SKU: CF.SPS30F

ISBN 9780825864889. UPC: 798408064884. 9 X 12 inches.

Using the musical styles and forms of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Mike Forbes has written a striking and powerful three movement suite that is a major addition to serious band literature. The music is entirely original, but the style and approach is similar to such pieces as the Courtly Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten, and makes effective use of the coloristic possibilities of the modern concert band.

SKU: CF.SPS30

ISBN 9780825864872. UPC: 798408064877. 9 X 12 inches. Key: Eb major.

Using the musical styles and forms of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Mike Forbes has written a striking and powerful three movement suite that is a major addition to serious band literature. The music is entirely original, but the style and approach is similar to such pieces as the Courtly Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten, and makes effective use of the coloristic possibilities of the modern concert band.

SKU: PR.11540239L

UPC: 680160680221.

The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens' beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors' peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots--represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.
The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens’ beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors’ peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots—represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.

SKU: CF.YPS208F

ISBN 9781491152966. UPC: 680160910465.

A stunning and heart-wrenching composition based on the Jewish folk son Shlof, Mayn Kind. You can hear the emotional content pour out of this piece written in memory of an outstanding orchestra director. The piece beginnings with original material to set the tone, followed by a clarinet solo on the song. It then develops through a variety of different harmonic presentation before building to a nice key change and climatic moment. The piece ends as it began, but with a more hopeful tone. An amazing piece.
Sleep, My Child was commissioned by the Madison Middle School Band and Orchestra in Tampa, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Orchestras Kevin Frye. Director of Bands Chris Shultz championed the commissioning of this piece to honor Kevin after he passed away in December 2016. Mr. Frye was a beloved member of the staff at Madison Middle as well as the music community of Tampa and the state of Florida. I was a personal friend of Kevin’s. We were in several musical groups together when we were young that were formative to both of our musical careers. I also guest conducted his Madison Middle School Orchestra several times over the past four years. His musicianship, teaching skills and love for his students were exemplary.When taking on the challenge of writing a piece to honor Kevin’s legacy, Mr. Shultz and I decided to try and include several important aspects of Kevin’s life into the piece. Kevin was proudly Jewish, a fantastic trumpet player and loved Jazz. With that in mind, and after a lot of research, a Jewish folk song Shlof, Mayn Kind was selected as the basis for the piece, not to be religious, but to honor his faith and heritage. Plus it is a beautiful song, and I felt the title reflected the sentiment I was looking to express, which is of someone taking rest after a long battle with illness. Thus, a lullaby seemed appropriate.I also wanted to incorporate Jazz into the piece, but in a concert setting, so you will hear as the piece develops, the harmonies of the folk song expand into ones found more commonly in Jazz compositions. Not in a far out way, but in a subtle way to again honor this part of his life. For example the climactic moment of the piece at the fermata in m. 57 is a Dbmaj9#11 chord. It appropriately give the piece the angst that I was looking for at this moment in the piece, while honoring the importance of Jazz in Kevin’s musical life.The piece was also conceived to include both the Madison band and orchestra in the performance at the premiere. I wanted the pieces to work separately by the band and separately by the orchestra, but I also wanted them to be able to play the piece together to honor Kevin.The piece begins with original material designed to set the mood of the piece with a tempo/style marking of pensive, but also as material that I used as connective musical tissue between statements of the folk song.  After this introduction, the folk song is presented by a solo violin (or clarinet) with orchestral accompaniment in a simple straight forward presentation of the song. This is followed by a woodwind section statement of the folk song accompanied by muted trumpets. During this presentation the harmony starts to expand with more color notes in the chords. The low brass are added half way through this statement to add depth and lushness.The introductory material returns, but with some angry hits in the lower voices. This leads to a full ensemble state of new material that is used to transition to the climax of the piece, and to build tension. After the build, the piece modulates to a shortened statement of the folk song with more advanced harmonies and an active counter line in the violas, horns, saxes and first clarinets to further build the tension.  This tension is released at the fermata in m. 57, as mentioned above. After a thoughtful pause, the piece concludes with a completion of the folk song again with a solo violin (or clarinet) followed by a return of the introductory material to tie the piece together. The piece ends hopeful, with a solo trumpet (Kevin’s instrument) that is dissonant at first, but then resolves as if to say - everything will be OK! It has been my distinct honor to have been asked to write this piece in Kevin’s memory! I hope that in some small way the piece helps to bring comfort to his family, students, colleagues and to all those that knew him!–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL  2017.

