Renaissance Music for the Harp (Harp)

SKU: HL.14040953

French.

SKU: MB.30815M

ISBN 9781513466828. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Early Music Gems contains 49 tunes dating from 1300-1791, including Medieval, Renaissance, and ancient melodies as well as a â??best ofâ? John Playford's The Dancing Master. These delightful melodies are perfect for contradance, English country dance and concert settings. Suggested bowings, chords, tempos, and variations are included. An audio recording of each of the tunes includes the fiddle melody with guitar accompaniment. Includes access to online audio.

SKU: MH.1-59913-054-8

ISBN 9781599130545.

Roya l Coronation Dances is the first sequel to the Fanfare Ode & Festival, both being settings of dance music originally arranged by Gervaise in the mid 16th-century (the next sequel is The Renaissance Fair, which uses music of Susato and Praetorius). Fanfare Ode & Festival has been performed by many tens of thousands of students, both in high school and junior high school. I have heard that some of them are amazed that the music they are playing was first played and danced to over 400 years ago. Some students tend to think that music started with Handel and his Messiah to be followed by Beethoven and his Fifth Symphony, with naught in between or before of consequence. Although Royal Coronation Dances is derived from the same source as Fanfare Ode & Festival, they are treated in different ways. I envisioned this new suite programmatically -- hence the descriptive movement titles, which I imagined to be various dances actually used at some long-ago coronation. The first movement depicts the guests, both noble and common, flanked by flag and banner bearers, arriving at the palace to view the majestic event. They are festive, their flags swirling the air, their cloaks brightly colored. In the second movement, the queen in stately measure moves to take her place on the throne as leader and protector of the realm. In the third movement, the jesters of the court entertain the guests with wild games of sport. Musically, there are interesting sonorities to recreate. Very special attention should be given to the tambourine/tenor drum part in the first movement. Their lively rhythms give the movement its power. Therefore they should be played as distinctly and brilliantly as possible. The xylophone and glockenspiel add clarity, but must not be allowed to dominate. Observe especially the differing dynamics; the intent is to allow much buzzing bass to penetrate. The small drum (starting at meas. 29) should be played expressively, with attention to the notated articulations, with the brass light and detached, especially in a lively auditorium. It is of some further interest that the first dance is extremely modal. The original is clearly in G mixolydian mode (scale: G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G). However, other editors might put in F-sharps in many places (changing the piece almost to G major), in the belief that such ficta would have been automatically put in by the 16th-century performers as they played. I doubt it. I have not only eschewed these within the work, but even at the cadences. So this arrangement is most distinctly modal (listen to the F-naturals in meas. 22 and 23, for instance), with all the part-writing as Gervaise wrote it. In the second movement, be careful that things do not become too glued together. In the 16th century this music might have been played by a consort of recorders, instruments very light of touch and sensitive to articulation. Concert band can easily sound heavy, and although this movement has been scored for tutti band, it must not sound it. It is essential, therefore, that you hear all the instruments, with none predominating. Only when each timbre can be heard separately and simultaneously will the best blend occur, and consequently the greatest transparency. So aim for a transparent, spacious tutti sound in this movement. Especially have the flutes, who do this so well, articulate rather sharply, so as to produce a chiffing sound, and do not allow the quarter-notes to become too tied together in the entire band. The entrance of the drums (first tenor, then bass) are events and as such should be audible. Incidentally, this movement begins in F Major and ends in D Minor: They really didn't care so much about those things then. The third movement (one friend has remarked that it is the most Margolisian of the bunch, but actually I am just getting subtler, I hope) again relies upon the percussion (and the scoring) to make its points. Xylophone in this movement is meant to be distinctly audible. Therefore, be especially sure that the xylophone player is secure in the part, and also that the tambourine and toms sound good. This movement must fly or it will sink, so rev up the band and conduct it in 1 for this mixolydian jesting. I suppose the wildly unrelated keys (clarinets and then brass at the end) would be a good 16th-century joke, but to us, our put-up-the-chorus-a-half- step ears readily accept such shenanigans. Ensemble instrumentation: 1 Full Score, 1 Piccolo, 4 Flute 1, 4 Flute 2 & 3, 2 Oboe 1 & 2, 2 Bassoon 1 & 2, 1 Eb Clarinet, 4 Bb Clarinet 1, 4 Bb Clarinet 2, 4 Bb Clarinet 3, 2 Eb Alto Clarinet, 1 Eb Contra Alto Clarinet, 3 Bb Bass & Bb Contrabass Clarinet, 2 Eb Alto Saxophone 1, 2 Eb Alto Saxophone 2, 2 Bb Tenor Saxophone, 2 Eb Baritone Saxophone, 3 Bb Trumpet 1, 3 Bb Trumpet 2, 3 Bb Trumpet 3, 4 Horn in F 1 & 2, 2 Trombone 1, 4 Trombone 2 & 3, 3 Euphonium (B.C.), 2 Euphonium (T.C.), 4 Tuba, 1 String Bass, 1 Timpani (optional), 2 Xylophone & Glockenspiel, 5 Percussion.

SKU: GI.G-9615

ISBN 9781622774340.

