SKU: PE.EP72822
ISBN 9790577011769. 232 x 303mm inches. English.
I have only visited Damascus once, twenty years ago, on the way to Palmyra. I had a purpose (I was writing music for a play about Palmyra’s Queen Zenobia) but essentially I was a tourist. Like any visitor, I was thrilled to step out of the noisy modern city into the magical ancient world of the walled Old City, its vibrant souk leading to the magnificent mosque, and a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets filled with the smell of unleavened bread.
In Palmyra, I was met with extraordinary kindness everywhere. On one occasion, a little Bedouin boy noticed that I was risking sunstroke wandering bare-headed among the spectacular ruins: he showed me how to tie a turban, then took me to have tea with his family in their tent.
Since then, I have watched helplessly as these places of wonder have been devastated and their inhabitants scattered and killed. When the Sacconi Quartet suggested that I might choose a Syrian poet for our collaboration, I welcomed the idea.
I searched for a long time to find a contemporary poet whose work might gain from any music I could imagine. I felt it was important to find first-hand accounts of the Syrian experience – but, of course, I was always reading them in translation. In an anthology called Syria Speaks, I was astonished to read something that looked like prose, but was full of poetry. It was Anne-Marie McManus’s fine translation of Ali Safar’s A Black Cloud in a Leaden White Sky – an eloquent, thoughtful, contained yet vivid account of life in a war-torn country, all the more moving for its restraint.
In setting these words, I have not attempted to imitate Syrian music. However, there is what might be called a linguistic accommodation in my choice of scale, or mode. Several movements are in a mode that I first discovered while writing a cantata commemorating the First World War: it has a tuning that I associate with war, its violence and desolation. This eight-note mode is similar to scales found in Syrian music. I did not choose it in the abstract: it emerged from the harmonies I was exploring in the earlier work, and emerged again as I was looking for the right musical colours to set Ali Safar’s words. In this work, its Arabic aspect is more prominent. - Jonathan Dove
SKU: CL.012-3959-75
Following his incredible success with Divinum Mysterium, composer James Swearingen has created another powerful and expressive setting of a wonderful classic from the past. This time he has selected the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams as his source of inspiration. A written description fails to do justice to this well-crafted work of musical reverence. The music speaks for itself! This has our highest recommendation!
SKU: BT.9781408105306
ISBN 9781408105306. English.
The perfect book for pupil and teacher.
SKU: HL.1189808
UPC: 196288131304. 6.75x10.5x0.036 inches.
The poem by William Wordsworth makes solitude a sacred and wonderful experience, embracing nature and radiating gratefulness for all that surrounds us. Here, the music that supports the poem's words does the same. It is both soothing and glamorous, meditative and grandly all-encompassing. High school, college, and community choirs will find this selection easily programmable.
SKU: HL.49023838
ISBN 9783795756659. 5.75x8.25x0.147 inches. German.
Die Liedersonne bringt eine liebevoll zusammengestellte Auswahl von rund 90 Liedern. Schwerpunkte in der Liedersonne sind: Neue Kinderlieder, von heiter bis besinnlich; deutschsprachige Lieder von Herbert Gronemeyer, Ina Deter, Munchener Freiheit, Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung und vielen anderen; sudamerikanische Lieder, russische Lieder und naturlich internationale Hits.
SKU: CF.YAS41
ISBN 9780825861291. UPC: 798408061296. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: G major.
Larry Clark does it again with this tuneful new feel good piece. You and your students will walk away humming this tune. There is even a nice contrasting lyrical middle section in the relative minor to break up the piece.Solstice: one of two times in the year when the sun is at its greatest distancefrom the celestial equator.A solstice happens at the mid-point of summer, about June 21, and the midpoint of winter, about December 22. Each of those times of year is delightful. The carefree days of summer have just begun around June 21, when the mind wanders to long bike rides or walks on the beach. During the winter solstice the mind is filled with all of the delights that the holiday season has to offer. Either way, a solstice is a joyous and fun filled time of year, and this piece is intended to bring to mind some of these wonderful times. The main theme should be performed in a light carefree manner, which is then contrasted by the more lyrical and passionate middle section.As with all of my pieces for younger students, the tempo indicated is merely a guide. Adjust the tempo to fit the needs of your students. It has been my pleasure to have the opportunity to write this piece. I hope you and your students enjoy it and find it useful for your program.
About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series
Thi s series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:--Occasionally extending to third position--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts--Viola T.C. part included--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels