SKU: GI.G-10605
ISBN 9781622776160.
This advanced orchestral conducting resource features concise discussions of advanced technical and interpretive issues for 44 major orchestral works that all conductors will perform during their careers. The brief discussions that precede each score cover the full range of issues encountered in real conducting situations, and the accompanying online videos show Maestro Itkin demonstrating the techniques for each excerpt. All music examples have been faithfully reproduced from original scores, and Maestro Itkin has also arranged each excerpt for string quintet, ideal for the conducting class setting. With nearly a thousand performances to his credit, acclaimed conductor David Itkin shares the knowledge he has acquired over his decades in the profession. The Conductor’s Craft is for both up-and-coming conductors and seasoned professionals alike, equally beneficial for personal study or for use in a classroom or ensemble setting.  This volume is a real breakthrough aid for anyone studying or teaching conducting at any level. Written by David Itkin, a most distinguished and experienced conductor and teacher, it concentrates on all the vital techniques in the teaching of the craft. The accompanying video recordings also make this volume unique. This addition to the material for teaching conducting is truly revolutionary, and the selection of examples gets successfully to the point of each subject discussed. —Samuel Adler   Composer, conductor, author   Professor Emeritus, The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music The Conductor’s Craft outlines a detailed plan and method for executing conductor training in advanced conducting studios. Itkin’s book is also an excellent reference for any teacher who instructs advanced students in a collegiate orchestral conducting program, as well as for up-and-coming professionals who are studying for a career in the field. Perhaps most important, an individual conductor can manage their own self-study with Maestro Itkin’s clear statements and explanations of the technical issues presented with each excerpt. This book gives individual conductor’s freedom to explore choices and alternatives to fix tricky passages in the provided musical examples. I love the book and will be using it in my studio. —Julius P. Williams   Artistic director and conductor, Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra   President of the International Conductors Guild How refreshing to review a conducting book that deals with specificity of gesture as it relates to the music rather than mere concepts. Bravo to Maestro David Itkin for holding the aspiring conductor to task on issues of score study, execution, and style! —Mark Gibson   Director of Orchestral Studies, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati   Author of The Beat Stops Here.
SKU: GI.G-9124
ISBN 9781622771745. English.
Need to adapt an SATB work for your small SAB choir? Have sopranos who can’t sing divisi…but know a great trumpet player who is happy to help out? Need to simplify a viola part for a beginner? In straightforward, step-by-step fashion, authors Blake Henson and Gerald Custer show how to take a piece of existing music and craft a workable, polished arrangement that meets the needs of your ensemble in the real world. Arranging: A Beginner’s Guide is full of ideas, examples, and exercises to try out and adapt, grounded in the belief that arranging is not only a necessary skill, it is one that is relatively easy to learn and master. This book is written for conductors, church musicians, teachers, and students at all levels. Learn how to: • reconfigure a piece to fit your choral circumstances • translate your ideas into practical, performable music • turn a solo song into a choral piece • write a descant • transform a piano part into an arrangement for band or strings • extend a hymn into an anthem with introduction, interludes, and coda • create within copyright law With numerous examples and helpful tips—plus humor and insight—this engaging and practical workbook is designed to make the arranging process simple and fun. “We are generally familiar with an endless supply of songs and sounds. However, as performers and as listeners, we need ways of experiencing this information and inspiration in fresh and new ways for insight, understanding, and sometimes for the important and practical reasons of accessibility. This is at the core of Arranging: A Beginner’s Guide: Step-by Step Instructions and Exercises, and the tools we need to approach informed creativity are systematically outlined in this comprehensive guide to arranging.†—Tim Sharp, Executive Director American Choral Directors Association Sought after for his choral, solo vocal, and orchestral work, Blake Henson has received numerous commissions from choral and instrumental ensembles of all kinds. Dr. Henson is an experienced and popular teacher of theory and composition. A Grammy-nominated, award-winning composer and arranger with more than 95 works in print and two CDs, Jerry Custer teaches music theory and composition at Wayne State University in Detroit. Also by Blake Henson and Jerry Custer, available from GIA Publications, Inc.: From Words to Music: A User’s Guide to Text for Choral Musicians (G-8728) and The Composer’s Craft: A Practical Guide for Students and Teachers (G-8533).
SKU: HP.C5985C
UPC: 763628959852. Translation: Mary E. Byrne. Words Tr. by Mary E. Byrne. Proverbs 29:18, Matthew 17:8,.
Old Irsh hymn with words Tr. by Mary E. Byrne This old Irish hymn dates from the 8th century though the theme couldn't be more relevant to the culture in which we live. It is only fitting that Mary McDonald found the inspiration to craft her own melody for this beloved hymn text. The words unfold in a stirring, new way with melody and harmonies that lift and transport them to new heights. The dynamic orchestration by Ed Hogan soars. Orchestrations: Conductor's Score, 2 Flutes, Oboe, 2 Clarinets in B-Flat, Bassoon, 2 Horns in F, 3 Trumpets in B-Flat, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Percussion 1 & 2, Harp, Piano, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass.
SKU: HP.9163
UPC: 763628191634. Pepper Choplin.
Easter Cantata Beginning with John 3:16, this musical tells the remarkable Passion story. The theme of God's love is highlighted in every step of Jesus' journey to the cross. With a light contemporary feel in the rhythm and harmony, the music is full of memorable melodies with a dramatic flair. From the rhythmic call of Hosanna, God Save Us to the reassuring, Remember I Am There to the dramatic one note melody of They Came to Arrest Him, this work will provide a moving experience for any service during Holy Week. The choir parts are carefully crafted and choir-tested, ensuring that your singers will perform with confidence. Four of the pieces may serve as Sunday anthems as the larger work is being prepared. Accompaniment can be provided by piano, or a small ensemble of eleven instruments arranged by Ed Hogan. Performance time is 39-minutes.Instrumental Parts include: Conductor's Score, Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, French Horn (opt. Alto Sax), Trombone (opt. Baritone T.C. or Tenor Sax), Drums, Piano, Electric Bass, 2 Violins (opt. Viola), Cello & String Reduction.
SKU: HP.9169
UPC: 763628191696. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9167
UPC: 763628191672. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9161
UPC: 763628191610. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9140
UPC: 763628191405.
Original anthem with notes of How Great Thou Art Inspired by what is considered to be one of the greatest hymn texts of the 20th century, Mary McDonald has crafted an exceptional anthem available in a variety of voices. With altered melody and lush harmonies, this fresh treatment awakens a new breadth and splendor into this timeless hymn, giving rise to the greatness that it invokes in worshiping God, our Creator. The gorgeous orchestration by Michael Lawrence is a true complement to Mary's splendid choral writing. This includes a Conductor's Score and parts for: Flute 1 & 2, Oboe, Clarinet 1 & 2, Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2 & 3, Horn 1 & 2 (opt. Alto Sax), Trombone 1 & 2 (opt. Tenor Sax/Baritone T. C. ), Trombone III/Tuba, Percussion, Timpani, Harp, Piano, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello and String Bass (opt. Bass Clarinet).
SKU: HP.9162
UPC: 763628191627. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9165
UPC: 763628191658. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9168
UPC: 763628191689. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.9164
UPC: 763628191641. Pepper Choplin.
SKU: HP.C5875O
UPC: 763628258757. Words by Charles H. Gabriel. Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 26:39, Mark 2:12, Mark 14:36, Luke 5:26, Luke 22:39, Luke 22:40, Luke 22:41, Luke 22:42, Luke 22:43, Luke 22:44, 1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 5:2, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 3:1.
Original anthem with words by Charles H. Gabriel Charles Gabriel penned the words I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene in 1905, and did so as an expression of his own awe and amazement of Jesus' love. Mary McDonald has taken that hymn text and expertly crafted a new melody befitting of soaring choral lines that more adequately express How marvelous! How wonderful! my song shall ever be. >The Orchestration includes a Conductor's Score and parts for: 2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bassoon, 3 trumpets in B-flat, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, and string bass.
SKU: HP.9149
UPC: 763628191498.
SKU: PE.EP14445
ISBN 9790014135041. 297 x 420 mm inches. German.
ARKA stammt aus dem Sanskrit und bedeutet so viel wie Strahl, Blitz, Sonne, Licht, aber auch Lied, Feuer und Hymnus, und entwickelt in meiner Vorstellung sehr viele unterschiedliche Assoziationsfelder. In ARKA stecken auch die Worter arc (beten) und ka (Wasser), und es kann auch ubersetzt werden mit: ,,Das Wasser stromt aus dem heraus, der mehr weiss.
Mein neues Werk fur Pipa, Oboe, Pauke, Schlagzeug und Orchester entstand im Auftrag der Kammerakademie Neuss und auf Anregung des Oboisten Christian Wetzel. Es entstanden drei Rituale mit zum Teil szenischen Elementen fur die Solisten und das Orchester.
Inspirationsquelle in der Vorbeschaftigung waren zwei Quellen und Bucher. Das Daodejing von Laozi in der hervorragenden Neuubersetzung von Viktor Kalinke, eine der wichtigsten Quellen chinesischen Denkens und der Philosophie dieser grossen Kulturtradition und die chinesische Tradition der 5-Elementelehre und der Wandlungsphasen. Als zweites Buch hat mich ,,Die Glut von Roberto Calasso inspiriert, ein Buch uber die indischen Veden in Verbindung mit den Ursprungen des Buddhismus und den damit verbunden Ritualen.
In den letzten 20 Jahren habe ich mich intensiv mit ostasiatischer Musik, Kunst und Philosophie beschaftigt und habe das auch durch langere Studienreisen und kompositorische Projekte vertiefen konnen. U.a. wurde 2012 mein Chorwerk PRAN in Kolkata in Indien uraufgefuhrt (Goethe-Institut), ebenfalls 2012 ,,in between VI fur Sho und Sheng in Tokyo und 2013 ,,Mirror and Circle fur Pipa, Cello und chinesisches Orchester in Taipeh/Taiwan (Auftragswerk der taiwanesischen Regierung). Mit der chinesischen Pipa-Virtuosin Ya Dong arbeite ich seit 2000 zusammen und habe fur sie mehrfach komponiert (Urauffuhrungen u.a. in Hannover/EXPO 2000, Rottweil 2001, Taipeh 2013, Magdeburg 2016). Auch mit Christian Wetzel arbeite ich seit uber 20 Jahren zusammen und habe ebenfalls haufig fur ihn komponiert (UA u.a. in Bonn 1999, Hannover/EXPO 2000, Rottweil 2001, Darmstadt 2004 und etliche weitere Projekte).
Jedes dieser drei Rituale hat eine Lange von ca. 6-7 Minuten und stellt unterschiedliche Qualitaten und Besonderheiten der beiden Soloinstrumente heraus, immer in Verbindung mit der Interaktion zwischen Soli und Orchester. Die Besetzung war fur mich ausserst reizvoll, da beide Instrumente in dieser Kombination noch nie so erklungen sind. Die Pipa ist ein ungemein modernes und ungewohnliches Instrument, reich an Farben und vor allem an perkussiven Effekten. Das Tonmaterial wurde zum grossten Teil aus den Namen der beiden Solisten gewonnen und ergibt interessanter zwei gespiegelte Viertonmotive. In der asiatischen Kultur spielen der Spiegel und der Kreis eine wichtige Rolle, und so werden die Tone, Rhythmen und Formen eingewoben in diese drei Rituale, welche am Ende des dritten Satzes wieder kreisformig an den Anfang des ersten Rituals anknupfen. Ein von den Streichern und der Pauke erzeugtes Gerausch, verbunden mit dem Rhythmus der grossen Trommel, welcher einen Herzschlag symbolisieren soll. Die drei Untertitel der Rituale Himmel, Erde und (atmospharischer) Raum spielen im vedischen und chinesischen Denken eine grosse Rolle und war fur mich beim Komponieren ebenfalls eine sehr starke Inspirationsquelle. In vielen meiner Kompositionen gibt es Raumeffekte, Annaherungen an das Publikum, das Verschieben von Perspektiven, die Dekonstruktion und das Hinterfragen der ublichen Konzertsituation, so u.a in meinem Beuys-Zyklus oder in den Zyklen ,,CUT und ,,in between.
In ARKA geht es mir besonders um die Interaktion zwischen westlichem und ostlichem Denken, um das gegenseitige Durchdringen dieser auf den ersten Blick so unterschiedlichen Denk- und Lebensweisen, um eine Verschmelzung scheinbarer Gegensatze - um Annaherung!
Bernd Franke. Leipzig, 11.10.2019
for low voice and piano This beautiful collection of 14 songs for low voice offers Christmas settings by some of Oxford's best-loved composers. Suitable for solo singers and unison choirs alike, each song is presented with piano accompaniment, and high-quality, downloadable backing tracks are included on a companion website. With a wonderful selection of pieces, including favourites such as Bob Chilcott's 'The Shepherd's Carol' and John Rutter's 'Candlelight Carol', this is the perfect collection for use in carol services and Christmas concerts or for enjoying at home. Also available in a volume for high voice and piano.
AGNI is the Hindu god of fire; the elemental and transformative force inherent in everything:
Every flame, every fire, every light, every warmth is AGNI.
AGNI is omnipresent, establishing everything and ending everything.
AGNI is often depicted with seven tongues which represent different aspects of his being.
These include: creating, sustaining, cleansing, purifying, priestly, martial, devastating, destructive, and consuming.
Derived from Franke's concerto of the same name, this solo work for bass clarinet compositionally traces the transformative processes initiated by the divine fire. The solo takes seven pieces from the concerto, presenting vivid character pieces exploring the creative possibilities and wide tonal range offered by the bass clarinet.
This version of AGNI for bass clarinet solo was premiered on 4 December 2020 in Leipzig by Volker Hemken, the principal bass clarinetist of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. EP14437a convinces with its excellent and clear notation, making the piece a new standard for bass clarinet.
Ikons, commissioned by the Vancouver Cultural Olympiad 2010, exists in two forms. This 14-minute acoustic version, premiered by the Turning Point Ensemble, calls for an octet of live musicians to execute complex rhythms and quarter-tone harmonies.
The interactive, electronic version, created with visual artist Eric Metcalfe and designed to be presented separately, incorporates samples from this acoustic version into a sculptural environment of seven pyramidal structures that respond sonically to the viewer.
Roxanna Panufnik's Sonnets without Words is a contemporary piece for Horn in F and piano. Written for horn player Ben Goldscheider, Panufnik has reimagined the lyrical vocal lines from three of her previous settings of Shakespeare's sonnets (Mine eye, Music to hear and Sweet Love Remember'd for voice and piano) into a purely instrumental work.
Score and horn part.
Stephen McNeff's Trig is a short 7-minute contemporary work for solo cello, written to celebrate the bicentennial of the Royal Academy of Music in 2022 and in memorium cellist Mike Edwards 1948-2010.
Trig was premiered by Henry Hargreaves on 19 March 2021, livestreamed from the Royal Academy of Music.
to an utterance - study was commissioned by Klangforum Wien for the premiere commercial audio recording on a portrait CD in 2020 and first performed by Joonas Ahonen at the Berlin Philharmonie on 4th September 2020 at the Musikfest Berlin.
Roxanna Panufnik's Spirit Moves, for brass quintet, was commissioned by the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble. This 15-minute piece is scored for two trumpets in Bb (one doubling piccolo trumpet and the other doubling flugel horn), horn in F, trombone and tuba. This brass quintet is so called because the outer movements are highly spirited and the central one is spiritual.
This product consists of score and parts.
A gently flowing 3-minute arrangement by Roderick Williams for SATB (with divisi) with piano accompaniment that captures the beauty of this famous traditional Hebridean love song. The song text uses both old dialect and English, each verse ending with the words, 'Sad am I without thee'.
for high voice and piano This beautiful collection of 14 songs for high voice offers Christmas settings by some of Oxford's best-loved composers. Suitable for solo singers and unison choirs alike, each song is presented with piano accompaniment, and high-quality, downloadable backing tracks are included on a companion website. With a wonderful selection of pieces, including favourites such as Bob Chilcott's 'The Shepherd's Carol' and John Rutter's 'Candlelight Carol', this is the perfect collection for use in carol services and Christmas concerts or for enjoying at home. Also available in a volume for low voice and piano.
for SATB and organ This energetic setting of words by St Ambrose of Milan is a real showstopper. With pop-influences and a sparkling organ part, Young effortlessly fuses modern and traditional sound worlds, while changes in key and metre build up to an invigorating finish. Perfect for accomplished choirs looking for something different.
for SA unaccompanied This simple, charming two-part motet features long melismatic phrases that reflect the text (1 Corinthians 2: 9), such as the rising melodic line over three bars on the word 'ascended' (ascendit).
for SAATB unaccompanied. This glorious musical depiction of the honour, strength, power and authority of the Holy Trinity by Thomas Tallis is the third issue in the CMS's series of great English Responds from the 16th century, edited by Sally Dunkley. Scored for SAATB, it can be performed either as a motet or as a full Responsory with plainsong alternating with polyphony.
Based on a traditional Scottish/Irish 'farewell' song, this short piece is one of six works written to express my love of Scotland. After living there for nearly half my life, and raising a family, I moved back to England in 2018, and remarried in 2019.
Of course, there were many different emotions attached to the move south: especially the joy and excitement of new beginnings, and reconnection with friends from my youth.
But this piece expresses the wrench I experienced after a last family meal in Glasgow, and the realisation of all I was about to leave behind.
I have taken the melody of the original song, and expanded it, exploring the detail of its patterns, so that it becomes a timeless meditation.
The six pieces in the 'farewell' series are for 6 violas, string quintet, string quartet, trio, violin and clarinet duo, and solo clarinet.
The Parting Glass was composed in 2020 during the coronavirus lockdown, which intensified the feeling of separation from my Scottish family, as well as from other musicians.
It was commissioned by Vittorio Ceccanti for the ContempoArtEnsemble.
Maple arose from a commission to write a work for solo cello, to be performed alongside readings from artist John Newling's collection of letters entitled 'Dear Nature'; a poetic manifestation of our relationship with the natural world.
The piece is in eight short sections, to be interspersed with readings of groups of the poems. It may also be performed as a single movement. It begins with a seed - the seed of a maple tree, as it hangs on the mature tree, ready to drop. The seeds are like propellers, sometimes travelling more than a mile before landing on the ground. Maple follows the growth of the tree to maturity - which in reality would take at least a hundred years. 'Roots, shoots' grows downwards and upwards from a pedal note, and the dance-like 'Flowers' is followed by the stately 'Tree', and then the warm, cascading 'Autumn'. Maple is very often the wood of choice for the back of a stringed instrument, and the last section uses open strings to explore the full resonance of the cello.
The piece starts with a 'seed' of only five notes, which grows into different configurations. It is intended to be played in an improvisatory style.
Maple was co-commissioned by Brighton Festival, Ars et Terra Festival with SACEM and Ditchling Arts and Crafts Museum, to be performed by Margarita Balanas as part of the Brighton Festival's 'Dear Nature' project.
First performed by Noriko Kawai for Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, in a broadcast from the Radio Theatre, BBC Broadcasting House, November 2020.
Full of beautifully crafted, delicate tintinnabulations - Richard Morrison, The Times
SKU: HL.49046544
ISBN 9781705122655. UPC: 842819108726. 9.0x12.0x0.224 inches.
I composed the Piano Concerto in two stages: the first three movements during the years 1985-86, the next two in 1987, the final autograph of the last movement was ready by January, 1988. The concerto is dedicated to the American conductor Mario di Bonaventura. The markings of the movements are the following: 1. Vivace molto ritmico e preciso 2. Lento e deserto 3. Vivace cantabile 4. Allegro risoluto 5. Presto luminoso.The first performance of the three-movement Concerto was on October 23rd, 1986 in Graz. Mario di Bonaventura conducted while his brother, Anthony di Bonaventura, was the soloist. Two days later the performance was repeated in the Vienna Konzerthaus. After hearing the work twice, I came to the conclusion that the third movement is not an adequate finale; my feeling of form demanded continuation, a supplement. That led to the composing of the next two movements. The premiere of the whole cycle took place on February 29th, 1988, in the Vienna Konzerthaus with the same conductor and the same pianist. The orchestra consisted of the following: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, percussion and strings. The flautist also plays the piccoIo, the clarinetist, the alto ocarina. The percussion is made up of diverse instruments, which one musician-virtuoso can play. It is more practical, however, if two or three musicians share the instruments. Besides traditional instruments the percussion part calls also for two simple wind instruments: the swanee whistle and the harmonica. The string instrument parts (two violins, viola, cello and doubles bass) can be performed soloistic since they do not contain divisi. For balance, however, the ensemble playing is recommended, for example 6-8 first violins, 6-8 second, 4-6 violas, 4-6 cellos, 3-4 double basses. In the Piano Concerto I realized new concepts of harmony and rhythm. The first movement is entirely written in bimetry: simultaneously 12/8 and 4/4 (8/8). This relates to the known triplet on a doule relation and in itself is nothing new. Because, however, I articulate 12 triola and 8 duola pulses, an entangled, up till now unheard kind of polymetry is created. The rhythm is additionally complicated because of asymmetric groupings inside two speed layers, which means accents are asymmetrically distributed. These groups, as in the talea technique, have a fixed, continuously repeating rhythmic structures of varying lengths in speed layers of 12/8 and 4/4. This means that the repeating pattern in the 12/8 level and the pattern in the 4/4 level do not coincide and continuously give a kaleidoscope of renewing combinations. In our perception we quickly resign from following particular rhythmical successions and that what is going on in time appears for us as something static, resting. This music, if it is played properly, in the right tempo and with the right accents inside particular layers, after a certain time 'rises, as it were, as a plane after taking off: the rhythmic action, too complex to be able to follow in detail, begins flying. This diffusion of individual structures into a different global structure is one of my basic compositional concepts: from the end of the fifties, from the orchestral works Apparitions and Atmospheres I continuously have been looking for new ways of resolving this basic question. The harmony of the first movement is based on mixtures, hence on the parallel leading of voices. This technique is used here in a rather simple form; later in the fourth movement it will be considerably developed. The second movement (the only slow one amongst five movements) also has a talea type of structure, it is however much simpler rhythmically, because it contains only one speed layer. The melody is consisted in the development of a rigorous interval mode in which two minor seconds and one major second alternate therefore nine notes inside an octave. This mode is transposed into different degrees and it also determines the harmony of the movement; however, in closing episode in the piano part there is a combination of diatonics (white keys) and pentatonics (black keys) led in brilliant, sparkling quasimixtures, while the orchestra continues to play in the nine tone mode. In this movement I used isolated sounds and extreme registers (piccolo in a very low register, bassoon in a very high register, canons played by the swanee whistle, the alto ocarina and brass with a harmon-mute' damper, cutting sound combinations of the piccolo, clarinet and oboe in an extremely high register, also alternating of a whistle-siren and xylophone). The third movement also has one speed layer and because of this it appears as simpler than the first, but actually the rhythm is very complicated in a different way here. Above the uninterrupted, fast and regular basic pulse, thanks to the asymmetric distribution of accents, different types of hemiolas and inherent melodical patterns appear (the term was coined by Gerhard Kubik in relation to central African music). If this movement is played with the adequate speed and with very clear accentuation, illusory rhythmic-melodical figures appear. These figures are not played directly; they do not appear in the score, but exist only in our perception as a result of co-operation of different voices. Already earlier I had experimented with illusory rhythmics, namely in Poeme symphonique for 100 metronomes (1962), in Continuum for harpsichord (1968), in Monument for two pianos (1976), and especially in the first and sixth piano etude Desordre and Automne a Varsovie (1985). The third movement of the Piano Concerto is up to now the clearest example of illusory rhythmics and illusory melody. In intervallic and chordal structure this movement is based on alternation, and also inter-relation of various modal and quasi-equidistant harmony spaces. The tempered twelve-part division of the octave allows for diatonical and other modal interval successions, which are not equidistant, but are based on the alternation of major and minor seconds in different groups. The tempered system also allows for the use of the anhemitonic pentatonic scale (the black keys of the piano). From equidistant scales, therefore interval formations which are based on the division of an octave in equal distances, the twelve-tone tempered system allows only chromatics (only minor seconds) and the six-tone scale (the whole-tone: only major seconds). Moreover, the division of the octave into four parts only minor thirds) and three parts (three major thirds) is possible. In several music cultures different equidistant divisions of an octave are accepted, for example, in the Javanese slendro into five parts, in Melanesia into seven parts, popular also in southeastern Asia, and apart from this, in southern Africa. This does not mean an exact equidistance: there is a certain tolerance for the inaccurateness of the interval tuning. These exotic for us, Europeans, harmony and melody have attracted me for several years. However I did not want to re-tune the piano (microtone deviations appear in the concerto only in a few places in the horn and trombone parts led in natural tones). After the period of experimenting, I got to pseudo- or quasiequidistant intervals, which is neither whole-tone nor chromatic: in the twelve-tone system, two whole-tone scales are possible, shifted a minor second apart from each other. Therefore, I connect these two scales (or sound resources), and for example, places occur where the melodies and figurations in the piano part are created from both whole tone scales; in one band one six-tone sound resource is utilized, and in the other hand, the complementary. In this way whole-tonality and chromaticism mutually reduce themselves: a type of deformed equidistancism is formed, strangely brilliant and at the same time slanting; illusory harmony, indeed being created inside the tempered twelve-tone system, but in sound quality not belonging to it anymore. The appearance of such slantedequidistant harmony fields alternating with modal fields and based on chords built on fifths (mainly in the piano part), complemented with mixtures built on fifths in the orchestra, gives this movement an individual, soft-metallic colour (a metallic sound resulting from harmonics). The fourth movement was meant to be the central movement of the Concerto. Its melodc-rhythmic elements (embryos or fragments of motives) in themselves are simple. The movement also begins simply, with a succession of overlapping of these elements in the mixture type structures. Also here a kaleidoscope is created, due to a limited number of these elements - of these pebbles in the kaleidoscope - which continuously return in augmentations and diminutions. Step by step, however, so that in the beginning we cannot hear it, a compiled rhythmic organization of the talea type gradually comes into daylight, based on the simultaneity of two mutually shifted to each other speed layers (also triplet and duoles, however, with different asymmetric structures than in the first movement). While longer rests are gradually filled in with motive fragments, we slowly come to the conclusion that we have found ourselves inside a rhythmic-melodical whirl: without change in tempo, only through increasing the density of the musical events, a rotation is created in the stream of successive and compiled, augmented and diminished motive fragments, and increasing the density suggests acceleration. Thanks to the periodical structure of the composition, always new but however of the same (all the motivic cells are similar to earlier ones but none of them are exactly repeated; the general structure is therefore self-similar), an impression is created of a gigantic, indissoluble network. Also, rhythmic structures at first hidden gradually begin to emerge, two independent speed layers with their various internal accentuations. This great, self-similar whirl in a very indirect way relates to musical associations, which came to my mind while watching the graphic projection of the mathematical sets of Julia and of Mandelbrot made with the help of a computer. I saw these wonderful pictures of fractal creations, made by scientists from Brema, Peitgen and Richter, for the first time in 1984. From that time they have played a great role in my musical concepts. This does not mean, however, that composing the fourth movement I used mathematical methods or iterative calculus; indeed, I did use constructions which, however, are not based on mathematical thinking, but are rather craftman's constructions (in this respect, my attitude towards mathematics is similar to that of the graphic artist Maurits Escher). I am concerned rather with intuitional, poetic, synesthetic correspondence, not on the scientific, but on the poetic level of thinking. The fifth, very short Presto movement is harmonically very simple, but all the more complicated in its rhythmic structure: it is based on the further development of ''inherent patterns of the third movement. The quasi-equidistance system dominates harmonically and melodically in this movement, as in the third, alternating with harmonic fields, which are based on the division of the chromatic whole into diatonics and anhemitonic pentatonics. Polyrhythms and harmonic mixtures reach their greatest density, and at the same time this movement is strikingly light, enlightened with very bright colours: at first it seems chaotic, but after listening to it for a few times it is easy to grasp its content: many autonomous but self-similar figures which crossing themselves. I present my artistic credo in the Piano Concerto: I demonstrate my independence from criteria of the traditional avantgarde, as well as the fashionable postmodernism. Musical illusions which I consider to be also so important are not a goal in itself for me, but a foundation for my aesthetical attitude. I prefer musical forms which have a more object-like than processual character. Music as frozen time, as an object in imaginary space evoked by music in our imagination, as a creation which really develops in time, but in imagination it exists simultaneously in all its moments. The spell of time, the enduring its passing by, closing it in a moment of the present is my main intention as a composer. (Gyorgy Ligeti).
SKU: CF.CAS79
ISBN 9780825894800. UPC: 798408094805. 9 x 12 inches. Key: D major.
Hold on tight, this is a tour de force for more advanced groups. With a slew of contemporary compositional elements including mixed-meter, extended harmonies, and angular rhythms, this piece contains a fullness that composer George Sweet's works are known for. It's challenging, but the musical rewards abound.A bazaar is an enclosed marketplace or street where various merchants and craftsmen sell their wares. The image of a crowded bazaar in a land far away was the inspiration for the piece. The variety of different people, cultures, and merchandise present in a bazaar allowed for a piece that has many different styles, moods, and characters (both humorous and serious). After the introduction, which represents the grand entrance of the bazaar, the main theme is presented by the violin 1 at m. 15. The meter changes frequently throughout the piece, but the eighth note stays constant. Be careful to subdivide the different time signatures carefully, as these changing meters occur. A melodic and flowing B-theme occurs at m. 37. After a varied restatement of both themes, new material occurs at m. 63. This C-section contrasts with the rhythmic activity thus far and should be played as legato and as sustained as possible. Be careful to time the divisi entrances and the pyramid-style chords in this section correctly, in order to keep the tempo secure. The rhythmic A- and B-themes return at m. 83 in a varied form, and lead to a climactic passage. The tempo changes that occur from mm. 105 to 114 are very slight and are open to the interpretation of the conductor. Feel free to move the tempo throughout this section using the markings as a guideline. The desired effect is one of pushing and pulling the tempo through this section. The introduc- tory material returns at m. 114 and brings the piece to a close.
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:
