SKU: SU.80601480
Commissioned by William Albright, Masquerades is recorded on CRI.Organ solo Composed: 1979 Published by: E.B. Marks.
SKU: MB.30844M
ISBN 9781513464268. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.
Skip James was one of the most influential early Bluesmen, but his importance as a stylist remained undiscovered until he was brought out of a long retirement by the Folk/Blues revival of the early 1960â??s. Born in 1902 and raised in Bentonia, Nehemiah Curtis James was brought up in a religious family: his father was a bootlegger who reformed and became a Baptist preacher. Skip learned piano in school but picked up guitar from his friend Henry Stuckey. In 1931 Skip was picked up by a scout for Paramount Records and he cut 26 tracks, of which 18 were released, in a two day session at their Grafton, Wisconsin studios. These recordings presented a unique and haunting genius that influenced legendary bluesmen as Robert Johnson, Kansas Joe McCoy and Johnny Temple. But the recordings sold poorly, having been released during the Great Depression, and he drifted into obscurity.
We have included as online downloads Skipâ??s 1931 recordings. The crackling sound of these rare recordings cannot obscure the brilliance of this seminal Blues master.
After over 30 yearâ??s retirement from music, Skip was rediscovered by Blues enthusiasts Bill Barth, John Fahey and Henry Vestine. They persuaded Skip to appear at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, where his renditions of his old songs were still powerful and moving. His performances as well as his old and new recordings influenced a generation of new musicians: Eric Clapton, Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Derek Trucks, Beck, Big Sugar, John Martyn, Lucinda Williams and Rory Block to name a few.
Books on legendary Blues musicians written by white musicologists tend to offer a subjective perspective on how the artists felt, thought or reacted. A tainted picture is captured that has more to do with the writerâ??s social and musical experiences. This autobiography is different. The words, thoughts and feelings come directly from the artistâ??s lips. This is the story of Nehemiah â??Skipâ? James told by Nehemiah â??Skipâ? James.
SKU: GI.G-R031
ISBN 9780854022755.
Herbert Sumsion was born in Gloucester in 1899, was a chorister in that city, and became an articled pupil of Sir Herbert Brewer, the Cathedral Organist. He later studied at the Royal College of Music before proceeding to organ and teaching posts in or near London. After a short period in America (1926–1928) as Professor of Harmony at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he accepted the appointment of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Gloucester Cathedral on the sudden death of Brewer. He was able to take up his duties just in time to conduct the 1928 Three Choirs Festival, immediately justifying the confidence placed in him by the high standard of his direction and musicianship. Sumsion was honoured with the Lambeth Doctorate of Music in 1947 and awarded the CBE in 1961. He retired from the post at Gloucester Cathedral in 1967 and continued to be active with teaching and composition until shortly before his death in 1995. He had a special sympathy for the works of the English composers stemming from Vaughan Williams and Elgar, and was responsible for bringing works of younger composers to the attention of the British public.Two great English choral works of this century - Herbert Howells’s Hymnus Paradisi and Gerald Finzi’s Intimations of Immortality - received their premieres at the 1950 Gloucester Festival. These two composers were particularly close friends of Sumsion. It would follow then that Sumsion’s own compositions are in this same mould, yet there is a very distinct style that endears his music to singers and listeners alike. Church music has benefitted tremendously from his work, for his compositions in this medium have been prolific and wide-ranging. Many of his choral works are published by The Royal School of Church Music.
SKU: CF.W2693
ISBN 9781491158586. UPC: 680160917198. 9 x 12 inches.
