Little Serious Piece No. 1

SKU: M7.VHR-3419

ISBN 9783864341854.

With humour and seriousness, with vibrancy, much feeling and with the occasional wink of the eye, this volume of piano music opens up to us life in all its musical colour. The little pieces contrast the beauty of nature with the hustle and bustle of city life, they tell of adventures with pirates and wild horses, whisk us away to the sea and invite us to dance and to dream The 41 character pieces will go very nicely hand in hand with piano tutor books and will help pupils in the early years to appreciate the joys of playing the piano.

SKU: PR.16400261S

UPC: 680160038411.

Since the bassoon is my own instrument, many people have asked me why I've written so little for the instrument. Beyond my early Concerto Da Camera for bassoon and small orchestra, written for Leonard Sharrow in 1975, I've not written a single piece that features the bassoon as a solo vehicle (though I have written three woodwind quintets). When I first began composing seriously, critics were quick to point out that my orchestral writing revealed nothing of my roots as a woodwind player--and bassoonists asked why my pieces didn't have more bassoon solos. Perhaps I was so aware that people were looking at me as a bassoonist/composer that I was determined to remove that stigma. Now that my transformation from performer to composer is complete, however, it's time to re-address my instrument. I wanted this new piece to be serious rather than whimsical. The Wind Won't Listen represents my return to the bassoon as the highly expressive, poetic soul that it is.   As such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the piece is based on a poem, and that the title of the piece as well as both its movement titles come from lines in that poem. I first read Beth Gylys' poem Split at the MacDowell Colony in the summer of 2001, and it made a big impression on me. My personal life had been ruptured by divorce in the preceding year. This poem, with its dry insistence on observation rather than feeling, expressed the wrung-out state of my emotions at the time better than any I had seen. I set it to music, as a song, immediately. In this format, for voice and piano, I was able to put a musical note to every word of the poem. The first lines of the poem, Everyone I know is crying, or should be crying, became a melody that haunted me even without the words.   The work for bassoon and string quartet is an outgrowth of the song. The first movement is labeled Romanza, and has a loose formal arch structure of A-B-C-B-A, with B and C being fast sections framed by the lamenting A music. In addition to hearing the bassoon's first notes attached to the lines Everyone I know is crying, there's a sense of agitation, of loss, of longing, and at times of desperation in the music. At one point, the opening theme from Tristan even appears in the strings.   The second movement follows, without a real pause--the pizzicato final chords of the first movement becoming the increasingly aggressive opening chords of the second. The recitative is actually a foreshadowing of the basic theme that will be varied, again to the words of the song: Life makes itself without us. Don't let me tell you how it is. Go out. Look. The recitative begins in an anguished state, but subsides into more gentle singing by the end, when it simply falls into an ostinato 5/8-3/4 pattern to begin the variations. Marked Very steady tempo; Dancing, this set of variations consists of three dances, each faster than the previous. The first, in the aforementioned 5/8-3/4 meter, gives way to a 3/8 scherzo, which in turn takes on a furious 2/4 scurrying motion. The music becomes breathless, almost pulse-less, and an ethereal theme appears in the violins while the rushing music continues, sotto voce in the bassoon. This new theme is also from the song: Why do I do this? The wind won't listen. The bassoon re-states its Everyone I know is crying melody from the first movement, and at length the 5/8-3/4 music returns, more subdued this time. The piece ends on a major-minor chord, suspended.   The Wind Won't Listen is dedicated to the man who commissioned it, bassoonist Steven Dibner--who shares my passion for poetry and language. --Dan Welcher.

SKU: CF.CPS256

ISBN 9781491159712. UPC: 680160918300.

As the title suggests, there should be a tongue-in-cheek aspect to the performance of this piece with the idea that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Close attention should be paid to staccato notes, making sure not to play them too short and clipped, keeping in mind that a staccato quarter note should have the length of an eighth note and not the length of a sixteenth note. Although the piece is a march, it needn't conform to any strict interpretation of what a march should be. Some of the tongued eighth-note passages may need to be double-tongued, depending on tempo, using the Dig-A-Duck method. For instance at m. 34 the repeated eighth notes might be tongued dig-a-da-duck, dig-a-duck, da dot dot. Slurred eighth-note passages should follow the curve of the line, getting slightly louder as notes ascend and slightly softer as they descend. Measure 39 through m. 51 will have a somewhat chaotic feel, so go with the flow! The sparsely orchestrated passage at m. 68 is understated--perhaps a little spacey in keeping with our theme--and not to be overplayed until the crescendo at m. 88, when we return to business as usual. Trumpets show off again (rarely a problem for trumpet players) on the D. S. back to m. 6. On the Coda, another disjointed-sounding theme, again departing from any strict interpretation of a march--again, making sure that the staccatos are not too clipped--is followed by a repeat of the main theme, this time layered. Care should be taken to balance the entrances of the layered instrument groups as they enter. An exuberant final four measures puts the cherry on top. Percussion can play out for the most part, very little subtlety required. Overall, this piece is meant to be FUN, for both the performers and the audience!.
As the title suggests, there should be a tongue-in-cheek aspect to the performance of this piece with the idea that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Close attention should be paid to staccato notes, making surenot to play them too short and clipped, keeping in mind that a staccato quarter note should have the length of an eighth note and not the length of a sixteenth note. Although the piece is a march, it needn't conform toany strict interpretation of what a march should be. Some of the tongued eighth-note passages may need to be double-tongued, depending on tempo, using the Dig-A-Duck method. For instance at m. 34the repeated eighth notes might be tongued dig-a-da-duck, dig-a-duck, da dot dot. Slurred eighth-note passages should follow the curve of the line, getting slightly louder as notes ascend and slightly softeras they descend. Measure 39 through m. 51 will have a somewhat chaotic feel, so go with the flow!The sparsely orchestrated passage at m. 68 is understated—perhaps a little spacey in keeping with our theme—and not to be overplayed until the crescendo at m. 88, when we return to business as usual. Trumpets show off again (rarely a problem for trumpet players) on the D. S. back to m. 6. On the Coda, another disjointed-sounding theme, again departing from any strict interpretation of a march—again, making sure that the staccatos are not too clipped—is followed by a repeat of the main theme, this time layered. Care should be taken to balance the entrances of the layered instrument groups as they enter.An exuberant final four measures puts the cherry on top. Percussion can play out for the most part, very little subtlety required. Overall, this piece is meant to be FUN, for both the performers and the audience!

