Aaron Copland: Old American Songs Complete

SKU: PR.466000470

UPC: 680160099405. 11 x 17 inches.

This is the second incarnation of a work I first composed in 1994 for symphonic wind ensemble. The earlier version was intended to be the summation of three-part suite, each part being named for a different national park in the Western United States. This orchestral version, commissioned in 1999 by the Utah Symphony and dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland, is more than a re-scoring of the earlier piece; it is a re-thinking of all its elements. Zion is a place with unrivaled natural grandeur, being a sort of huge box canyon in which the traveler is constantly overwhelmed by towering rock walls on every side of him -- but it is also a place with a human history, having been inhabited by several tribes of native Americans before the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. By the time the Mormons reached Utah, they had been driven all the way from New York State through Ohio and, with tragic losses, through Missouri. They saw Utah in general as a place nobody wanted, but they were nonetheless determined to keep it to themselves. Although Zion Canyon was never a Mormon Stronghold, the people who reached it and claimed it (and gave it its present name) had been through extreme trials. It is the religious fervor of these persecuted people that I was able to draw upon in creating Zion as a piece of music. There are two quoted hymns in the work: Zion's Walls (which Aaron Copland adapted to his own purposes in both his Old American Songs and the opera The Tender Land) and Zion's Security, which I found in the same volume in which Copland found Zion's Walls -- that inexhaustible storehouse of 19th-century hymnody called The Sacred Harp. My work opens with a three-verse setting of Zion's Security, a stern tune in F-sharp minor which is full of resolve. (The words of this hymn are resolute and strong, rallying the faithful to be firm, and describing the city of our God they hope to establish). This melody alternates with a fanfare tune, whose origins will be revealed in later music, until the second half of the piece begins: a driving rhythmic ostinato based on a 3/4-4/4 alternating meter scheme. This pauses at its height to restate Zion's Security one more time, in a rather obscure setting surrounded by freely shifting patterns in the flutes, clarinets, and percussion -- until the sun warms the ground sufficiently for the second hymn to appear. Zion's Walls is set in 7/8, unlike Copland's 9/8-6/8 meters (the original is quite strange, and doesn't really fit any constant meter), and is introduced by a warm horn solo. The two hymns vie for attention from here to the end of the piece, with the glowingly optimistic Zion's Walls finally achieving prominence. The work ends with a sense of triumph.

SKU: PR.16500092L

UPC: 680160039531. 11 x 17 inches.

Zion is the third and final installment of a series of works for Wind Ensemble inspired by national parks in the western United States, collectively called Three Places in the West. As in the other two works (The Yellowstone Fires and Arches), it is my intention to convey more an impression of the feelings I've had in Zion National Park in Utah than an attempt at pictorial description. Zion is a place with unrivalled natural grandeur, being a sort of huge box canyon in which the traveler is constantly overwhelmed by towering rock walls on every side of him -- but it is also a place with a human history, having been inhabited by several tribes of native Americans before the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. By the time the Mormons reached Utah, they had been driven all the way from New York State through Ohio and, with tragic losses, through Missouri. They saw Utah in general as a place nobody wanted, but they were nonetheless determined to keep it to themselves. Although Zion Canyon was never a Mormon Stronghold, the people who reached it and claimed it (and gave it its present name) had been through extreme trials. It is the religious fervor of these persecuted people that I was able to draw upon in creating Zion as a piece of music. There are two quoted hymns in the work: Zion's Walls (which Aaron Copland adapted to his own purposes in both is Old American Songs and the opera The Tender Land) and Zion's Security, which I found in the same volume in which Copland found Zion's Walls -- that inexhaustible storehouse of 19th-century hymnody called The Sacred Harp. My work opens with a three-verse setting of Zion's Security, a stern tune in F-sharp minor which is full of resolve. (The words of this hymn are resolute and strong, rallying the faithful to be firm, and describing the city of our God they hope to establish). This melody alternates with a fanfare tune, whose origins will be revealed in later music, until the second half of the piece begins: a driving rhythmic ostinato based on a 3/4-4/4 alternating meter scheme. This pauses at its height to restate Zion's Security one more time, in a rather obscure setting surrounded by freely shifting patterns in the flutes, clarinets, and percussion -- until the sun warms the ground sufficiently for the second hymn to appear. Zion's Walls is set in 7/8, unlike Copland's 9/8-6/8 meters (the original is quite strange, and doesn't really fit any constant meter), and is introduced by a warm horn solo. The two hymns vie for attention from here to the end of the piece, with the glowingly optimistic Zion's Walls finally achieving prominence. The work ends with a sense of triumph and unbreakable spirit. Zion was commissioned in 1994 by the wind ensembles of the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Oklahoma. It is dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland.

SKU: BT.DHP-1063975-010

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dut ch.

