Afterlife

SKU: PR.114419980

UPC: 680160681723. 9 x 12 inches.

The ancient Egyptian empire began around 3100 B.C. and continued for over 3000 years until Alexander the Great conquered the country in 332 B.C. Over the centuries, the Egyptian empire grew and flourished into a highly developed society. They invented hieroglyphics, built towering pyramids (including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World), and the created many household items we still use today, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, eyeliner, black ink, and the forerunner of modern-day paper. Included among their achievements were a series of highly developed funerary practices and beliefs in the Afterlife. As the average lifespan of an Egyptian hovered around 30 years, living past the death of oneAs physical body was a legitimate concern. Egyptians believed that upon death, their souls would undertake a harrowing journey through the Netherworld. If they survived the horrific creatures and arduous trials that awaited them, then their souls would be reunified with their bodies (hence the need to preserve the body through mummification) and live forever in a perfect version of the life they had lived in Egypt. To achieve this, Egyptians devised around 200 magical spells and incantations to aid souls on the path to the Afterlife. These spells are collectively called The Book of the Dead. Particular spells would be chosen by the family of the deceased and inscribed on the tombAs walls and scrolls of papyrus, as well as on a stone scarab placed over the deceasedAs heart. Subsequent collections of spells and mortuary texts, such as The Book of Gates, assisted a soul in navigating the twelve stages of the Netherworld. Not only did these spells protect and guide the soul on this dangerous path, but they also served as a safeguard against any unbecoming behavior an Egyptian did while alive. For instance, if a person had robbed another while alive, there was a spell that would prevent the soulAs heart from revealing the truth when in the Hall of Judgment. Rites for the Afterlife follows the path of a soul to the Afterlife. In Inscriptions from the Book of the Dead (movement 1), the soul leaves the body and begins the journey, protected by spells and incantations written on the tombAs walls. In Passage though the Netherworld (movement 2), the soul is now on a funerary barque, being towed through the Netherworld by four of the regionAs inhabitants. We hear the soul slowly chanting incantations as the barque encounters demons, serpents, crocodiles, lakes of fire, and other terrors. The soul arrives at The Hall of Judgment in movement 3. Standing before forty-two divine judges, the soul addresses each by name and gives a A!negative confessionA(r) connected to each judge (i.e. A!I did not rob,A(r) A!I did not do violence,A(r) and so on). Afterwards, the soulAs heart is put on a scale to be weighed against a feather of MaAat, the goddess of truth. If the heart weighs more than the feather, it will be eaten by Ammut, a hideous creature that lies in wait below the scale, and the soul will die a second and permanent death (this was the worst fear of the Egyptians). But if the heart is in balance with the feather, the soul proceeds onward. The final stage of the journey is the arrival at The Field of Reeds (movement 4), which is a perfect mirror image of the soulAs life in ancient Egypt. The soul reunites with deceased family members, makes sacrifices to the Egyptian gods and goddess, harvests crops from plentiful fields of wheat under a brilliant blue sky, and lives forever next to the abundant and nourishing waters of the Nile. Rites for the Afterlife was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment on behalf of the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Calefax Reed Quintet, and the Brigham Young University Reed Quintet. -S.G.

SKU: CF.YPS231

ISBN 9781491157831. UPC: 680160916436. 9 x 12 inches.