SKU: CF.CPS267F

ISBN 9781491161777. UPC: 680160920464.

I love to look up at the sky. When I see contrails, I wonder where they are going, and it reminds me of my hometown. Because of the pandemic, many people are still unable to visit their loved ones, and I thought they would want to fly away as soon as possible. This is the concept of this piece. You may be thinking about the places you want to go to or the family and friends you want to see, and you may feel excited, or you may feel lonely. At such times, the sky is always watching over us with its great receptive power. The sky gives us energy and courage. When I'm in a cheerful mood, I just want to flap my wings like a bird to the sky and fly away!.
I love to look up at the sky. When I see contrails, I wonder where they are going, and it reminds me of my hometown. Because of the pandemic, many people are still unable to visit their loved ones, and I thought they would want to fly away as soon as possible. This is the concept of this piece. You may be thinking about the places you want to go to or the family and friends you want to see, and you may feel excited, or you may feel lonely. At such times, the sky is always watching over us with its great receptive power. The sky gives us energy and courage. When I'm in a cheerful mood, I just want to flap my wings like a bird to the sky and fly away!

SKU: BT.1267-05-140-MS

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

Ray Charles (1930-2004) was a multitalented and pioneering American pianist and soul singer who became very popular in the late fifties, and remained respected for his music in the decades that followed. By incorporating gospel, jazz, blues, and big band elements, he helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues, and brought a soulful sound to everything from country music to pop standards. Ray Charles embodied the American dream, starting out a poor, blind boy from the southern United States and becoming an international music phenomenon; his nickname was “the Genius” for a good reasonIn this arrangement for concert band, Peter Kleine Schaars presents five of the songs thatcontributed to Ray Charles’ fame: I Can’t Stop Loving You, Hit the Road Jack, Georgia on My Mind, Hallelujah I Love Her So, and Unchain My Heart.

Ray Charles (1930-2004) was een vernieuwend Amerikaans pianist en soulzanger die populair werd in de jaren vijftig en geliefd bleef in de decennia die volgden. Hij gaf mede vorm aan de sound van de rhythm & blues en hij gaf een soulachtigeklank aan alle muziek van country tot aan popstandards - waarin hij gospel, jazz, blues en bigband-elementen verwerkte. Dit arrangement bevat vijf van de songs die bijdroegen aan de roem van Ray Charles: I Can’t StopLoving You, Hit the Road Jack, Georgia on My Mind, Hallelujah I Love Her So en Unchain My Heart.

Ray Charles, dem Hollywood jüngst mit einer Oscar preisgekrönten Filmproduktion huldigte, ist die Verkörperung des amerikanischen Traums: Vom armen, blinden Jungen aus den Südstaaten wurde er zum internationalen musikalischen Phänomen; seinen Spitznamen Genie trug er völlig zu Recht. In dieser Bearbeitung für Blasorchester präsentiert Peter Kleine Schaars fünf der Lieder, die zu Ray Charles' Ruhm beitrugen.

