SKU: HL.14028929
Written for Moray Welsh whilst still an undergraduate at York University. This piece was completed in mid-September. Inspired by Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf. A solo 'cello seemed an appropriate medium for music which might explore the character of Harry Haller, with his desire for bourgeois comfort and his strong misanthropic and suicidal tendencies. The opening theme attempts to express this - melancholy, nostalgic, a bit Biedermeyer (cf. Brahms Intermezzi). The basic theme of the book, at its simplest, is that every human personality consists of hundred of different personalities - within every man there lurks a wolf. Accordingly the tendency of my piece is for all its musical material to become distorted, either by thematic transformation or by changes of timbre. There are three movements played without a break. The first is a character portrait of the Steppenwolf. The second is concerned in the most general sort of way with the dance elements in the novel - Harry's being taught to dance and appreciate low 'popular' music - a tango is recapitulated in a waltz and 'Yearning', a popular song of the time (1927) is hinted at. The third movement concerns the Masked Ball and the Magic Theatre. Mozart is one of Hesse's great loves and he is repeatedly mentioned in the book. Inevitably some Mozart quotes have been worked in, the most significant being a reference to The Magic Flute 'fire and water' flute theme in the middle of the second movement. Long before I finished the piece, I was disenchanted with the work of Hesse. Much of Steppenwolf I now find rather embarrassing and the claims currently made for Hesse's greatness seem to me exaggerated. Since my piece is in no important sense programmatically specific, this change of heart doesn't really matter. ~ David Blake.
SKU: BR.EB-8817
This large volume is designed for the young beginner cellist, and is attractively presented with large print and enchanting colour illustrations. (Stringendo AUSTA)
ISBN 9790004183830. 9 x 12 inches.
The Cellokasten (Cello Case) offers a wealth of varied material for the beginner. Like the successful Geigenkasten, it can be used in teaching as a supplement to any cello method. And with its steadily increasing level of difficulty within each chapter, it can also serve as a kind of instruction method as well. The chapters are devoted to the following topics: - Games of posture and movement - Music on open strings and fundamentals of bowing technique - Playing with close stops and wide-stretch stops, high and low - Combination of close stop, wide-stretch stop and chromaticism - Playing, reading, notating rhythms; reading and notating tones as well as improvisation in the chapter Inventing Music . Along with lyrics for singing, there is almost always a second part, which lets two cello lovers make music together. The book offers songs and cello pieces for a variety of occasions and for every season. Interesting information about the instrument is also scattered throughout the book.This large volume is designed for the young beginner cellist, and is attractively presented with large print and enchanting colour illustrations. (Stringendo AUSTA).
