SKU: BR.BV-209
ISBN 9783765102097. 9 x 14.5 inches. German.
The Publication in facsimile of the auto graphic copy of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in A major BWV 234 at the occasion of the Bach Anniversary Year 1985 has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the publishing house which so carefully preserved this precious manuscript in its archives for almost 200 years. The manuscript was acquired long ago by Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf, the brilliant and dynamic forefather of the publishing house Breitkopf & Hartel, who conducted a prosperous business selling music transcriptions in Leipzig. It is still unclear as to how he obtained the manuscript. Perhaps it had belonged to the estate of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, from whom Breitkopf apparently acquired a part of his Bach collection. The earliest reference to the manuscript's change of ownership is found in Breitkopfs Verzeichniss Musicalischer Werke of 1761, which includes Bach's Missa, a 2 Flauti, 2 Violini, Viola 4 Voci, Organo under the listing of copies of unpublished compositions. The copy was available at the price of 2 thl. (thalers) 12gl. (groschen). A few years later, in 1769, the same offer appeared again together with other works by Bach or ascribed to him in the Verzeichniss lateinischer und italianischer Kirchen-Musiken of Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf & Sohn. In more recent times, the work has been mentioned in Wilhelm Hitzig's Katalog des Archivs von Breitkopf & Hartel, revised in 1925, together with the continuo part, which was included with the copy and which was also originally written in Bach's own hand. The economic reorganization of the publishing house Breitkopf & Hartel after the Second World War made it necessary to sell the manuscript together with other works from the publisher's archives. This manuscript was to have been put up at auction by the auction house J. A. Stargardt. The catalogue, containing an informative commentary by Wolfgang Schmieder, was already printed, but before the auction could take place, the land of Hesse decided to purchase all the manuscripts, thus preventing the dispersion of this valuable collection. The manuscript was officially handed over to the Hessische Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek in Darmstadt on 29 October 1953. The A major Mass is still preserved there today, together with its fellow piece, the Mass in G major BWV 236.
SKU: BR.EB-4063
ISBN 9790004162224. 7.5 x 10.5 inches.
SKU: BR.CHB-3477-02
ISBN 9790004404218. 6.5 x 9.5 inches.
SKU: BR.BV-217
ISBN 9783765102172. 9 x 14.5 inches. English.
SKU: PR.11640342S
UPC: 680160687749.
The Body Electric draws its inspiration from great American poet, Walt Whitman's work I Sing the Body Electric. Two years earlier, while writing a setting of Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry for baritone and chamber orchestra, I became enamored with many of the poems from his collection, The Leaves of Grass. I had not revisited Whitman's poetry since high school and that distance provided a fresh look at Whitman's poetry. In the spring of 2009, I came back to this collection and decided to write another work inspired by Whitman's poetry, this time for chamber orchestra alone. Writing a work that attempted to capture the mood of this epic poem seemed impossible. Because of the inherent abstract nature of text-less music, writing a work that was a musical blow-by-blow of the poem seemed equally impossible. For me, the solution was to take three fragments of the poem and focus on conveying their particular moods. In the score, I have included the following lines at the beginning of each section: the Body electric, A divine nimbus exhales, and the Body at auction. the Body Electric was written for the 2009 Wellesley College Composers Conference and was premiered on the final concert of the conference with Jim Baker conducting. Clint Needham.the Body Electric draws its inspiration from great American poet, Walt Whitman’s work I Sing theBody Electric. Two years earlier, while writing a setting of Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry forbaritone and chamber orchestra, I became enamored with many of the poems from his collection,The Leaves of Grass. I had not revisited Whitman’s poetry since high school and that distanceprovided a fresh look at Whitman’s poetry. In the spring of 2009, I came back to this collectionand decided to write another work inspired by Whitman’s poetry, this time for chamber orchestraalone.Writing a work that attempted to capture the mood of this epic poem seemed impossible. Becauseof the inherent abstract nature of text-less music, writing a work that was a musical blow-by-blowof the poem seemed equally impossible. For me, the solution was to take three fragments of thepoem and focus on conveying their particular moods. In the score, I have included the followinglines at the beginning of each section: the Body electric, A divine nimbus exhales, and the Bodyat auction.the Body Electric was written for the 2009 Wellesley College Composers Conference and waspremiered on the final concert of the conference with Jim Baker conducting.Clint Needham.
SKU: PR.342402070
ISBN 9781491111253. UPC: 680160643226. Octavo inches. Text: Archibald R. Ammons. Archibald Ammons. Text by A.R. Ammons.
To benefit Chorus America, Stucky allowed himself to be auctioned off as a prize - the high bidder would receive a new work from the composer. After a few years and not really hearing anything, Stucky suddenly found himself up against a deadline. He reached back to a favorite poem by A.R. Ammons, Eyesight, which, he says, Won't let...his reader rest till the very last word...one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless..This piece has an odd history. A few years ago, I agreed to be one of the“prizes†in an auction to benefit Chorus America: the highest bidder wouldget a new piece from me, while their money went to the organization. Thewinning bid came from a collection of several professional choruses anddirectors. But I was always a little vague about the details, and, hearingnothing more about it for a few years, forgot the whole thing.One day I received a message from Thomas Edward Morgan, directorof the Ars Nova Chamber Singers in Boulder: they had scheduled thepremiere of my new piece for a few weeks later, and could they have themusic, please? I needed a text, quickly, and (as usual) I was in a Los Angeleshotel room, not at home with my books. So I turned to the internet andsoon tracked down my favorite poet, A.R. Ammons (1926-2001).Once I stumbled on “Eyesight,†I remembered having loved the poemyears before. Archie must have loved it, too, because he included it bothin his Collected Poems 1951-1971 and in the later Selected Poems. It haseverything you want in an Archie Ammons poem: what Edward Hirschcalled his “offbeat, sideways, unpredictable radiance,†his “homespunglory.†It has one of his trademark conversations with a mountain (perhapsfrom his native North Carolina), it has the fluid motion from one line tothe next (enjambment, if you want to get technical) that won’t let him orhis reader rest till the very last word of the very last line, and it has in thatlast line one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless: “some thingsthat go are gone.â€I miss Archie, but he’s not gone. I’m grateful for the wonderful poems heleft us, and I’m grateful that he was always generous and kind when I hadthe chutzpah to add my music to his.
SKU: PR.11640342L
UPC: 680160687756.
SKU: MN.56-0106
UPC: 688670221231. English, Latin.
Invictus: A Passion addresses one of the world’s most powerful stories through the lens of the modern world. The texts, written or inspired by women, describe not only human suffering and persecution but also the human capacity for love and humility in the face of tyranny. Composer Howard Goodall is uniquely suited to bring these texts to life with music of emotional clarity and sweeping force. This movement, scored for soprano solo, SATB choir and piano, expresses the unimaginable pain felt by a mother seeing her child torn away from her at a slave auction. To this harrowing account are appended the words of William Wilberforce, spoken in the House of Commons on 18th April 1791, “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.†Duration 6:47.