This hauntingly beautiful melody is probably the mostfamous to come from the pen of Czech composer Antonin Dvorák. Stephen Bulla?s transcription of?Largo? from the ?New World Symphony? will helpyour students focus on expressive playing and bringgreat delight to all with the soothing nostalgicmelody.

As the title suggests this work is a partita: it consists of a number of variations on a chorale melody. The partita has been popular for centuries especially when it comes to organ music. Henk van Belcum who is active in the choir world chose for his Partita Piccola the German hymn Wunderbarer König as a starting point. Partita Piccola consists of four variations and a choral setting. After a majestic opening fanfare the second variation follows based on a canon by Pachelbel. Händel?s Sarabande is the basis of the third variation. Next comes the chorale setting after which the work ends festively with a dance that has been written in the form of a courante. PartitaPiccola is an asset for church services and for concert platforms.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. His father was a wool merchant. Originally he seemed destined to follow in his father?s footsteps and thus sailed the oceans to countries as far apart as Iceland and Guinea. In 1476 his ship was sunk during a battle off the coast of Portugal. Columbus saved his own life by swimming to shore. In 1484 he conceived the idea of sailing to the Indies via a westward sea route but it was only in 1492 that he was able to realize this plan. On this first voyage he was in command of three ships: the flag-ship called the Santa Maria the Pinta and the Ni?a. From Spain Columbus sailed via the Canary Islands to the Bahamas whichhe sighted on October 12th 1492. Without being aware of it Columbus discovered the ?New World? ? he thought he had landed in the eastern part of Asia. The motif from Dvoøák?s 9th Symphony ?Aus der neuen Welt? forms a little counterfeit history at this point in the composition. After this first voyage Columbus was to undertake another three long voyages to America. These voyages were certainly not entirely devoid of misfortune. More than once he was faced with shipwreck mutiny and the destruction of settlements he had founded. After Columbus had left for Spain from Rio Belen in 1503 he beached his ships on the coast of Jamaica. The crew were marooned there and it was only after a year that Columbus succeeded in saving his men and sailing back to Spain with them. In the music the misunderstanding about which continent Columbus discovered in his lifetime resounds for does this part in the composition not contain Asiatic motifs? Poor Columbus! In 1506 the famous explorer died in Valladolid.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. His father was a wool merchant. Originally he seemed destined to follow in his father?s footsteps and thus sailed the oceans to countries as far apart as Iceland and Guinea. In 1476 his ship was sunk during a battle off the coast of Portugal. Columbus saved his own life by swimming to shore. In 1484 he conceived the idea of sailing to the Indies via a westward sea route but it was only in 1492 that he was able to realize this plan. On this first voyage he was in command of three ships: the flag-ship called the Santa Maria the Pinta and the Ni?a. From Spain Columbus sailed via the Canary Islands to the Bahamas whichhe sighted on October 12th 1492. Without being aware of it Columbus discovered the ?New World? ? he thought he had landed in the eastern part of Asia. The motif from Dvoøák?s 9th Symphony ?Aus der neuen Welt? forms a little counterfeit history at this point in the composition. After this first voyage Columbus was to undertake another three long voyages to America. These voyages were certainly not entirely devoid of misfortune. More than once he was faced with shipwreck mutiny and the destruction of settlements he had founded. After Columbus had left for Spain from Rio Belen in 1503 he beached his ships on the coast of Jamaica. The crew were marooned there and it was only after a year that Columbus succeeded in saving his men and sailing back to Spain with them. In the music the misunderstanding about which continent Columbus discovered in his lifetime resounds for does this part in the composition not contain Asiatic motifs? Poor Columbus! In 1506 the famous explorer died in Valladolid.

