SKU: CF.SC89L

William Grant Still’s catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Still’s orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals.This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.”The “Black belt” refers to a region in the southern United States that was distinguished by the color of its fertile soil. It was an area whose rich economy was based on cotton and tobacco plantations that were controlled by rich white people and worked by poor black laborers. Still’s piece From the Black Belt from 1926 is presumably a musical representation of these laborers. He described its seven parts in the following ways: William Grant Still’s catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Still’s orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals.This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.”The “Black belt” refers to a region in the southern United States that was distinguished by the color of its fertile soil. It was an area whose rich economy was based on cotton and tobacco plantations that were controlled by rich white people and worked by poor black laborers. Still’s piece From the Black Belt from 1926 is presumably a musical representation of these laborers. He described its seven parts in the following ways: Li’l Scamp If one were to base his judgment on the volume of sound, he would think this little fellow, who delights in playing childish pranks, a big scamp. But the aptness of the title is determined by the brevity of the piece rather than by the volume of sound. Honeysuckle A musical suggestion of the saccharine odor of the honeysuckle. Dance This title is self-explanatory. Brown GirlA tone picture of a lovely girl. Mah Bones Is Creakin’An old man, afflicted with rheumatism, complains loudly. BlueThe lament of a weary soul. Clap Yo’ Han’sThe participants in a game for children form a circle and clap their hands at intervals.

SKU: HL.44012271

UPC: 888680057664. English-German-French-Dutch.

Looking Up, Moving On was commissioned by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and was part of a tour programme they gave in May 2012, a tour which included many areas that had been devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.The theme of the piece is the powerful ability of mankind to overcome such disasters and look forward to a positive future; it opens in an appropriately optimistic mood, featuring bright orchestral colours and extensive syncopation. A chorale-like fanfare is soon introduced on horns and euphonium, answered by chirpy woodwinds. The mood subsides until an alto saxophone introduces a brief quotation from the composer's The Sun Will RiseAgain, which was written to raise funds for victims of the 2011 disaster. The mood soon changes and the horns introduce a noble theme under woodwind flourishes. This leads to the main Vivo section of the piece which is characterised again by strong syncopations as part of a florid theme in the low woodwinds. This melody undergoes varied development by all sections of the band until the horn fanfare returns triumphally on the brass. This is extended and leads to a faster coda which brings together previous material in counterpoint to close the work in optimistic mood.

Looking Up, Moving On is gecomponeerd in opdracht van het Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Het werk maakte deel uit van een programma uit mei 2012, dat werd uitgevoerd tijdens een tournee waarbij veel regio's werden bezocht die waren verwoest door de aardbeving en tsunami van 2011.Het thema van het werk is het buitengewone vermogen van de mens om dergelijke rampen te boven te komen en vooruit te kijken naar een positieve toekomst. De opening is dan ook optimistisch van karakter, met heldere orkestrale kleuren en een rijkelijke syncopering. Al snel wordt er een koraalachtige fanfare geintroduceerd door de hoorns en het euphonium, waarop een levendig antwoord volgt in dehoutblazerssectie. De sfeer wordt dan steeds kalmer totdat een altsaxofoon een kort citaat laat horen uit een eerder werk van de componist, The Sun Will Rise Again, dat werd geschreven om geld in te zamelen voor de slachtoffers van de ramp uit 2011. De stemming slaat vlug weer om: de hoorns introduceren een nobel thema, dat weerklinkt onder versieringen in het hout. Dit leidt naar het Vivo, het hoofdgedeelte, dat eveneens wordt gekenmerkt door sterke syncoperingen, als onderdeel van een sierlijk thema in het lage hout. De melodie ondergaat een gevarieerde ontwikkeling binnen alle secties van het orkest, totdat de hoornfanfare op triomfantelijke wijze terugkeert in het koper. De fanfare wordt vervolgens verder uitgewerkt en voert ons mee naar een snellere coda, die voorafgaand materiaal in contrapunt samenbrengt en de compositie in optimistische stemming afsluit.

Looking Up, Moving Down wurde vom Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra in Auftrag gegeben und war Teil des Konzertprogramms einer Tour im Mai 2012, welche viele Gebiete einschloss, die vom Erdbeben und Tsunami im Jahr 2011 zerstort worden waren. Thema dieses Stuckes ist die gewaltige Fahigkeit der Menschheit, uber solche Katastrophen hinwegzukommen und voll Optimismus in die Zukunft zu blicken; es beginnt dementsprechend in einer positiven Stimmung mit strahlenden Orchesterfarben und einer ausgepragten Synkopierung. Schon bald wird eine choralartige Fanfare auf den Hornern und im Euphonium vorgestellt, die von munteren Holzblasern beantwortet wird. Die Stimmung flaut ab, bis einAltsaxophon ein kurzes Zitat aus The Sun Will Rise Again anspielt, das der Komponist zur Spendenbeschaffung fur die Opfer des Unglucks 2011 geschrieben hatte. Kurz darauf folgt ein Stimmungswechsel und die Horner prasentieren ein stattliches Thema, begleitet von Fanfaren in den Holzblasern. Dies fuhrt zum mit Vivo uberschriebenen Hauptteil des Stuckes, der wiederum von starken Synkopierungen gepragt ist, die Teil eines bluhenden Themas in den tiefen Holzblasern sind. Diese Melodie durchlauft eine vielgestaltige Entwicklung durch alle Instrumentengruppen des Blasorchesters, bis das Blech mit der Hornfanfare triumphal zuruckkehrt. Dies wird erweitert und fuhrt zu einer schnelleren Coda, in dem verschiedenes zuvor gehortes Material kontrapunktisch zusammenkommt, um das Werk in einer optimistischen Stimmung zu beenden.

