SKU: CF.FPS14
ISBN 9780825839825. UPC: 798408039820. 9 X 12 inches.
An aggressive, outgoing fantasy on the famous Westminster Chimes, Fantasy of Bells utilizes the ability of winds and brass to make bell-like sounds as well as employing the actual bell-sounds of various metalophones. Quartal harmony and colorful scoring give this piece an up-to-date sound and make it ideal as a concert opener for contest and festival time. Duration: 2'.
SKU: SU.90810130
Instrumentation: 3fl(picc), 2ob, 2cl, 2bn; 4hn, 3tpt, 3tbn(bs), tba; timp, 4perc, pno; strings Duration: 7' Full Score & Parts: available on rental Composed: 2003 Published by: Subito Music Publishing Composer's Note: Maintaining a persistent beat throughout, Fantasy for Orchestra begins with a dramatic and highly energetic theme stated immediately in the violins. The range of expression is wide, moving from dance-like rhythms -- making use of irregular meters -- to rather dreamy textures. Throughout much of the work, even in the softer, more fantasy-like middle section, the use of percussion -- gongs, cowbells, and various drums -- is prevalent. --N.G.
SKU: CF.YBS68F
ISBN 9780825897719. UPC: 798408097714. 9 X 12 inches.
[Balent] has crafted an elegant setting of the ever-popular Greensleeves. The scoring includes full textures throughout, while the technical requirements are modest, making this arrangement suitable for younger ensembles. (Mark Aldrich, A Catalog of Folk Song Settings for Wind Band, Meredith Music Publications).
SKU: CF.YBS68
ISBN 9780825897702. UPC: 798408097707. 9 X 12 inches.
SKU: CF.FPS14F
ISBN 9780825839832. UPC: 798408039837. 9 X 12 inches.
SKU: CF.CPS257
ISBN 9781491161265. UPC: 680160919857.
The original intent for this piece was to evoke a fantasy atmosphere of huge mythical constructs, such as stone edifices, rising from a lunar surface softly illuminated by reflected light from another galactic source. It is meant to give an impression of a single vision, allowing the listener or player to imagine a personal interpretation of their own. The story behind this particular title comes from the late 19th century. Before the widespread use of electric streetlights, many large American and European cities erected large structures - some as tall as 165 feet - intended to brighten the cities at night at times when there was insufficient natural moonlight. Referred to at that time as Moonlight Towers, the only ones still in existence and in use today are found in Austin, Texas. These man-made wonders may not be as stunning as naturally-formed stone edifices, but they are nevertheless eye-catching. One of these structures in a large park is adorned with strands of lights every December to resemble a gigantic Christmas tree which can be seen for miles. In this composition, measure 81 through measure 97 depicts four of the remaining thirteen towers in four different settings in Austin. This piece is also intended to capture the wonder of these singular relics of history, with a fantasy atmosphere of their own.The original intent for this piece was to evoke a fantasy atmosphere of huge mythical constructs, such as stone edifices, rising from a lunar surface softly illuminated by reflected light from another galactic source. It is meant to give an impression of a single vision, allowing the listener or player to imagine a personal interpretation of their own. The story behind this particular title comes from the late 19th century. Before the widespread use of electric streetlights, many large American and European cities erected large structures - some as tall as 165 feet - intended to brighten the cities at night at times when there was insufficient natural moonlight. Referred to at that time as Moonlight Towers, the only ones still in existence and in use today are found in Austin, Texas. These man-made wonders may not be as stunning as naturally-formed stone edifices, but they are nevertheless eye-catching. One of these structures in a large park is adorned with strands of lights every December to resemble a gigantic Christmas tree which can be seen for miles. In this composition, measure 81 through measure 97 depicts four of the remaining thirteen towers in four different settings in Austin. This piece is also intended to capture the wonder of these singular relics of history, with a fantasy atmosphere of their own.
SKU: CF.CPS257F
ISBN 9781491161678. UPC: 680160920358.