The life of railroad worker in the early days of expansion was lonely, and the need for music to bolster spirits was of great importance. The character singing 900 Miles is looking forward to being reunited with his family after being separated from them for considerable time. The Wayfaring Stranger is a prominent American folk and gospel song that reflects upon the journey through life. The character in that song contemplates better times with their family in the afterlife. Both of these songs speak to the idea of searching for something beyond the current situation in which that person finds themselves. The programmatic qualities of the work are essentially tied to the main folk songa900 Milesaand they evoke the idea of where the song found its origins. Beyond that, both songs connect each of us to the sense of belonging and family that are the human experience. While the music paints a picture of someone who is alone, that is not a feeling I want for any young student in our schools today. Band is one of the few places where students can discover that sense of belonging and find a surrogate family. While band is a family that might not always get along, they can reach a shared goal through diligent work, caring and encouragement. It was a pleasure completing Lonely Travelers for longtime friend, superb musician, excellent educator and dedicated leader in music education Dennis Emert. His students debuted the work at the 2020 PMEA State Conference. I am deeply appreciative of Dennis and the friendship, encouragement and perspective he shared with me over the years teaching in the same region. The opening flute, clarinet and alto saxophone part can be performed by the entire section or as a solo at the discretion of the director. The washboard and spoon part can be doubled as players allow. I would suggest bringing these students to the front of the stage to get the sound of both instruments to the audience. As the piece develops and Wayfaring Stranger is layered with 900 Miles, please remind your ensemble to play so they can hear each other, not so they are individually heard. I thank you and your ensemble in advance as you begin this journey together in search of Lonely Travelers.
The life of railroad worker in the early days of expansion was lonely, and the need for music to bolster spirits was of great importance. The character singing 900 Miles is looking forward to being reunited with his family after being separated from them for considerable time. The Wayfaring Stranger is a prominent American folk and gospel song that reflects upon the journey through life. The character in that song contemplates better times with their family in the afterlife. Both of these songs speak to the idea of searching for something beyond the current situation in which that person finds themselves. The programmatic qualities of the work are essentially tied to the main folk song--900 Miles--and they evoke the idea of where the song found its origins. Beyond that, both songs connect each of us to the sense of belonging and family that are the human experience. While the music paints a picture of someone who is alone, that is not a feeling I want for any young student in our schools today. Band is one of the few places where students can discover that sense of belonging and find a surrogate family. While band is a family that might not always get along, they can reach a shared goal through diligent work, caring and encouragement. It was a pleasure completing Lonely Travelers for longtime friend, superb musician, excellent educator and dedicated leader in music education Dennis Emert. His students debuted the work at the 2020 PMEA State Conference. I am deeply appreciative of Dennis and the friendship, encouragement and perspective he shared with me over the years teaching in the same region. The opening flute, clarinet and alto saxophone part can be performed by the entire section or as a solo at the discretion of the director. The washboard and spoon part can be doubled as players allow. I would suggest bringing these students to the front of the stage to get the sound of both instruments to the audience. As the piece develops and Wayfaring Stranger is layered with 900 Miles, please remind your ensemble to play so they can hear each other, not so they are individually heard. I thank you and your ensemble in advance as you begin this journey together in search of Lonely Travelers.
The life of railroad worker in the early days of expansion was lonely, and the need for music to bolster spirits was of great importance. The character singing 900 Miles is looking forward to being reunited with his family after being separated from them for considerable time. The Wayfaring Stranger is a prominent American folk and gospel song that reflects upon the journey through life. The character in that song contemplates better times with their family in the afterlife. Both of these songs speak to the idea of searching for something beyond the current situation in which that person finds themselves. The programmatic qualities of the work are essentially tied to the main folk song—900 Miles—and they evoke the idea of where the song found its origins. Beyond that, both songs connect each of us to the sense of belonging and family that are the human experience.While the music paints a picture of someone who is alone, that is not a feeling I want for any young student in our schools today. Band is one of the few places where students can discover that sense of belonging and find a surrogate family. While band is a family that might not always get along, they can reach a shared goal through diligent work, caring and encouragement. It was a pleasure completing Lonely Travelers for longtime friend, superb musician, excellent educator and dedicated leader in music education Dennis Emert. His students debuted the work at the 2020 PMEA State Conference. I am deeply appreciative of Dennis and the friendship, encouragement and perspective he shared with me over the years teaching in the same region.The opening flute, clarinet and alto saxophone part can be performed by the entire section or as a solo at the discretion of the director. The washboard and spoon part can be doubled as players allow. I would suggest bringing these students to the front of the stage to get the sound of both instruments to the audience. As the piece develops and Wayfaring Stranger is layered with 900 Miles, please remind your ensemble to play so they can hear each other, not so they are individually heard. I thank you and your ensemble in advance as you begin this journey together in search of Lonely Travelers.

SKU: CF.CM9700

ISBN 9781491160008. UPC: 680160918607. Key: A minor. Hungarian. Hungarian Folk.

In 2014, Chanticleer commissioned me to make a new arrangement of the Hungarian-Romani folk song Jarba, Mare Jarba for their 2014 touring program. Passed down orally through the Romani communities, this beautiful folk song, with text in a language called Beas (beh-osh), speaks of a deep longing to visit one's homeland, a place where the singer can never return. Chanticleer consists of twelve men whose vocal ranges span from low bass to high soprano, equivalent to the range of a mixed choir of women and men. I composed slow sections of original material to represent the singers' longing to return home; these are interspersed with the folk song's traditional fast sections. The incorporated shouts and calls in the score are typically found in the performance of Central European folk songs. I hope you enjoy singing this new version of Jarba, Mare Jarba that contains all of the vigor and excitement of the Chanticleer version. PERFORMANCE NOTES All spoken sounds (indicated by x noteheads) should be performed by individuals. Feel free to elaborate with more sounds of your own in the tradition of Eastern European folk music. If the piece is memorized, feel free to experiment with clapping on the off-beats of m. 93 to the end. TEXT Transliteration Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat, Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat. Mare jarba, verde jarba nu me pot duce a casa. Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat. O mers mama de pe sat, O lasat coliba goala, Infrunzitu, ingurzitu da plina de saracie, da plina de saracie. Mare jarba, verde jarba nu me pot duce a casa. Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat. Translation Green grass, tall grass, I would like to go home, but I cannot, because I have sworn not to. Tall grass, green grass - oh, that I cannot go home! My mother has left the village; she left the hut empty, Adorned with leaves but full of poverty. Tall grass, green grass - oh, that I cannot go home! Tall grass, green grass - I would like to go home. but I cannot, because I have sworn not to. Stacy Garrop's music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. The sharing of stories is a defining element of our humanity; we strive to share with others the experiences and concepts that we find compelling. She shares stories by taking audiences on sonic journeys - some simple and beautiful, while others are complicated and dark - depending on the needs and dramatic shape of the story. Garrop served as the first Emerging Opera Composer of Chicago Opera Theater's Vanguard Program. She also held a 3-year composer-in-residence position with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, funded by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. She has received numerous awards and grants including an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Music Foundation Grant, Barlow Prize, and three Barlow Endowment commissions, along with prizes from competitions sponsored by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Omaha Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Boston Choral Ensemble, Utah Arts Festival, and Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. She is a Cedille Records artist; her works are commercially available on more than ten additional labels. Her catalog covers a wide range, with works for orchestra, opera, oratorio, wind ensemble, choir, art song, various sized chamber ensembles, and works for solo instruments. Notable commissions include My Dearest Ruth for soprano and piano with text by Martin Ginsburg, the husband of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Transformation of Jane Doe for Chicago Opera Theater, The Battle for the Ballot for the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Goddess Triptych for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Glorious Mahalia for the Kronos Quartet, Give Me Hunger for Chanticleer, Rites for the Afterlife for the Akropolis and Calefax Reed Quintets, and Terra Nostra: an oratorio about our planet, commissioned by the San Francisco Choral Society and Piedmont East Bay Children's Chorus. Garrop previously served as composer-in-residence with the Albany Symphony and Skaneateles Festival, and as well as on faculty of the Fresh Inc Festival (2012-2017). She taught composition and orchestration full-time at Roosevelt University 2000-2016) before leaving to launch her freelance career. She earned degrees in music composition at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (B.M.), University of Chicago (M.A.), and Indiana University-Bloomington (D.M.).