With contributions from Jennifer Kerr Budziak and Kevin Padworski. This comprehensive and ambitious study is the first of its kind, focusing entirely on a large and diverse canon of six centuries of sacred choral repertoire that remains in worship presentation and performance to this day. Written and compiled by Tim Sharp, together with chapters by Jennifer Kerr Budziak and Kevin Padworski and contributions from 39 practicing church choir directors, Sacred Choral Music Repertoire is an in-depth exploration of 173 short- to medium-length anthems and single movements from larger sacred works. The large body of sacred music presented in this book was determined by surveys of practicing church musicians to discover the canon that remains relevant, beloved, and in unwavering use in church, school, and community choirs. Resource guides for each piece, written by researchers and practicing musicians from faith communities, survey the work’s history, offer conducting insights and detailed analysis, and give performance nuance and insight. Sacred Choral Music Repertoire explores a wide range of topics, including: Chant Sacred Choral Music of the Renaissance Sacred Choral Music of the Baroque Sacred Choral Music of the 18th Century Sacred Choral Music of the Romantic Era Sacred Choral Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries Folk Hymn Settings, Wilderness and African-American Spirituals Relational and Intentional Worship Music of the 21st Century Church Music in a Professional and Commercial Age Each section includes historical background information, conducting insights specific to each period, and practical analysis of each composition addressing musical style, interpretation, text, additional resources, and rehearsal considerations and approaches. Sacred Choral Music Repertoire is a practical and convenient reference for any conductor looking to bring the best sacred literature and performance practices to their school, college, community, or worship setting. Click Here to Download Book Index. Tim Sharp is Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the professional association for choral conductors, educators, scholars, students, and choral music industry representatives in the United States. He serves as Vice-President of the International Federation for Choral Music and is Artistic Director of the Tulsa Chorale. A theologically and musically trained choral musician, Sharp has taught and written about sacred music literature and performed the canon of sacred repertoire throughout his career. He created and wrote the monthly Sacred Music News & Review publication, and originated the standing column on sacred music, Hallelujah!, for ACDA’s Choral Journal. Dr. Sharp is a Life Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, with degrees in music and conducting from The School of Church Music of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Belmont University, and Bluefield College, with post-graduate studies at the Aspen Music School, Harvard University, and Cambridge University.

SKU: BR.EB-8227

ISBN 9790004175644. 9 x 12 inches.

The works in this collection were selected in view of enabling especially young guitarists to obtain a well-balanced overview of guitar composition through several periods of music history. We have placed special emphasis on pieces that are of high musical quality yet not so difficult that they hinder spontaneous and exhilarating music making. (Philippe Meunier)Those pieces composed during the Renaissance, Baroque or Classic era are arranged in order of progressive difficulty. The Renaissance works are easier to perform if the third string is tuned to f sharp.

SKU: PR.11641139S

UPC: 680160682119.

Barca rolles for a Sinking City was inspired by the city of Venice, a place that has long held the fascination of artists, writers and composers, and which I have been lucky enough to visit on several occasions. Sadly it seems that future generations may not be so lucky: in addition to the city's slow sinking and recently discovered tilting, studies predict that if global warming and the resultant rise of ocean levels is unabated, the entire city (as well as many other coastal cities around the globe) will be under water by 2100.   I. Funeral Gondola The late, cryptic piano works of Franz Liszt made a profound impression on me as a young composer, among them two works he entitled La Lugubre Gondola (usually translated as The Funeral Gondola ) which were said to be a premonition of Wagner's death in Venice, his coffin transported through the canals in a black gondola. These late pieces of Liszt acquired even greater significance to me after I spent two summers in Bayreuth under the patronage of Friedelind Wagner, the granddaughter of Wagner and great-granddaughter of Liszt. This movement is a meditation on Wagner, Liszt, Venice and its own evanescence. II. Barcarolle/Quodlibet The Quodlibet (Latin for what pleases) is a musical form dating back to the 15th century where many disparate melodies are juxtaposed. Popular in the Renaissance, sacred and secular melodies were combined, often to comical effect due to the resultant incongruity of the words. The form was considered the ultimate test of a composer's mastery of counterpoint. The most famous Quodlibet is without doubt the final Variation of Bach's Goldberg Variations. As a form the Quodlibet is less common in more recent music, although examples can be found in the works of Kurt Weill and David Del Tredici.   My own Barcarolle/Quodlibet was inspired by the (perhaps apocryphal) story of the funeral where musicians were asked to play a Bach Choral, but due to miscommunication played instead the Bacarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. Here, the Bach Choral Allen Menschen mussen sterben (All Men Must Die) is heard in the strings pizzicato, with a tempo indication In slow motion. The alto line of the Bach suggests a phrase from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Alle Menchen werden Bruder) heard in the muted trombone. Before long, the famous tune from Offenbach's opera is heard, followed by quotations from iconic Barcarolles by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Faure, as well as two Venetian popular songs and more Beethoven.   III. Barcarola/Ostinato/Carill on An ostinato is a repeated musical figure, and carillon is Italian for music box. This movement references the obsolete genre of salon pieces that imitated music boxes: such works by composers like Liadov and Gretchaninov used to be a mainstay of pianists' encore repertoire. This movement is however much darker in conception than those pleasant trifles. Utilizing the full battery of percussion, the carefully notated temporal slowing of the ostinato becomes overwhelmed by a poignant chorale melody before this box is snapped shut.   IV. Barcarolle Oubliee (Forgotten Barcarolle) Marked limpido (still) the final movement begins with the sound of rain produced by a percussion instrument called (appropriately) a rain stick. Halting phrases in the harp coalesce into the accompaniment for a plangent melody heard in the clarinet. The central Adagio of this movement leads to a shattering climax, before the opening phrases return and dissipate into nothingness.