SKU: PR.11641139S

UPC: 680160682119.

Barcarolles for a Sinking City was inspired by the city of Venice, a place that has long held the fascination of artists, writers and composers, and which I have been lucky enough to visit on several occasions. Sadly it seems that future generations may not be so lucky: in addition to the city's slow sinking and recently discovered tilting, studies predict that if global warming and the resultant rise of ocean levels is unabated, the entire city (as well as many other coastal cities around the globe) will be under water by 2100.   I. Funeral Gondola The late, cryptic piano works of Franz Liszt made a profound impression on me as a young composer, among them two works he entitled La Lugubre Gondola (usually translated as The Funeral Gondola ) which were said to be a premonition of Wagner's death in Venice, his coffin transported through the canals in a black gondola. These late pieces of Liszt acquired even greater significance to me after I spent two summers in Bayreuth under the patronage of Friedelind Wagner, the granddaughter of Wagner and great-granddaughter of Liszt. This movement is a meditation on Wagner, Liszt, Venice and its own evanescence. II. Barcarolle/Quodlibet The Quodlibet (Latin for what pleases) is a musical form dating back to the 15th century where many disparate melodies are juxtaposed. Popular in the Renaissance, sacred and secular melodies were combined, often to comical effect due to the resultant incongruity of the words. The form was considered the ultimate test of a composer's mastery of counterpoint. The most famous Quodlibet is without doubt the final Variation of Bach's Goldberg Variations. As a form the Quodlibet is less common in more recent music, although examples can be found in the works of Kurt Weill and David Del Tredici.   My own Barcarolle/Quodlibet was inspired by the (perhaps apocryphal) story of the funeral where musicians were asked to play a Bach Choral, but due to miscommunication played instead the Bacarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. Here, the Bach Choral Allen Menschen mussen sterben (All Men Must Die) is heard in the strings pizzicato, with a tempo indication In slow motion. The alto line of the Bach suggests a phrase from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Alle Menchen werden Bruder) heard in the muted trombone. Before long, the famous tune from Offenbach's opera is heard, followed by quotations from iconic Barcarolles by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Faure, as well as two Venetian popular songs and more Beethoven.   III. Barcarola/Ostinato/Carillon An ostinato is a repeated musical figure, and carillon is Italian for music box. This movement references the obsolete genre of salon pieces that imitated music boxes: such works by composers like Liadov and Gretchaninov used to be a mainstay of pianists' encore repertoire. This movement is however much darker in conception than those pleasant trifles. Utilizing the full battery of percussion, the carefully notated temporal slowing of the ostinato becomes overwhelmed by a poignant chorale melody before this box is snapped shut.   IV. Barcarolle Oubliee (Forgotten Barcarolle) Marked limpido (still) the final movement begins with the sound of rain produced by a percussion instrument called (appropriately) a rain stick. Halting phrases in the harp coalesce into the accompaniment for a plangent melody heard in the clarinet. The central Adagio of this movement leads to a shattering climax, before the opening phrases return and dissipate into nothingness.

SKU: FJ.ST6341S

English.

A slow and starkly beautiful Adagio is followed by a riot of joyous counterpoint in this example of English Baroque writing at its finest. Paying tribute to Saint Cecilia (patron Saint of Musicians), this wonderful music comes from the introduction of the original and features a trio of 2 violins and cello.

About FJH String Orchestra

More emphasis on bow technique and independence of lines. For the accomplished middle, high school, college, or professional group. Grade 3 and up

SKU: CL.011-3441-01

This delightful overture has a slightly British sound that is perfect for concert or contest performances by developing bands. The bright allegro section features strong melodic themes in the woodwinds that are followed by an impressive melody for all of the lower instruments. The adagio section includes solos for trumpet and flute before building to a lush full band sound. Very playable, this appealing piece is sure to pay big dividends for your band program. Extremely nice for this grade level!

About C.L. Barnhouse Command Series

The Barnhouse Command Series includes works at grade levels 2, 2.5, and 3. This series is designed for middle school and junior high school bands, as well as high school bands of smaller instrumentation or limited experience. Command Series publications have a slightly larger instrumentation than the Rising Band Series, and are typically of larger scope, duration, and musical content.

