicism. He composed Rieha (Frolic) as a commission from the Crusell Music Festival in Uusikaupunki, Finland, as the obligatory piece for its international clarinet competition, and it was premiered by the semi-finalists in July 2009. The first part of Rieha is dominated by spurting arpeggios, trills and changing tempos. Following this impulsive opening is a brief respite, after which the piano and clarinet begin competing, tossing each other quick, accented semiquaver figures. The rhythm soon becomes syncopated and the piece enters the longest section, a sort of hypertuned, lurching ragtime. The closing section recalls all the work's motifs before burning itself out and vanishing like smoke. Rieha is a consummate virtuoso piece demanding nimble fingers, sharp articulation and a command of tone in all the clarinet's registers. The piano is more than just an accompanying instrument; it is an equal partner. The biggest challenge for the players is synchronising their parts: the changing tempos and metres, and the alternation of quick figures keep the performers on their toes and the audience alert.