SKU: CF.CPS272

ISBN 9781491163719. UPC: 680160922505.

Pelican Dance was composed in 2022 as part of my annual commitment to create a piece to be premiered by our University of Mobile High School Honor Band. I had a beginning concept for a “dance” piece and was leaning toward something which was a little quirky, fun and not too serious. One day, during my regular commute across Mobile Bay, I noticed the pelicans, elegant birds in the air and water but awkward on land. I tried to imagine a pelican dancing and decided I had my mascot and theme.The opening motif, played in octaves by the whole ensemble in the first measure, is fundamental for the entire work. It is stated in some form at the beginning of each section, is the basis for the first theme and is even used as the bass line later in the piece. It should be clearly stated each time it appears.Performance considerations: Although there are contrasting moments in the work, the tempo should never waiver. It should remain brisk and consistent from section to section.Dynamic contrast is an important aspect of the compositional design and stylistic makeup of the piece. The subito dynamics, fp, etc., need to be almost startling.Percussion drives the energy of this composition to a strong degree, and it is probably the most fun section in the band for this piece. Covering those parts effectively is critically important.

SKU: HL.281563

Stephen Reynolds has been heard as pianist and composer in concerts and broadcasts across Europe and the United States. He is currently on the faculty of his alma mater, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. This set of pieces were originally written in the 1980s as a diversion from the more serious and experimental music he was writing at the time. He talks of wanting to invade and absorb the sound-world of Delius, one of his favourite composer, and to use his musical language to create works of his own. The Delius-inspired pieces are especially welcome since that composer wrote very little for the piano. In both of the sets a longer, more substantial piece is prefaced by a shorter one in a related key.

SKU: XC.MCB2204FS

12 x 9 inches.

Bright Light in the World is a serious and colorful new work by popular composer Carol Brittin Chambers. Beginning with exquisite timbres and textures, the piece builds into a brilliant fantasia on original theme, all the while intertwining This Little Light of Mine into the fabric of the piece.

SKU: BT.EMBZ7783

International.

''Learning the piano is so widespread these days and good pianists so numerous that mediocrity on the instrument can no longer be accepted. In effect, the piano must be studied for eight or ten years before performance of a harder piece is attempted. Few can spare the years for this. It takes one hour to play the volume in full. Once it has been mastered, it is enough to set aside for it a little time each day and the difficulties will disappear almost like magic. Playing will become as attractive, accurate, fluent and pearly as that of the best performers.'' This piano method by the French music teacher Charles-Louis Hanon (1819-1900) appeared in 1874, with these introductory wordsaddressed to the realm of pianists. Almost a century and a half later, it remains among the most popular systems of piano tuition all around the world, and Hanon's name has become generic for systematic instrumental methods, even in types of popular music. The Virtuoso Pianist appears as a publication in six languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Hungarian.

The volume in a new, decorative cover is useful to every pianist. Students with a years study behind them will succeed in mastering the exercises. Advanced pianists after working through the exercises will be able to tackle even serious technicaldifficulties. In the volume different forms of technical difficulty are encountered. The exercises may be performed on more than one piano simultaneously, so that students become accustomed to ensemble playing.

Das Erlernen des Klavierspiels ist gegenwärtig so sehr verbreitet, und es gibt so viele gute Pianisten, dass wir uns auf diesem Instrument mit Mittelmäßigkeit nicht mehr zufriedengeben können. Das führt dazu, dass acht bis zehn JahreKlavierunterricht erforderlich sind, bevor wir riskieren können, ein schwieriges Stück zu spielen. Es gibt jedoch nur Wenige, die dem Erlernen dieses Instruments so viele Jahre widmen! Man benötigt etwa eine Stunde, um diesen Band voll und ganzdurchzuspielen. Wenn wir uns die Übungen bereits perfekt angeeignet haben, genügt es, sich täglich nur kurze Zeit mit ihm zu beschäftigen, und unsere Schwierigkeiten werden wie von Zauberhandverschwinden: Unser Spiel wird so schön, so akkurat, soleicht und perlend wie das der hervorragendsten Künstler.