Overture in Italian Style (C), Op. 170, D. 591

SKU: PR.16400272S

UPC: 680160588442. 8.5 x 11 inches.

My third quartet is laid out in a three-movement structure, with each movement based on an early, middle, and late work of the great American impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Although the movements are separate, with full-stop endings, the music is connected by a common scale-form, derived from the name MARY CASSATT, and by a recurring theme that introduces all three movements. I see this theme as Mary's Theme, a personality that stays intact while undergoing gradual change.   I The Bacchante (1876) [Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]   The painting shows a young girl of Italian or Spanish origin, playing a small pair of cymbals. Since Cassatt was trying very hard to fit in at the French Academy at the time, she painted a lot of these subjects, which were considered typical and universal. The style of the painting doesn't yet show Cassatt's originality, except perhaps for certain details in the face. Accordingly the music for this movement is Spanish/Italian, in a similar period-style but using the musical signature described above. The music begins with Mary's Theme, ruminative and slow, then abruptly changes to an alla Spagnola-type fast 3/4 - 6/8 meter. It evokes the Spanish-influenced music of Ravel and Falla.   Midway through, there's an accompanied recitative for the viola, which figures large in this particular movement, then back to a truncated recapitulation of the fast music. The overall feeling is of a well-made, rather conventional movement in a contemporary Spanish/Italian style. Cassatt's painting, too, is rather conventional.   II At the Opera (1880) [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts]   This painting is one of Cassatt's most well known works, and it hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The painting shows a woman alone in a box at the opera house, completely dressed (including gloves) and looking through opera glasses at someone or something that is NOT on the stage. Across the auditorium from her, but exactly at eye level, is a gentleman with opera glasses intently watching her - though it is not him that she's looking at. It's an intriguing picture.   This movement is far less conventional than the first movement, as the painting is far less conventional. The music begins with a rapid, Shostakovich-type mini-overture lasting less than a minute, based on Mary's Theme. My conjecture is that the woman in the painting has arrived late to the opera, busily stumbling into her box. What happens next is a kind of collage, a kind of surrealistic overlaying of two different elements: the foreground music, at first is a direct quotation of Soldier's Chorus from Gounod's FAUST (an opera Cassatt would certainly have heard in the brand-new Paris Opera House at that time), played by Violin II, Viola, and Cello. This music is played sul ponticello in the melody and col legno in the marching accompaniment. On top of this, the first violin hovers at first on a high harmonic, then descends into a slow melody, completely separate from the Gounod. It's as if the woman in the painting is hearing the opera onstage but is not really interested in it. Then the cello joins the first violin in a kind of love-duet (just the two of them, at first). This music isn't at all Gounod-derived; it's entirely from the same scale patterns as the first movement and derives from Mary's Theme and its scale. The music stays in a kind of dichotomy feeling, usually three-against-one, until the end of the movement, when another Gounod melody, Valentin's aria Avant de quitter ce lieux reappears in a kind of coda for all four players. It ends atmospherically and emotionally disconnected, however. The overall feeling is a kind of schizophrenic, opera-inspired dream.   III Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun (1909) [Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts]   The painting, one of Cassatt's last, is very simple: just a figure, looking sideways out of the picture. The colors are pastel and yet bold - and the woman is likewise very self-assured and not in the least demure. It is eight minutes long, and is all about melody - three melodies, to be exact (Young Woman, Green, and Sunlight). No angst, no choppy rhythms, just ever-unfolding melody and lush harmonies. I quote one other French composer here, too: Debussy's song Green, from Ariettes Oubliees. 1909 would have been Debussy's heyday in Paris, and it makes perfect sense musically as well as visually to do this.   Mary Cassatt lived her last several years in near-total blindness, and as she lost visual acuity, her work became less sharply defined - something akin to late water lilies of Monet, who suffered similar vision loss. My idea of making this movement entirely melodic was compounded by having each of the three melodies appear twice, once in a pure form, and the second time in a more diffuse setting. This makes an interesting two ways form: A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.   String Quartet No.3 (Cassatt) is dedicated, with great affection and respect, to the Cassatt String Quartet, whose members have dedicated themselves in large measure to the furthering of the contemporary repertoire for quartet.

SKU: HH.HH465-FSC

ISBN 9781910359723.

