SKU: CF.CPS251F
ISBN 9781491159880. UPC: 680160918478.
About the Music Semper Gratus is Latin for always grateful. The piece was written in honor of James E. Champion, who taught band for thirty-eight years, twenty-five of which were spent in Florence, Alabama, where he was my elementary school and high school band director. His bands consistently achieved superior ratings throughout his career. He holds multi-decade-spanning memberships in professional music education organizations, continues to serve in helping with Alabama Bandmasters Association events, and conducts and performs in various community bands and ensembles. As my band director at Bradshaw High School, Mr. Champion encouraged me to perform one of my first compositions, a clarinet quartet, at solo/ensemble festival. He taught his students the fundamentals of music, the technical aspects of performance, and exposed them to the great standards of band literature. But in doing so, he also modeled leadership, work-ethic, good character, and fostered the love of the activity of band that led me to choose music education as a career. And for that, I will always be grateful. Performance Notes Measures 1-12: The beginning of the piece should be performed in a majestic, fanfare-like style. The woodwind cues should only be used if absolutely needed during this section. Measures 41-58: The concert toms should establish a presence, but not overpower the winds. The triangle and woodblock parts should be heard distinctly over the concert toms. A higher pitched woodblock should be used for this section. (A set of claves could be used in place of the woodblock if desired.) Measures 59-94: The entirety of the middle section should be played in a rubato style to maximize musical expression, exaggerating dynamics and ritardando sections. The quarter-note triplets in the middle and low winds should be emphasized at m. 70. The molto ritardando that begins at m. 70 should be allowed to build as long as possible in m. 71 before reaching the musical apex of the middle section at m. 72. At mm. 92-94, depending on the size of the ensemble, you may want to limit the number of players (or put one per part) to achieve the most delicate sound possible. Measures 95-End: In mm. 99-107, be sure that the eighth-note running mallet parts are heard as a background texture, but do not overpower the winds. In mm. 114-115, the accents on beats 2 and 4 in the lower winds should be exaggerated to contrast the feel of the previous four measures. In m. 118, all winds should cut off and breathe on beat two for maximum impact on the next three measures.About the MusicSemper Gratus is Latin for “always grateful.†The piece was written in honor of James E. Champion, who taught band for thirty-eight years, twenty-five of which were spent in Florence, Alabama, where he was my elementary school and high school band director. His bands consistently achieved superior ratings throughout his career. He holds multi-decade-spanning memberships in professional music education organizations, continues to serve in helping with Alabama Bandmasters Association events, and conducts and performs in various community bands and ensembles. As my band director at Bradshaw High School, Mr. Champion encouraged me to perform one of my first compositions, a clarinet quartet, at solo/ensemble festival. He taught his students the fundamentals of music, the technical aspects of performance, and exposed them to the great standards of band literature. But in doing so, he also modeled leadership, work-ethic, good character, and fostered the love of the activity of band that led me to choose music education as a career. And for that, I will always be grateful.Performance NotesMeasures 1-12:  The beginning of the piece should be performed in a majestic, fanfare-like style. The woodwind cues should only be used if absolutely needed during this section.Measures 41-58:  The concert toms should establish a presence, but not overpower the winds.  The triangle and woodblock parts should be heard distinctly over the concert toms. A higher pitched woodblock should be used for this section. (A set of claves could be used in place of the woodblock if desired.) Measures 59-94:  The entirety of the middle section should be played in a rubato style to maximize musical expression, exaggerating dynamics and ritardando sections.  The quarter-note triplets in the middle and low winds should be emphasized at m. 70.  The molto ritardando that begins at m. 70 should be allowed to build as long as possible in m. 71 before reaching the musical apex of the middle section at m. 72. At mm. 92–94, depending on the size of the ensemble, you may want to limit the number of players (or put one per part) to achieve the most delicate sound possible.Measures 95-End:  In mm. 99–107, be sure that the eighth-note running mallet parts are heard as a background texture, but do not overpower the winds. In mm. 114–115, the accents on beats 2 and 4 in the lower winds should be exaggerated to contrast the feel of the previous four measures.  In m. 118, all winds should cut off and breathe on beat two for maximum impact on the next three measures.
SKU: CF.CPS251
ISBN 9781491159873. UPC: 680160918461.
SKU: CF.H84
ISBN 9781491165539. UPC: 680160924530.
