The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

Solo arrangements of 14 well-known melodies are featured in this collection for beginning instrumentalists. It features online access to audio demonstration tracks for download or streaming to help you hear how the song should sound and so you can sound great while playing along with the backing tracks! Songs include: All of Me - Evermore - Hallelujah - Happy - I Gotta Feeling - I'm Yours - Lava - Rolling in the Deep - Viva la Vida - You Raise Me Up - and more. The audio is accessed online using the unique code inside each book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK , a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. / Hautbois

The composer writes:Pilgrim was inspired it will be no surprise to learn by reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Vaughan Williams's great opera on the subject had fascinated me from its first performance yet it was a long time before I caught up with this essential item in any well-stocked library of English classics. It made a great impression not least because of its theme of a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery or renewal of faith. These are ideas which have a strong interest for me not in religious terms but in their application to every aspect of human life (including great journeys) and this piece reflects my response in musical terms to this concern. The tempo of the whole piece which lasts about 18 minutes is basically slow. There are two quick episodes but these act somewhat like the trio sections of a classical scherzo save that the tempo relationships are inverted (the classical trios would have been slower not quicker) and the canvas is much larger being that of a single substantial slow movement. The form of the whole is perhaps fantasia-like rather than having any relationship to classical forms such as sonata or rondo - some motifs and themes are varied as the work develops and the opening chords are of primary importance throughout the work. There has been no attempt to convey any pictorial elements deriving from Bunyan's great book. There is however one feature which upon completion of the score struck me with some force which is that almost all the thematic material is essentially striving upwards - there is a constant upward movement (sometimes over a lengthy period) throughout the work. Pilgrim was commissioned by the Luton Music Club for the Raphael Ensemble with funds provided by the Eastern Arts Board and Bedfordshire County Council and is dedicated to the Luton Music Club. The first performance was given in Luton on February 10th 1997 and followed as part of a joint scheme by performances in the same week at the Music Clubs of Bedford and Leighton Buzzard.

I Give You The End Of A Golden String was commissioned in 2013 by the Royal Philharmonic Society/Britten-Pears Foundation to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Brittenand the bicentenary of thefoundation of the Royal Philharmonic Society.The piece was first performed on 8th June 2013 by the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth.'My aim when I began this piece was to create a long length ofstring music out of a single strand of melody.While experimenting at the beginning shaping and extending a melody in many possible directions I cameacross William Blake???s lines???I give you the end of a goldenstring;Only wind it into a ball It will lead you in at Heaven???s gate Built in Jerusalem???s wall???and this became my working method winding a single tune around itself so that it gradually formed itselfinto amuch richer more complex texture. The process happens three times producing the equivalent of acontinuous three-movement concerto.The ???first movement??? is engendered by two solo violas (the melody at the beginning alreadyentwined witha slightly alternative version of itself). The ???slow movement??? (a more extended more decorated developmentof the opening tune) is introduced by a solo cello (soon winding itself into a quartet of celli). The fast???finale??? led by two solo violins focuses on decorations within the melody rolling out ribbons of (Britten-like') thirds.' - Judith WeirSuggested minimum strings: 8.6.4.4.2 players

Commissioned by the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited with funds provided by the Arts Council of Wales for premiere in August 2012 by the Carducci String Quartet in St. Andrew?s Church Presteigne.Composer's Note'Some years ago I noted down the opening theme of what I anticipated would be a relatively Classical string quartet ?Classical? in the sense of the forms adopted plus perhaps a predominantly lyrical tone of voice. The commission for this work from the Presteigne Festival for their 30th anniversary in 2012 gave me the opportunity of putting into practice this long-held idea. It isdedicated to the Festival and to the Carducci Quartet whose career as much-admired friends and colleagues I have greatly enjoyed.The only break with ?classical? tradition is that there are five movements instead of four with two Scherzi as the second and third though both these are very short and contrasting. I found myself listening to Haydn?s string quartets a lot before and during the composition of this work and I hope the spirit of his delight in writing for this medium is echoed in my own music. The opening movement is in sonata form unusually for me and lyricism is I hope the basis of it though there is a good deal of activity at times. The Scherzo light and marked by frequently-changing rhythms is followed by an equally short but ferocious Perpetuum mobile marked Wild und rasch (one of my favourite German tempo markings). The fourth movement is an intense Adagio in which a single phrase uttered strongly in unison is gradually transformed into gentle diatonic chords before the close intermingled with cadenzas for cello for viola and for the two violins together. The finale (a Rondo) resumes the classical tone of the first movement but apart from one dance-like episode it builds up a fair head of steam towards a final Presto which however ascends slows and quietens towards a gentle summer sky at dusk.'

