SKU: SU.50009630
Published by: Seesaw Music.
SKU: HL.14028003
ISBN 9788759862896.
Poul Ruders Polydrama (Manyfold Event) for cello and orchestra, is the last part of a drama trilogy otherwise consisting of Dramaphonia for piano and 11 instruments and Monodrama for percussion and 32 instruments. In this abstract drama, the individual listener is left entirely to his own associations. The composer has compared polydrama with the gradual defoliation of a big tree: the vigorously growing organism is attacked by a swarm of locusts until, finally, nothing remains but bare branches in a landscape of long shadows; a solitary, singing bird remains, however, like a streak of hope in an increasingly dark and pessimistic universe.
SKU: IG.IMF1824
9 x 12 inches.
Written for my first doctoral recital, Celestial Harmonies was a fun exercise in experimentation. I approached another graduate student, Allen Morris, about taking high quality photographs of each of the constellations, which he did between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve in 2013. Upon receiving these photographs, I had staff paper printed on transparency paper and placed the constellation photos beneath the transparency paper and traced out the constellations on the staff paper. These became the introductory sketches for this new string quartet. Like a solitary photographer gazing up at the night sky, the music is quiet and intimate, but reflects the drama and wonderment of this wonderous phenomenon.
SKU: CF.CAS117
ISBN 9781491153291. UPC: 680160910793. 9 x 12 inches. Key: A major.
Abendstern, composed by Lauren Bernofsky,?evokes an image of a sunset over the tree-covered hills of the Bavarian countryside with the Abendstern, or evening star, shining brightly over the scene. A hauntingly beautiful theme in falling thirds?evokes the treetops as they become darker and murkier. This piece is a wonderful addition to any concert program and can be used as a touching?tribute at a memorial service.One summer night during a visit to Bavaria in southern Germany, I stood outside on a balcony overlooking the hills of the Bavarian forest, watching the beautiful early-evening sky. It was still light out, but I could make out one solitary star in the sky. As the sun slowly went down, the landscape became more and more dark and indistinct, and the star shone brighter and brighter. My mother-in-law stood there with me. I asked her the name of the star, and she answered, Abendstern (or Evening Star.) I was so moved by what I saw, I went inside and took out my manuscript paper and started to write down this piece. The tree-covered hills and tranquility of the evening are evoked by the theme, whose contour (with little bumps) mirrors the contour of the treetops on the hills. The star is represented by the sustained note E; at the beginning of the piece, it can be heard in a low register in the violas, and over the course of the piece, it is heard in higher and higher octaves, as the star shines ever more brightly. By the end, the landscape has disappeared into the darkness, and now all we see is the star, shining its brightest, and played by the upper strings, now harmonized to convey its brilliant light..One summer night during a visit to Bavaria in southern Germany, I stood outside on a balcony overlooking the hills of the Bavarian forest, watching the beautiful early-evening sky. It was still light out, but I could make out one solitary star in the sky. As the sun slowly went down, the landscape became more and more dark and indistinct, and the star shone brighter and brighter. My mother-in-law stood there with me. I asked her the name of the star, and she answered, Abendstern (or Evening Star.) I was so moved by what I saw, I went inside and took out my manuscript paper and started to write down this piece. The tree-covered hills and tranquility of the evening are evoked by the theme, whose contour (with little bumps) mirrors the contour of the treetops on the hills. The star is represented by the sustained note E; at the beginning of the piece, it can be heard in a low register in the violas, and over the course of the piece, it is heard in higher and higher octaves, as the star shines ever more brightly. By the end, the landscape has disappeared into the darkness, and now all we see is the star, shining its brightest, and played by the upper strings, now harmonized to convey its brilliant light..One summer night during a visit to Bavaria in southern Germany, I stood outside on a balcony overlooking the hills of the Bavarian forest, watching the beautiful early-evening sky. It was still light out, but I could make out one solitary star in the sky. As the sun slowly went down, the landscape became more and more dark and indistinct, and the star shone brighter and brighter. My mother-in-law stood there with me. I asked her the name of the star, and she answered, Abendstern (or Evening Star.) I was so moved by what I saw, I went inside and took out my manuscript paper and started to write down this piece. The tree-covered hills and tranquility of the evening are evoked by the theme, whose contour (with little bumps) mirrors the contour of the treetops on the hills. The star is represented by the sustained note E; at the beginning of the piece, it can be heard in a low register in the violas, and over the course of the piece, it is heard in higher and higher octaves, as the star shines ever more brightly. By the end, the landscape has disappeared into the darkness, and now all we see is the star, shining its brightest, and played by the upper strings, now harmonized to convey its brilliant light.
About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series
This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
SKU: CF.CAS117F
ISBN 9781491153307. UPC: 680160910809. 9 x 12 inches.
SKU: PR.114423360
UPC: 680160686285.
When the Newport Music Festival commissioned me for a piano trio in honor of their 2021 season, I looked for a topic that would celebrate an aspect of the Newport community. While researching the area, I was struck by the nine lighthouses situated around the island. The dual nature of lighthouses was particularly appealing to me: not only do they serve a vital role in the navigation of ships around rocks and land, but they are also a beautiful sight, particularly at night when their blinking beacons are clearly visible to the eye. It occurred to me that lighthouses link the past with the present, and will endure long into the future, with their beacons serving the same purpose for every generation.I became fascinated with the lighthouse on the property of Castle Hill Inn, located at the opening of the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay. This squat thirty-four foot granite structure was erected in 1890 on a very picturesque spot, right at the water’s edge. Its “characteristic,†the nautical term for each lighthouse’s unique light sequence that allows ships to identify the lighthouse, is to alternate on for three seconds, then off for three seconds. The lighthouse has also served as the starting and finish line for numerous high profile yacht races, as well as survived a massive hurricane in 1938, though the lighthouse keeper’s nearby residence wasn’t so lucky. American novelist Thornton Wilder wrote much of his 1973 novel Theophilus North while staying at the Castle Hill Inn; a passage from the book perfectly captures the dual nature of lighthouses:“At a later visit I was able to engage the pentagonal room in a turret above the house; from that magical room I could see at night the beacons of six lighthouses and hear the booming and chiming of as many sea buoys.â€In Beacon of the Bay, we first hear the lighthouse’s characteristic as its ruby light blinks on and off. This is followed by a simple theme that represents the lighthouse performing its solitary duty. As the piece progresses, we hear waves playfully lapping around its base, then yachts gracefully floating by; this is followed by a violent storm that churns the waves with so much force that they crash against the lighthouse’s granite body. But the steadfast lighthouse holds firm to the rocks, grandly blinking its ruby light. The music quiets back down to its simple theme, with yachts sailing by once more as the piece concludes.
