Versuch eines Requiems. Par HARTMANN KARL AMADEUS. Karl Amadeus Hartmann wrote his first symphony in 1935/36. At that time he was still an unknown musician whose works stood no chance of being performed and who could not hope to find encouragement in his native Germany. He had to wait more than ten years for its first performance, which finally took place in Frankfurt in the spring of 1948 under the direction of Winfried Zillig. I was 21 at the time, and the work left an extraordinarily deep impression on me, an impression that marked the beginning of my admiration for Hartmann's music and its very special kind of intellectuality, which struck me as both important and significant: by this I mean its spontaneous and unrefracted immediacy, its honesty and straightforwardness – qualities that extend beyond this composer's works and affect his whole surroundings, including his fellow human beings. All Hartmann's works, moreover, contain an essential element of the art of compostion, namely, an exact correspondence between the artist's insistent need to express himself and the instrumental resources that he chooses. A superficial listener might perhaps fail to notice at first that the huge orchestral apparatus that Hartmann conjures up exactly matches his powerful expressivity and the colourful nature of his rhetoric. There is also the expansiveness and physically charged vitality of the native of southern Germany, a man capable of combining his own sense of inwardness with the beauty of the moment and a feeling of hymnic grandeur. It is a combination that reflects his own south German countryside and that answers a need to communicate sustained by his own unwavering faith in humanity. / Date parution : 1965-11-20/ Répertoire / Voix d'Alto et Orchestre

Symphony No. 6 'At The End Of Day' (1997-99) for Orchestra by Per Nørgård. Programme note: ”… with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”  (New Testament 2 Peter 3:8)  My SYMPHONY NO. 6 was commissioned by the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra to be premiered at the millenium 2000.  The subtitle AT THE END OF THE DAY can be understood literally or it can mean “when all is added up”. However in my opinion nothing ever quite adds up there is always “something” missing any ending will be provisional ...  This symphony appears to end only a few minutes into the first movement the first passage as the music fades away to almost-silence after a start of flying colours. But then there is still “something” a small motive (first heard in the initial sound-waves) which reappears hesitant but persistent and this embryo is what leads on the musical progression. An agitated section of many instrumental voices comes next until all the voices become obsessed with the same phrase a see-saw motive based on thirds. This section evolves into almost martial ferocity when broken off by a tutti descent into an extreme bass-world (a bass-world which actually permeates the whole symphony emplyoing instruments that I have never used before: double-bass tuba double-bass trombone double-bass clarinet and bass flute).  The second movement the second passage apparently takes off where the first passage ended but now the events are more ambiguous and the same music may be perceived as fast-moving one moment and slow-moving the next. This section is a kind of passacaglia the characteristic baroque bass-variation.  Without a break follows the third and last passage in a

For solo Cello Timpani and Strings.Popule Meus was commissioned through the Magnum Opus project: Kathryn Gould founding patron and commissioner and Meet the Composer project manager.It was first performed on 6thFebruary 2010 by Yuri Hooker (cello) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Micklethwate. Composer's Notes 'Popule Meus is a meditation on the Judaic and Christian text ?O my People whathave I done to you?? but itis also a Universalist contemplation of the wholesale rejection of God by modern man. However much manrejects God he cannot escape Him and indeed he is condemned to the supernatural by his deiformnature. InHindu terms he is the Absolute Ayam Atma Brahma (The Self is the Absolute).In this work the solo cello is the All-Compassionate One while the timpani represent man in his vain andpointless rejection. Although the solocello and strings and the timpani share the same material (four ideas aregradually revealed and they revolve four times during the piece) the timpani music is violent and becomesincreasingly frenzied and contracted while thecello and strings remain still and serene.So even in winning the Darkness loses and even in losing the Light wins. Passion Resurrection andRedemption; or in Hindu terms Atma (The Absolute) alone is real Maya (The Relative) ismerely illusion.'

The Christmas Carol of Joseph-Halvdan Sivertsen (born 1950) is one of the most popular singer/ songwriters in Norway. He is well know as a first-class storyteller and he has a strong melodic line in all his music. This Christmas song was first recorded in 1991 and it has become a Norwegian classic. The lyrics tell the story of a couple travelling through time to find a city with bright lights where they hear people sing about the couple who are about to have their first baby. But still this couple can not find anybody willing to help them and they are forced to go back 2000 years to find the stable where they find some shelter. Maybe they should have travelled further ahead in time in the firstplace to find people willing to open their door to the poor and needing?

