SKU: GI.G-8091INST
English. Text by Adam M. L. Tice.
SKU: GI.G-9692
ISBN 9781622773510.
This book of versatile, pedagogically based choral warm-ups helps conductors take full advantage of this important time in every rehearsal, providing tools for assessment, musicianship, and ensemble unity at the same time singers are warming up their voices. The exercises in Aligning Voices are organized into nine chapters, each focusing on a different area of choral technique: Rhythm Brilliance Intonation Balance Dynamics Consonants Beginning Consonants Diphthongs and Ending Consonants Vowels Each warm-up contains two or more parts, allowing the director to work toward improving choral sound in a texture similar to that of the repertoire. Moreover, author Dean Luethi provides every warm-up in three voicings—SATB, SSAA, and TTBB—and sequentially organizes them by difficulty level. In addition, each section begins by defining the objective for each exercise and offering practical solutions for many of the common challenges choirs face in each area. A companion student edition that contains only the music notation for each warm-up exercise is also available (G-9692S). These exercises go well beyond simply warming up the voice. This resource is a must-have for all choral directors looking to make the most of their warm-up time. Dean Luethi is Associate Professor and Director of the School of Music at Washington State University. In addition to his work at the university, he is a frequently sought after conductor, adjudicator, and clinician, and he has been published in the Choral Journal and Music Educators Journal. Watch this introductory video on Dean Luethi's (Lee-thee) book Aligning Voices: Exercises to Build Choral Musicianship.
SKU: GI.G-7400
ISBN 9781579999698.
Intended especially for the growing number of multicultural, bilingual (Latino/Anglo) parishes and communities in the United States, Oramos Cantando / We Pray in Song is a hymnal and service book that is comprehensive enough to satisfy the liturgical needs of such communities, when they are worshipping in Spanish, in English, or bilingually. Bilingual from the first page to the last. Organized to reflect the liturgical life of the Church: morning, evening and night prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, the sacramental rites of Christian initiation of adults, baptism of children, holy communion outside Mass, eucharistic exposition and benediction, reconciliation of penitents, anointing of the sick, marriage, and funerals, the Order of Mass, service music, hymns and songs, lectionary responsorial psalms. All ritual texts are from the English- and Spanish-language liturgical books approved for use in the dioceses of the United States of America Seventy settings of psalms and biblical canticles in a variety of styles, for use in the Liturgy of the Hours, at Mass, and in other liturgical rites. Many employ Gelineau, Guimont, or Conception Abbey tones. Standards from the “Celebration-style†repertoire by Haugen, Joncas, Haas, and others. All with Spanish and English texts ICEL chants for the Order of Mass, accompanied by the complementary plainsong chants in Spanish. Five bilingual settings of the ordinary of the Mass, along with one Latin and two English-only Mass settings, plus a number of additional service music items to serve the liturgical needs of Anglo/Latino parishes for many years to come A broad and stylistically diverse collection of nearly 550 hymns, psalms, and inspired songs, containing the best and most beloved traditional and contemporary music of Latino and Anglo communities, with more than 300 items newly translated according to guidelines for preserving meaning, rhyme, and meter Music from around the world, encompassing plainsong chants, classical hymnody, contemporary scripture-based songs, Taizé chants, and world music from Asia and Africa. Settings originally with Spanish texts are from the United States, Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Lectionary psalms with USCCB-approved refrains in both English and Spanish and verses from The Revised Grail Psalms and the salterio of Spain’s Conferencia Episcopal Española (CEE). These bilingual lectionary psalms have been included in the Sacred Song missalette program of The Liturgical Press since 2005 Eleven indexes: liturgical, topical, psalms and canticles, service music, scripture references in hymns, hymn tunes, tune meters, musical settings using languages other than Spanish and English, psalm refrains set to music, common titles and first lines, and hymnal contributors (composers, authors, translators, sources) A hymnal which not only addresses the liturgical experience of today, but also opens the door to new possibilities in the future. Fulfilling the statement of the American bishops: Liturgical music today must reflect the multicultural diversity and intercultural relationships of the members of the gathered liturgical assembly. The varied use of musical forms such as ostinato refrains, call and response, song translations, and bilingual or multilingual repertoire can assist in weaving the diverse languages and ethnicities of the liturgical assembly into a tapestry of sung praise. Sing to the Lord, 60 Destinado especialmente para el creciente número de parroquias y comunidades multiculturales, bilingües (Latinas/Anglas) en los Estados Unidos, Oramos Cantando / We Pray in Song es un himnario y ceremonial lo suficientemente completo para satisfacer las necesidades litúrgicas de tales comunidades, cuando oran en español, en inglés, o de una manera bilingüe. Bilingüe desde la primera página hasta la última. Organizado para reflejar la vida litúrgica de la Iglesia: oración matutina, vespertina y nocturna tomada de la Liturgia de las Horas, los ritos sacramentales de la iniciación cristiana de adultos, del bautismo de niños, para la sagrada comunión fuera de la Misa, para la exposición y bendición eucarÃstica, para la reconciliación de varios penitentes, para la unción de los enfermos, el matrimonio, y las exequias, el Ordinario de la Misa, música para las ceremonias, himnos y cantos, salmos responsoriales del leccionario. Todos los textos de los ritos están tomados de los libros litúrgicos en inglés y en español aprobados para su uso en las diócesis de los Estados Unidos de América. Setenta arreglos de salmos y cánticos en una variedad de estilos, para usarlos en la Liturgia de las Horas, en la Misa, y en otros ritos litúrgicos. Muchos emplean los tonos de Gelineau, Guimont, o Conception Abbey. Normas del repertorio del “estilo-de-celebración†por Haugen, Joncas, Haas, y otros. Todos con el texto en español y en inglés. Cantos de ICEL para el Ordinario de la Misa, acompañados por los cantos llanos complementarios en español. Cinco arreglos bilingües para el ordinario de la Misa, junto con uno en latÃn y dos arreglos para la Misa sólo en inglés, además de un número de cantos adicionales para responder a las necesidades litúrgicas de las parroquias anglas/latinas por muchos años en el futuro Una colección amplia y de diversos estilos de casi 550 himnos, salmos y cantos inspirados, que contienen lo mejor y lo más apreciado de la música tradicional y contemporánea de las comunidades latinas y anglas, con más de 300 composiciones recientemente traducidas según las normas para la preservación del significado, del ritmo, y del metro Música de todo el mundo, incluyendo cantos llanos, himnos clásicos, cantos contemporáneos basados en la biblia, cantos de Taizé, y música mundial de Asia y Ãfrica. Arreglos originales con textos en español que vienen de los Estados Unidos, de España, de México, de Centro y Sud América, y del Caribe. Salmos del Leccionario con estribillos aprobados por la Conferencia Episcopal de Estados Unidos (USCCB) tanto en inglés como en español y versos del salterio: The Revised Grail Psalms y del salterio de la Conferencia Episcopal Española (CEE) de España. Estos salmos bilingües del leccionario se han incluido en el programa del misalito Sacred Song de la editorial: The Liturgical Press desde 2005 Once Ãndices: litúrgico, temático, salmos y cánticos, música para celebraciones, referencias bÃblicas en himnos, tonadas de himnos, metros de himnos, arreglos con idiomas además de español e inglés, antÃfonas musicalizadas para los salmos, tÃtulos comunes y primeras frases, y contribuyentes al himnario (compositores, autores, traductores, fuentes) Un himnario que no sólo responde a la experiencia litúrgica de hoy, sino también abre la puerta a nuevas posibilidades en el futuro. Cumple la declaración de los obispos americanos: “La música litúrgica de hoy debe reflejar la diversidad multicultural y las relaciones interculturales de los miembros de la asamblea litúrgica reunida. El uso variado de formas musicales como estribillos en ostinato, llamado y respuesta, traducción de cantos, y el repertorio bilingüe o multilingüe puede ayudar a entretejer los diferentes idiomas y etnias de la asamblea litúrgica en un tapiz de alabanza cantada.†Cantemos al Señor, 60 There is no doubt that the goal of singing each other's liturgical music as an expression of the catholicity of our faith embodied in this volume, does in fact allow bilingual and multicultural parishes through the United States—and beyond—to respond to the liturgical needs of today while opening the door to new possibilities. — Becca Whitla The Hymn Society Journal. Volume 66, No. 4.
