SKU: PE.EP73404
ISBN 9790577018348. 297 x 420 mm inches. English.
Rihards Dubra (born Latvia, 1964) wrote his Symphony No. 2 in 2014. It is a large-scale work, over 30 minutes long, in three movements (titled 'Visio', 'Cantus', 'Et vidi...'), for large orchestra comprising triple wind and brass, percussion and harp.
Speaking of symphonic writing, the composer says: 'I don't think a symphony should speak about small, everyday things and issues; it should speak of global, fundamental and substantial things. Only then does it justify the name 'symphony'. It must be something serious.'
This full score (EP 73404) is now available as part of the Peters Baltic Library.
SKU: PR.11641737S
ISBN 9781491136133. UPC: 680160688432.
Son et lumière (“sound and light,†a kind of show staged for tourists at historic sites or famous buildings) is an orchestral entertainment whose subject is the play of colors, bright surfaces, and shimmery textures. I have tried in this music to recapture the élan and immediacy that regular meters and repetitive rhythms make possible—something forbidden during the modernist regime but recently restored in the post-modern work of composers like John Adams, Steve Reich, and others. Throughout its brief nine-minute span, then, the piece is built almost exclusively of short, busy ostinato figures—my attempt, I suppose, to achieve the rhythmic vitality of minimalism, but without giving in to the over-simple harmonic language that usually comes with it.Surprisingly, the musical materials seemed determined to shape themselves into an approximation of nineteenth-century sonata form. We hear an introduction, a first theme (based on triadic broken chords), a second theme (beginning with the flute solo), and a closing theme (led by two piccolos). In a sort of development section, these materials are recombined in new ways; in a recapitulation, both the first and second themes are recalled more or less intact (part of the second is actually repeated quite literally).Then, in the coda, a second surprise: as if another, different music has been lurking all the while behind the shiny surface, the strings now unexpectedly split off from the rest of the orchestra to assert a new, more passionate, more “serious†voice, transcending the external show of sound and light.Son et lumière, commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, was composed between June and December 1988 in Ithaca (N.Y.), in Los Angeles, and at the artists’ colony Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs (N.Y.). David Zinman conducted the first performance in Baltimore on 18 May 1989; André Previn gave the West Coast premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on 18 January, 1990.Son et lumière (“sound and light,†a kind of show staged for tourists at historic sites or famous buildings) is an orchestral entertainment whose subject is the play of colors, bright surfaces, and shimmery textures. I have tried in this music to recapture the élan and immediacy that regular meters and repetitive rhythms make possible—something forbidden during the modernist regime but recently restored in the post-modern work of composers like John Adams, Steve Reich, and others. Throughout its brief nine-minute span, then, the piece is built almost exclusively of short, busy ostinato figures—my attempt, I suppose, to achieve the rhythmic vitality of minimalism, but without giving in to the over-simple harmonic language that usually comes with it.Surprisingly, the musical materials seemed determined to shape themselves into an approximation of nineteenth-century sonata form. We hear an introduction, a first theme (based on triadic broken chords), a second theme (beginning with the flute solo), and a closing theme (led by two piccolos). In a sort of development section, these materials are recombined in new ways; in a recapitulation, both the first and second themes are recalled more or less intact (part of the second is actually repeated quite literally).Then, in the coda, a second surprise: as if another, different music has been lurking all the while behind the shiny surface, the strings now unexpectedly split off from the rest of the orchestra to assert a new, more passionate, more “serious†voice, transcending the external show of sound and light.Son et lumière, commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, was composed between June and December 1988 in Ithaca (N.Y.), in Los Angeles, and at the artists’ colony Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs (N.Y.). David Zinman conducted the first performance in Baltimore on 18 May 1989; André Previn gave the West Coast premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on 18 January, 1990.
SKU: CF.CPS124F
ISBN 9780825888168. UPC: 798408088163. 9x12 inches.
Composer Bill Calhoun combines two popular Christmas carols into one sophisticated concert-style piece. It is bold and serious, containing shifting modalities and moves effortlessly from major to minor, and back again, many times throughout this effective setting. If you want to play something stunning and unexpected for your next holiday concert, then this is one that deserves serious consideration.
SKU: HL.49047037
ISBN 9781705182024. UPC: 842819116998. 9.0x12.0x0.123 inches.