Marce l Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. Over his long career, he added a significant catalogue of very beautiful works to the harp repertoire. Many of his solo works, almost one hundred, have been consistently in print since they were first published. But in recent years harpist Carl Swanson has discovered a treasure trove of pieces by Tournier heretofore unknown and unpublished. These include the Déchiffrages in this edition, as well as songs set for voice, harp, and string quartet, and ensemble arrangements of some of his most beloved works.All of the works that Carl Swanson found were in manuscript only. With the help of the great harpist Catherine Michel, he has put these pieces into playable form, and they are being published for the very first time. He and Catherine often had to re-notate passages to show clearly how they could be played, adding fingerings and musical nuances, tempos, pedals, and pedal diagrams.Tournier wrote these pieces when he was in his 20s, and before he became the impressionistic composer those familiar with his work know so well. They are written in the late nineteenth-century romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. They are beautiful short, intermediate level pieces by a first rate composer, and add much needed repertoire to that level of playing.Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) was one of the most important harpist/composers in the history of the harp. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory with a first prize in harp in 1899. He also studied composition there and won a second prize in the prestigious Prix de Rome competition, as well as a first prize in the Rossini competition, another major composition competition of the day. From 1912 to 1948 he taught the harp class at the Paris Conservatory. But composition, and almost entirely, composition for the harp, was the main focus of his life. His published works, including many works for solo harp, a few for harp and other instruments, and several songs, number around one hundred pieces.In 2019, while researching Tournier for my edition MARCEL TOURNIER: 10 Pieces for Solo Harp, I discovered that there was a significant list of pieces by this composer that had never been published and were not included on any inventory of his music. Principal on this list were his déchiffrages (pronounced day-she-frahge, like the second syllable in the word garage).The word déchiffrage means sight-reading exercise, and that was their original purpose. Tournier numbered and dated these pieces, with dates ranging from 1900 to 1910, indicating that they were in all likelihood written for Alphonse Hasselmans’ class at the Paris Conservatory. Tournier was probably told how long to make each one, and how difficult. They range in length from two to four pages, with only one in the whole series extending to five, and from thirty to fifty-five measures, with only one extending to eight-five. The level of difficulty for the whole series is intermediate, with some at the easier end, and others at the middle or upper end.We don’t know if they were intended to test students trying to enter the harp class, or if they were used to test students in the class as they played their exams. The fact that they were never published means that students had to not only sight read them, but sight read them in manuscript form!I worked from digital images of the original manuscripts, which are in the private music library of a harpist in France. She had twenty-seven of these pieces, and this edition is the second in a series of three that will publish, for the first time, all of the ones that I have found thus far. The manuscripts themselves consist of little more than notes on the page: no pedals written in, no fingerings, few if any musical nuances and tempo markings, and no clear indication as to which hand plays which notes. These would have been difficult to sight read indeed! My collaborator Catherine Michel and I added musical nuances, fingerings, pedals and pedal diagrams, and tempo indications to put them into their current condition.At the time these were written, Tournier would have been in his twenties, having just graduated from the harp class himself (1899), and might still have been in the composition class. These are the earliest known pieces that he wrote, and they were written at the very beginning of a cultural revolution and upheaval in Paris that was to completely and profoundly alter musical composition. Tournier himself would eventually be caught up in this new way of composing. But not yet.All of the déchiffrages are written in the late romantic style that was being taught at that time at the Paris Conservatory. Each one is built on a clear musical idea, and the variety over the whole series makes them wonderful to listen to as well as to learn. They are also great technical lessons for intermediate level players.The obvious question is: Why didn’t Tournier publish these pieces, and why didn’t he list them on his own inventory of his music? Actually, four of them were published, with small changes, as his collection Four Preludes, Op. 16. These came from the ones that will be in volume three of this series from Carl Fischer. His first large piece, Theme and Variations, was published in 1908, and his two best known and frequently played pieces, Féerie and Au Matin, followed in 1912 and 1913 respectively. We can only speculate because there is so much still unknown about Tournier and about these unpublished pieces. He may have looked at them, fresh out of school as he was, as simply a way to make some quick money. The first several pieces that he did publish are much longer than any of the déchiffrages. So it could be that, because of their shorter length, as well as the earlier musical style that he was moving away from, he chose not to publish any more of them. We may never know the full story. But all these years later, more than a century after they were composed, we can listen to them for their own merits, and not measured against whatever else was going on at the time. The numbers on these pieces are the ones that Tournier assigned to them, and the gaps between some of the numbers suggest that there are perhaps thirty or more of these pieces still to be found, if they still exist. They will, in all likelihood, be found, as these were, in private collections of harp music, not in institutional libraries. We can only hope that more of them will be located in years to come.—Carl SwansonGlossary of French Musical TermsTournier was very precise about how he wanted his pieces played, and carefully communicated this with many musical indications. He used standard Italian words, but also used French words and phrases, and occasionally mixed both together. It is extremely important to observe and understand everything that he put on the page.Here is a list of the French words and phrases found in the pieces in this edition, with their translation.bien chanté well sung, melodiousdécidé firm, resolutediminu peu à peu becoming softer little by littleen diminuant becoming softeren riten. slowing downen se perdant dying awayGaiement gayly, lightlygracieusement gracefully, elegantlyLéger light, quickLent slowmarquez le chant emphasize the melodyModéré at a moderate tempopeu à peu animé more lively, little by littleplus lent slowerRetenu held backsans lenteur without slownesssans retinir without slowing downsec drily, abruptlysoutenu sustained, heldtrès arpegé very arpeggiatedTrès Modéré Very moderate tempoTrès peu retenu slightly held backTrès soutenu very sustainedun peu retenu slightly held back.