Par TCHAIKOVSKI PIOTR ILITCH / JONES NATHAN (Arr.). Tchaikovsky composed his twelve character pieces for piano, The Seasons, while he was writing his popular ballet, Swan Lake. Each piece in The Seasons depicts a different month of the year in Russia. The original publication of September: The Hunt included an epigraph at the start of the piece-a small poem by Alexander Pushkin. This energetic arrangement for symphonic band by Nathan Jones opens with an octave fanfare between the winds and brass. Tchaikovsky\'s colorful harmony speaks here, with passing chromaticism adding color to the music. The fanfare theme is transformed in the quiet central section, still shifting to the minor mode with short solo passages for flute, bassoon, trumpet, xylophone and oboe (cued in flutes). The segue back into the opening fanfare is clever, with the notes leading through several keys before concluding in the major with a short reprise of the initial theme. / Date parution : 2022-09-20/ Répertoire / Concert Band

Par BLANKEN JOHN. John Blanken has created a swinging arrangement of the famous Scottish traditional tune Scotland the Brave. The usual version with bagpipes is the best known and there is a similarity in Swingin’ Kilts owing to its long, drone-like tones in the accompaniment. The theme has been rhythmically adapted but it is still easily recognisable. Swingin’ Kilts holds a challenge for every brass band. It makes demands in terms of timing and technique which give this work the bravura feel that will keep the audience as well as the musicians swinging in their seats. / Niveau : 3 / Musique légère originale / Répertoire / Brass Band

Par BLANKEN JOHN. John Blanken has created a swinging arrangement of the famous Scottish traditional tune Scotland the Brave. The usual version with bagpipes is the best known and there is a similarity in Swingin’ Kilts owing to its long, drone-like tones in the accompaniment. The theme has been rhythmically adapted but it is still easily recognisable. Swingin’ Kilts holds a challenge for every brass band. It makes demands in terms of timing and technique which give this work the bravura feel that will keep the audience as well as the musicians swinging in their seats. / Niveau : 3 / Musique légère originale / Répertoire / Fanfare

Par DE HAAN JACOB. This musical fantasy depicts the history of the Dutch fortified town of Elburg. The work begins with an atmospheric medieval picture of the Convent of St Agnes, the nunnery that was built in the first half of the 15th century. We hear the sound of the convent bells together with an upward motif, which will reappear later in the work. Next, the rest of Elburg is featured, including the fortress - from which the bells of the Sint-Nicolaaskerk (Saint Nicholas Church) are ringing. Then, cheerful sounds can be heard at the Vischpoort (Fish Gate), where a dancing group is performing a 16th century French folk dance (a branle des chevaux). We also hear old wagons rumbling over the town’scobble stones. Trade made this Hanseatic town a lively place. The repetitive upward motif first heard in the introduction now develops into a more distinct feature, reflecting the mercantile spirit of the town residents. Then follows the slow middle movement, in which the clock has been turned back to the time when Elburg was still lying on the Zuiderzee (which was a bay of the North Sea), and was struggling with floods. After the second St. Marcellus Flood (1362) and the water flood of 1367 it was decided that the town would be relocated. We now hear the theme of branle des chevaux in a minor key, followed by a death bell sounding in remembrance of the drowned citizens of the former town. Back in our own time, a slow, expressive theme in Baroque style mirrors Elburg’s tranquil places, such as the Feithenhof (Feithen Court) and the Weduwenhofje (Widow Court). Then the bustle returns with motifs from the introduction, followed by an attractive theme in which present-day Elburg is portrayed with its many tourists. Now, suddenly, there is an echo from the past, depicting the dramatic floods and wars that once plagued the town. This leads to the grand closing theme: branle des chevaux is heard for a final time from the perspective of the historic town centre. / Niveau : 4 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Fanfare

Ray of light was composed for the 75th anniversary of the Royal Wind Band (De Heidegalm Berkenbos). The mining environment of Berkenbos (Heusden-Zolder, B) is a proof of what used to be one of the most flourishing industries inLimburg viz. the Mining Industry. Going down the shaft in the elevator for the first time was a sensational experience for every miner: the noise of the closing doors, the shock experienced when the lift cage started moving tofall down whizzingly into the deep at a speed of 30 km an hour. The opening theme of Ray of Light doesn?t only reflect the bravery of the descending miners but also their anxiety, their doubt and insecurity. In the solo passage,the anxiety during the long walk in the dark through the mine corridors with only headlamps and mine lamps is clearly audible. Working in the mines wasn?t without any danger. The very flammable and at times explosive mine gasesalways posed a hidden threat. Apart from that there was always the continuous danger of collapse. The beautiful choral movements are therefore an ode to the miners that left their lives in the mine. The eastern scale refers tothe multicultural character of the mining environment of Berkenbos with its many commercial shops and different types of housing inherent in mining architecture. The mining profession is still a very dangerous job, but at the endof the dark corridor the miners still see a beam of light as a sign of hope.

One of the signature ballads from renowned horn band Tower of Power this tune includes the famous trumpet solo introduction that is one of those magical moments that trumpet players dream about! The rest of the chart isoutstanding as well. Includes solo for tenor sax. (Cherry Lane)

Lady Gaga is still riding the wave of popularity with her infectious tunes and a stunning live performance style. Here is one of her signature hits in a terrific easy version for developing strings. Solidly scored and fun to play!