SKU: CF.PPS52F
ISBN 9781491152645. UPC: 680160910144.
Ballet of the Dinosaur Hatchlings is an imaginative and fun selection for a beginning band with less than one year of instruction. Wind parts use only five pitches and only the percussion parts use eighth notes. Two sound effects are required in the piece. First, the hatching eggs are portrayed by a ratchet, and second, the snapping dinosaurs jaws are represented by a slapstick. Ballet of the Dinosaur Hatchlings is an intriguing piece that beginning students are sure to love.Ballet of the Dinosaur Hatchlings is a descriptive novelty selection for a beginning band with less than one year of instruction. Wind parts use only five pitches. Only percussion parts use eighth notes. Two sound effects are required. First, the hatching eggs are portrayed by the ratchet beginning at m. 2, and second, the snapping dinosaurs jaws, which are first heard at m. 14, are represented by an accented note augmented by a slapstick. Directors are encouraged to use more elaborate sound effects if they are inclined to do so. The story described by the music is as follows:• Dinosaur eggs begin to hatch (the ratchet, mm. 1-8).• The parent dinosaurs guard the nest (Low Brass and Woodwinds mm. 9-12).• The hatchlings begin walking (m. 13).• The hatchlings snap their jaws as they learn to eat (m. 14, Xylophone and Slapstick).• Thunder (Timpani, m. 29).• The parent dinosaurs seek shelter for all (m. 33, Low Brass and Woodwinds).• The hatchlings follow while they continue snapping their jaws (m. 41).• More thunder (mm. 53-54).• All the dinosaurs roar loudly at the clouds (m. 55) as the thunder becomes louder.
SKU: PR.44641192L
UPC: 680160610860. 11 x 14 inches.
One of my greatest pleasures in writing a concerto is exploring the new world that opens for me each time I enter the sometimes alien, but always fascinating, world of a solo instrument or instruments. For me, the challenge is to discover the deepest nature of the solo instrument (its karma, if you will) and to allow that essential character to guide the shape and form of the work and the nature of the interaction between soloists and orchestra. In recent years, many of us have become more aware of the musical world outside the Western tradition of musics that follow different procedures and spring from other aesthetics. And contemporary percussionists have opened many of these worlds to us, as they have ventured around the globe, participating in Brazilian Samba schools, studying Gamelan and African drumming with local experts, collecting instruments from Asia and Africa and South America and the South Pacific, widening our horizons in the process. I will never forget our first meeting in Toronto when Nexus invited me into their world of hundreds of exciting percussion instruments. The vast array of instruments in the collection of the Nexus ensemble is truly global in scope as well as offering a thrilling sound-universe. I was inspired by the incredible range of sound and moved by the fact that so many of these instruments were musical reflections of a spiritual dimension. After long consideration, I decided that it would not only be impossible, but even undesirable for this Western-tradition-steeped composer to attempt to use these instruments in a culturally authentic way. My goal was an existential kind of authenticity: searching instead for universal ideas that would be true to both myself and the performers while acknowledging the traditional uses of the instruments. Since many percussion instruments are associated with various kinds of ritual, I decided that I would allow that concept to shape my piece. Rituals is in four movements, each issuing from a ritual associated with percussion, but with the orchestral interaction providing an essential element in the musical form. I. Invocation alludes to the traditions of invoking the spirit of the instruments, or the gods, or the ancestors before performing. II. Ambulation moves from a processional, through march and dance to fantasy based on all three. III. Remembrances alludes to traditions of memorializing. IV. Contests progresses from friendly competition games, contests to a suggestion of a battle of big band drummers, to warlike exchanges. In the 2nd and 4th movements, another percussion tradition, improvisation, is employed. Written into these movements are a number of seeds for improvisation. Indications in the score call for the soloists to improvise in three different ways, marked A for percussion alone; marked B for percussion with and in response to the orchestra; and C where the percussionists are free to add and embellish the written parts. These improvisations should grow out of and embellish previous motives and gestures in the movement.