SKU: CA.2780400
ISBN 9790007167790.
Toda y Monteverdi's Selva morale et spirituale (1641) stands entirely in the shadow of his famous Vespers 1610. The editions from 1610 and 1641 both include music for the Mass and Vespers, but each of these collections was composed under much different circumstances during Monteverdi's lifetime. If the works of 1610 are a bold combination of traditional compositional techniques and avant garde music, which were intended by this weary Court Composer at Mantua as an application portfolio for a new job, the 1641 collection is the only church music by the mature Monteverdi which was published after almost thirty years in his position as Music Director of St. Mark's Cathedral: the latter, a kind of best of collection from his many years of experience as a church musician. In Venice the composer had not only a fabulous, but a large ensemble at his disposal (finally, about 35 singers, alone)! The combination of soloistic and weighty tutti sections makes a big effect in this music, it makes the music, with its clearly defined sections and, for the most part homophonic choral passages more easily performable than the Vespers for today's choirs. The new edition, comprised initially of three volumes, also includes those works from the Selva Morale (a Mass and two Magnificats) which have already been published by Carus, as well as all further liturgical compositions for use in the church. Volume III, Motetti, Salve Regina, Himini, contains compositions for 1 to 3 voices and basso continuo, some with two violins (the psalms are included in both the Salmi I and Salmi II volumes). The edition is based on the methods employed in the much acclaimed Carus edition of the Vespers: * It contains a detailed foreword with suggestions for notation, scoring and for the liturgical use of individual compositions. * For the present edition four of the five surviving printed copies, as well as contemporary manuscript were consulted. Facsimiles illustrate special characteristics of the edtion of 1641. A Critical Report makes clear all of the editorial decisions made in the edition. * All of the pieces are printed untransposed and using the original note values. * All of the pieces are available in single editions with complete performance material. * Vocal scores of all works with obbligato instruments facilitate rehearsal. * Instrumental parts for collaparte accompaniment of tutti-sections (including text underlay).
SKU: CF.WF228
ISBN 9781491153529. 9 x 12 inches.
Compiled and edited by Amy Porter, Treasures for Flute and Piano is acollection of Philippe Gaubert’s shorter works for flute and piano. Gaubertwas a multi-talented musician, a marvelous flutist as well as a composer,teacher, and master conductor. Over his lifetime, he became one of the mostimportant musical figures in France between the World Wars in the first halfof the 20th century. Trained in theory and harmony at the Paris Conservatory,Gaubert was also deeply influenced by other composers at the time, includingDebussy, Fauré, and Dukas. Editor Amy Porter is a distinguished Professorat The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and hasbeen praised by critics for her exceptional musical talent and her passion forscholarship. This edition represents eleven of the sixteen works from AmyPorter and Dr. Penelope Fischer’s video study guide, “The Gaubert Cycle: TheComplete Works for Flute and Piano by Philippe Gaubertâ€.Philip pe Gaubert (1879–1941) was a very important teacher and flutist in our classical flute playing lineage. In this edition we have gathered his beautiful, shorter compositions for flute and piano all in one place, to be cherished as “Gaubert’s Treasures.â€Philippe Gaubert personified the modern French school of flute playing as introduced by his teacher Paul Taffanel (1844–1908) at the Paris Conservatory. Gaubert was a multitalented musician, a marvelous flutist as well as a gifted composer, teacher and master conductor. Over his lifetime he became one of the most important musical figures in France between the World Wars in the first half of the twentieth century. Gaubert’s musical andpedagogical gifts to us are passed along through generations of students and continue to touch the hearts of many who listen to his fine, and refined, music.Philippe Gaubert studied composition at the Paris Conservatory with Raoul Pugno, Xavier Leroux, and then for a brief time with Charles Lenepvu. It was after this study that he won the famous Prix de Rome second prize