Toy Box - Very First Pieces For Piano contains 26 simple yet impressive Piano songs composed by experienced teacher June Armstrong. This book is ideal for a beginner to put theory into practice with a wide variety of pieces in a number of styles.Each title in this songbook is evocative of the way the piece is meant to be played, with songs like Ballerina, Hula Hoop and Kaleidoscope suiting the instructions that Armstrong has provided like ?Daintily? and ?Steadily?. Unique touches like this make Toy Box perfect for a young child who is working their way towards grade one standard, as the composer has skilfully attempted to represent the nature of various toys through the medium of music. This will help a young musician to learn the basic concepts of musical theory in a fun and familiar context, with songs like Jumbo and Slinky sure to entertain all who are within earshot through humour and musicality. If you would like to listen to audio recordings of all the songs included in Toy Box, they are all available to download free of charge from the author's website.What sets this songbook apart from other beginner books is the personality and dedication that June Armstrong brings to her compositions, noting that her pieces are all inspired by her own Piano students and giving detailed and informative notes for each song at the beginning of the book. For the song Dinosaur, Armstrong writes that ?You will want to create a very scary atmosphere?The right hand note heads are strange bird calls in the forest. The left hand Ds, Es and Fs are the dinosaur??. The care that has been put into creating this sheet music shows that Armstrong is acutely aware of the best way for students to learn, and that she truly wants students to learn effectively, but in a fun and light-hearted way.Each song in Toy Box occupies a single page making it easy for a player to track their progress and learning, while there are additional helpful bits of information peppered throughout to clarify anything that may be unfamiliar to the student. Armstrong is keen on developing a student's ear for tone and atmosphere, so these extra notes not only reinforce how to play the piece physically, but also how to include emotion and feeling in music, for example how to conjure imagery like that of Blowing Bubbles. The songbook will be perfect for a child who already understands basic musical terms, will be able to play in a few keys other than C Major and is able to play in simple time signatures. As a first step into new compositions, Toy Box will introduce new concepts as well as reinforce what a student is already accustomed to, nevertheless, Armstrong's message is clear - ?Have fun!?. / Piano

Par FREEMAN ALEX. Alex Freeman found initial inspiration for his string quartet (2015) in a series of photographs a geologist friend showed him of en échelon veins in rock formations. The open strings punctuated with pizzicato unisons that begin the single-movement work call to mind something crystalline and shimmering, which is immediately infused with tumbling lyrical lines in something of a rapid caccia technique throughout. The middle of the work becomes more suspended in slower material loosely based on a technique of prolation canon, comprises layers of free, expressive, lyrical, and even elegiac music moving at different speeds. As the work concludes, the materials converge in a rhythmically pulsating stasis and an almost chorale-like statement. Duration: c. 13' This product includes the score and the parts (A4 sized). American-Finnish composer Alex Freeman (b.1972) has established himself among the foremost composers of choral music in Finland. A dedicated citizen of his musical community, a teacher, and a choral singer himself, he composes music that reflects an appreciation for a wide range of aesthetics and a passion for communicating with listeners and performers. In his choral works, in particular, we find music that aims to be sonorous, melodic, and resonant, but is always crafted to carefully avoid the cliches that can burden conventional tonality. His instrumental works run the gamut: a cantata with orchestra based on poetry of Whitman; a significant body of solo piano works that reveal deep roots in everything from austere absolute music to soaring elegaic rhetoric (see Albany Records, Inner Voice); his chamber work Blueshift (Navona Records), which is a kind of paean to Reich and Adams in miniature; open-ended modular works, like various iterations of his Slow All Clocks for electronic media, solo clarinet, and mixed choirs of kanteles; and, recently, some new directions in microtonal music. / Date parution : 2022-05-31/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

The Sondheim For Singers series is the most comprehensive multi-volume collection of Sondheim songs ever published.Each volume has a different contents list and includes songs in original keys, as well as appropriate transpositions. An extensive introductory section, featuring plot synopses and comments from Sondheim about his music and shows, is also included.This volume is for Tenor singers and contains 39 songs, including Beautiful Girls, Pretty Women, Send In The Clowns and Anyone Can Whistle. / Tenor Et Piano

The Sondheim For Singers series is the most comprehensive multi-volume collection of Sondheim songs ever published.Each volume has a different contents list and includes songs in original keys, as well as appropriate transpositions. An extensive introductory section, featuring plot synopses and comments from Sondheim about his music and shows, is also included.This volume is for Baritone/Bass singers and contains 40 songs, including Children Will Listen, Pretty Women, Send In The Clowns and Anyone Can Whistle. / Baryton Et Piano

Written based on a poem of the same title by Octavio Paz A Boy and a Girl is Whitacre at his finest with the composer himself describing four measures as 'the truest notes I've ever written'.Stretched out on the grassa boy and agirl.Savoring their oranges giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam.Stretched out on the beach a boy and a girl.Savoring their limes giving their kisses like clouds exchangingfoam.Stretched out underground a boy and a girl.Saying nothing never kissing giving silence for silence.    Octavio Paz 1914-1998