SKU: CA.5006005
ISBN 9790007079222. Key: B flat minor. Language: Latin/German.
After the premiere of 12 Dec 1870, the poet Paul Heyse wrote to Rheinberger: I do not want to wait until we see each other again, most honoured friend, to say to you how much your work grabbed hold of me, lifted me up, and washed me away on a current of strength and beauty, swelling higher and higher..
SKU: LO.10-2859LA
UPC: 000308064766.
From the new cantata Christmas Seekers this rhythmic anthem is full of the upbeat excitement that the shepherds must have felt and that we all feel in anticipation of Christmas. Functioning equally well on Christmas Eve or as part of any Christmas celebration, your spirits will be lifted by this joyful offering.
SKU: CF.BF126
ISBN 9781491150009. UPC: 680160907502. 9x12 inches.
Written by world renown pedagogue, Roland Vamos, this collection of double-stop exercises fill a void in the literature of technical exercises for cellists. These etudes feature a systematic series of fixed double-stops that enables the player to practice and master every possible combination of finger patterns across two strings without shifting. Mr. Vamos says of the book, The most important accomplishment is the development of a strong left handà These exercises, when practiced slowly and carefully, will help to develop a keen sense of pitch and intonation. Adapted for cello by Horacio Contreras, teacher, chamber musician, and recitalist.When I first became familiar with Roland Vamos’ Exercises, I was impressed with itsclarity and effectiveness. The book focuses on a few important fundamentals of string playing,and it is accessible to students of every age. Moreover, its tonal organization in C major makesit simple and easy to understand. I recognized the potential this book could have for cellists,and after spending several months working on an adaptation, I witnessed its results in buildingand maintaining important fundamentals of technique.Mr. Vamos’ Exercises is comprised of simple patterns of double-stops in sevenpositions. There are two basic groups of variations: seven double-stop variations in differentcombined rhythms that develop finger coordination and independence of the left hand, andnine bowing variations that use détaché at the frog, middle and tip of the bow to work onstring crossings, coordination, and balance of the bow. The whole work provides training thatimproves intonation, sound, and ease of playing in all positions and all parts of the bow.In order to adapt Mr. Vamos’ book for cello, I needed to make some modifications tothe original. To address the different needs of the neck and the thumb positions, I chose to writetwo separate books. I kept the original ascending stepwise motion for subsequent variationsin Book I by following a diatonic scale on the top line of the patterns. However, I modifiedthe tonal framework to adjust to the more limited range of the cello. Therefore, unlike in Mr.Vamos’ book, variations in Book I do not ascend through the positions in a uniform pattern.I also switched the order of patterns to create a gradual increase in difficulty. In Book II, Iadded options that work on the fourth finger and an extended left hand frame, and at the end, Iincluded five sets of variations with different bowing alternatives.Mr. Vamos provides a number of specific instructions regarding left hand techniquein his exercises. For his original version, two fingers must remain down for almost the entireset of variations, providing a solid reference for the frame of the hand. In variations H and I,he instructs students to lift these fingers when they are not being used. In the case of thumbposition on cello, lifting the thumb could make the hand unstable; therefore, I suggested thatthe thumb remains down while the other fingers are lifted alternately in H and I. I have foundthis exercise quite useful to work on thumb independence and relaxing the thumb while usingother fingers.Mr. Vamos gives precise instructions for the bowing exercises as well. Following hisdirections, the exercises should be performed with a relaxed hand and flexible fingers. Thenotes should be consistently connected even when crossing strings. The bowing patterns shouldbe performed at the frog, the middle and the tip of the bow in every position.
SKU: CA.5006011
ISBN 9790007079246. Key: B flat minor. Language: Latin/German.
SKU: CA.5006009
ISBN 9790007079239. Key: B flat minor. Language: Latin/German.
SKU: WD.080689526176
UPC: 080689526176.
Impro visatory yet structured, wildly imaginative yet comfortably familiar, these musical creations for choir and orchestra evoke an energy best expressed in the realm of the fantastical while simultaneously embracing an obsessively intentional focus on the joy and significance of NOEL in the life of every believer. It is an anthology of songs and arrangements designed to soar on wings constructed of myriad forms and styles, lifted by the hearts and voices that sing them. At the same time, its message keeps us firmly grounded and anchored by the message of love, hope and redemption that is the heart of the Christmas story and which is the heartbeat of a loving God. Fantasia Noel, Christ is born!
SKU: LO.99-3954L
UPC: 000308152029.
SKU: HL.14036341
ISBN 9780711955080.
Comm issioned by the BBC and premiered by the Chilingirian String Quartet. Quoting Wood: In my Second and Third Quartets I attempted sectional, agglutinative forms: in my Fourth I return to the conventional four movement form of my First Quartet of 1962. Both works build up (as in the 19th century symphony) to the Finale, thus making it the most substantial movement, which provides a climax to the work. The First Movement has, in both works, only the status of an Introduction. But there the consciously willed resemblances end. This Introduction follows the Second Quartet to a certain extent, in that it provides a sort of 'cauldron', from which elements to be used later can all be plucked. Its opening will reappear at various points throughout the work, most completely at a climatic point of the Finale (bar 110). Subsequent material will be more fully worked out in the second movement, a large Scherzo. The Introduction concludes with an unusually placed violin cadenza (itself a rare feature in a string quartet, the idea lifted from Elliott Carter's First Quartet) of which the opening is to reappear halfway through the Finale. The Scherzo (which follows attacca) does not have at its centre a discretely characterized Trio: a figure in double-stops like a distant fanfare supplies the necessary contrast of a second idea. The Slow Movement has a secondary idea first heard on the cello and marked appassionato: an agitato middle section recalls the opening of the work, but in a formulation which will be found closely to anticipate its reappearance in the Finale. The Finale is planned on a broad scale. Only after a fully worked exposition of both primary and secondary material does the opening of the whole work return, now in a greatly extended form. Then, at bar 140, the tune of the violin cadenza is first harmonized in fanfare style on the upper instruments, then presented as a chorale on the lower ones, with a rushing semiquaver accompaniment above. This climatic activity mounts to the very end. The work is dedicated to the Chilingirian Quartet, old friends over many years. Score available separately: SOS04044.
SKU: GI.G-10552
English. Text Source: Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?, Isaac Watts, 1674-1748, alt., At the Cross, Ralph E. Hudson, 1843-1901, alt. Text by Isaac Watts.
“At the Cross†contains the very rich texts of Isaac Watts and Ralph Hudson. My desire is to treat each verse with utmost respect by highlighting—throu gh music—the suffering, shame, hope, beauty, and glory of the cross. The cross embodies all of these attributes. You will notice there is a somberness that begins at m. 84, mirroring the darkness that ensued while Christ hung on the cross (Mark 15:33). A “darker†sound from the altos is encouraged. This is the turning point in the song, preparing the singers for the response to such a sacrifice. Although the text speaks of grief and debt (starting at m. 93), one can see the hope that builds, with the realization that complete surrender is the only response to such a sacrifice. Much thought and energy (under control) should be expended to aid this verse in building to the climactic point of the song, when hope is found in the cross and the burden has been lifted.
SKU: HP.8287
UPC: 763628182878. Carl P. Daw, Jr.
Fifty new psalms & hymns written by the past-Executive Director of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, Carl P. Daw, Jr. The book contains texts only and can be viewed on our website under Online Hymnody. Suggested tunes will be posted soon as well.
