SKU: AP.12-0571570771
ISBN 9780571570775. English.
Danceries Set II was commissioned by Keith Allen and Birmingham Symphonic Winds, supported by PRS for Music Foundation and the RVW Trust. The world première of this work was given by Birmingham Symphonic Winds, conducted by Keith Allen, at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham in 2011. This second set of Danceries continues the format established in Danceries (Set I), namely in using material taken from Playford's Dancing Master, a collection of folk and popular tunes published in the seventeenth century, to form the basis of an extended dance suite. In this set, the melodies have been more abstracted and project only a distant echo of their original forms, but as before, each movement is self-contained, colorful, and direct---with its own distinct mood. Arranged for brass band.
SKU: AP.12-0571569897
ISBN 9780571569892. English.
The formal shape of Hesketh's Elegy for brass band and percussion is built on mounting intensification of melodic lines as each section follows from another, with varying colors and intensity. It was prepared for the UK's Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass 2009, where the premiere was given by the Desford Colliery Band, conducted by Russell Gray.
SKU: AP.12-0571570488
ISBN 9780571570485. English.
This second set of Danceries continues the format established in Danceries (Set I), namely in using material taken from Playford's Dancing Master, a collection of folk and popular tunes published in the seventeenth century, to form the basis of an extended dance suite. In this set, the melodies are more abstract and project only a distant echo of their original forms, but as before, each movement is self-contained, colorful and direct, with its own distinct mood. The outer movements---Jennie's Bawbee and Peascod's Galliarda----share a use of driving percussion writing with a military air. Tom Tinker's Toye and Heart's Ease (movements two and three) are both settings of original melodies. All movements are more extended than in the first set, with a freer use and approach to the material; melodies now occur in various keys and are supported by a greater variety of harmonic coloring. The result is a richer, even more exhilarating set of dances. Danceries has come of age! Arranged for wind band.
SKU: AP.12-0571569900
ISBN 9780571569908. English.
Tripartite in form, Infernal Ride is mercurial and virtuosic, yet with a more static middle section. The work reflects the mad-cap chase of Ichabod Crane's final ride on his horse, Gunpowder, in the story by Washington Irving, namely The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Often an atmosphere of driven fear pushes the music forward only briefly stopping for breath. The work closes with flourishes in rapid succession, perhaps with the hapless Ichabod meeting his unfortunate end!
SKU: AP.12-0571569889
ISBN 9780571569885. English.
SKU: AP.12-057157078X
ISBN 9780571570782. English.
SKU: HL.14014846
UPC: 884088443061. 6.75x9.75x0.044 inches.
For SATB Choir with Piano or Organ accompaniment. A lively setting of an English translation of Les Anges dans nos campagnes.
SKU: HL.14014849
ISBN 9780711990814. UPC: 884088447083. 6.75x9.75 inches.
Scored for SATB chorus and piano or organ accompaniment.
SKU: HL.49044074
ISBN 9790220134586. UPC: 841886021976. 9.0x12.0x0.075 inches.
Stimulated by my love of automata, this work for solo oboe takes its name from the invention of Wolfgang von Kempelen, who in the late eighteenth century constructed an extraordinary mechanical man powered by clockwork, dressed in a stylish Turkish costume and capable of playing chess. The chess player turned out to be a fraud but sparked many other thinkers and inventors to pondering what the possibilities of automation might be. In Hesketh's highly virtuosic work, the through-composed melody is subjected to a series of distortions by pulleys, cams, gears and cranks. There are also the onomatopoeic effects of winding up and whirring noises that add to the air of the mechanical.
SKU: HL.49019789
ISBN 9790220133534. UPC: 888680009342. 9.25x12.0x0.206 inches.
SKU: HL.49019790
ISBN 9790220133541. UPC: 888680009366. 9.0x12.0x0.402 inches.
SKU: HL.49018724
ISBN 9790220131080. UPC: 841886011540. 9.0x12.0x0.155 inches.
