SKU: FG.55011-510-1
ISBN 9790550115101.
Matthew Whittall's preface to Bright Ferment (2019): I have a complicated history with the string quartet. Actually, it's not that complicated. I spent months writing a huge one in my early twenties and hastily withdrew it after a long delayed premiere, vowing never to write another. In a typical case of karmic retribution, my fear of the form would eventually be overcome by the unrefusable offer to write the compulsory piece for the Banff International String Quartet Competition in my native Canada. The short duration requested, about nine minutes, also felt like a good way to wade gingerly back into the medium. The title was originally just a nice-sounding pair of words that surfaced in a brainstorming session with fellow composer Alex Freeman over an injudicious amount of fermented barley. When I looked it up later, I found that it was a phrase of older coinage, seemingly used more for poetic resonance than any fixed meaning. Ferment by itself denotes a state of confusion, change or lack of order. With bright, it takes on a more positive connotation with regard to society and creativity: a wild profusion of ideas barely checked by reason. (It may not actually mean that, but it describes this piece nicely, so let's go with it.) Fermentation in its trendy culinary usage is also hinted at via a recurrent percolating device of scattered pizzicati. As one may guess from the tone of this introduction, there is little attempt at gravity in Bright Ferment, the only means by which I felt I could sidestep the historical and expressive weight of the string quartet genre. Styles, gestures and moods are tossed around, cross-cut and abandoned in stream-of-consciousness fashion, connected by little except an intuitive sense of rightness in their juxtaposition. If the piece acquires depth in spite of me, it will only be because its disparate parts amplify and strengthen each other simply by being together - much like the ensemble itself. Bright Ferment was commissioned by the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, with additional funding from the Americas Society (New York), for the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. Duration: ca. 9 minutes.
SKU: AP.40469S
UPC: 038081454252. English.
This Haydn quartet movement is a powerful example of the Storm and Stress style (Sturm und Drang) favored by the composer in many of his famous symphonies. Set in the dark key of D minor, rhythmic and harmonic agitation propel the music forward as Haydn develops its four-note theme through a variety of methods. Both musicians and audience will be captivated by this chamber music masterpiece set for string orchestra with an added bass part to strengthen its harmonic movement, making this the perfect concert or contest closer for your orchestra. This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.
SKU: ST.Y296
ISBN 9790220223525.
Nature and landscape have been the dominant themes of much of Rhian Samuel's vocal music of the last ten years, projected chiefly through the poetry of Anne Stevenson, and in her most recent song-settings, the writings of the Pakistan-born Texas-based poet Zulfikar Ghose. His poem 'Conspiracy of the Clouds' describes how, the clouds having chosen to become invisible, 'Even the astronauts on the space shuttle / looked down on a cloudless America' as hurricanes ravage Louisiana and storms engulf Nebraska. An intriguing conceit in the tradition of magic realism, the text is presented as a scena lasting around 16 minutes, with interpolations from 'Haze' by the nineteenth-century New England transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Thus modern fable and romantic nature-description are juxtaposed, and their interaction becomes the source of musical contrasts too. Thoreau's words are assigned predominantly to the vocalist's highest register, those of Ghose to her lower tessitura; and the suggestive and dramatic accompaniment builds tension steadily to the final ironic response of an incredulous American public: not one of awe and wonder, but the question 'Why weren't we told about it?
SKU: AP.1-ADV20403
UPC: 805095204032. English. Traditional.
Writing these arrangements, Frank Reinshagen has created little masterpieces, which broaden the rhythmical and harmonic context of the original tunes in an interesting manner without detracting from their archaic and melancholic character. These original tunes have been borrowed from the Irish, Scottish, and Gaelic musical tradition. These through-composed arrangements are rather easy to perform from the rhythmical and technical point of view, yet they are quite demanding in respect of the key they are written in, their intonation and, especially, their interpretation. Their different instrumentations are fully compatible with each other and, due to their overall structure, they are also suitable to be played with multi-scored parts. The interpretation of 'S mo lamh air a stiuir---the song of a helmsman living on the Isle of Skye---should be interpreted with the musicians paying careful attention to its dynamics and phrasing, which reflect the up-and-down motion of the stormy Arctic Ocean. For this arrangement the key D minor---which is one whole tone lower than the original---has been chosen to make sure that the piece is playable, especially for a clarinet quartet.
