In My Stronghold

SKU: BR.PB-4580

ISBN 9790004204627. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BR.OB-4580-26

ISBN 9790004315767. 9 x 12 inches.

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: CF.PPS30

ISBN 9781491140390. UPC: 680160628452. 9 x 12 inches.

It is hard to believe that this impressive piece contains only the first 6 notes of the Bb scale and no rhythms more difficult than quarter notes in the winds. Year after year, composer Sean O'Loughlin works his magic to provide young band students with meaningful musical experiences, even after only studying the instrument for 10 weeks or less. Your very young students will sound like pros with this bold new piece and your audience will not be able to believe it.

SKU: CF.PPS30F

ISBN 9781491141045. UPC: 680160629107. 9 x 12 inches.

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: BR.OB-4843-15

ISBN 9790004322826. 9 x 12 inches.

Die Veroffentlichung der Weihnachts-Pastorella erfolgt nach den alten Stimmen, die das Nationalmuseum in Prag unter der Signatur XII A 148 aufbewahrt.Der Bibliothek sei an dieser Stelle fur die Anfertigung der Photokopien herzlichst Dank gesagt. Der Originaltext ist in tschechischer Sprache abgefasst, dessen Anfang lautet ,,Narodil se Kristus Pan; das alte, tschechische Weihnachtslied gleichen Textanfangs ist in der Komposition verarbeitet. In Deutschland ist dieser Weihnachtsgesang mit dem Text ,,Freu dich, Erd und Sternenzelt bekannt und weit verbreitet.Die wortliche Ubersetzung, die der gereimten Version dieser Ausgabe als Unterlage diente, erstellte dankenswerterweise Herr Peter Geeringer, Frankfurt/Main; sie hat folgenden Wortlaut:,,Christus, der Herr, ist geboren, freut euch, der Rose ist eine Blute entsprossen, freut euch. Eia, also freuen wir uns alle miteinander, durch Christi Geburt werden wir alle getrostet. Freuen wir uns, feiern wir diesen Geburtstag, lasst uns wohlklingende Musik machen! - Michel, wo hast du deinen Dudelsack? Saume nicht, geh ihn holen! lgnaz, sei auch bereit, hole schnell den Dudelsack! Ruft gleich den Tobias, er soll nicht zaudern und sein Instrument nehmen und sogleich mit euch kommen! Michel, lgnaz und Tobias, seid ihr da? - Christus, der Herr, ist geboren, freut euch, der Rose ist eine Blute entsprossen, freut euch. Eia, also freuen wir uns alle miteinander, lasst uns zusammen zur Krippe gehen, lasst uns diesen Geburtstag feiern, auf dem Dudelsack lasst uns spielen! Dem kleinen Jesulein erweisen wir Ehre, Lob und Preis.Die vorliegende Veroffentlichung teilt die Lesart der alten Stimmen mit. Zusatzliche, analoge Bogensetzungen sind durch Strichelungen, originale Angaben zur Dynamik durch Ausschreibung als solche kenntlich gemacht.