in composition. Even with his schooling of theory and harmony in Paris, he was deeply influenced by other composers of the time, namely Debussy, Fauré and Dukas. Between the years of 1905–1914 Gaubert’s early workswere arrangements and short pieces written for the year-end final exam pieces at the Conservatory.Between 1914–1918 Gaubert served in the French Army during World War I, most notably in the battle of Verdun in 1916. This was considered one of the largest battles against the Germans in WWI. He was wounded but his creativity level was not dampened. He was rewarded for his service and awarded medals for his bravery. It was during this time that he found the energy to compose his Deux Esquisses or 2 Scenes, and sketched out his first flute sonata.Gaubert composed his remaining five flute and piano works after 1922 in Paris, and clearly his poetic soul was transformed from the earlier years. He took in new forms and styles of compositions such as a Suite, a Ballade and a Sonatine. He also completed his Second and Third Sonatas for Flute and Piano, all of them dramatic works in terms of compositional techniques and grandeur of tone.Gaubert composed music easily throughout his lifetime, especially during summer breaks when the orchestra and Paris Opera seasons were on hiatus and he was not conducting. He loved literature and poetry which inspired over thirty vocal works from 1903 through 1938.He also wrote twenty-six instrumental chamber works for other instruments: oboe, cornet, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, harp and combinations of these instruments with piano. Some of these were commissioned jury pieces, but many were for his musician friends.Six full-length stage works, both ballets and operas for the stage, several tone poems and symphonies were written throughout his lifetime.This edition represents eleven out of the sixteen works from our video study guide “The Gaubert Cycle: The Complete Works for Flute and Piano by Philippe Gaubert†with guest pianist Tim Carey. Omitted in this edition are Sonatas Nos. 1–3, Ballade, and Sonatine.
SKU: CA.2780200
ISBN 9790007167783.
Toda y Monteverdi's Selva morale et spirituale (1641) stands entirely in the shadow of his famous Vespers 1610. The editions from 1610 and 1641 both include music for the Mass and Vespers, but each of these collections was composed under much different circumstances during Monteverdi's lifetime. If the works of 1610 are a bold combination of traditional compositional techniques and avant garde music, which were intended by this weary Court Composer at Mantua as an application portfolio for a new job, the 1641 collection is the only church music by the mature Monteverdi which was published after almost thirty years in his position as Music Director of St. Mark's Cathedral: the latter, a kind of best of collection from his many years of experience as a church musician. In Venice the composer had not only a fabulous, but a large ensemble at his disposal (finally, about 35 singers, alone)! The big effect in this music is the combination of soloistic and weighty tutti sections, it makes the music, with its clearly defined sections and, for the most part homophonic choral passages more easily performable than the Vespers for today's choirs. The new edition, comprised initially of three volumes, also includes those works from the Selva Morale (a Mass and two Magnificats) which have already been published by Carus, as well as all further liturgical compositions for use in the church. The present volume, Salmi I, contains each of the first of the multiple settings of the psalms, as well as the Credidi. The edition is based on the methods employed in the much acclaimed Carus edition of the Vespers: * It contains a detailed foreword with suggestions for notation, scoring and for the liturgical use of individual compositions. * For the present edition four of the five surviving printed copies, as well as contemporary manuscript were consulted. Facsimiles illustrate special characteristics of the edtion of 1641. A Critical Report makes clear all of the editorial decisions made in the edition. * All of the pieces are printed untransposed and using the original note values. * All of the pieces are available in single editions with complete performance material. * Vocal scores of all works with obbligato instruments facilitate rehearsal. * Instrumental parts for collaparte accompaniment of tutti-sections (including text underlay).
SKU: CA.2780300
ISBN 9790007171698.
