On the Open Seas

SKU: CF.CPS222F

ISBN 9781491153161. UPC: 680160910663.

From the call of the open seas to the wistful dance section, this piece will open the imagination of your students and audiences.  Very playable by young bands, the piece features a short opening ostinato that develops into a tone cluster and leads to the ominous sounds of the brass and percussion, which depict the slow lumbering ship on the dangerous, open waters. The piece continues through a more lyrical second section before a dramatic return of the opening material to close out this contest/festival style piece.
From the call of the open seas to the wistful dance section, this piece will open the imagination of your students and audiences. Very playable by young bands, the piece features a short opening ostinato that develops into a tone cluster. This leads to the ominous sounds of the brass and percussion, which depict the slow lumbering ship on the dangerous, open waters. After a quickly paced melody in the low register for the clarinets, the piece gives way to an exciting tutti section that features horns and saxes on an answering countermelody.The second section is a dance that starts with low reeds and a flute solo, but develops into a full band Spanish-sounding dance, with melody in many different places. The recap is a reverse of the beginning section and again loosely represents the danger of life on the high seas.The short ostinato that is used at the beginning and in some transitional moments is based on the beginning notes of Irish Tune from County Derry, a favorite of J. C. Sykes, who this piece honors. Mr. Sykes gave a lifetime to teaching music to band students in North Carolina. The first four notes in clarinet 1, the first four in flute 1 and the first four in clarinet 2 make up the first phrase from that beautiful melody. Just something to get students thinking about composition in a new way.

SKU: FG.55011-372-5

ISBN 9790550113725.

Images of the sea figure prominently throughout my life and memories: from holidays on the Atlantic coast during my Canadian childhood to my current Baltic home, and the imagined, only later experienced Mediterranean of my ancestral heritage. As an immigrant (son of an immigrant) bound to two northern countries, the sea is emblematic of my twin homelands, from the expanses of water surrounding them to those separating them. A Mari usque ad Mare. The sea is also an enduring image of the unknown, of expanses unexplored, of the raw power of nature and, for too many currently, of terror holding a hope of refuge - or the pain of loss.
Such disparate ideas were captured for me in the seascapes of the New York painter MaryBeth Thielhelm, whom I met in 2008 during a residency on the Gulf of Mexico. Her vast, abstract, nearly monochromatic depictions of imaginary seas in wildly varying moods were the catalyst for a concerto where the piano is frequently far from a hero battling a collective, but rather acts as a channel for elemental forces surging up from the orchestra, floating - sometimes barely so - on its constantly shifting surface. There are few themes to speak of, beyond a handful of iconic ideas that periodically cycle upward. Rather, the piano's material is largely an ornamentation of the more primal rhythmic and harmonic impulses from the orchestra below - a poetic interpretation, if you will, of the more immediate experience of facing the vastness of some unknown body of water.
The title Nameless Seas is borrowed from one of Thielhelm's exhibitions, as are those of the four movements, which are bridged together into two halves of roughly equal weight - one rhapsodic and free, the other more single-minded and direct, separated only by a short breath. The opening movement, Nocturne, is predominantly calm, if brooding, darkness and light alternating throughout. Lyrical arabesques sparkle over gently lapping cross-currents in the strings and mirrored timpani, the piano's full power only rarely deployed. The waves gradually build, drawing in the full orchestra for a meeting of forces in Land and Sea, a brighter, more warmly lyrical scene that unfolds in series of dreamlike, sometimes even nostalgic visions, which for me carry strong memories of sitting on rocks above surging Atlantic waves. The third movement, Wake, is a fast, perpetual-motion texture of glinting, darting rhythms and sudden shafts of light, with a prominent part for the steel drums, limning the piano's quicksilver figurations. An ecstatic climax crashes into a solo cadenza that grows progressively calmer and more introspective rather than virtuosic. Much of the tension finally releases into Unclaimed Waters, a drifting, meditative seascape in which the piano is progressively engulfed by a series of ever-taller waves, ultimately dissolving into a tolling, rippling continuum of sound.
It has been a great privilege to realize such a long-held dream as this piece, and to write it for not one, but two great pianists. Risto-Matti Marin and Angela Hewitt, both of whose friendship and support have been unfailing and humbling, share the dedication. Nameless Seas was commissioned by the PianoEspoo festival and Canada's National Arts Centre, with the premieres in Ottawa and Helsinki led by Hannu Lintu and Olari Elts. Thanks are due also to the Jenny and Antti Wihuri fund, whose generous grant provided me with much-needed time, and Escape to Create in Seaside, Florida, the source to which I returned to do a large part of the work.