According to music critic Mark Azarra, Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was “one of the four best composers of instrumental music in the 20th century, next to George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives”. Many of his nostalgic songs such as Sleigh Ride and Blue Tango are firmly embedded in the American popular music culture. In 1945 at the request of Roger Voisin, the principal trumpeter of the Boston Pops Orchestra, Anderson wrote the Trumpeter’s Lullaby. This version for concert band by will be a sure winner.

Volgens muziekcriticus Mark Azarra was Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) “een van de vier beste componisten van instrumentale muziek in de twintigste eeuw, naast George Gershwin, Aaron Copland en Charles Ives”. Nostalgische songs van zijnhand, zoals als Sleigh Ride en Blue Tango, zijn stevig ingebed in de Amerikaanse lichtemuziekcultuur. Op verzoek van Roger Voisin, destijds eerste trompettist van het Boston Pops Orchestra, schreef Anderson in 1945het luchtige stuk Trumpeter’s Lullaby.

Tr umpeter's Lullaby gehört seit seinem Entstehungsjahr 1950 zum unterhaltsamen Standardrepertoire vieler Trompetensolisten. Leroy Anderson komponierte den Titel auf Anregung von Roger Voisin, dem ersten Trompeter des Boston Symphony Orchestras. Dieser wünschte sich ein Solo, das sich vom lauten, triumphalen Klang der meisten Trompetensoli unterschieden sollte. So entstand die Idee zu diesem Wiegenlied, das nun in einer Bearbeitung für Trompete und Blasorchester vorliegt.

Notre époque a bien oublié celle des musiques légères qui firent l'enchantement des auditeurs de radio peu après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Parmi elles, celles du compositeur américain Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Descriptives et souvent étonnantes, ces oeuvres ont conservé la fraîcheur et le charme d’antan. Trumpeter’s Lullaby est une oeuvre aérienne et douce où la trompette se veut tendre et éthérée. L’accompagnement tisse un toile sonore soyeuse. Magique.

Ai nostri giorni, la musica leggera che nel primo dopoguerra fece la gioia di tanti radioascoltatori, sta cadendo nell’oblio. Tra i molti brani, spiccava la musica del compositore americano Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Descrittive e spesso sorprendenti, le sue musiche hanno conservato la freschezza e lo charme di allora. Trumpeter’s Lullaby è un brano dolce dove la tromba vuole essere tenera ed eterea. Un brano magico anche grazie all’accompagnament o.

SKU: BT.DHP-1063975-140

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dut ch.

According to music critic Mark Azarra, Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was “one of the four best composers of instrumental music in the 20th century, next to George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives”. Many of his nostalgic songs such as Sleigh Ride and Blue Tango are firmly embedded in the American popular music culture. In 1945 at the request of Roger Voisin, the principal trumpeter of the Boston Pops Orchestra, Anderson wrote the Trumpeter’s Lullaby. This version for concert band by will be a sure winner.

Volgens muziekcriticus Mark Azarra was Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) “een van de vier beste componisten van instrumentale muziek in de twintigste eeuw, naast George Gershwin, Aaron Copland en Charles Ives”. Nostalgische songs van zijnhand, zoals als Sleigh Ride en Blue Tango, zijn stevig ingebed in de Amerikaanse lichtemuziekcultuur. Op verzoek van Roger Voisin, destijds eerste trompettist van het Boston Pops Orchestra, schreef Anderson in 1945het luchtige stuk Trumpeter’s Lullaby.

Tr umpeter's Lullaby gehört seit seinem Entstehungsjahr 1950 zum unterhaltsamen Standardrepertoire vieler Trompetensolisten. Leroy Anderson komponierte den Titel auf Anregung von Roger Voisin, dem ersten Trompeter des Boston Symphony Orchestras. Dieser wünschte sich ein Solo, das sich vom lauten, triumphalen Klang der meisten Trompetensoli unterschieden sollte. So entstand die Idee zu diesem Wiegenlied, das nun in einer Bearbeitung für Trompete und Blasorchester vorliegt.

Notre époque a bien oublié celle des musiques légères qui firent l'enchantement des auditeurs de radio peu après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Parmi elles, celles du compositeur américain Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Descriptives et souvent étonnantes, ces oeuvres ont conservé la fraîcheur et le charme d’antan. Trumpeter’s Lullaby est une oeuvre aérienne et douce où la trompette se veut tendre et éthérée. L’accompagnement tisse un toile sonore soyeuse. Magique.

Ai nostri giorni, la musica leggera che nel primo dopoguerra fece la gioia di tanti radioascoltatori, sta cadendo nell’oblio. Tra i molti brani, spiccava la musica del compositore americano Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Descrittive e spesso sorprendenti, le sue musiche hanno conservato la freschezza e lo charme di allora. Trumpeter’s Lullaby è un brano dolce dove la tromba vuole essere tenera ed eterea. Un brano magico anche grazie all’accompagnament o.