Mary Cohen’s Superstudies For Viola Book 1 is a collection of nineteen original imaginative studies for solo viola which have been specially designed for young players. Each piece concentrates on one or two aspects of technique and the whole set covers a wide range of left and right hand skills including spicatto bowing string-crossing moto perpetuo cantabile and easy double-stopping. Teachers and pupils will find this invaluable yet light-hearted collection both enjoyable and stimulating.

Team Strings 2 is ideal for individual group and class tuition allowing the violin viola or cello and double bass to be taught in the same lesson. This method contains carefully-graded music in a wide variety of styles developing instrument-related aural skills improvisation and composition. Book only edition.

This collection of twelve original imaginative studies for solo viola continues the technical progression of Superstudies Book 1. Aimed at young players of Grades 2-4 level these studies introduce a wide range of musical styles while consolidating all the finger patterns used in 1st position and introducing easy 3rd position. New bowing techniques found in this volume include spicatto and hooked bows. Teachers and pupils will find this invaluable yet light-hearted collection both enjoyable and stimulating.

To what God shall we chant our songs of battle? was commissioned by James O’Donnell and Westminster Abbey for a service of solemn commemoration on 4 August 2014 marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.Stark and gritty yet always rooted in tonality Matthews’s expressive harmonies bring a potent immediacy to the bitter disillusioned words of war poet Harold Monro and the two lyrical solos for soprano and tenor which set passages from the Book of Lamentations and St Luke’s Gospel. Beginning with a violent and impassioned energy this anthem ultimately offers little consolation. In the words of James O’Donnell it ‘leaves you standing on theedge of an abyss’ its impetus petering out in a series of hushed troubled questions.

The long awaited Sassmannshaus method “Early Start on the Double Bass” is now here. At last students of the largest instrument in the string family can make use of this tried and tested method for beginners, developed by Egon Sassmannshaus for the other string instruments and applied here to the double bass by Holger Sassmannshaus and J. Peter Close. This method will meet the needs of the growing number of young bass students. “Early Start on the Double Bass” encompasses everything that one would expect from a Sassmannshaus method: an easy start, progression at a suitable rate, many cross-references to the other string instruments, songs and scales in different positions from early on, as well as many duets. Lively and colourful illustrations by Charlotte Panowsky complete the edition. For more than three decades “The Sassmannshaus Tradition” has been the household name for excellence in beginner string methods in German-speaking countries. The English editions for violin, viola and violoncello, which were introduced to the international market in 2008, have proven to be very successful, particularly in the United States. Kids to the Bass! While children learning other string instruments can start as early as the age of four, the appropriate age to begin the double bass is approximately eight (possibly even six); this allows for a faster progression than on the other string instruments, and the method consists of only three volumes. The first volume will be published separately in an English and a German edition; the following two volumes will have German and English text in each book. Original compositions by Boguslaw Furtok enrich the volumes. - Based on the tried-and-tested Sassmannshaus methods for violin, viola and cello - Volume 1: Separate editions in German and English - Volumes 2 and 3: Bilingual, German/English editions - Moderate increase in difficulty - Position playing, duets - Includes new original compositions to B. Furtok - Volume 3 with piano accompaniments to 7 pieces The authors Holger Sassmannshaus is a double bass player with the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker in Mönchengladbach/Krefeld. He also teaches the double bass and performs with several other ensembles. J. Peter Close is a teacher for violoncello and double bass in Munich.

Commissioned by the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited with funds provided by the Arts Council of Wales for premiere in August 2012 by the Carducci String Quartet in St. Andrew?s Church Presteigne.Composer's Note.'Some years ago I noted down the opening theme of what I anticipated would be a relatively Classical string quartet ?Classical? in the sense of the forms adopted plus perhaps a predominantly lyrical tone of voice. The commission for this work from the Presteigne Festival for their 30th anniversary in 2012 gave me the opportunity of putting into practice this long-held idea. It isdedicated to the Festival and to the Carducci Quartet whose career as much-admired friends and colleagues I have greatly enjoyed.The only break with ?classical? tradition is that there are five movements instead of four with two Scherzi as the second and third though both these are very short and contrasting. I found myself listening to Haydn?s string quartets a lot before and during the composition of this work and I hope the spirit of his delight in writing for this medium is echoed in my own music. The opening movement is in sonata form unusually for me and lyricism is I hope the basis of it though there is a good deal of activity at times. The Scherzo light and marked by frequently-changing rhythms is followed by an equally short but ferocious Perpetuum mobile marked Wild und rasch (one of my favourite German tempo markings). The fourth movement is an intense Adagio in which a single phrase uttered strongly in unison is gradually transformed into gentle diatonic chords before the close intermingled with cadenzas for cello for viola and for the two violins together. The finale (a Rondo) resumes the classical tone of the first movement but apart from one dance-like episode it builds up a fair head of steam towards a final Presto which however ascends slows and quietens towards a gentle summer sky at dusk.'

This album, for viola and piano, features easy arrangements of the instrumental selections from the soundtrack to James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, that had Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as fictional characters Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater - two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated 1912 maiden voyage of the ship. The selection includes My Heart Will Go On, the love theme from the movie.

Par CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO MARIO. / Date parution : 2022-07-20/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes