SKU: PE.TSGOR002S

UPC: 038081584539.

Originally scored for brass and percussion, this dynamic fanfare has been rescored for full orchestra, expanding the harmonic colors and textures. Panoramic Landscapes by Tyler S. Grant is an excellent concert opener that will launch your performance in resplendent fashion while not overtaxing your musicians. (3:00).

SKU: HL.283507

Exit Music for Orchestra was composed by Bent Sorensen in 2006-07. Exit Music was commissioned by the Bergen International Festival for the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and is dedicated to Per Norgard on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Programme note It began with a dream, as it always does when I compose. I dreamt that I was standing in an open doorway on a hill in an otherwise open landscape. I do not know what was behind the door, but in front of it - towards the landscape - I saw my music disappearing. I stood looking for the music, and started to hear it, to remember it in time with its disappearance. The dream continued to recur as strange pictures in my daydreams, and I continued to try to write down the music that had vanished. It was also the dream that gave the piece its title- Exit Music. Exit Music is based on three simple songs (the songs that vanish through the doorway): a little lullaby, which continues to reappearin fragments; a strange polyphonic pop song that refers to a section of my opera Under the Sky; and a passionate little love song, which concludes the piece on the strings, very quietly and in unison. These simple songs are then constantly overpainted by enervating repeated motes in fairly simple rhythms, which push the songs out of the room. (Bent Sorensen).

SKU: PR.41641576L

UPC: 680160636549. 11 x 17 inches.

The 1712 Overture stands out in P.D.Q. Bach's oeuvre for two reasons, among others: it is by far the most programmatic instrumental piece among those by the minimeister of Wein-am-Rhein so far unearthed, and 2) its discovery has led to a revelation about the composer's father, Johann Sebastian Bach, that has exploded like a bombshell on the usually serene musicological landscape. The overture is based on an anecdote told to P.D.Q. Bach by a cousin, Peter Ulrich. Since P.U. Bach lived in Dudeldorf, only a few miles down the road from Wein-am-Rhein, he was P.D.Q.'s closest relative, and he was, in fact, one of the few members of the family who was on speaking terms with P.D.Q. The story, related to P.D.Q. (fortunately for us posterity types) in a letter, may be summarized thus: The town of Dudeldorf was founded by two brothers, Rudi and Dieter Dudel, early in the 18th century. Rudi remained mayor of the newborn burg for the rest of his long life, but Dieter had a dream of starting a musicians' colony, an entire city devoted to music, which dream, he finally decided, could be realized only in the New World. In 1712, he and several other bagpipers sailed to Boston, never to return to Germany. (Henceforth, Rudi became known as der deutscher Dudel and Dieter as the Yankee Dudel). Unfortunately, the head of the Boston Musicians' Guild had gotten wind of Dudel's plans, and Wilhelm Wiesel (pron. VEE-zle), known none too affectionately around town as Wiesel the Weasel, was not about to share what few gigs there were in colonial America with more foreigners and outside agitators. He and his cronies were on hand to meet Dudel's boat when it pulled into Boston Harbor; they intended to prevent the newcomers' disembarkation, but Dudel and his companions managed to escape to the other side of the bay in a dinghy, landing with just enough time to rent a carriage and horses before hearing the sound of The Weasel and his men, who had had to come around the long way. The Germans headed West, with the Bostonians in furious pursuit. soon the city had been left far behind, and by midnight so had the pursuers; Dieter Dudel decided that it was safe for him and his men to stop and sleep until daybreak. When they awoke, they found that they were in a beautiful landscape of low, forested mountains and pleasant fields, warmed by the brilliant morning sun and serenaded by an entrancing variety of birds. Here, Dudel thought, her is where I will build my colony. The immigrants continued down the road at a leisurely pace until they came upon a little church, all by itself in the countryside, from which there suddenly emanated the sounds of a pipe organ. At this point, the temptation to quote from P.U. Bach's letter to P.D.Q. cannot be resisted: They went inside and, after listening to the glorious music for a while, introduced themselves to the organist. And who do you think it was? Are you ready for this -- it was your old man! Hey, no kidding -- you know, I'm sure, that your father was the guy to get when it came to testing new organs, and whoever had that one in Massachusetts built offered old Sebastian a tidy sum to go over there and check it out. The unexpected meeting with J.S. Bach and his sponsors was interrupted by the sound of horse hooves, as the dreaded Wiesel and his men thundered on to the scene. They had been riding all night, however, and they were no spring chickens to start with, and as soon as they reached the church they all dropped, exhausted, to the ground. The elated Germans rang the church bells and offered to buy everyone a beer at the nearest tavern. There they were taught, and joined in singing, what might be called the national anthem of the New World. The melody of this pre-revolutionary patriotic song is still remembered (P.D.Q. Bach quotes it, in the bass instruments, near the end of the overture), but is words are now all but forgotten: Freedom, of thee we sing, Freedom e'er is our goal; Death to the English King, Long live Rock and Ross. The striking paucity of biographical references to Johann Sebastian Bah during the year 1712 can now be explained: he was abroad for a significant part of that year, testing organs in the British Colonies. That this revelation has not been accepted as fact by the musicological establishment is no surprise, since it means that a lot of books would have to be rewritten. The members of that establishment haven't even accepted the existence of P.D.Q. Bach, one of whose major works the 1712 Overture certainly is. It is also a work that shows Tchaikowsky up as the shameless plagiarizer that some of us have always known he was. The discovery of this awesome opus was made possible by a Boston Pops Centennial Research Commission; the first modern performance took place at the opening concert of the 100th anniversary season of that orchestra, under the exciting but authentic direction of John Williams.

SKU: AP.43775S

UPC: 038081496528. English.

This dynamic and colorfully scored original is a sure-fire choice for concert or contest. Expansive harmonies and soaring tunes combine to present an imaginative musical landscape that explores the tonal facets of the orchestra. Playable by strings alone or full orchestra. (3:00).

SKU: SU.90810110

Instrumentation: 3fl(picc), 2ob, 2cl, 2bn; 4hn, 3tpt, 3tbn(bs), tba; timp, 3perc, hrp, pno; strings Duration: 20' Full Score & Parts: available on rental Composed in 2002. Published by: Subito Music Publishing Composer's Note: De profundis ad lucem (out of the depths towards light) opens with an atmosphere of stillness, out of which two main sections emerge, one reflecting hope and the other struggle. Hope is expressed with a recurring theme that gradually layers upon itself, imparting a feeling of birth. This section suddenly gives way to struggle, represented with loud brass, biting accents, and thundering timpani figures. Following an extended musical landscape, these two sections return, only in reverse, with struggle resolving into hope. The work ends in tranquillity as it began. --N.G.

SKU: AP.48054S

UPC: 038081555072. English.

Beethoven's Fifth . . . four iconic notes recognized instantly. Now in V by Jeffrey Turner, the same motif is used as a theme in this piece, set in an epic musical landscape more fitting to a cinematic superhero battling evil. Driving ostinatos, menacing cellos, and pulsating rhythms will be great fun for the musicians and audience alike. Players will also have a chance to showcase their spiccato bowing skills, and the optional percussion will add extra drama. This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud. (3:50).

SKU: HL.49018422

ISBN 9790220132391. UPC: 884088614515. 8.25x11.75x0.232 inches.

Maxwell Davies' 'Das Rauschende der Farbe' (The Sound of Colour) is a reflection on the life and work of the German artist Paula Modersohn-Becker who died aged 31 in 1907. Maxwell Davies first got to know the artist's work whilst on a school exchange in Hamburg in 1951 and the composer has since written that Modersohn-Becker's work has influenced the way that he views the relationship between art and the landscape in which it is produced. This is a particularly significant statement for a composer whose music is often a response to the land and seascape of his adopted home in the Orkney Isles. Commissioned by the Bremer Philharmoniker and first performed by them in 2007, the 30 minute orchestral work in three movements is one of the key works by Maxwell Davies in recent years.