In 2014, Chanticleer commissioned me to make a new arrangement of the Hungarian-Romani folk song Jarba, Mare Jarba for their 2014 touring program. Passed down orally through the Romani communities, this beautiful folk song, with text in a language called Beas (beh-osh), speaks of a deep longing to visit one’s homeland, a place where the singer can never return. Chanticleer consists of twelve men whose vocal ranges span from low bass to high soprano, equivalent to the range of a mixed choir of women and men. I composed slow sections of original material to represent the singers’ longing to return home; these are interspersed with the folk song’s traditional fast sections. The incorporated shouts and calls in the score are typically found in the performance of Central European folk songs. I hope you enjoy singing this new version of Jarba, Mare Jarba that contains all of the vigor and excitement of the Chanticleer version.PERFORMANCE NOTESAll spoken sounds (indicated by x noteheads) should be performed by individuals. Feel free to elaborate with more sounds of your own in the tradition of Eastern European folk music.If the piece is memorized, feel free to experiment with clapping on the off-beats of m. 93 to the end.TEXTTransliterationJarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat, Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat. Mare jarba, verde jarba nu me pot duce a casa.Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat.O mers mama de pe sat, O lasat coliba goala,Infrunzitu, ingurzitu da plina de saracie, da plina de saracie. Mare jarba, verde jarba nu me pot duce a casa.Jarba, mare jarba mas duce a casa, da nu pot ca am jurat.TranslationGreen grass, tall grass, I would like to go home, but I cannot, because I have sworn not to.Tall grass, green grass – oh, that I cannot go home!My mother has left the village; she left the hut empty, Adorned with leaves but full of poverty.Tall grass, green grass – oh, that I cannot go home! Tall grass, green grass – I would like to go home.but I cannot, because I have sworn not to.Stacy Garrop’s music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. The sharing of stories is a defining element of our humanity; we strive to share with others the experiences and concepts that we find compelling. She shares stories by taking audiences on sonic journeys – some simple and beautiful, while others are complicated and dark – depending on the needs and dramatic shape of the story.Garrop served as the first Emerging Opera Composer of Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Program. She also held a 3-year composer-in-residence position with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, funded by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. She has received numerous awards and grants including an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Music Foundation Grant, Barlow Prize, and three Barlow Endowment commissions, along with prizes from competitions sponsored by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Omaha Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Boston Choral Ensemble, Utah Arts Festival, and Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. She is a Cedille Records artist; her works are commercially available on more than ten additional labels.Her catalog covers a wide range, with works for orchestra, opera, oratorio, wind ensemble, choir, art song, various sized chamber ensembles, and works for solo instruments. Notable commissions include My Dearest Ruth for soprano and piano with text by Martin Ginsburg, the husband of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Transformation of Jane Doe for Chicago Opera Theater, The Battle for the Ballot for the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Goddess Triptych for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Glorious Mahalia for the Kronos Quartet, Give Me Hunger for Chanticleer, Rites for the Afterlife for the Akropolis and Calefax Reed Quintets, and Terra Nostra: an oratorio about our planet, commissioned by the San Francisco Choral Society and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Chorus.Garrop previously served as composer-in-residence with the Albany Symphony and Skaneateles Festival, and as well as on faculty of the Fresh Inc Festival (2012-2017). She taught composition and orchestration full-time at Roosevelt University 2000-2016) before leaving to launch her freelance career. She earned degrees in music composition at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (B.M.), University of Chicago (M.A.), and Indiana University-Bloomington (D.M.).­­.

SKU: CF.YAS223F

ISBN 9781491163054. UPC: 680160921805. Key: A minor.