SKU: GI.G-9605
Habits of a Successful Middle Level String Musician is a field-tested musical collection of over 300 sequenced exercises for building fundamentals. Perfect to use with the entire string orchestra or a solo player, this series contains carefully sequenced finger pattern and shifting etudes, tone and articulation warm-ups, sight-reading exercises, rhythm vocabulary studies, chorales, and much more. In one place, this series collects everything an aspiring player needs to build fundamental musicianship skills and then be able to transfer those skills directly into the performance of great literature. Habits of a Successful Middle Level String Musician: Presents a differentiated, sequential, and comprehensive method for developing finger pattern and shifting skills to address the most common problems encountered by intermediate level orchestra students. Organizes tone, rhythm, and articulation patterns into a flexible and sequential series. Creates a method for teaching scales, arpeggios, and thirds that simultaneously accommodates students of different ability levels. Provides chorales for the development of intonation, tone quality, blend, and musicianship. Presents sequenced rhythm vocabulary charts in a format that allows transfer from timing to pitches in a musical context. Includes over ten pages of audition sight-reading exercises in a full- ensemble format that is well planned in scope and sequence. Promotes the idea that students should cross the threshold from the “technical components of playing†to music making. Habits of a Successful Middle Level String Musician is the answer to the very simple question, “What should I be learning during fundamentals time?â€.
SKU: CA.4068949
ISBN 9790007097295. Key: D major. Language: Latin.
Beethoven described his Missa solemnis as his greatest work several times, a work which, coming from the heart, was to touch and move audiences. The surviving sources enable us to recognize how intensively and how long he worked on the composition in order to give what he felt was adequate expression to the text. In its length and musical demands, the Missa solemnis goes far beyond typical liturgical settings, and the premiere took place, for good reason, in a concert hall. The chorus plays a key structural role in the work, and in the process has to master some extremely demanding sections. The leading Beethoven expert Ernst Herttrich has produced an Urtext edition based on the available sources, and reflecting the latest state of scholarship. Score and part available separately - see item CA.4068900.
SKU: CA.4068909
ISBN 9790007220389. Key: D major. Language: Latin.
Beethoven described his Missa solemnis as his greatest work several times, a work which, coming from the heart, was to touch and move audiences. The surviving sources enable us to recognize how intensively and how long he worked on the composition in order to give what he felt was adequate expression to the text. In its length and musical demands, the Missa solemnis goes far beyond typical liturgical settings, and the premiere took place, for good reason, in a concert hall. The chorus plays a key structural role in the work, and in the process has to master some extremely demanding sections. The leading Beethoven expert Ernst Herttrich has produced an Urtext edition based on the available sources, and reflecting the latest state of scholarship. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.4068900.
SKU: CA.4068919
ISBN 9790007133481. Key: D major. Language: Latin.
SKU: CA.4068905
ISBN 9790007131135. Key: D major. Language: Latin.
Beethoven described his Missa solemnis as his greatest work several times, a work which, coming from the heart, was to touch and move audiences. The surviving sources enable us to recognize how intensively and how long he worked on the composition in order to give what he felt was adequate expression to the text. In its length and musical demands, the Missa solemnis goes far beyond typical liturgical settings, and the premiere took place, for good reason, in a concert hall. The chorus plays a key structural role in the work, and in the process has to master some extremely demanding sections. The leading Beethoven expert Ernst Herttrich has produced an Urtext edition based on the available sources, and reflecting the latest state of scholarship. Score available separately - see item CA.4068900.
SKU: GI.G-9692S
ISBN 9781622773565.
All of the choral warm-ups presented in Aligning Voices have been conveniently extracted and compiled in this companion edition, making it ideal for students to use during rehearsal. This student edition coordinates directly with the teacher’s edition. It follows the same organizational structure and contains all of the same exercises arranged for three voicings—SATB, SSAA, and TTBB. These exercises go well beyond simply warming up the voice, and this companion student edition is perfect for singers who simply need the music notation without the accompanying pedagogical text.
SKU: CA.2709505
ISBN 9790007186883. Language: Latin.
Shining rays stream from the 'Messe de sainte Cecile'. At first people were dazzled, then bewitched, then overcome. This is how the composer Camille Saint-Saens described his impression of what was probably Charles Gounod's best-known setting of the mass. The work written in 1855 in honor of the patron saint of church music, soon became well-known beyond the borders of France and acquired a degree of popularity like almost no other sacred composition. In the Messe de sainte Cecile, Gounod combines sublime simplicity with operatic-dramatic elements and a colorful, effective orchestration. Critical edition in proven Carus quality. Score available separately - see item CA.2709500.
SKU: CA.2709500
ISBN 9790007186418. Language: Latin.
Shining rays stream from the 'Messe de sainte Cecile'. At first people were dazzled, then bewitched, then overcome. This is how the composer Camille Saint-Saens described his impression of what was probably Charles Gounod's best-known setting of the mass. The work written in 1855 in honor of the patron saint of church music, soon became well-known beyond the borders of France and acquired a degree of popularity like almost no other sacred composition. In the Messe de sainte Cecile, Gounod combines sublime simplicity with operatic-dramatic elements and a colorful, effective orchestration. Critical edition in proven Carus quality.