SKU: HL.139832

UPC: 888680039523. 5x5 inches.

Uplifting and energetic, this original holiday song includes lyric snippets of a variety of other songs, making it a perfect program opener! With great options for movement, you will fill your performance space with seasonal joy!

SKU: FJ.B1719

UPC: 241444380796. English.

Throw off the bowlines and catch the wind in your sails with this exciting musical maritime adventure! The majestic opening statement builds the anticipation of sailing while the brisk allegro section typifies the journey itself. The ship's bell will also add character to the music - a bold adventure on the open seas!

SKU: HL.14047451

ISBN 9788850725182. English.

A big advantage with open tunings is that you'll be able to play chords and melodies more easily, letting the strings ring and getting richer sounds that would be really hard to get with a standard tuning. This is true at the beginning, but later onthings will become more challenging and rewarding even for seasoned professionals. Using different tunings from time to time you'll often find new ideas when you compose your music, either studying new positions or merely by chance, because you'll be forced to think outside your usual frame of mind. Some players employ a particular open tuning as their own standard tuning, like Pierre Bensusan with his DADGAD, giving hismusic a distinctive sound. This book will try to bring you into different sonic landscapes, hopefully leading you to quickly learn new tunes and having fun in the process.

SKU: CL.011-3954-01

The tranquil nature of the opening belies the dramatic and powerful themes to follow in Marauders On The High Seas. Two contrasting sections present a clever and enjoyable opportunity for your band to learn and master 6/8 time, in both simple and compound forms. These sparkling and rhythmic melodies will present your band at its finest, and keep your students motivated and excited from start to finish!

About C.L. Barnhouse Command Series

The Barnhouse Command Series includes works at grade levels 2, 2.5, and 3. This series is designed for middle school and junior high school bands, as well as high school bands of smaller instrumentation or limited experience. Command Series publications have a slightly larger instrumentation than the Rising Band Series, and are typically of larger scope, duration, and musical content.

SKU: CF.BAS71

ISBN 9781491141908. UPC: 680160629961. Key: E minor.

Hey Ho, the Wind, whose title was taken from a Shakespeare song, represents the spirit of the open seas and the adventurous life of the pirate. The simple rhythmic combinations of two eighth notes and one quarter note offer a great training ground for first year students. It will be a winner on any concert or festival program.

About Carl Fischer Beginning String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 1 pieces is designed for first year string groups. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Limited parts (often 2nd violin and viola are the same part, cello and bass are same part)
• Limited keys and rhythms - only simple 8th note patterns
• Limited independence of parts
• Playable after limited study time
• First position and natural bowings
• Piano for rehearsal and reinforcement

SKU: SU.80300292

A modal minor melody, both lyrical and spare, opens this evocation of love that never was. Rich harmonies in the middle section, recalling an ornamented chorale, tell of the love the poet wanted to happen. The ending, with its open fifth, portrays sharp regret. SSAA, a cappella Published by: Treble Clef Music Minimum order quantity: 8 copies.

SKU: LO.99-3793H

UPC: 000308148466.

Hopeful, life-affirming lyrics set to sensitively crafted melodic lines and supportive harmonies make this accessible original an especially apropos choice for a spring concert. In each ending, a beginning; in farewell, some new hello. Life is calling us to open as the seasons come and go..