SKU: FG.55011-615-3

ISBN 9790550116153.

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed Violin concerto No. 2 in late summer and early autumn 2015 for the Finnish violinist Elina Vahala. Lasting about 32 minutes, the second concerto is a large-scale virtuoso work dominated by the soloist. The strong-featured first movement (Allegro) begins with a fairly short orchestral introduction that is followed by the soloist's first vigorous statement. Around the middle of the movement is a cadenza, and the movement ends with a quick stretta. The soloist dominates the events in the slow second movement (Adagio) even more than it did in the first. The Adagio begins with the same opening motif for the soloist as the first movement, but this time the motif is more lyrical and singing. Having built up to a dramatic climax, it subsides on flageolet notes and finally sounds that are somewhere between musical notes and noise. The third movement (Vivace, leggiero) is by nature dance-like again and lighter than the previous ones. At the end, the tempo accelerates to a wild, virtuosic prestissimo. Piano reduction (2020) by Kari Vehmanen.

SKU: BR.PB-16106

The study score (,,Studien-Edition) is available at G. Henle Verlag.

ISBN 9790004214336. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Classical ReminiscencesDuring his time as conductor of the Detmold court orchestra, the young Brahms was inspired by the local wind ensemble to compose two serenades. Serenade No. 2, scored for five pairs of winds, violas, cellos, and string basses (leaving out the violins) is strongly reminiscent in sound of Mozart's wind serenades. The expressive Adagio is the heart of the five-movement work. Quite untypical of Brahms, he acquired a liking for the work from the outset, still undertaking a revision scarcely 15 years after the premiere of 1860; this has now been made available in a new practical edition based on the Johannes Brahms Complete Edition (JBG).

SKU: BR.OB-16106-19

The study score (,,Studien-Edition) is available at G. Henle Verlag.

ISBN 9790004344422. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Classical ReminiscencesDuring his time as conductor of the Detmold court orchestra, the young Brahms was inspired by the local wind ensemble to compose two serenades. Serenade No. 2, scored for five pairs of winds, violas, cellos, and string basses (leaving out the violins) is strongly reminiscent in sound of Mozart's wind serenades. The expressive Adagio is the heart of the five-movement work. Quite untypical of Brahms, he acquired a liking for the work from the outset, still undertaking a revision scarcely 15 years after the premiere of 1860; this has now been made available in a new practical edition based on the Johannes Brahms Complete Edition (JBG).

SKU: HL.48186441

UPC: 888680830045. 9x12 inches.

“A strongly influential piece of repertoire, the piece Sweet And Go for solo Oboe, composed by Armando Ghidoni for Marika Lombardi, elegantly explores the poetic and technical resources of the instrument. The diptych, approximately six minutes in length, opens with an Adagio, a free declamation in recitative that is an oasis of tenderness to which the glissandi bring a whiff of the Orient. In contrast to this voluptuous dream, the second section, marked Vivo brilante ben ritmato, enables the soloist to display a sparkling virtuosity. Melodies, rhythms, nuances and colours all contribute to this festival of ingenuity.&rdquo.

SKU: HL.51487183

ISBN 9790201871837. UPC: 888680986568. 6.5x9.5x0.086 inches.

Redolent of the work of Dmitri Shostakovich in its musical language, Evgeny Kissin's String Quartet op. 3 comprises four strongly contrasting movements: on the heels of the stately “Adagio liberamente” comes an extremely lively “Allegro inquieto” that wanders between dynamic extremes and bristles with glissandi. The third movement, marked “Largo drammatico,” is sustained by an insistent, heavily rhythmic dotted motive, while the final movement shifts from the introduction, marked “Pensierosamente, ma mantenendo strettamente il ritmo puntato,” into a brilliant finale, “Molto allegro e sarcastico,” that is suffused with elements of fugato and,like all movements, informed by dodecaphonic harmonies. This demanding fifteen-minute work was composed in 2015-16 and recorded for the first time on Nimbus Records by the Kopelman Quartet.