SKU: CA.2709509
ISBN 9790007200220. Language: Latin.
Shining rays stream from the 'Messe de sainte Cecile'. At first people were dazzled, then bewitched, then overcome. This is how the composer Camille Saint-Saens described his impression of what was probably Charles Gounod's best-known setting of the mass. The work written in 1855 in honor of the patron saint of church music, soon became well-known beyond the borders of France and acquired a degree of popularity like almost no other sacred composition. In the Messe de sainte Cecile, Gounod combines sublime simplicity with operatic-dramatic elements and a colorful, effective orchestration. Critical edition in proven Carus quality. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.2709500.
SKU: CA.2709519
ISBN 9790007200282. Language: Latin.
SKU: SU.12800056
The Well-Tempered Hanon: Hanon the way Bach would have done it (spiral-bound, 241 pages plus a 4-page Preface with background information and practice tips), presents Part 1 of Charles-Louis Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist (20 exercises) transposed into all 24 major and minor keys harmonized in thirds and sixths resulting in invertible counterpoint. This results in a virtually endless supply of indispensable exercises (480 in all) valuable for the study of sight-reading, counterpoint, fingering, technique, and transposition. These highly Bachian style exercises offer a lifetime source of inspirational and musical lessons ideal for piano and organ students and teachers of all levels and abilities, from the beginning levels through university studies and beyond. Hanon’s exercises modified in the style of J.S. Bach serve as especially useful preparations for the reading and playing of polyphonic music in a variety of major and minor keys such as Bach’s inventions, canons, and fugues. Keyboard Published by: BachScholar.
SKU: CF.WF229
ISBN 9781491153789. UPC: 680160911288.
Introduction Gustave Vogt's Musical Paris Gustave Vogt (1781-1870) was born into the Age of Enlightenment, at the apex of the Enlightenment's outreach. During his lifetime he would observe its effect on the world. Over the course of his life he lived through many changes in musical style. When he was born, composers such as Mozart and Haydn were still writing masterworks revered today, and eighty-nine years later, as he departed the world, the new realm of Romanticism was beginning to emerge with Mahler, Richard Strauss and Debussy, who were soon to make their respective marks on the musical world. Vogt himself left a huge mark on the musical world, with critics referring to him as the grandfather of the modern oboe and the premier oboist of Europe. Through his eighty-nine years, Vogt would live through what was perhaps the most turbulent period of French history. He witnessed the French Revolution of 1789, followed by the many newly established governments, only to die just months before the establishment of the Third Republic in 1870, which would be the longest lasting government since the beginning of the revolution. He also witnessed the transformation of the French musical world from one in which opera reigned supreme, to one in which virtuosi, chamber music, and symphonic music ruled. Additionally, he experienced the development of the oboe right before his eyes. When he began playing in the late eighteenth century, the standard oboe had two keys (E and Eb) and at the time of his death in 1870, the System Six Triebert oboe (the instrument adopted by Conservatoire professor, Georges Gillet, in 1882) was only five years from being developed. Vogt was born March 18, 1781 in the ancient town of Strasbourg, part of the Alsace region along the German border. At the time of his birth, Strasbourg had been annexed by Louis XIV, and while heavily influenced by Germanic culture, had been loosely governed by the French for a hundred years. Although it is unclear when Vogt began studying the oboe and when his family made its move to the French capital, the Vogts may have fled Strasbourg in 1792 after much of the city was destroyed during the French Revolution. He was without question living in Paris by 1798, as he enrolled on June 8 at the newly established Conservatoire national de Musique to study oboe with the school's first oboe professor, Alexandre-Antoine Sallantin (1775-1830). Vogt's relationship with the Conservatoire would span over half a century, moving seamlessly from the role of student to professor. In 1799, just a year after enrolling, he was awarded the premier prix, becoming the fourth oboist to achieve this award. By 1802 he had been appointed repetiteur, which involved teaching the younger students and filling in for Sallantin in exchange for a free education. He maintained this rank until 1809, when he was promoted to professor adjoint and finally to professor titulaire in 1816 when Sallantin retired. This was a position he held for thirty-seven years, retiring in 1853, making him the longest serving oboe professor in the school's history. During his tenure, he became the most influential oboist in France, teaching eighty-nine students, plus sixteen he taught while he was professor adjoint and professor titulaire. Many of these students went on to be famous in their own right, such as Henri Brod (1799-1839), Apollon Marie-Rose Barret (1804-1879), Charles Triebert (1810-1867), Stanislas Verroust (1814-1863), and Charles Colin (1832-1881). His influence stretches from French to American oboe playing in a direct line from Charles Colin to Georges Gillet (1854-1920), and then to Marcel Tabuteau (1887-1966), the oboist Americans lovingly describe as the father of American oboe playing. Opera was an important part of Vogt's life. His first performing position was with the Theatre-Montansier while he was still studying at the Conservatoire. Shortly after, he moved to the Ambigu-Comique and, in 1801 was appointed as first oboist with the Theatre-Italien in Paris. He had been in this position for only a year, when he began playing first oboe at the Opera-Comique. He remained there until 1814, when he succeeded his teacher, Alexandre-Antoine Sallantin, as soloist with the Paris Opera, the top orchestra in Paris at the time. He played with the Paris Opera until 1834, all the while bringing in his current and past students to fill out the section. In this position, he began to make a name for himself; so much so that specific performances were immortalized in memoirs and letters. One comes from a young Hector Berlioz (1803-1865) after having just arrived in Paris in 1822 and attended the Paris Opera's performance of Mehul's Stratonice and Persuis' ballet Nina. It was in response to the song Quand le bien-amie reviendra that Berlioz wrote: I find it difficult to believe that that song as sung by her could ever have made as true and touching an effect as the combination of Vogt's instrument... Shortly after this, Berlioz gave up studying medicine and focused on music. Vogt frequently made solo and chamber appearances throughout Europe. His busiest period of solo work was during the 1820s. In 1825 and 1828 he went to London to perform as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Society. Vogt also traveled to Northern France in 1826 for concerts, and then in 1830 traveled to Munich and Stuttgart, visiting his hometown of Strasbourg on the way. While on tour, Vogt performed Luigi Cherubini's (1760-1842) Ave Maria, with soprano Anna (Nanette) Schechner (1806-1860), and a Concertino, presumably written by himself. As a virtuoso performer in pursuit of repertoire to play, Vogt found himself writing much of his own music. His catalog includes chamber music, variation sets, vocal music, concerted works, religious music, wind band arrangements, and pedagogical material. He most frequently performed his variation sets, which were largely based on themes from popular operas he had, presumably played while he was at the Opera. He made his final tour in 1839, traveling to Tours and Bordeaux. During this tour he appeared with the singer Caroline Naldi, Countess de Sparre, and the violinist Joseph Artot (1815-1845). This ended his active career as a soloist. His performance was described in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris as having lost none of his superiority over the oboe.... It's always the same