Looking Up, Moving On est une commande du Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Cette piece faisait partie du programme de la tournee effectuee par l'orchestre en mai 2012, qui s'est produit dans de nombreuses regions devastees par le tremblement de terre et le tsunami de 2011.La composition a pour theme l'immense capacite humaine a surmonter de telles catastrophes et envisager l'avenir de facon positive. Elle debute justement dans un climat optimiste comportant de vives couleurs orchestrales et des passages syncopes. Les cors et les euphonium introduisent bientot une fanfare en forme de choral a laquelle repondent des bois petillants. L'ambiance s'apaise jusqu'a ce qu'unsaxophone alto introduise un court extrait de The Sun Will Rise Again, du meme compositeur, une piece ecrite pour collecter des fonds en faveur des victimes du desastre de 2011. Le climat change hativement lorsque les cors introduisent un theme noble par-dessus des fioritures executees par les bois. Vient ensuite la principale section vivo de la piece, qui se caracterise, encore une fois, par des syncopes tres marquees dans le cadre d'un theme fleuri assure dans le registre grave des bois. Cette melodie fait l'objet de divers developpements par tous les pupitres de l'orchestre jusqu'au retour triomphant de la fanfare soutenue par les cuivres. Celle-ci se prolonge pour mener a une coda plus rapide qui rassemble les elements precedents en contrepoint pour clore la piece dans un climat optimiste.

SKU: BT.DHP-1094734-010

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

The Stadtmusikkapelle Wilten-Innsbruck (Austria) invited Belgian composer Jan Van der Roost to write a work to mark the bicentenary of the Tyrolean fight for freedom, which was settled in 1809. Various musical elements reflect this historical event. First, a hymn-like section rings out, based on melodic fragments from the ‘Tiroler Landeshymne’ (by Leopold Knebelsberger), which intertwine in a counterpoint-like arrangement. The second passage is more bellicose in character, and mirrors the fight of the Tyroleans - under the inspiring leadership of freedom fighter Andreas Hofer (1767-1810) - against Bavarian, French and Italian troops. Next, a broad, chorale-style melodyappears again: here, the imposing beauty of nature in Tyrol, and the amiable, lively temperament of the people who live in this mountainous region, are glorified.This is neither a programmatic work around an historical reconstruction, nor a politically inspired work: it is a combination of factual and cultural components, with an artistic and sonorous character. The use of the flugelhorn in particular gives Tirol Terra Fortis its ‘couleur locale’: for this beautiful instrument can invariably be found in the Austrian wind band. The commissioning music society had therefore specifically asked the composer to incorporate the instrument in this work. It certainly enhances the already extensive colour palette of the modern concert band!

Een hymne bestaand uit fragmenten van het Tiroolse volkslied. Strijdlustige klanken in het tweede deel. Tot slot een melodie in koraalstijl die de bewoners van Tirol en de indrukwekkende schoonheid van de natuur beschrijft. Hebt ual een idee? Tirol Terra Fortis is een programmatisch werk rondom de geschiedenis van Andreas Hofer en de vrijheidsstrijd van Tirol 200 jaar geleden. De bugel geeft dit kunstzinnige en klankvolle werk zijn bijzondere ‘couleurlocale’.

Eine Hymne aus Fragmenten der Tiroler Landeshymne, kämpferische Klänge im zweiten Teil und schließlich eine Melodie im Choralstil, welche die eindrucksvolle Schönheit der Natur und die Menschen in Tirol beschreibt. Sie haben es erraten? Tirol Terra Fortis ist ein programmatisches Werk rund um die Geschichte Andreas Hofers und den Freiheitskampf Tirols vor 200 Jahren. Der Einsatz des Flügelhorns verleiht diesem künstlerischen und klangvollen Werk ein besonderes Lokalkolorit.