This compact sinfonia is an early example of a true chamber sinfonia: that is, an offshoot of the Italian-style operatic overture intended from the start to be a free-standing composition for use in either public or private concerts. Wolff’s sinfonia adopts the usual Fast-Slow-Fast format, adopting the sonata form and style pioneered by Italian composers but developed more fully in Germany during the central decades of the eighteenth century. This composition, full of striking and effective contrasts of dynamics, mood and thematic content, anticipates in places the Sturm und Drang of middle-period Haydn and the finely sculpted melodic lines of C. P. E. Bach.

This work was commissioned by the civilian wind orchestra Shimizu il compagno, based in Shimizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, as a commemorative work for their 10th Anniversary. The world premiere was performed by the ensemble, conducted by Hiromichi Hamada in 2017. Having held discussions with the head of the orchestra, Tomohiro Tsuji, and members of the group, Satoshi Yagisawa settled on a central motif for this commemorative work: fellow, or companion, in the sense of the Italian il compagno, which features in the orchestraâ??s name. The work also strives to describe the characteristic friendliness of Shimizu city, a place known for itswarmth and kindness which is visible from both Mount Fuji and the sea. The composition is written in Yagisawaâ??s typical dramatic style with an atmosphere of scintillating light and lyrical warmth, making it an excellent choice for opening a concert.

Dit werk werd geschreven ter gelegenheid van het tienjarig bestaan van blaasorkest â??Shimizu il compagnoâ? uit de stad Shimizu in de Japanse prefectuur Shizuoka. Het hoofdmotief van de compositie is vriendschap, op basis van de Italiaanse term il compagno de kameraad uit de naam van het orkest. Ook beschrijft Festive Overture de vriendelijkheid en warmte die kenmerkend zijn voor Shimizu, een plaats die zichtbaar is vanaf zowel de berg Fuji als de zee. Het werk is geschreven in Yagisawaâ??s typerende filmische stijl, waardoor het een uitstekende keuze is voor de opening van een concert.

Dieses Werk wurde vom städtischen Blasorchester Shimizu il compagnoâ?? aus Shimizu City in der Präfektur Shizuoka in Japan anlässlich seines 10-jährigen Bestehens in Auftrag gegeben. Der Begriff Gefährte im Sinne des italienischen Wortes il compagno das auch im Namen des Orchesters verwendet wird wurde zum zentralen Motiv. Das Werk möchte auÃ?erdem die für die Stadt Shimizu typische Freundlichkeit beschreiben, ein Ort, der für seine Wärme und Liebenswürdigkeit bekannt ist und sowohl vom Berg Fudschijama als auch vom Meer aus zu sehen ist. Die Komposition ist in Yagisawas typisch filmischem Stil geschrieben, wodurch sie sich hervorragend für die Eröffnungeines Konzerts eignet.

Cette Å?uvre a été commandée lâ??occasion du dixième anniversaire de lâ??harmonie « Shimizu il compagno » de la ville de Shimizu, préfecture de Shizuoka, au Japon. Son motif principal est le camarade, ou compagnon, dans le sens de lâ??italien il compagno qui figure dans le nom de lâ??orchestre. Lâ??Å?uvre cherche aussi communiquer lâ??ambiance chaleureuse de la ville de Shimizu, qui est réputée pour son hospitalité et sa bienveillance et que lâ??on aperçoit aussi bien depuis le mont Fuji que de la côte. Typique du style dramatique de Yagisawa, cette composition est idéale pour ouvrir un concert.

SKU: CF.YAS222

ISBN 9781491162705. UPC: 680160921454. Key: G major.

As a composer, Joseph Bologne was quite prolific, composing six operas, fourteen violin concertos, four symphonies concertantes, and numerous chamber works and songs. His Six String Quartets, Op. 1, Nos. 1-6 date from 1770-1771 and are dedicated to Anne Louis Alexandre de Montmorency (1724-1812), 7th Prince of Robeck and Grand Duke of Spain. All of his quartets feature a prominent first violin part and the Opus 1 quartets all display a similarity to the Italian opera overtures from earlier in the century in A-B-A form with the ‘A’ sections being robust allegros and all ‘B’ sections marked rondo.This lively Rondeau from Bologne's Six String Quartets, Op. 1 is a classic seven-part rondo with an ABACAB’A formula. The ‘A’ sections are set in G Major, ‘B’ in D Major, and ‘C’ in G Minor. As was typical of the Classical style, the primary melody is heard mainly in first violin, while other sections provide supporting harmonic and rhythmic roles. The essence of the string quartet scoring is retained by having the bass double the cello part. This makes more of this significant composer’s music accessible to school ensembles, resulting in a charming concert selection appropriate for concert or festival.

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