grace, the same sweetness. We made a trip to Switzerland, just by closing your eyes and listening to Vogt's oboe. Vogt was also active performing in Paris as a chamber and orchestral musician. He was one of the founding members of the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, a group established in 1828 by violinist and conductor Francois-Antoine Habeneck (1781-1849). The group featured faculty and students performing alongside each other and works such as Beethoven symphonies, which had never been heard in France. He also premiered the groundbreaking woodwind quintets of Antonin Reicha (1770-1836). After his retirement from the Opera in 1834 and from the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire in 1842, Vogt began to slow down. His final known performance was of Cherubini's Ave Maria on English horn with tenor Alexis Dupont (1796-1874) in 1843. He then began to reflect on his life and the people he had known. When he reached his 60s, he began gathering entries for his Musical Album of Autographs. Autograph Albums Vogt's Musical Album of Autographs is part of a larger practice of keeping autograph albums, also commonly known as Stammbuch or Album Amicorum (meaning book of friendship or friendship book), which date back to the time of the Reformation and the University of Wittenberg. It was during the mid-sixteenth century that students at the University of Wittenberg began passing around bibles for their fellow students and professors to sign, leaving messages to remember them by as they moved on to the next part of their lives. The things people wrote were mottos, quotes, and even drawings of their family coat of arms or some other scene that meant something to the owner. These albums became the way these young students remembered their school family once they had moved on to another school or town. It was also common for the entrants to comment on other entries and for the owner to amend entries when they learned of important life details such as marriage or death. As the practice continued, bibles were set aside for emblem books, which was a popular book genre that featured allegorical illustrations (emblems) in a tripartite form: image, motto, epigram. The first emblem book used for autographs was published in 1531 by Andrea Alciato (1492-1550), a collection of 212 Latin emblem poems. In 1558, the first book conceived for the purpose of the album amicorum was published by Lyon de Tournes (1504-1564) called the Thesaurus Amicorum. These books continued to evolve, and spread to wider circles away from universities. Albums could be found being kept by noblemen, physicians, lawyers, teachers, painters, musicians, and artisans. The albums eventually became more specialized, leading to Musical Autograph Albums (or Notestammbucher). Before this specialization, musicians contributed in one form or another, but our knowledge of them in these albums is mostly limited to individual people or events. Some would simply sign their name while others would insert a fragment of music, usually a canon (titled fuga) with text in Latin. Canons were popular because they displayed the craftsmanship of the composer in a limited space. Composers well-known today, including J. S. Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Beethoven, Dowland, and Brahms, all participated in the practice, with Beethoven being the first to indicate an interest in creating an album only of music. This interest came around 1815. In an 1845 letter from Johann Friedrich Naue to Heinrich Carl Breidenstein, Naue recalled an 1813 visit with Beethoven, who presented a book suggesting Naue to collect entries from celebrated musicians as he traveled. Shortly after we find Louis Spohr speaking about leaving on his grand tour through Europe in 1815 and of his desire to carry an album with entries from the many artists he would come across. He wrote in his autobiography that his most valuable contribution came from Beethoven in 1815. Spohr's Notenstammbuch, comprised only of musical entries, is groundbreaking because it was coupled with a concert tour, allowing him to reach beyond the Germanic world, where the creation of these books had been nearly exclusive. Spohr brought the practice of Notenstammbucher to France, and in turn indirectly inspired Vogt to create a book of his own some fifteen years later. Vogt's Musical Album of Autographs Vogt's Musical Album of Autographs acts as a form of a memoir, displaying mementos of musicians who held special meaning in his life as well as showing those with whom he was enamored from the younger generation. The anonymous Pie Jesu submitted to Vogt in 1831 marks the beginning of an album that would span nearly three decades by the time the final entry, an excerpt from Charles Gounod's (1818-1893) Faust, which premiered in 1859, was submitted. Within this album we find sixty-two entries from musicians whom he must have known very well because they were colleagues at the Conservatoire, or composers of opera whose works he was performing with the Paris Opera. Other entries came from performers with whom he had performed and some who were simply passing through Paris, such as Joseph Joachim (1831-1907). Of the sixty-three total entries, some are original, unpublished works, while others came from well-known existing works. Nineteen of these works are for solo piano, sixteen utilize the oboe or English horn, thirteen feature the voice (in many different combinations, including vocal solos with piano, and small choral settings up to one with double choir), two feature violin as a solo instrument, and one even features the now obscure ophicleide. The connections among the sixty-two contributors to Vogt's album are virtually never-ending. All were acquainted with Vogt in some capacity, from long-time friendships to relationships that were created when Vogt requested their entry. Thus, while Vogt is the person who is central to each of these musicians, the web can be greatly expanded. In general, the connections are centered around the Conservatoire, teacher lineages, the Opera, and performing circles. The relationships between all the contributors in the album parallel the current musical world, as many of these kinds of relationships still exist, and permit us to fantasize who might be found in an album created today by a musician of the same standing. Also important, is what sort of entries the contributors chose to pen. The sixty-three entries are varied, but can be divided into published and unpublished works. Within the published works, we find opera excerpts, symphony excerpts, mass excerpts, and canons, while the unpublished works include music for solo piano, oboe or English horn, string instruments (violin and cello), and voice (voice with piano and choral). The music for oboe and English horn works largely belong in the unpublished works of the album. These entries were most likely written to honor Vogt. Seven are for oboe and piano and were contributed by Joseph Joachim, Pauline Garcia Viardot (1821-1910), Joseph Artot, Anton Bohrer (1783-1852), Georges Onslow (1784-1853), Desire Beaulieu (1791-1863), and Narcisse Girard (1797-1860). The common thread between these entries is the simplicity of the melody and structure. Many are repetitive, especially Beaulieu's entry, which features a two-note ostinato throughout the work, which he even included in his signature. Two composers contributed pieces for English horn and piano, and like the previous oboe entries, are simple and repetitive. These were written by Michele Carafa (1787-1872) and Louis Clapisson (1808-1866). There are two other entries that were unpublished works and are chamber music. One is an oboe trio by Jacques Halevy (1799-1862) and the other is for oboe and strings (string trio) by J. B. Cramer (1771-1858). There are five published works in the album for oboe and English horn. There are three from operas and the other two from symphonic works. Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896) contributed an excerpt from the Entr'acte of his opera La Guerillero, and was likely chosen because the oboe was featured at this moment. Hippolyte Chelard (1789-1861) also chose to honor Vogt by writing for English horn. His entry, for English horn and piano, is taken from his biggest success, Macbeth. The English horn part was actually taken from Lady Macbeth's solo in the sleepwalking scene. Vogt's own entry also falls into this category, as he entered an excerpt from Donizetti's Maria di Rohan. The excerpt he chose is a duet between soprano and English horn. There are two entries featuring oboe that are excerpted from symphonic repertoire. One is a familiar oboe melody from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony entered by his first biographer, Anton Schindler (1796-1864). The other is an excerpt from Berlioz's choral symphony, Romeo et Juliette. He entered an oboe solo from the Grand Fete section of the piece. Pedagogical benefit All of these works are lovely, and fit within the album wonderfully, but these works also are great oboe and English horn music for young students. The common thread between these entries is the simplicity of the melody and structure. Many are repetitive, especially Beaulieu's entry, which features a two-note ostinato throughout the work in the piano. This repetitive structure is beneficial for young students for searching for a short solo to present at a studio recital, or simply to learn. They also work many technical issues a young player may encounter, such as mastering the rolling finger to uncover and recover the half hole. This is true of Bealieu's Pensee as well as Onslow's Andantino. Berlioz's entry from Romeo et Juliette features very long phrases, which helps with endurance and helps keep the air spinning through the oboe. Some of the pieces also use various levels of ornamentation, from trills to grace notes, and short cadenzas. This allows the student to learn appropriate ways to phrase with these added notes. The chamber music is a valuable way to start younger students with chamber music, especially the short quartet by Cramer for oboe and string trio. All of these pieces will not tax the student to learn a work that is more advanced, as well as give them a full piece that they can work on from beginning to end in a couple weeks, instead of months. Editorial Policy The works found in this edition are based on the manuscript housed at the Morgan Library in New York City (call number Cary 348, V886. A3). When possible, published scores were consulted and compared to clarify pitch and text. The general difficulties in creating an edition of these works stem from entries that appear to be hastily written, and thus omit complete articulations and dynamic indications for all passages and parts. The manuscript has been modernized into a performance edition. The score order from the manuscript has been retained. If an entry also exists in a published work, and this was not indicated on the manuscript, appropriate titles and subtitles have been added tacitly. For entries that were untitled, the beginning tempo marking or expressive directive has been added as its title tacitly. Part names have been changed from the original language to English. If no part name was present, it was added tacitly. All scores are transposing where applicable. Measure numbers have been added at the beginning of every system. Written directives have been retained in the original language and are placed relative to where they appear in the manuscript. Tempo markings from the manuscript have been retained, even if they were abbreviated, i.e., Andte. The barlines, braces, brackets, and clefs are modernized. The beaming and stem direction has been modernized. Key signatures have been modernized as some of the flats/sharps do not appear on the correct lines or spaces. Time signatures have been modernized. In a few cases, when a time signature was missing in the manuscript, it has been added tacitly. Triplet and rhythmic groupings have been modernized. Slurs, ties, and articulations (staccato and accent) have been modernized. Slurs, ties, and articulations have been added to parallel passages tacitly. Courtesy accidentals found in the manuscript have been removed, unless it appeared to be helpful to the performer. Dynamic indications from the manuscript have been retained, except where noted. --Kristin Leitterman.IntroductionGustave Vogt’s Musical ParisGustave Vogt (1781–1870) was born into the “Age of Enlightenment,†at the apex of the Enlightenment’s outreach. During his lifetime he would observe its effect on the world. Over the course of his life he lived through many changes in musical style. When he was born, composers such as Mozart and Haydn were still writing masterworks revered today, and eighty-nine years later, as he departed the world, the new realm of Romanticism was beginning to emerge with Mahler, Richard Strauss and Debussy, who were soon to make their respective marks on the musical world. Vogt himself left a huge mark on the musical world, with critics referring to him as the “grandfather of the modern oboe†and the “premier oboist of Europe.â€Through his eighty-nine years, Vogt would live through what was perhaps the most turbulent period of French history. He witnessed the French Revolution of 1789, followed by the many newly established governments, only to die just months before the establishment of the Third Republic in 1870, which would be the longest lasting government since the beginning of the revolution. He also witnessed the transformation of the French musical world from one in which opera reigned supreme, to one in which virtuosi, chamber music, and symphonic music ruled. Additionally, he experienced the development of the oboe right before his eyes. When he began playing in the late eighteenth century, the standard oboe had two keys (E and Eb) and at the time of his death in 1870, the “System Six†Triébert oboe (the instrument adopted by Conservatoire professor, Georges Gillet, in 1882) was only five years from being developed.Vogt was born March 18, 1781 in the ancient town of Strasbourg, part of the Alsace region along the German border. At the time of his birth, Strasbourg had been annexed by Louis XIV, and while heavily influenced by Germanic culture, had been loosely governed by the French for a hundred years. Although it is unclear when Vogt began studying the oboe and when his family made its move to the French capital, the Vogts may have fled Strasbourg in 1792 after much of the city was destroyed during the French Revolution. He was without question living in Paris by 1798, as he enrolled on June 8 at the newly established Conservatoire national de Musique to study oboe with the school’s first oboe professor, Alexandre-Antoine Sallantin (1775–1830).Vogt’s relationship with the Conservatoire would span over half a century, moving seamlessly from the role of student to professor. In 1799, just a year after enrolling, he was awarded the premier prix, becoming the fourth oboist to achieve this award. By 1802 he had been appointed répétiteur, which involved teaching the younger students and filling in for Sallantin in exchange for a free education. He maintained this rank until 1809, when he was promoted to professor adjoint and finally to professor titulaire in 1816 when Sallantin retired. This was a position he held for thirty-seven years, retiring in 1853, making him the longest serving oboe professor in the school’s history. During his tenure, he became the most influential oboist in France, teaching eighty-nine students, plus sixteen he taught while he was professor adjoint and professor titulaire. Many of these students went on to be famous in their own right, such as Henri Brod (1799–1839), Apollon Marie-Rose Barret (1804–1879), Charles Triebert (1810–1867), Stanislas Verroust (1814–1863), and Charles Colin (1832–1881). His influence stretches from French to American oboe playing in a direct line from Charles Colin to Georges Gillet (1854–1920), and then to Marcel Tabuteau (1887–1966), the oboist Americans lovingly describe as the “father of American oboe playing.