While unknown today, composer William Pettee (1839a1891) was clearly a remarkable musician and composer evidenced by the fact that he wrote funeral music for Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. This funeral music survives to this day in a piano reduction format and is the basis of some of my most current arranging projects. This new edition of Olosabut was the culmination of years of research into the era commonly called The Golden Age of Bands, a period spanning 1880a1920. This project initially began when I played the solo part for Olosabut with a reading band when I was a guest artist at the Northwest Brass Festival in Seattle in 2010. For this new edition, I created a score with modern transpositions. Prior to this, there has been no score for this music. There is often no score for American band music from this era. I also adjusted the dynamics and articulations to allow the soloist to be heard and composed a handful of new musical lines to correct the problems stemming from inconsistent number of measures in the original edition. Finally, I created a reduction for tuba and piano as well as a new edition for solo tuba and orchestra. Olosabut (atuba soloa spelled backwards) from 1885 is possibly the oldest American tuba solo to survive to the twenty-first century. I have done extensive research in this area, and while there may be some earlier pieces with small obbligato solos for tuba, and perhaps even earlier full-fledged tuba solos, I believe this is the earliest music with a serious solo tuba part throughout that survives to this day. In the Tuba Source Book, several early solos are listed from the 1880s. In my research, I have attempted to obtain all of the music listed in the Tuba Source Book from the 1880s or earlier though the Library of Congress and various historic libraries in America. Most of this music for solo tuba and band is incomplete or entirely unavailable today though. The earliest of these is Southwellas Quickstep (Fun for Basses) from 1881. This is described as a novelty march for tuba section, however. A notable omission from the Tuba Source Book, though, is William Petteeas Olosabut, which is clearly marked 1885 on the original published sheet music. This piece is not listed in the Tuba Source Book. However, a different piece by Pettee called Osceola is listed from 1889.While unknown today, composer William Pettee (1839-1891) was clearly a remarkable musician and composer evidenced by the fact that he wrote funeral music for Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. This funeral music survives to this day in a piano reduction format and is the basis of some of my most current arranging projects. This new edition of Olosabut was the culmination of years of research into the era commonly called The Golden Age of Bands, a period spanning 1880-1920. This project initially began when I played the solo part for Olosabut with a reading band when I was a guest artist at the Northwest Brass Festival in Seattle in 2010. For this new edition, I created a score with modern transpositions. Prior to this, there has been no score for this music. There is often no score for American band music from this era. I also adjusted the dynamics and articulations to allow the soloist to be heard and composed a handful of new musical lines to correct the problems stemming from inconsistent number of measures in the original edition. Finally, I created a reduction for tuba and piano as well as a new edition for solo tuba and orchestra. Olosabut (tuba solo spelled backwards) from 1885 is possibly the oldest American tuba solo to survive to the twenty-first century. I have done extensive research in this area, and while there may be some earlier pieces with small obbligato solos for tuba, and perhaps even earlier full-fledged tuba solos, I believe this is the earliest music with a serious solo tuba part throughout that survives to this day. In the Tuba Source Book, several early solos are listed from the 1880s. In my research, I have attempted to obtain all of the music listed in the Tuba Source Book from the 1880s or earlier though the Library of Congress and various historic libraries in America. Most of this music for solo tuba and band is incomplete or entirely unavailable today though. The earliest of these is Southwell's Quickstep (Fun for Basses) from 1881. This is described as a novelty march for tuba section, however. A notable omission from the Tuba Source Book, though, is William Pettee's Olosabut, which is clearly marked 1885 on the original published sheet music. This piece is not listed in the Tuba Source Book. However, a different piece by Pettee called Osceola is listed from 1889.While unknown today, composer William Pettee (1839–1891) was clearly a remarkable musician and composer evidenced by the fact that he wrote funeral music for Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. This funeral music survives to this day in a piano reduction format and is the basis of some of my most current arranging projects. This new edition of Olosabut was the culmination of years of research into the era commonly called The Golden Age of Bands, a period spanning 1880–1920. This project initially began when I played the solo part for Olosabut with a reading band when I was a guest artist at the Northwest Brass Festival in Seattle in 2010. For this new edition, I created a score with modern transpositions. Prior to this, there has been no score for this music. There is often no score for American band music from this era. I also adjusted the dynamics and articulations to allow the soloist to be heard and composed a handful of new musical lines to correct the problems stemming from inconsistent number of measures in the original edition. Finally, I created a reduction for tuba and piano as well as a new edition for solo tuba and orchestra.Olosabut (“tuba solo†spelled backwards) from 1885 is possibly the oldest American tuba solo to survive to the twenty-first century. I have done extensive research in this area, and while there may be some earlier pieces with small obbligato solos for tuba, and perhaps even earlier full-fledged tuba solos, I believe this is the earliest music with a serious solo tuba part throughout that survives to this day. In the Tuba Source Book, several early solos are listed from the 1880s. In my research, I have attempted to obtain all of the music listed in the Tuba Source Book from the 1880s or earlier though the Library of Congress and various historic libraries in America. Most of this music for solo tuba and band is incomplete or entirely unavailable today though. The earliest of these is Southwell’s Quickstep (Fun for Basses) from 1881. This is described as a novelty march for tuba section, however. A notable omission from the Tuba Source Book, though, is William Pettee’s Olosabut, which is clearly marked 1885 on the original published sheet music. This piece is not listed in the Tuba Source Book. However, a different piece by Pettee called Osceola is listed from 1889.
