Infinite Hope

SKU: HP.8892

UPC: 763628188924. By Stuart Townend.

Classic ballad by Stuart Townend This earnest ballad from Stuart Townend explores the infinite love of God that allowed his Son to be sacrificed for us. Larry Shackley's gentle blending of melodies and piano accompaniment brings dignity to the folk-like tune and lends this contemporary worship song a classic feel. A top-seller in SATB, this dynamic arrangement is now available in a new SAB version as well as a Medium Voice solo.

SKU: OT.21124

ISBN 9789655050981. 8.27 x 11.69 inches.

Perpetuum Mobile, meaning perpetual motioni, is a Latin term that describes an impossible situation in which a substance has infinite energy. This situation is impossible because it violates the first and second laws of Newton.
But it is possible in music. Imagine a musical piece that is a continuous stream of notes. These are exactly the etudes in this album. They do not stop, they are always in motion and they can be played continuously.
Etudes are solo pieces, purposed to help the musician practice his technique. In this album, each etude is designed to practice another technique.
In addition, the etudes in this album are arranged according to the circle of fifths - each etude ends in a key which is dominant to the beginning of the next etude, even the last etude to the first one, and so on and so forth. This further emphasizes the infinite mobility of the music in this piece.
Once you enter the loop, you can't get out of it. All the etudes start in a minor key, as a symbol of the sadness of the matter, and end in a major key, to represent the hope, a false hope, that perhaps the next etude will take you out of the loop.
This album is a three-year-long project, in which I gathered ideas from the environment in which I live, from the people in it and from their thoughts, from life that continues all the time, and the music that will never stop.
Maayan Tal, 17, is a young Israeli musician, pianist and composer.

SKU: AP.44175S

ISBN 9781470653484. UPC: 038081505954. English.

Gazing into the sky, one may be overcome with the infinite possibilities of our worlds and, thus, ourselves. It is this sense of wonder and hope that has been captured in Skygazer Fanfare. This work for concert band uses syncopated rhythms, layered percussion, and a sense of forward motion to create an exciting soundscape for young musicians. Careful attention has been paid to range and scoring to create a work that is attainable by smaller ensembles while retaining a full sound for larger ensembles as well. (2:20) This title available in MakeMusic Cloud.

SKU: BT.DHP-0981118-010

This piece was commissioned by the ‘Concert Band Vlamertinge’ and is a plea for peace: the title translates as ‘Peace on Earth’. This is expressed by means of the vocal contribution expected from the performers. In various places of the piece you can recognize, the words ‘Et In Terra Pax’ - an appeal for peace - at first jumbled together but later more rhythmically structured, developing into synchronized massed voices.The work starts with a pentatonic theme based on the notes D, E, G, A and C (taken from ‘ConCErtbAnD VlAmErtinGE’ and the name of the conductor, NiCk VAnDEnDriessChe). A somewhat sad melody is developed during an orchestral climax which leads to the firstexplosion of sound (measure 62 onwards). Suddenly the opening measures are recaptured, albeit with a differently colored sound: the words ‘Et In Terra Pax’ bring the first movement to a close. A restless Allegro follows which abruptly stops and is replaced by a calming cho-rale-like passage. A narrator reads aloud the poem ‘Sonnet’ by the young poet Charles Hamilton Sorley, who was killed during World War I. This poem fittingly puts into words the cruelty and senselessness of war. After the expanded recapitulation of the allegro, the broad, almost infinite atmosphere of the beginning returns. Clarinet and English horn play the pentatonic opening theme once more, this time broadly, while the words ‘Et In Terra... Pax’ are repeated again and again by the rest of the orchestra.The composer has purposely avoided all forms of aggression and bombastic sounds regularly used in works about war. Fear of violence and destruction can be heard and felt during the allegro passages. The charged opening makes way in the end for hope: May peacefulness replace cruelty in everyday life, too.

Dieses Werk wurde im Auftrag der Concert Band Vlamertinge geschrieben und ist ein Plädoyer an den Frieden: Der Titel bedeutet dann auch ‘Frieden auf Erden’. Dies kommt unter anderem im vokalen Anteil der Ausführenden zum Ausdruck. An verschiedenenStellen des Werkes erklingen, anfangs durcheinander dann zu einem rhythmischen und strukturierten Synchrongesang vereint, die Worte ‘Et In Terra Pax’ wie ein flehendes Gebet für den Frieden.

Ein pentatonisches Thema formt den Anfang dieses Werkes, basierend auf den Noten D, E, G, A, und C, die dem Namen: ‘ConCErtbAnD VlAmErtingE’ und dem Namen des Dirigenten NiCk VAnDEnDriessChe entstammen. Während der orchestralen Klimax, die zu einemersten Klangausbruch führt (ab Takt 62), entsteht eine etwas traurige Melodie. Plötzlich werden dann die Eingangstakte wiederaufgenommen, wenn auch mit einer veränderten Klangfarbe; die Worte ‘Et In Terra Pax’ runden den ersten Teil daraufhin ab. Esfolgt ein unruhiges Allegro, das überraschend durch eine Choralartigen Passage voller Ruhe unterbrochen wird. Eine Sprechstimme liest währenddessen das Gedicht Sonnet des jungen Dichters Charles Hamilton Sorley vor, der im ersten Weltkriegfiel. Es findet für die Grausamkeit und Sinnlosigkeit des Krieges die passenden Worte. Nachdem das Allegro, diesmal mit einigen Ausbreitungen, wiederholt wird, kehrt die weite, beinahe unendliche Atmosphäre des Beginns wieder zurück. Klarinettenspielen zusammen mit einem Englischhorn das pentatonische Eingangsthema ein letztes Mal in ausgebreiteter Fassung, wobei das “Et In Terra Pax’ durch den Rest des Orchesters stets wiederholt wird.Der Komponist hat bewusst auf jegliche Form der Aggression oder bombastischen Vertonung, die in so vielen Werken über den Krieg zu finden ist, vermieden. Dennoch ist die Angst vor Gewalt und Zerstörung vor allem in den Allegro-Passagen deutlich zuhören und zu fühlen. Am Ende macht die anfängliche Spannung jedoch der Hoffnung Platz: Möge die Friedlichkeit auch im täglichen Leben die Grausamkeit verbannen….