â€Opera was an important part of Vogt’s life. His first performing position was with the Théâtre-Montansier while he was still studying at the Conservatoire. Shortly after, he moved to the Ambigu-Comique and, in 1801 was appointed as first oboist with the Théâtre-Italien in Paris. He had been in this position for only a year, when he began playing first oboe at the Opéra-Comique. He remained there until 1814, when he succeeded his teacher, Alexandre-Antoine Sallantin, as soloist with the Paris Opéra, the top orchestra in Paris at the time. He played with the Paris Opéra until 1834, all the while bringing in his current and past students to fill out the section. In this position, he began to make a name for himself; so much so that specific performances were immortalized in memoirs and letters. One comes from a young Hector Berlioz (1803–1865) after having just arrived in Paris in 1822 and attended the Paris Opéra’s performance of Mehul’s Stratonice and Persuis’ ballet Nina. It was in response to the song Quand le bien-amié reviendra that Berlioz wrote: “I find it difficult to believe that that song as sung by her could ever have made as true and touching an effect as the combination of Vogt’s instrument…†Shortly after this, Berlioz gave up studying medicine and focused on music.Vogt frequently made solo and chamber appearances throughout Europe. His busiest period of solo work was during the 1820s. In 1825 and 1828 he went to London to perform as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Society. Vogt also traveled to Northern France in 1826 for concerts, and then in 1830 traveled to Munich and Stuttgart, visiting his hometown of Strasbourg on the way. While on tour, Vogt performed Luigi Cherubini’s (1760–1842) Ave Maria, with soprano Anna (Nanette) Schechner (1806–1860), and a Concertino, presumably written by himself. As a virtuoso performer in pursuit of repertoire to play, Vogt found himself writing much of his own music. His catalog includes chamber music, variation sets, vocal music, concerted works, religious music, wind band arrangements, and pedagogical material. He most frequently performed his variation sets, which were largely based on themes from popular operas he had, presumably played while he was at the Opéra.He made his final tour in 1839, traveling to Tours and Bordeaux. During this tour he appeared with the singer Caroline Naldi, Countess de Sparre, and the violinist Joseph Artôt (1815–1845). This ended his active career as a soloist. His performance was described in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris as having “lost none of his superiority over the oboe…. It’s always the same grace, the same sweetness. We made a trip to Switzerland, just by closing your eyes and listening to Vogt’s oboe.â€Vogt was also active performing in Paris as a chamber and orchestral musician. He was one of the founding members of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, a group established in 1828 by violinist and conductor François-Antoine Habeneck (1781–1849). The group featured faculty and students performing alongside each other and works such as Beethoven symphonies, which had never been heard in France. He also premiered the groundbreaking woodwind quintets of Antonin Reicha (1770–1836).After his retirement from the Opéra in 1834 and from the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire in 1842, Vogt began to slow down. His final known performance was of Cherubini’s Ave Maria on English horn with tenor Alexis Dupont (1796–1874) in 1843. He then began to reflect on his life and the people he had known. When he reached his 60s, he began gathering entries for his Musical Album of Autographs.Autograph AlbumsVogt’s Musical Album of Autographs is part of a larger practice of keeping autograph albums, also commonly known as Stammbuch or Album Amicorum (meaning book of friendship or friendship book), which date back to the time of the Reformation and the University of Wittenberg. It was during the mid-sixteenth century that students at the University of Wittenberg began passing around bibles for their fellow students and professors to sign, leaving messages to remember them by as they moved on to the next part of their lives. The things people wrote were mottos, quotes, and even drawings of their family coat of arms or some other scene that meant something to the owner. These albums became the way these young students remembered their school family once they had moved on to another school or town. It was also common for the entrants to comment on other entries and for the owner to amend entries when they learned of important life details such as marriage or death.As the practice continued, bibles were set aside for emblem books, which was a popular book genre that featured allegorical illustrations (emblems) in a tripartite form: image, motto, epigram. The first emblem book used for autographs was published in 1531 by Andrea Alciato (1492–1550), a collection of 212 Latin emblem poems. In 1558, the first book conceived for the purpose of the album amicorum was published by Lyon de Tournes (1504–1564) called the Thesaurus Amicorum. These books continued to evolve, and spread to wider circles away from universities. Albums could be found being kept by noblemen, physicians, lawyers, teachers, painters, musicians, and artisans.The albums eventually became more specialized, leading to Musical Autograph Albums (or Notestammbücher). Before this specialization, musicians contributed in one form or another, but our knowledge of them in these albums is mostly limited to individual people or events. Some would simply sign their name while others would insert a fragment of music, usually a canon (titled fuga) with text in Latin. Canons were popular because they displayed the craftsmanship of the composer in a limited space. Composers well-known today, including J. S. Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Beethoven, Dowland, and Brahms, all participated in the practice, with Beethoven being the first to indicate an interest in creating an album only of music.This interest came around 1815. In an 1845 letter from Johann Friedrich Naue to Heinrich Carl Breidenstein, Naue recalled an 1813 visit with Beethoven, who presented a book suggesting Naue to collect entries from celebrated musicians as he traveled. Shortly after we find Louis Spohr speaking about leaving on his “grand tour†through Europe in 1815 and of his desire to carry an album with entries from the many artists he would come across. He wrote in his autobiography that his “most valuable contribution†came from Beethoven in 1815. Spohr’s Notenstammbuch, comprised only of musical entries, is groundbreaking because it was coupled with a concert tour, allowing him to reach beyond the Germanic world, where the creation of these books had been nearly exclusive. Spohr brought the practice of Notenstammbücher to France, and in turn indirectly inspired Vogt to create a book of his own some fifteen years later.Vogt’s Musical Album of AutographsVogt’s Musical Album of Autographs acts as a form of a memoir, displaying mementos of musicians who held special meaning in his life as well as showing those with whom he was enamored from the younger generation. The anonymous Pie Jesu submitted to Vogt in 1831 marks the beginning of an album that would span nearly three decades by the time the final entry, an excerpt from Charles Gounod’s (1818–1893) Faust, which premiered in 1859, was submitted.Within this album ...
SKU: CA.3106999
ISBN 9790007206741. Language: German/English.
Bach's Cantata BWV 69a of 1723, which has remained largely unknown to the present day, is now available for the first time in a practical edition with this Carus publication. It has been unjustly neglected as it was overshadowed by the Cantata BWV 69 of the same name, a piece which Bach reworked to celebrate the inauguration of Leipzig Town Council in 1748. On that occasion Bach re-used the parts from 1723 for simplicity, and adapted them for the new use by means of cuts, alterations, and additions - something which certainly did not mean that he rejected the 1723 version. This version can readily be recovered from the parts of 1723, if we explore beyond the alterations of 1748. With its rich wind instruments and great opening chorus, the 1723 cantata is in no way inferior to the later festive music in terms of musical splendor. The text takes the Gospel reading about the healing of the deaf and dumb man as a reason for praise and thanks for God's good deeds. In contrast to the later version, in which God is thanked for the wisdom of the Leipzig authorities, the original version of 1723 is free of such contemporary references, and is suitable for use in worship and concerts in many different ways. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3106900.