SKU: HL.367915
ISBN 9781705140505. UPC: 840126966831. 9.0x12.0x0.104 inches.
Composed for the Berlin Saxophone Quartet. Subtitled “Firestormâ€, the work is written for SATB saxophones.
SKU: BT.DHP-1185968-070
ISBN 9789043156707. English-German-French-Dutch.
Con te partirò, which also became famous under the title Time to Say Goodbye, has burned itself into the collective musical consciousness above all in the interpretation by the blind Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli. In the 1990s this song raced up the singles charts and has since become almost indispensable at farewell celebrations, especially in the world of sports. Thanks to Anthony Grögersâ?? expressive arrangement, string quartets now have the opportunity to let this wonderful song ring out on suitable occasions, guaranteed to awaken the emotionsâ?¦Con te partirò, ook bekend onder de titel Time to Say Goodbye, heeft in de versie van de blinde Italiaanse tenor Andrea Bocelli een plek in ons collectieve muzikale geheugen veroverd. In de jaren negentig van de vorige eeuw bestormde het nummer de hitlijsten, en sindsdien is het bij afscheidsceremonies, met name in de sportwereld, nauwelijks nog weg te denken. Dankzij Anthony Grögers expressieve bewerking hebben strijkkwartetten nu ook de mogelijkheid om dit prachtige lied bij passende gelegenheden ten gehore te brengen en daarmee ongetwijfeld een gevoelige snaar te raken.Con te partirò, auch unter dem Titel Time to Say Goodbye berühmt geworden, hat sich vor allem in der Interpretation durch den blinden italienischen Tenor Andrea Bocelli in das kollektive Musikgedächtnis eingebrannt. In den neunziger Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts stürmte der Titel die Single-Charts und ist seitdem bei groÃ?en Abschiedsveranstaltungen, insbesondere im Sport, kaum noch wegzudenken. Dank Anthony Grögers ausdrucksvollem Arrangement haben nun auch Streichquartett-Formationen die Möglichkeit, bei passenden Anlässen das wunderschöne Lied erklingen zu lassen. Da sind die Emotionen garantiert â?¦La chanson « Con te partirò » (« Avec toi je partirai ») est un véritable succès international gr ce son interprétation par le ténor italien Andrea Bocelli, qui lâ??a popularisée au Royaume-Uni sous le titre « Time to Say Goodbye ». Montée en flèche au hit-parade dans les années 1990, cette chanson est devenue incontournable lors des cérémonies dâ??adieux, notamment lors dâ??événements sportifs. Lâ??arrangement expressif dâ??Anthony Gröger permet aux quatuors cordes de faire sonner cette merveilleuse mélodie évocatrice lors dâ??événements appropriés.
SKU: CF.SAS9F
ISBN 9781491163221. UPC: 680160921973. Key: D minor.
Despite an impressive body of work, little is known about German composer Emilie Mayer (1812-1883). Mayer studied composition with Carl Loewe after the death of her parents, writing a total of eight symphonies, eight violin sonatas, twelve cello sonatas, six piano trios, seven string quartets, seven orchestral overtures, and numerous works for piano and voice. Mayer's works were acclaimed in Germany and she toured frequently performing her music, an unheard of practice for a single woman at the time. Regrettably, however, most of her work remained unpublished at the time of her death. Written in her 30s, Mayer's stormy fourth and final movement from her second symphony reveals her bold Romantic style and growing confidence as a composer. Arranged for string orchestra and timpani, this movement was painstakingly drawn from the handwritten score, offering a profound opportunity for students to experience the music of this incredible composer for the first time.
SKU: CF.SAS9
ISBN 9781491162880. UPC: 680160921638. Key: D minor.