Le compositeur belge Jan Van der Roost a composé cette œuvre la demande de l’Orchestre d’Harmonie Municipal de Wilten-Innsbruck en Autriche pour les cérémonies commémoratives du bicentenaire de l’insurrection tyrolienne de 1809. Plusieurs éléments musicaux reflètent cet événement historique travers un climat joliment évolutif. L’orchestre énonce un thème hymnique basé sur des fragments mélodiques de l’hymne officiel du Land du Tyrol (ou Hymne d’Andreas Hofer composé par Leopold Knebelsberger) qui se mélangent et se confondent dans un arrangement en forme de contrepoint. Le dessin belliqueux du second mouvement rappelle la lutte des Tyroliens contre les troupesbavaroises, françaises et italiennes, l’instigation du combattant de la liberté Andreas Hofer (1767-1810). Enfin, on retrouve une mélodie de style choral qui évoque avec ferveur l’imposante beauté des paysages du Tyrol, et transmet la chaleur et le caractère jovial des habitants de cette région montagneuse. Tirol Terra Fortis n’est ni une reconstruction historique en musique (autrement dit, une œuvre programme), ni une œuvre politique. Son contenu repose sur une combinaison d’éléments factuels et culturels qui s’expriment travers une trame artistique très expressive. Le bugle a su conserver la fidélité des Orchestres d’Harmonie autrichiens. Intégré dans la texture orchestrale de cette œuvre de commande la demande expresse de la formation dédicataire, le bugle donne une couleur locale la composition et enrichit la large gamme des couleurs sonores de l’Orchestre d’Harmonie.

La Stadtmusikkapelle Wilten-Innsbruck (Austria) ha invitato il compositore belga Jan Van der Roost a scrivere un'opera per celebrare il bicentenario dell’Insorgenza tirolese, che ebbe luogo nel 1809. L'uso del flicorno, in particolare, conferisce al Tirol Terra Fortis il suo colore locale: questo bellissimo strumento si può sempre trovare nelle bande austriache.

SKU: PR.46500013L

UPC: 680160600151. 11 x 14 inches.

I n 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clarks Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the uncharted West. He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and mountains of pure salt awaited them. What they found was no less mind-boggling: some 300 species unknown to science, nearly 50 Indian tribes, and the Rockies. I have been a student of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which Thomas Jefferson called the Voyage of Discovery, for as long as I can remember. This astonishing journey, lasting more than two-and-a-half years, began and ended in St. Louis, Missouri and took the travelers up more than a few rivers in their quest to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In an age without speedy communication, this was akin to space travel out of radio range in our own time: no one knew if, indeed, the party had even survived the voyage for more than a year. Most of them were soldiers. A few were French-Canadian voyageurs hired trappers and explorers, who were fluent in French (spoken extensively in the region, due to earlier explorers from France) and in some of the Indian languages they might encounter. One of the voyageurs, a man named Pierre Cruzatte, also happened to be a better-than-average fiddle player. In many respects, the travelers were completely on their own for supplies and survival, yet, incredibly, only one of them died during the voyage. Jefferson had outfitted them with food, weapons, medicine, and clothing and along with other trinkets, a box of 200 jaw harps to be used in trading with the Indians. Their trip was long, perilous to the point of near catastrophe, and arduous. The dream of a Northwest Passage proved ephemeral, but the northwestern quarter of the continent had finally been explored, mapped, and described to an anxious world. When the party returned to St. Louis in 1806, and with the Louisiana Purchase now part of the United States, they were greeted as national heroes. I have written a sizeable number of works for wind ensemble that draw their inspiration from the monumental spaces found in the American West. Four of them (Arches, The Yellowstone Fires, Glacier, and Zion) take their names, and in large part their being, from actual national parks in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. But Upriver, although it found its voice (and its finale) in the magnificent Columbia Gorge in Oregon, is about a much larger region. This piece, like its brother works about the national parks, doesnt try to tell a story. Instead, it captures the flavor of a certain time, and of a grand adventure. Cast in one continuous movement and lasting close to fourteen minutes, the piece falls into several subsections, each with its own heading: The Dream (in which Jeffersons vision of a vast expanse of western land is opened); The Promise, a chorale that re-appears several times in the course of the piece and represents the seriousness of the presidential mission; The River; The Voyageurs; The River II ; Death and Disappointment; Return to the Voyage; and The River III . The music includes several quoted melodies, one of which is familiar to everyone as the ultimate river song, and which becomes the through-stream of the work. All of the quoted tunes were either sung by the men on the voyage, or played by Cruzattes fiddle. From various journals and diaries, we know the men found enjoyment and solace in music, and almost every night encampment had at least a bit of music in it. In addition to Cruzatte, there were two other members of the party who played the fiddle, and others made do with singing, or playing upon sticks, bones, the ever-present jaw harps, and boat horns. From Lewis journals, I found all the tunes used in Upriver: Shenandoah (still popular after more than 200 years), Vla bon vent, Soldiers Joy, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy (a hymn sung to the tune Beech Spring) and Fishers Hornpipe. The work follows an emotional journey: not necessarily step-by-step with the Voyage of Discovery heroes, but a kind of grand arch. Beginning in the mists of history and myth, traversing peaks and valleys both real and emotional (and a solemn funeral scene), finding help from native people, and recalling their zeal upon finding the one great river that will, in fact, take them to the Pacific. When the men finally roar through the Columbia Gorge in their boats (a feat that even the Indians had not attempted), the magnificent river combines its theme with the chorale of Jeffersons Promise. The Dream is fulfilled: not quite the one Jefferson had imagined (there is no navigable water passage from the Missouri to the Pacific), but the dream of a continental destiny.