My father, Y. “Raghu†Raghunathan, came from India to the U.S. in 1963, followed soon after by my mother Sita. Dad enjoyed a substantial career as a pharmaceutical chemist, but he drew satisfaction from a simple life among family and friends, never allowing professional demands to overshadow his devotion to loved ones. Modest, compassionate, and ardently egalitarian, he was careful not to take anything too seriously, especially himself. He embraced his own ordinariness because it connected him to everyone else; it made him no better or worse than his neighbor, no more or less deserving of friendship or kindness than any of his fellow human beings. He showed us how to live with dignity, compassion, grace, and boundless love. His last piece of advice to me: “Go slow.†Several weeks after his passing, I happened upon a recording of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, opus 87. I couldn’t understand why at the time, but the sixteenth prelude and fugue took hold of me and would not let go. I completely immersed myself in that piece for ten days, until it became a mystical conduit for something else: in this semi-trance state I produced a prelude and fugue of my own, in prayer (orison) and in praise (upastuti). It shadows Shostakovich’s form, but it somehow expresses my father’s unhurried, loving spirit. I’ve come to believe that he sent me this piece as a blessing. I hope you feel his presence in it as I do. Vijay Iyer.
SKU: BT.YE0007
Born in Oxford in 1917, Francis Baines was a well-known and much respected professional double bass player. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Claude Hobday, where he later taught. Something of an eccentric,he immersed himself in early music at a time when few people were taking it seriously. He owned a beautiful Amati bass that he had restored as a violone, which it probably was originally, and he was a regular fixture as aprincipal player in a number of orchestras and ensembles that dedicated themselves to period performing, including those directed by Denys Darlow, with whom he broadcast and recorded frequently.Besides playing thedoublebass, Francis Baines was an exponent of the treble viol and led the Jaye Consort of Viols which he founded. He also played several kinds of bagpipe and the hurdy-gurdy. As a composer he dabbled in many styles, one of hisgreatest claims to fame being that of writing for the popular Hoffnung concerts in the 1960s. He was the author of a number of papers about the history of the double bass, sometimes arriving at scholarly conclusionsthat were colourful, if not always entirely accurate. He discovered the Giovannino del Violone sonatas, subsequently published by Yorke Edition, although today it is thought that they were probably not written for a 16' pitchinstrument at all. His edition of the Capuzzi double bass concerto, published by Boosey & Hawkes, was for many years one of the few solo works available for the instrument. This, however, he largely re-composed because hethought it could be improved: towards the end of his life he confessed that with hindsight he probably should have treated it differently.Grounds was written in 1969 as a sort of party piece and was given to YorkeEdition in support of a drive to enlarge the repertoire for the instrument in a wide variety of styles. It was set on the syllabus of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for many years.Francis Baines died.
SKU: PR.11540425S
UPC: 680160688142.
My work Labyrinth for Ithaca College could have easily been titled as my Third Symphony. The work is larger in scope than every other work of mine for winds, save perhaps my first symphony. The piece is cast in two main parts, each consisting of two movements. As it happened I wrote the movements backwards (fitting for something called Labyrinth). The size of the band is on par with that of Karel Husa’s Music for Prague 1968 with one exception, there is an electric keyboard part which lends certain moments in the piece an other-worldly ambience... sounds that are altogether different from anything possible from acoustic instruments. At the risk of sounding obvious or mundane, I had two words floating around my brain during the composing of this work — HUGE and melodic. My predisposition to create inherently melodic music is inescapable at this point in my composing career. This is the kind of music I have gravitated towards since beginning at the piano so long ago. I don’t write ambient or spectral music, nor do I write music replete with extended techniques. The crafting of melodies with gravitas has always made my process of composing the most satisfying. The very last movement of Labyrinth is a gargantuan crescendo the likes of the last movement of Respighi’s The Pines of Rome or Ravel’s Bolero and should leave the audience and players sonically drenched by the end. I’m so honored to have this opportunity to compose for Ithaca College’s 50th Anniversary of that seminal work of Karel Husa’s. I have known Music for Prague 1968 as long as I’ve known serious music for winds. It is my aim that every moment of Labyrinth offers the players as much to bite their teeth on as it leaves the audience in its throng from start to finish. -CP.
SKU: PR.11540425L
UPC: 680160688159.
SKU: CF.YPS89F
ISBN 9780825874048. UPC: 798408074043. 9x12 inches. Key: F minor.
If you are looking for a different type of march to play this coming year, look no further. Here is a serious, yet quirky little march from composer Ed Kiefer for young bands. Beginning very quietly and in a minor key, it reminded the composer of something lurking in the shadows, hence the title. We know your students will like it.
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: GI.G-7266
ISBN 9781592403196. English.
Every fall, marching bands take to the field in a uniquely American ritual. From the stands, it looks easy. You don’t see them sweat. For millions of kids, band is more than a show. It’s a rite of passage—a first foray into leadership and adult responsibility, and a chance to learn what it means to be part of a community. Nowhere is band more serious than at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana, where the entire town is involved with the success of its defending state champion band, the Marching Minutemen. In the place where this tradition may have originated, in the city that became the band instrument capital of the world, band is a religion. But it’s not the only religion, as director Max Jones discovers. After four decades. Jones’s single-minded devotion to musical excellence has fallen out of step with a younger generation increasingly focused on personal salvation. In what his students do not know is his final season of directing, he has assembled his most ambitious show ever, for the strongest senior class he has ever directed. Amid conflicting notions of greatness, the band marches through a season that starts in hope and promise, progresses through uncertainty and disappointment, and ends, ultimately, in redemption. American Band is an unusually intimate chronicle of life, in all its triumph, disappointment, and drama, in the kind of community in which most of America lives. It is an especially timely portrait, capturing as it does the spirit of the heartland at a time of profound change. If you have ever been— or yearned to be— part of something bigger than yourself, you will be rooting for the kids whose voices fill this book. Kirsten Laine is an award-winning journalist whose commentaries can be heard on Vermont Public Radio. She lives in New Hampshire with writer Jim Collins and their two children. “American Band has everything going for it, from tempo to heart to the grand bittersweet finale. What a gift for readers: a pitch-perfect tribute to kids and song and community.†—Madeleine Blais Pulitzer Prize winner and author of In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle.
SKU: CF.CPS272F
ISBN 9781491164112. UPC: 680160922901.
SKU: M7.AHW-1611
English.
It is so easy to dismiss a rhythm book as something for beginners, not worth a serious musician's time and energy. We can already read, what more do we need? I felt this way as well, then I was VERY glad that I did not put this book down after the first few pages. Once you get past the first 10 pages of basics you are left with a book of such creative jazz and rock etudes that you wouldn't even consider it to have been written with the intention of improving your reading. This is a fully fledged contemporary jazz rock etude book that gets you reading complex grooves that will keep you coming back for more.
SKU: BT.CMP-1099-07-140
9x12 inches. English.
Your young band will really be in their own element when they are rocking to the jellybean song! Every section gets to join in on the melody somewhere and the rhythmic reinforcement found within is a priceless tool for the teacher of young band students. This is the kind of piece your students will drive you crazy with because they’ll want to play it again and again (and again!) If you are looking for something FUN to do with your group as a contrast to your more serious pieces, you’ve found it.Tasty!Kennen Sie Jellybeans, die unwiderstehlichen süßen und bunten Süßigkeiten aus Amerika, die es in unzähligen Geschmacksvarianten gibt? Ihre Musiker kennen Sie bestimmt und werden daher ganz in ihrem Element sein, wenn sie zum gleichnamigen Stück abrocken dürfen. Hier darf jedes Register einmal die Melodie spielen und bei der rhythmischen Unterstützung können die Musiker ganz nebenbei noch viel dazulernen. Sie werden es immer wieder spielen wollen! C’est petit, coloré, et terriblement bon ! Et, encore plus merveilleux, ça go te l’enfance et ses douceurs. Si l’on ne connaît pas l’origine exacte des jelly beans (bonbons la gelée), on sait que le procédé qui vise faire durcir la coquille d’un bonbon tout en gardant l’intérieur bien mou a été inventé au XVIIe siècle par un certain Jordan Almonds. Se priver d’une telle explosion de saveurs serait renier l’enfant qui sommeille en soi. Allez-y, sucrez-vous les babines !
SKU: PR.115404250
UPC: 680160688135.