The world premiere of the musical Elisabeth took place in Vienna on September 3 1992. From the great acclaim with which the musical was received it became clear that the life of the Empress of Austria still appeals to the imagination. Although Elisabeth's life (1837-1898) as an Empress has a fairy-tale-like beginning it takes a gloomy turn. In this production Luigi Lucheni the man who finally takes her life tells her story. Death plays a major role throughout Elisabeth's life. In the musical an equally mysterious and attractive man portrays the phenomenon of death seducing her to the realm of death time after time. Elisabeth's life resembles a fairy tale when shemarries the Emperor Franz Joseph at the age of sixteen. Her mother-in-law Archduchess Sophie does not make it easy on Elisabeth. But it is life itself that puts the Empress to the test. First her youngest daughter dies. Then not long after her son Rudolf is born her happiness is clouded when her mother-in-law decides she must take pity on him. After her husband's unfaithfulness and Sophie's death Elisabeth is so disillusioned that she chooses a travelling existence without realizing her husband and her son Rudolf miss her. Rudolf's loneliness is one of the reasons he commits suicide. The accumulation of disappointments in Elisabeth's life almost drives her into the arms of Death. In the end however it is Lucheni who kills her.

Par PART ARVO. Chad Smith, Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has long nurtured the desire to commission a new work by Arvo Pärt. When the Los Angeles Philharmonic submitted this idea to Arvo Pärt in February 2007, the suggestion came at precisely the right moment. Pärt was working at that time with an ancient canon in Church Slavonic containing a prayer to a guardian angel - the connection to 'Los Angeles' was irresistible. Pärt was further inspired to take the commission by the idea of seeing this work performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, one of the best orchestras in the world, under its music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, and in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, one of the most exciting concert buildings of our time. The Canberra International Music Festival / Ars Musica Australis and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music joined the project as co-commissioners, thanks to the committed work of director Chris Latham. It may come as a surprise that it has taken so long (37 years) for Pärt to produce his fourth symphony. Symphony No. 3 emerged in 1971, in a time of transition before Pärt had fully developed the 'Tintinnabuli style' which he still employs today. Since developing this style, Pärt has not written any orchestral works which could be called 'symphonic' in scope or structure. With Symphony No. 4, which he calls 'Los Angeles', he creates a reference to this essential phase in his compositional life. Symphony No. 4 incorporates Pärt's 'These Words…' for string orchestra, which was premiered in May 2008 in Copenhagen. As was previously seen in some of Pärt's early instrumental works, all parameters of the text (number of syllables, inflection, punctuation etc) play a decisive role in the structure of the composition. Arvo Pärt has dedicated Symphony No. 4 'Los Angeles' to Mikhail Khodorkovsky./ Répertoire / Orchestre à Cordes, Harpe, Timbales et Percussion

In completion of the first part (Hortus Musicus 50 now out of print) this second part to the 'Music To The Midsummer Night's Dream' contains all the remaining four-part instrumental pieces from Henry Purcell's opera 'The Fairy Queen' (1692). Similar to the pieces in the first part the composer wrote them for performance by Strings but they can also be played by Wind Instruments only (in particular wood-wind) or with string and wind instruments mixed and also with one or several instruments to a part. The pieces were put in such an order that they again present a small self-contained suite.The titles to the several numbers which arepartly mentioned more exactly in this book indicate their place in the above named opera by Purcell. They elucidate at the same time the character of the various pieces. Thus No.1 Air (Second Music) is originally a (second) introductory piece of music for the opera which still precedes the actual Overture. No.2 Jig No.5 Air and No.8 Air are instrumental postludes to the first fourth and second acts of the opera respectively whereas No.4 'Dance for the Followers of Night' No.6 'Dance for the Green Men' and No.7 'Monkeys' Dance' present a motley picture of the operatic construction which provided a great number of allegoric persons and figures. From a purely musical point of view this second part too of the 'Music To The Midsummer Night's Dream' contains gems of old instrumental music. May this present book help to gain new friends for the noble art of the great Old-English composer.

The young have the future. This is the statement made at the beginning of ‘Like a Child’ by Andreas Ludwig Schulte. The opening radiates strength and ambition but one is also made to wonder which direction will be chosen which choices will have to be made.After the introduction the first steps on the path of life are taken still somewhat unsteadily (the 3/4th time used illustrates this uncertainty). However the child has now set off and will meet the future with an open mind unafraid even though experience will teach it how easily it can be hurt.Fortunately it is sometimes allowed to be vulnerable and it discovers there will always be someone to offer shelter support and love. (Adagio) The last part breathes a far greater independence. Youth is able to face the future it can even take on the whole world!