SKU: CA.1002849
ISBN 9790007189389. Text language: German.
The collection Polyhymnia Caduceatrix & Panegyrica of 1619 is rightly regarded as the high point in Michael Praetorius's output. It combines Solennische Friedt- und Frewden-Concert: which Praetorius as a travelling musician had composed largely for festive occasions - he writes of Kayser: Konig: Chur: vnd Furstlichen zusammen Kunfften - and also for furnehme Capellen vnd Kirchen. In these chorael concerti the highly modern, Italian style and the Protestant chorale combine and form a symbiosis which showed the way forward for the history of German music. The chorale settings draw on influences from Venetian polychoral music, use ritornelli and employ obbligato instruments in a way which is beyond compare, even in contemporary Italy. Here we see a quite different side of the master from the composer of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. And above all, Praetorius always remains a practical musician who ensures that these breathtaking chorale concerti can also be effectively performed with smaller forces, sometimes considerably reduced ones. In the chorale setting Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern Praetorius wrote for a five-part ensemble which is joined in some sections by a four-part capella. For the ensemble, Praetorius suggested both voices and instruments, which he uses in a sophisticated texture of sound, the instruments sometimes duplicating the voices and sometimes alternating with them. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1002800.
SKU: CA.1002949
ISBN 9790007181437. Text language: German.
The collection Polyhymnia Caduceatrix & Panegyrica of 1619 is rightly regarded as the high point in Michael Praetorius's output. It combines Solennische Friedt- und Frewden-Concert: which Praetorius as a travelling musician had composed largely for festive occasions - he writes of Kayser: Konig: Chur: vnd Furstlichen zusammen Kunfften - and also for furnehme Capellen vnd Kirchen. In these chorale concerti the highly modern, Italian style and the Protestant chorale combine and form a symbiosis which showed the way forward for the history of German music. The chorale settings draw on influences from Venetian polychoral music, use ritornelli and employ obbligato instruments in a way which is beyond compare, even in contemporary Italy. Here we see a quite different side of the master from the composer of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. And above all, Praetorius always remains a practical musician who ensures that these breathtaking choral concerti can also be effectively performed with smaller forces, sometimes considerably reduced ones. The six-part polyphonic choral setting of the German Gloria (the first and fourth verses are underlaid) is divided, following Italian models, by tutti sections in triple meter. Instruments join the tutti sections ad libitum, strengthening the vocal parts. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1002900.
SKU: CA.3104649
ISBN 9790007043018. Key: D minor. Language: German/English.
The opening chorus of the cantata Schauet doch und sehet (Look ye then and see now) is one of those movements by Bach which are much better known in their later guise: the first part of it became the Qui tollis of the Mass in B minor. But this movement is not the only high point of the cantata from Bach's earliest Leipzig period. Both the arias are also unusual: a bass aria depicting God's anger dramatically as a thundering storm, with strings and slide trumpet, which gives the movement a very special colour through its unexpected notes beyond the instrument's natural series, and an alto aria with two recorders, accompanied by just two oboi da caccia in unison, which take the role of the continuo as little basset instruments. Music almost not of this world! New revised edition. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3104600.
SKU: GI.G-9541
UPC: 785147954125. English.
Blest Are Those Who Love You is the ultimate resource for pastors, cantors, organists, brides-to-be, and anyone who is looking for the best in wedding music. Every inclusion conforms to the Roman Catholic Church’s new Order of Celebrating Matrimony (2016). Inside you’ll find the appointed wedding psalms (using the official Revised Grail translation) in three distinct settings—Guimont, Gelineau, and The Lyric Psalter, a dozen appropriate gospel acclamations with the official verses, and a wide array of beloved psalm settings for use in the Liturgy of the Word or throughout the wedding rite. All of the songs in this edition may be sung as a solo, but each selection also has an optional part for congregation. Additionally, many of these songs originally appeared as choral octavos, the settings included here are fully compatible with those original editions. Contents: Beloved, God's Chosen • Covenant Hymn • Every Morning in Your Eyes • God beyond Glory • God, in the Planning • God of Love, Embrace Your People • In Love We Choose to Live • Love Has Brought Us Here Together • Love Is a Longing • Love Is the Sunlight • No Greater Love • Not for Tongues of Heaven's Angels • What a Gift to Be Gathered • At the Table of Jesus • Wherever You Go.
SKU: CA.3119049
ISBN 9790007210151. Language: German/English.
The cantata BWV 190 has survived only in fragmentary form. This reconstruction by the celebrated Bach experts Masaaki and Masato Suzuki goes far beyond previous attempts; it draws upon only thematic and motive material of the movements themselves, closely interwoven. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3119000.
SKU: CA.5454649
ISBN 9790007074623. Language: Latin.
Among Haydn's over thirty settings of the Latin Ordinary, the Missa in honorem Sanctae Ursula occupies an outstanding position, which, according to the autograph, was completed on 5 August 1793. This Mass has been referred to as the most Mozartian of all his masses. With its song-like melodic character, the unity of the motivic material and the harmonius balance between festive and reflective sections this Mass is one of Haydn's most successful and inspired works. This work, which in addition to the usual Salzburg church trio includes two trumpets and timpani, belongs to the category of Missa solemnis. The popular nickname Chiemsee-Messe is bound up with the history of the origins of the work. Haydn wrote the Mass for the musically gifted nun, Sebastiana Oswald, who belonged to the Benedictine cloister of Frauenchiemsee. This work soon found widespread acceptance beyond the originally intended sphere of its origins, as is indicated by the numerous copies found in Austrian convents. Score and part available separately - see item CA.5454600.
SKU: CA.1002749
ISBN 9790007189372. Text language: German.
The collection Polyhymnia Caduceatrix & Panegyrica of 1619 is rightly regarded as the high point in Michael Praetorius's output. It combines Solennische Friedt- und Frewden-Concert: which Praetorius as a travelling musician had composed largely for festive occasions - he writes of Kayser: Konig: Chur: vnd Furstlichen zusammen Kunfften - and also for furnehme Capellen vnd Kirchen. In these chorale concerti the highly modern, Italian style and the Protestant chorale combine and form a symbiosis which showed the way forward for the history of German music. The chorale settings draw on influences from Venetian polychoral music, use ritornelli and employ obbligato instruments in a way which is beyond compare, even in contemporary Italy. Here we see a quite different side of the master from the composer of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. And above all, Praetorius always remains a practical musician who ensures that these breathtaking choral concerti can also be effectively performed with smaller forces, sometimes considerably reduced ones. Praetorius gives the verses of the well-known Easter hymn Christ ist erstanden to the concertists (soloists or small choir), who can perform these in alternating scorings. At the beginning, between the verses, and at the end, a magnificent Halleluja occurs as a ritornello, which can be performed by up to 5 choirs - ad lib, of course. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1002700.
