Brother D.

SKU: SU.94010764

Dedicated to Bryan Young, Principal Bassoon, Baltimore Chamber OrchestraBassoon Duration: 5'3 Composed: 2020 Published by: Subito Music Publishing PROGRAM NOTE: The year 2020 has definitely been a very challenging year with many upheavals. During this time of the COVID-19 health crisis, wearing masks, and high racial tensions, I decided to compose four short solo woodwind works for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, which represent the core woodwind section in an orchestra. I was inspired to compose these short pieces after I first heard Igor Stravinsky's three short pieces for clarinet, which totals a little more than four minutes in duration. I thought that it would be nice to highlight and honor my African-American male colleagues in the orchestral music world. I wanted to celebrate the fact that they are the principal player in the section of their respective orchestras. The short pieces are as follows: Principal Brother No. 1 for flute solo for Demarre McGill, Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Principal Brother No. 2 for oboe solo for Titus Underwood, Principal Oboe of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Principal Brother No. 3 for clarinet solo for Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and Principal Brother No. 4 for bassoon solo for Bryan Young, Principal Bassoon of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. These works all begin with notes that are representative of their name; D for Demarre, B for Titus (ti in solfège starting on C), A for Anthony, and Bb for Bryan. There is also a rhythmic figure in the opening measures of each piece, which represent the utterance of their names. All four of these works are rhapsodic in nature with elements of improvisation. - James Lee III.

SKU: SU.94010762

Dedicated to Titus Underwood, Principal Oboe, Nashville Symphony OrchestraOboe Duration: 5' Composed: 2020 Published by: Subito Music Publishing PROGRAM NOTE: The year 2020 has definitely been a very challenging year with many upheavals. During this time of the COVID-19 health crisis, wearing masks, and high racial tensions, I decided to compose four short solo woodwind works for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, which represent the core woodwind section in an orchestra. I was inspired to compose these short pieces after I first heard Igor Stravinsky's three short pieces for clarinet, which totals a little more than four minutes in duration. I thought that it would be nice to highlight and honor my African-American male colleagues in the orchestral music world. I wanted to celebrate the fact that they are the principal player in the section of their respective orchestras. The short pieces are as follows: Principal Brother No. 1 for flute solo for Demarre McGill, Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Principal Brother No. 2 for oboe solo for Titus Underwood, Principal Oboe of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Principal Brother No. 3 for clarinet solo for Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and Principal Brother No. 4 for bassoon solo for Bryan Young, Principal Bassoon of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. These works all begin with notes that are representative of their name; D for Demarre, B for Titus (ti in solfège starting on C), A for Anthony, and Bb for Bryan. There is also a rhythmic figure in the opening measures of each piece, which represent the utterance of their names. All four of these works are rhapsodic in nature with elements of improvisation. - James Lee III.

SKU: BA.BA11395

ISBN 9790006568574. 29.7 x 21 cm inches. Text Language: English. Text: Al Fakir, Salem / Maggio, Veronica / Pontare, Vincent / Bergling, Tim / Pournouri, Ash.

“Hey brother! There's an endless road to rediscover
Hey sister! Know the water's sweet but blood is thicker …”

“If the sky comes falling down, for you / There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do”. The subject of this energetic, life-affirming hit is being there for one another. Whether sung by female or mixed choirs, the fanfare-like theme is equally powerful and will keep the audience tapping their feet.


The editor:

Hans Vainikainen (b. 1976) hails from a new generation of conductors in the Swedish choral tradition. His conducting repertoire covers a wide range of genres and eras, from Mahler’s Eighth Symphony to the Swedish DJ Avicii. In 2005 he won the Swedish Conductors’ Prize, and two years later he was appointed artistic director of the Katarina kyrka, the home of Katarinakörerna, one of Sweden’s largest choral societies.

Hans Vainikainen heads Stockholm’s Katarinakörerna with more than 500 singers in various combinations. Their programmes cover both sacred and secular music. In his search for suitable arrangements, his eye fell on one the world’s best-known pop artists, Tim Bergling, known professionally as Avicii. He then arranged three of Avicii’s best songs for classical choirs, intending them to be encore pieces.

“Hey Brother”, “Levels” and “Without you” are now available for six-part mixed or female choir. The arrangements offer a wide variety of vocal and choral possibilities and attention has been paid that all parts are of the same musical standard. Whether homophonic or unisono, they artfully intertwine from one passage to the next. However, for all their sophistication the arrangements remain manageable and easy to learn, displaying the typical groove of each Avicii song within a multi-layered texture.