This major concert work cosists o five movements.1st movement: La Laguna del ShimbeSituated high up in the Andes mountains in Northern Peru are the Huaringas a group of lagoons in isolated and mysterious surroundings. The water has healing powersand for centuries traditional healers have settled there in small villages. From far the sick come to the Huaringas to be treated in nightly rituals in which the hallucinating juice of the San Pedro cactus gives the prophet a look inside hispatient. The biggest lagoon is the ?Laguna del Shimbe? one of the countless wells of the immense Amazon stream.2nd movement: Los AguarunasFurther downstream in Northern Peru we come across the rain tribe of Los Aguarunas. It?s a proud beautiful andindependent race which has never succumbed to domination not even from the Incas. They live from everything the forest has to offer: fish fruit plants ... . They also grow some crops and live as semi-nomads. They take their fate into their ownhands and after having made contact with modern civilisation they have integrated new elements into their lives without betraying their own ways.3rd movement: MekaronMekaron is an Indian word meaning ?picture? ?soul? ?essence?. The Indians are theorigina inhabitants of the Amazon region. They either live in one place as a group or move around a large region. They all have their own political system their own language and an intense social life. At the same time they are master of music andmedicine. ?Everywhere the white man goes he leaves a wilderness behind him? wrote the North American Indian leader Seatl in 1885. As a result of these contacts with the whites the disruption of most Indian societies began. (In this century alone 80 tribes have vanished completely).4th movement: KêêtuajêThis is the name of the initiating ceremony of the Krahô tribe in the Brazilian state of Goias in which young boys and girls enter adult life. They are cleansed with water painted with redpaint and covered with feathers after which the ritual dance holds the entire tribe spell-bound.5th movement: Paulino FaiakanIn 1988 the Indian chiefs Faiakan and Raoni Kaiapo came to Europe to protest against the building of the Altamira dam inBrazil. As a result of the dam the Indians would be driven from their traditional land and enormous artificial would be created. The project was supported financially by amongst others the European Community. In February 1989 the Indian tribesaround Altamira held a protest march for the first time in their history together. Amongst other things they paid tribute tot Chico Mendez who murdered in 1988 was the leader of the rubber syndicate and a fierce opponent of the destruction of theBrazilian rain forest. Brazilian and world opinion was awakened. The building of the dam was -albeit temporarily - stopped.

This major concert work cosists o five movements.1st movement: La Laguna del ShimbeSituated high up in the Andes mountains in Northern Peru are the Huaringas a group of lagoons in isolated and mysterious surroundings. The water has healing powersand for centuries traditional healers have settled there in small villages. From far the sick come to the Huaringas to be treated in nightly rituals in which the hallucinating juice of the San Pedro cactus gives the prophet a look inside hispatient. The biggest lagoon is the ?Laguna del Shimbe? one of the countless wells of the immense Amazon stream.2nd movement: Los AguarunasFurther downstream in Northern Peru we come across the rain tribe of Los Aguarunas. It?s a proud beautiful andindependent race which has never succumbed to domination not even from the Incas. They live from everything the forest has to offer: fish fruit plants ... . They also grow some crops and live as semi-nomads. They take their fate into their ownhands and after having made contact with modern civilisation they have integrated new elements into their lives without betraying their own ways.3rd movement: MekaronMekaron is an Indian word meaning ?picture? ?soul? ?essence?. The Indians are theorigina inhabitants of the Amazon region. They either live in one place as a group or move around a large region. They all have their own political system their own language and an intense social life. At the same time they are master of music andmedicine. ?Everywhere the white man goes he leaves a wilderness behind him? wrote the North American Indian leader Seatl in 1885. As a result of these contacts with the whites the disruption of most Indian societies began. (In this century alone 80 tribes have vanished completely).4th movement: KêêtuajêThis is the name of the initiating ceremony of the Krahô tribe in the Brazilian state of Goias in which young boys and girls enter adult life. They are cleansed with water painted with redpaint and covered with feathers after which the ritual dance holds the entire tribe spell-bound.5th movement: Paulino FaiakanIn 1988 the Indian chiefs Faiakan and Raoni Kaiapo came to Europe to protest against the building of the Altamira dam inBrazil. As a result of the dam the Indians would be driven from their traditional land and enormous artificial would be created. The project was supported financially by amongst others the European Community. In February 1989 the Indian tribesaround Altamira held a protest march for the first time in their history together. Amongst other things they paid tribute tot Chico Mendez who murdered in 1988 was the leader of the rubber syndicate and a fierce opponent of the destruction of theBrazilian rain forest. Brazilian and world opinion was awakened. The building of the dam was -albeit temporarily - stopped.

The Final Destiny of the Gods-Le Ragnarok - le destin ultime des dieux symbolise dans la mythologie nordique la fin du monde appelée aussi «Le crépuscule des dieux». L?oeuvre composée par Bert Appermont ne relate pas la saga dans son intégralité bien que la fin du monde et la régénération d?un monde nouveau soient évoquées en deux parties. La musique suggère plutôt l?image d?un monde de sortilèges où règnent la folie et la violence un monde dans le chaos. Mais toute la puissance de l?homme réside dans son grand désir de renaître de ses cendres. La partie choeur est facultative et peut être remplacée par un clavier. Deux passages sont empruntés au Requiem le Dies Irae dans la première et leLibera me dans la deuxième partie.