Troy (+Chorus)

SKU: BT.DHP-1125039-140

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

Offenbach (1819 - 1880), who was born in Germany, moved to Paris when he was a teenage boy and remained there for much of his life. He became especially famous as a composer of numerous operettas. and of one famous opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). His operettas (or ‘musiquettesâ€℠¢) were often based on comical, or satirical librettos. He makes fun of Parisian daily life, dignitaries, the military, the pretentiousness of the Grand Opéra, and so on. In that respect, Offenbach’s operettas are not really comparable with those of his German-speaking contemporaries, for example, Franz Lehár and Johann Strauss the Younger. Musically speaking, we could callOffenbach’s operettas lively, funny, melodious and catchy.For La Belle Hélène, Offenbach drew from Greek mythology. The story is based on that of Helen of Troy, but is set in France, halfway through the 19th century; it has been turned into a satire on the élite of that time.The overture to La Belle Hélène was (and still is) very successful. Offenbach combined a number of arias and choruses from the operetta to give a taste of what is to follow. Many overtures which follow this form lack unity and structure. However, in this case the composition has been well thought-out.

Offenbach (1819-1880), Duitser van geboorte, verhuisde als jongeman naar Parijs, waar hij een groot deel van zijn leven verbleef. Hij werd vooral beroemd als componist van talrijke operettes en een beroemde opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Zijn operettes (of ‘musiquettesâ€℠¢) zijn qua libretto vaak komisch en hilarisch, ja zelfs satirisch. Hij steekt hierin de draak met het Parijse mondaine leven, met hoogwaardigheidsbekleders , met militairen, met de bombast van de Grand Opéra, enzovoort. In dat opzicht zijn Offenbachs operettes nauwelijks te vergelijken met die in Duitsland van bijvoorbeeld Franz Lehár en Johann Strauss jr. Muzikaal gezien kunnen we zijn operettes levendig,geestig, melodieus en goed in het gehoor liggend noemen.Voor La Belle Hélène putte Offenbach uit de Griekse mythologie. Het verhaal draait om Helena van Troje, maar is verplaatst naar Frankrijk, halverwege de negentiende eeuw; het is uitgewerkt tot een satire op de heersende elite.De ouverture van La Belle Hélène was (en is nog altijd) zeer succesvol. Offenbach heeft hierin een aantal aria’s en koren uit de operette samengevoegd - een voorproefje dus op wat komen gaat. Veel ouvertures die zo zijn gemaakt, missen eenheid en structuur. In dit geval is er echter sprake van een goed doordachte opbouw.

Der gebürtige Deutsche Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) zog im Jugendalter nach Paris, wo er den größten Teil seines Lebens verbrachte. Bekannt wurde er vor allem als Komponist zahlreicher Operetten und einer berühmten Oper: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Hoffmanns Erzählungen). Seine Operetten (oder Musiquettes“) basierte er häufig auf komischen oder gar satirischen Libretti. Darin wird das mondäne Pariser Leben karikiert mit seinen Würdenträgern, Militärs, dem Pomp der Grand Opéra und dergleichen mehr. In dieser Hinsicht sind Offenbachs Operetten vergleichbar mit den deutschen Werken eines Franz Lehár oder Johann Strauss (Sohn). Musikalisch betrachtet können Offenbachs Operetten alslebendig, amüsant, melodiös und eingängig beschrieben werden. Für La Belle Hélène bediente sich Offenbach der griechischen Mythologie. Die Handlung beruht auf Helena von Troja, wurde aber ins Frankreich der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts versetzt und in eine Satire auf die damals herrschende Elite verwandelt.Die Ouvertüre von La Belle Hélène war und ist sehr erfolgreich. Offenbach kombinierte darin eine Reihe von Arien und Chorstellen aus der Operette und lieferte so quasi einen Vorgeschmack auf das Folgende. Vielen auf diese Weise entstandene Ouvertüren mangelt es an Einheitlichkeit und Struktur. Diese Ouvertüre zeugt jedoch von einem gut durchdachten Aufbau.

Jacques Offenbach est né en Allemagne en 1819. Sa famille s’installe Paris alors qu’il est encore adolescent et c’est l qu’il passe la plus grande partie de sa vie. Il devient particulièrement célèbre pour la composition de nombreuses opérettes et d’un opéra légendaire, Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Ses opéras-bouffes (ou « musiquettes ») s’inspirent souvent de livrets comiques ou satiriques. Il parodie la vie quotidienne Paris, se moque des dignitaires, de l’armée, de la prétention du grand opéra, et ainsi de suite. cet égard, les œuvres d’Offenbach ne sont pas vraiment comparables aux opérettes de ses contemporains germanophones tels que Franz Lehár ou encoreJohann Strauss le jeune. Musicalement parlant, on peut dire que les opéras-bouffes d’Offenbach sont entraînants, spirituels, mélodieux et mémorables.Jacques Offenbach s’est inspiré de la mythologie pour composer La Belle Hélène, dont le livret brosse l’histoire d’Hélène de Troie. Mais parodiant l’une des légendes grecques des plus illustres, cette opérette se veut être une satire sur l’élite de l’époque.L†™ouverture de La Belle Hélène a toujours été très populaire. Offenbach y glisse plusieurs arias et chœurs repris ensuite dans l’un ou l’autre acte de l’opérette, afin d’en offrir un avant-go t l’auditoire. De nombreux compositeurs écrivirent par la suite des ouvertures de canevas identique. Bien qu’un grand nombre d’entre elles manquent d’unité et de structure, l’ouverture de La Belle Hélène en est une exception notoire.