In his programme note, Hesketh describes a conceit as an extended metaphor which can govern part of or an entire poem thereby leading to a more sophisticated understanding of the subject. Within the 20 minute six movement work, Poetic Conceits takes an assortment of thematic material and views it from different angles by continuous manipulation through statement, recall and elaboration. The effect is a continuous arc with movements merging into each other, sharing harmonic material to create focal points for pianistic technique and musicality.
SKU: HL.49043937
ISBN 9790220134456. 8.5x12.0x0.16 inches. English.
Hesketh's work for 3-part children's choir and piano sets two texts about the start of spring by William Blake and an anonymous source. Written for conductor Simon Emery and the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir, Enter, Spring mixes contrapuntal and homophonic textures in the choir, supported by a lively accompaniment.
SKU: HL.49018733
ISBN 9790220132377. UPC: 884088656201. 9.25x12.0x0.162 inches.
For Basset Clarinet in A and Piano with alternative part for Clarinet in A.
SKU: HL.49015496
ISBN 9781423419648. 9.0x12.0x0.069 inches.
This short piano work is one of Hesketh's most successful, taken from his opera The Overcoat - it would be an ideal opener to any recital programme.
SKU: HL.49019785
ISBN 9790220134128. UPC: 888680009441. 9.0x12.0x0.089 inches.
SKU: HL.49018675
ISBN 9790220132599. 9.0x12.0x0.068 inches.
The title of this work is a reference to the poem Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats. Important images from the poem are freely connected to suggest musical gestures and contours. Such phrases as perilous seas and plaintive anthem placed musically alongside each other give the work a continuity not suggested by the original poem. The topography in the last verse of the poem also finds its way into the work: Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep The resulting work therefore utilises an organic and associative musical form, one that is dramatic and often capricious in nature. The work evaporates at its close - at Keats' instigation - through the words Fled is that music:- do I wake or sleep?. Through Magic Casements was written for William Cale on the occasion of his final recital at the Royal College of Music. 2009 KH.
SKU: HL.49018277
ISBN 9790220130663. UPC: 884088592172. 9.0x12.0x0.076 inches.
'Die hangende Figur ist Judas' (The hanging figure is Judas) was commissioned by Dr. Margitta Giera as a gift for the German sculptor Michael Langer. Hesketh's first ideas for the work came from a photograph of the Great Tympanum carving of the Last Judgement at St. Foy Cathedral in Conques, France showing an image of the hanged Judas surrounded by mocking demons. Two violent outer movements frame a bleak central section with each movement of the piece unfolds a different perspective of a swinging motif, be it a chord, a gesture or a rhythm. This is a demanding work which will challenge the very best players.
SKU: HL.49017065
ISBN 9790220130571. 9.0x12.0x0.052 inches.
Taking his starting point from 17th century philosopher-poet Cyrano de Bergerac's 'Grandes Plaines du Jour', Hesketh powerfully fuses a huge range of performing and compositional techniques into this 12 minute work for solo violin. Inspired by Bergerac's imaginations of other worlds and utopian societies, the work explores extreme ranges and timbres whilst using techniques such as left hand pizzicato and natural harmonics. Open-fifth material, which is natural to the instrument, is prominent and short duets alternating between arco and pizzicato figures add yet another dimension.
SKU: HL.49017706
ISBN 9790220127403. UPC: 884088512453. 9.0x12.0x0.161 inches. English.
Composed in 2007 for the Leeds Lieder festival, Hesketh's Shimmerwords and Idle Songs for soprano and piano is a 18 minute song cycle made up of six songs in four sections. The text is taken from a collection of Chinese poetry from the 8th and 9th centuries which cover various subjects from nature and travel to life itself. The music is both colourful and direct with an abundance of humour and clarity.
SKU: HL.49012970
ISBN 9790220123290. UPC: 073999266061. 9.0x12.0x0.095 inches.
Each of the 'Three Japanese Miniatures' is a new challenge to the pianist: In each piece, a different playing technique is developed in a subtle and concentrated way. I Temple Music * II The cradle rocks... * III Little Bumbuku.