RRay Charles (1930-2004) était un pianiste et un chanteur de soul américain l’esprit novateur et aux multiples talents. Il connut le succès dès la fin des années 1950 et son immense notoriété ne le quittera plus. En intégrant dans son jeu des éléments venus du gospel, du jazz, du blues et du big band, il a contribué la naissance et au développement du rhythm and blues et apporté une sonorité pleine de sensibilité tous les styles musicaux, de la musique country aux grands classiques de la musique pop. Ray Charles incarnait le rêve américain : musicien noir, aveugle, issu du milieu défavorisé du Sud des États-Unis, il accède au statut de phénomène musical dans le mondeentier. On ne l’a pas surnommé “the Genius” par hasard. Dans cet arrangement pour Orchestre d’Harmonie, Peter Kleine Schaars a rassemblé cinq titres emblématiques de Ray Charles : I Can’t Stop Loving You, Hit the Road Jack, Georgia on My Mind, Hallelujah I Love Her So et Unchain My Heart.

Ray Charles è un vero mito: cinque decenni di successi, una carriera eccezionale ricca di decine di successi che hanno fatto il giro del mondo diventando fonte di ispirazione per intere generazioni di giovani artisti. Soprannominato “The Genius”, questo pioniere del R&B e della soul music, cieco dall’et di sette anni, ha composto alcune delle canzoni memorabili della musica nera americana tra cui I Can’t Stop Loving You, Hit the Road Jack, Georgia on My Mind, Hallelujah I Love Her so e Unchain My Heart.

SKU: CF.YPS212

ISBN 9781491152317. UPC: 680160909810. Key: C minor.

Taking its title from a poem about grief and loss by Chrissie Pinney, Live On honors the life of band director Linda Mann, to whom the piece is dedicated. The piece begins with a pensive intro before shifting to a whimsical theme that brings about happy thoughts of a life well-lived. After a return to the poignant opening material, the music surges to a triumphant conclusion based on an augmented version of the whimsical theme.
Live On was commissioned by Diplomat Middle School's staff, faculty and students, in Cape Coral, Florida, and is dedicated to the memory of their Director of Bands, Linda Mann. Director of Orchestras, Roland Forti, championed the commissioning of this piece to honor the life of Linda after her untimely passing in February of 2017. Linda Mann’s impact on the field of music education was profound and wide-reaching. She was a beloved member of the staff at Diplomat Middle School, as well as the music community of Cape Coral and the state of Florida. Linda was highly respected throughout the state, serving as recent past-president of the Florida Bandmasters Association.In discussing the type of piece the school wanted to honor Ms. Mann, they indicated the piece should “depict Linda’s personality: dynamic, sassy, yet thoughtful and almost mentor-like.” They wanted a piece that was upbeat, yet still had moments that were thoughtful, portraying the grief that the Diplomat Middle School community has suffered from the sudden loss of such a beloved teacher.After contemplating their thoughts, I did some research to find inspiration for the piece. This led me to poetry about grief and loss. In time, I stumbled upon a short, yet poignant poem that I felt perfectly depicted the sentiment that I wanted the piece to convey.  That poem is entitled Live On by Chrissie Pinney.Live OnNow as I live onWithout youI hope to keepThe pieces of youThat I loved so dearlyYour mannerismsAnd compassionate characterAnd smiles through struggleSo that youMay live on too -Chrissie PinneyI reached out to Ms. Pinney, and she graciously agreed to allow me to quote her powerful poem in these notes. She expressed that she was deeply touched that her work would inspire me to write a piece in honor of Linda Mann.The piece begins with a poignant, pensive opening section. The use of the musical interval of a tritone between the first two openly voiced chords are used to represent the sadness we all feel from this type of loss. When I sat in front of my piano and started to work on this piece, my hands seemed to naturally and immediately play these first two chords, which set the process in motion of composing the piece.After the somber opening, the piece shifts to a whimsical theme that I hope brings about happy thoughts of Linda and her personality. It was also my intent, however, to include some musical dissonance in the theme that still reflected the bittersweet loss at the same time. The piece develops into a secondary theme that is a quasi inversion of the main fast theme. This section is followed by a return of the opening material, with snippets of the fast theme intertwined, before the piece builds to a triumphant, augmented presentation of the main theme in a lush form to complete the work.It is my hope that in some small way, this piece will bring comfort to those affected by the loss of Linda Mann, and that the music will allow her memory to Live On.–Larry ClarkLakeland, FL 2017.