Toda y Monteverdi's Selva morale et spirituale (1641) stands entirely in the shadow of his famous Vespers 1610. The editions from 1610 and 1641 both include music for the Mass and Vespers, but each of these collections was composed under much different circumstances during Monteverdi's lifetime. If the works of 1610 are a bold combination of traditional compositional techniques and avant garde music, which were intended by this weary Court Composer at Mantua as an application portfolio for a new job, the 1641 collection is the only church music by the mature Monteverdi which was published after almost thirty years in his position as Music Director of St. Mark's Cathedral: the latter, a kind of best of collection from his many years of experience as a church musician. In Venice the composer had not only a fabulous, but a large ensemble at his disposal (finally, about 35 singers, alone)! The big effect in this music is the combination of soloistic and weighty tutti sections, it makes the music, with its clearly defined sections and, for the most part homophonic choral passages more easily performable than the Vespers for today's choirs. The new edition, comprised initially of three volumes, also includes those works from the Selva Morale (a Mass and two Magnificats) which have already been published by Carus, as well as all further liturgical compositions for use in the church. Salmi II contains the additional settings of the multiple settings of the psalms and also the psalm Memento (each of the first of the multiple settings of the psalms are to be found in the Salmi I volume). The edition is based on the methods employed in the much acclaimed Carus edition of the Vespers: - It contains a detailed foreword with suggestions for notation, scoring and for the liturgical use of individual compositions. - For the present edition four of the five surviving printed copies, as well as contemporary manuscript were consulted. Facsimiles illustrate special characteristics of the edition of 1641. A Critical Report makes clear all of the editorial decisions made in the edition. - All of the pieces are printed untransposed and using the original note values. - All of the pieces are available in single editions with complete performance material. - Vocal scores of all works with obbligato instruments facilitate rehearsal. - Instrumental parts for collaparte accompaniment of tutti-sections (including text underlay).
SKU: OT.28104
ISBN 9789655051100. 8.27 x 11.69 inches.
Daniel Akiva Alma i Vida i Korason Sephardic Anthology for voice and guitar The 18 songs of the collection Alma i Vida i Korason include romansas, cantigas, life cycle songs and original music composed to poems by Avner Perez, a journey in Ladino song from the Middle Ages through the 21st century. Alma i Vida i Korason was recently recorded by Sivan Goldman, soprano and Daniel Akiva, guitar, together with a special series of short videos filmed at the Ralli Museum in Caesarea, Israel. For further information, please visit the YouTube and Spotify channels of the composer. Contents: 1. A la una Naci yo 2. Kisa Agora el Amor 3. Durme Durme Mi Andjeliko 4. Morena me Yaman 5. La Serena 6. Durme Durme Mi Alma Donzeya 7. Noches Noches 8. Mama Yo no Tengo Visto 9. Ya Abasha La Novia 10. Esta Noche 11. Ya Viene El Kativo 12. Komo La Roza 13. Ay Linda Amiga 14. El Prisionero 15. Kantiga de Kune Para Selanik 16. Puncha Puncha 17. Durme Hermozo Hiziko 18. Sirkiji Daniel Akiva is a composer, performer, and educator whose performances on guitar and lute have earned international acclaim. Mr. Akiva graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem in 1981, where he studied classical guitar with Haim Asulin and composition with Haim Alexander. In 1987 he completed his studies of lute with Jonathan Rubin and composition with Jean Ballisa at the Geneva Conservatorium in Switzerland. In 1986 he founded the Music Department at the WIZO High School for the Arts in Haifa which he headed for over thirty years. As part of his work at WIZO High School, he developed a method for teaching free improvisation which has been incorporated into the music program at the school. He also served as the Artistic Director of the Guitar Gems Festival from 2006-2018. Mr. Akiva has performed in concerts as a guitarist and lutenist and given master classes in Israel, Europe, Russia, the United States, and Latin America. Daniel Akiva’s compositional output includes works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, choir, voice and guitar, piano, and chamber orchestra. His works have been recorded on twelve CDs, the latest of which, Malchut, was issued by OR-TAV in 2014. Akiva's work Psalms for guitar solo was awarded the ACUM prize for composition in 1990, and his string quartet Ciclos was awarded the ACUM prize for composition in 2002. In 2006 his CD Hope, recorded with Laurel Zucker (flute) and Ronit Widmann-Levy (soprano) was awarded the Amazon prize. In 2017 Akiva was awarded the Prime Minister's Prize for composers in Israel. A native of Haifa whose family has lived in Israel for over five hundred years, he was steeped in the Sephardic (Jewish-Spanish) tradition from his youth. A large part of his oeuvre has been devoted to a dialogue with the music of the Sephardic Jews. Daniel Akiva has also maintained a creative dialogue throughout the years with poets and writers Amnon Shemesh, Rivka Miriam, and Avner Perez. 105 pages, softcover.