SKU: CF.CM9711

ISBN 9781491160060. UPC: 680160918669. Key: G minor. English. English Carol.

Coventry Carol was first performed during the sixteenth century in Coventry, England as a part of the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors. It was a lament by the mothers of children taken in the Biblical Slaughter of the Innocents. Robert Croo is credited with writing the lyrics in 1534, and the music was written by an unknown composer in 1591. The original manuscript of Robert Croo's poem lasted until a fire destroyed it in 1879. The underlying mixed meter feeling of this arrangement is meant to help the piece build momentum to the third verse to tell the tragic story depicted in the poem. The repeated motif is a descending chromatic scale and can be found throughout all three parts. Teaching a descending chromatic scale from G3 down to D3 will help the basses find their entrances throughout the chorus of the piece. The tenors have the same descending line up an octave in the cued notes starting at m. 49 and can sing in octaves with the basses for practice.  .
Coventry Carol was first performed during the sixteenth Century in Coventry, England as a part of the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors. It was a lament by the mothers of children taken in the Biblical Slaughter of the Innocents. Robert Croo is credited with writing the lyrics in 1534, and the music was written by an unknown composer in 1591. The original manuscript of Robert Croo's poem lasted until a fire destroyed it in 1879. The underlying mixed meter feeling of this arrangement is meant to help the piece build momentum to the third verse, helping to tell the tragic story depicted in the poem. The repeating motif is based around the altos' descending chromatic scale. The repeated motif is a descending chromatic scale and can be found throughout all three parts. Teaching a descending chromatic scale from G3 down to D3 will help the basses find their entrances throughout the chorus of the piece. The tenors have the same descending line up an octave in the cued notes starting at m. 49 and can sing in octaves with the basses for practice.
Coventry Carol was first performed during the sixteenth Century in Coventry, England as a part of the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors. It was a lament by the mothers of children taken in the Biblical Slaughter of the Innocents. Robert Croo is credited with writing the lyrics in 1534, and the music was written by an unknown composer in 1591. The original manuscript of Robert Croo's poem lasted until a fire destroyed it in 1879.The underlying mixed meter feeling of this arrangement is meant to help the piece build momentum to the third verse, helping to tell the tragic story depicted in the poem. The repeating motif is based around the altos' descending chromatic scale.The repeated motif is a descending chromatic scale and can be found throughout all three parts. Teaching a descending chromatic scale from G3 down to D3 will help the basses find their entrances throughout the chorus of the piece. The tenors have the same descending line up an octave in the cued notes starting at m. 49 and can sing in octaves with the basses for practice.

SKU: CA.3113613

ISBN 9790007208134. Text language: German/English.

The cantata Erforsche mich Gott und erfahre mein Herz BWV 136 was composed in Bach's first year as Kantor of St. Thomas's in Leipzig and was first performed on the 8th Sunday after Trinity, the 18th July 1723. The librettist is unknown. The title of the cantata is taken from verse 23 of Psalm 139: Erforsche mich Gott und erfahre mein Herz; prufe mich und erfahre, wie ich's meine. (Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts) The opening chorus forms an extended fugue, framed by string writing bursting with energy. The obbligato horn accentuates and enriches the movement with a special tonal color. The alto aria in F sharp minor (movement 3) comprises a trio movement with an oboe d'amore as solo instrument in a contrasting range - a presto middle section which dramatically charges the words Denn seines Eifers Grimm vernichtet (For the fury of its zeal will destroy). In the duet (movement 5) the text is sung by tenor and bass line by line, sometimes imitating contrapuntally, and sometimes both singing together dramatically in homophonic writing. A simple chorale setting to the melody Auf meinen lieben Gott concludes the cantata. Particularly charming here is the violin which joins the four vocal parts as an independent part. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3113600.

SKU: ST.D108

ISBN 9790220225628.

Jame s McCarthy's Codebreaker dramatically recounts key episodes in the story of Alan Turing, whose work at Bletchley Park decrypting the naval Enigma codes helped save countless lives during the Second World War, and whose legacy endures in our contemporary digital culture transformed by computer science. Turing is recalled as a brilliant mathematician, pioneer and prophet. Above all, in a score conceived in bold contrasts of pathos and dynamic energy, he is remembered as a suffering individual, an outsider destroyed by the unforgiving public prejudice of his time, yet whose complex and sensitive inner being was inseparable from his genius. On the cusp of a twenty-first century revolution in artificial intelligence, the passionate, accessible and visionary music of Codebreaker urges us all to regret past misunderstandings, be vigilant against lingering bigotries, and simply to hold in reverence Turing's inspiring achievement, while wondering at the cruel betrayal of an ordinary-extraordinary man who was also a profound benefactor to humankind.

SKU: CA.2708305

ISBN 9790007164171. Language: Latin.

Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch's Mass in 16 parts is remarkable for more than its unusual scoring. Inspired by the Italian church music style of Orazio Benevoli, it was composed in 1783 for the Berliner Sing-Akademie, and revised by Fasch several times throughout his life in order to adapt the score to the vocal capabilities of his ensemble. The composer destroyed all earlier compositions, which probably contributed to the legendary fame which this mass has enjoyed since the 19th century. The mass was, however, only published in 1839 - around four decades after Fasch's death. The present edition is based on the version contained in the first printed edition. In addition to modern music notation, extensive performance materials (two choral scores, separate organ part) facilitate the rehearsal of this challenging work. Score available separately - see item CA.2708300.