SKU: AP.1-ADV14116
ISBN 9783954810758. UPC: 805095141160. English.
The Essence of Bebop is by critically acclaimed New York saxophonist Jim Snidero and reveals the heart and soul of this groundbreaking jazz style and is the first real manual for mastering bebop. The 10 fun-to-play studies are inspired by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and many more, offering a unique basis for in-depth study and analysis. Historical insights as well as recommended listening and reading make this edition an indispensable part of jazz education. Each etude includes a study guide that covers jazz theory, but also goes well beyond the math, providing insight into how bebop masters mold solos into profound musical statements. Concepts of shape, timing, balance and pacing provide the framework in which ideas unfold and flow. Additional examples, practice suggestions, historical perspectives, listening and reading suggestions (60-plus pages total) result in an instant classic that's perfect for individual or classroom study. The downloadable play-along recording has versions with and without the soloist, and features Michael Dease (trombone), Mike LeDonne (piano), Peter Washington (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums). But what if you aren't a student or a professional? The Essence of Bebop still has immense value to those interested in bebop and hard bop. By encouraging readers to understand the music's intent, slow down their listening, and focus on the swinging, the series can help a jazz newcomer dig this cerebral, often pulse-pounding music. - Morgan Enos, Discogs.
SKU: HL.49018099
ISBN 9790001158428. UPC: 884088567347. 8.25x11.75x0.457 inches. Latin - German.
On letting go(Concerning the selection of the texts) In the selection of the texts, I have allowed myself to be motivated and inspired by the concept of 'letting go'. This appears to me to be one of the essential aspects of dying, but also of life itself. We humans cling far too strongly to successful achievements, whether they have to do with material or ideal values, or relationships of all kinds. We cannot and do not want to let go, almost as if our life depended on it. As we will have to practise the art of letting go at the latest during our hour of death, perhaps we could already make a start on this while we are still alive. Tagore describes this farewell with very simple but strikingly vivid imagery: 'I will return the key of my door'. I have set this text for tenor solo. Here I imagine, and have correspondingly noted in a certain passage of the score, that the protagonist finds himself as though 'in an ocean' of voices in which he is however not drowning, but immersing himself in complete relaxation. The phenomenon of letting go is described even more simply and tersely in Psalm 90, verse 12: 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom'. This cannot be expressed more plainly.I have begun the requiem with a solo boy's voice singing the beginning of this psalm on a single note, the note A. This in effect says it all. The work comes full circle at the culmination with a repeat of the psalm which subsequently leads into a resplendent 'lux aeterna'. The intermediate texts of the Requiem which highlight the phenomenon of letting go in the widest spectrum of colours originate on the one hand from the Latin liturgy of the Messa da Requiem (In Paradisum, Libera me, Requiem aeternam, Mors stupebit) and on the other hand from poems by Joseph von Eichendorff, Hermann Hesse, Rabindranath Tagore and Rainer Maria Rilke.All texts have a distinctive positive element in common and view death as being an organic process within the great system of the universe, for example when Hermann Hesse writes: 'Entreiss dich, Seele, nun der Zeit, entreiss dich deinen Sorgen und mache dich zum Flug bereit in den ersehnten Morgen' ['Tear yourself way , o soul, from time, tear yourself away from your sorrows and prepare yourself to fly away into the long-awaited morning'] and later: 'Und die Seele unbewacht will in freien Flugen schweben, um im Zauberkreis der Nacht tief und tausendfach zu leben' ['And the unfettered soul strives to soar in free flight to live in the magic sphere of the night, deep and thousandfold']. Or Joseph von Eichendorff whose text evokes a distant song in his lines: 'Und meine Seele spannte weit ihre Flugel aus. Flog durch die stillen Lande, als floge sie nach Haus' ['And my soul spread its wings wide. Flew through the still country as if homeward bound.']Here a strong romantically tinged occidental resonance can be detected which is however also accompanied by a universal spirit going far beyond all cultures and religions. In the beginning was the sound Long before any sort of word or meaningful phrase was uttered by vocal chords, sounds, vibrations and tones already existed. This brings us back to the music. Both during my years of study and at subsequent periods, I had been an active participant in the world of contemporary music, both as percussionist and also as conductor and composer. My early scores had a somewhat adventurous appearance, filled with an abundance of small black dots: no rhythm could be too complicated, no register too extreme and no harmony too dissonant. I devoted myself intensely to the handling of different parameters which in serial music coexist in total equality: I also studied aleatory principles and so-called minimal music.I subsequently emigrated and took up residence in Spain from where I embarked on numerous travels over the years to India, Africa and South America. I spent repeated periods during this time as a resident in non-European countries. This meant that the currents of contemporary music swept past me vaguely and at a great distance. What I instead absorbed during this period were other completely new cultures in which I attempted to immerse myself as intensively as possible.I learned foreign languages and came into contact with musicians of all classes and styles who had a different cultural heritage than my own: I was intoxicated with the diversity of artistic potential.Nevertheless, the further I distanced myself from my own Western musical heritage, the more this returned insistently in my consciousness.The scene can be imagined of sitting somewhere in the middle of the Brazilian jungle surrounded by the wailing of Indians and out of the blue being provided with the opportunity to hear Beethoven's late string quartets: this can be a heart-wrenching experience, akin to an identity crisis. This type of experience can also be described as cathartic. Whatever the circumstances, my 'renewed' occupation with the 'old' country would not permit me to return to the point at which I as an audacious young student had maltreated the musical parameters of so-called contemporary music. A completely different approach would be necessary: an extremely careful approach, inching my way gradually back into the Western world: an approach which would welcome tradition back into the fold, attempt to unfurl the petals and gently infuse this tradition with a breath of contemporary life.Although I am aware that I will not unleash a revolution or scandal with this approach, I am nevertheless confident as, with the musical vocabulary of this Requiem, I am travelling in an orbit in which no ballast or complex structures will be transported or intimated: on the contrary, I have attempted to form the message of the texts in music with the naivety of a 'homecomer'. Harald WeissColonia de San PedroMarch 2009.
SKU: CA.4094349
ISBN 9790007221386. Text language: German.
Johann Adam Hiller's Psalm 100 can be considered as the highpoint of his church music. The work was known during the lifetime of the composer far beyond Germany, even to the Baltic States. Now the first printed edition of this beautifully sounding psalm setting is available. The five-movement composition is suited both for concert as well as liturgical purposes. Even today this composition of the St. Thomas Cantor and founder of the Leipziger Gewandhaus concert series will not fail to miss its mark. Score and part available separately - see item CA.4094300.