The Valkyrja (Old Norse meaning “choosers of the slain”) were noble maidens that brought dead heroes to the afterlife. They were responsible for sending half of those who die in battle to Odin’s Valhalla where they would prepare for Ragnarök. In the beginning of this dramatic piece, the upper and lower strings duel for dominance, setting the scene of an epic battle. The middle section depicts the Valkyries (represented by a lyrical cello melody) descending from the heavens to take their chosen to Valhalla. The battle resumes, now with the Valkyries sifting through the corpses to find the fallen heroes that would continue to fight at Ragnarök.

About Carl Fischer Young String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 2/Grade 2.5 pieces is designed for second and third year ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
--Occasionally extending to third position
--Keys carefully considered for appropriate difficulty
--Addition of separate 2nd violin and viola parts
--Viola T.C. part included
--Increase in independence of parts over beginning levels

SKU: HL.48185342

UPC: 888680837099. 10.5x13.5x0.51 inches.

Illuminations on the Afterlife - Part 2, VII to XI is the second part of this religious orchestral piece by Olivier Messiaen composed between 1987 and 1991. This conductor edition features the movements VII to XI of the orchestra. VII. Et Dieu essuiera toute larme de leurs yeux? (And God will dry the tears from their eyes) VIII. Les etoiles et la Gloire (Stars and Glory) IX. Plusieurs oiseaux des arbres de vie (Birds from trees of life) X. Le chemin de l?Invisible (Path to the Invisible) XI. Le Christ, lumiere du Paradis (Christ, light of the Paradise) The full orchestra lasts approximately one hour and was commissioned by the New York Symphonic Orchestra. It incorporates some birdsong from Oceania and some modes of limited transposition. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was a French organist and composer passionate about Ornithology and one of the most important composers of his century. Inspired by Japanese music, he had a very special way of composing and his work can be identified by its complexity, its diatonic aspect, its harmony with limited transposition, its colour and its additive rhythms. He composed many works related to ornithology and birdsong, including the 'Bird Catalogue' in 7 volumes and the 'Treatise on rhythm, colour and ornithology' in 7 volumes..

SKU: CA.738610

ISBN 9790007166281. Text language: Latin.

The composition of Verba Ecclesiastes begun in 2002 as a result of a comission from my friend Gary Graden. For many years I've found those words from the Old Testament very fascinating - as everyone knows, I'm not alone. Vanity of vanities! All is vanity! Writers, painters and filmmakers have for centuries been dealing with the subject and I found it high time to set the famous words to music. The suite, for soloists, choir and violoncello, consists of six movements, each one enlighting a different view of life and afterlife, and also, as Matthew Arnold puts it of human misery. Yet the suite is full of hope and humanity, specially recognizable in the two central parts, Dulce lumen and Omnia tempus habent. The music was completed in 2009. (Michael Waldenby).

SKU: AP.36-A888801

ISBN 9798888529911. UPC: 659359989490. English.

The ballet La Bayadère (The Temple Dancer or The Temple Maiden) was created in 1877 for famed French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus (1826-1917). In four act and seven tableaux, the ballet tells the story of the bayadère Nikiya and the warrior Solor, lovers who are beset by jealous rivals, arranged marriages beyond their control, murder, an opium-fueled hallucination of the afterlife, and a vengeful god that destroys the temple and everybody in it as revenge for Nikiya's murder. It was first performed on February 4, 1877, by the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was hailed as a success and masterpiece immediately after the premiere, particularly The Kingdom of the Shades scene in Act II, an excerpt which remains a major standalone work for the ballet repertoire. Modern performances of La Bayadère are almost always derived from a 1941 version sated for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani, which incorporates additional music by Minkus, Drigo, and Pugni. Act II takes place after Nikiya is killed by a concealed venomous snake. A depressed Solor smokes opium, resulting in a vision of Nikiya's spirit dwelling in the Kingdom of the Shades, a nirvana in the Himalayas. The two lovers reconcile among the shades of other bayadères in a Pas de deux, then Solor is awakened just in time for his arranged marriage to another woman. This orchestration of Act II has been completed by William McDermott. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.3.0: Timp.Perc(2): Harp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set).

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