Symphonic Suite from Star Wars: The Force Awakens

SKU: HL.4006540

UPC: 840126912401. 9.0x12.0x0.07 inches.

The beloved Star Wars saga concludes with the blockbuster hit The Rise of Skywalker. John Williams' masterful score again provides the emotional connection to the story with reprises of familiar character themes as well as poignant new material.

SKU: HL.44012780

UPC: 888680618438.

SKU: FA.MFCD017B

8.27 x 11.69 inches.

Contains Le Roi Lear: Prelude,Premiere Fanfare, and La Mort de Cordelia,Toomai des elephants, Rodrigue et Chimene: Prelude a l'acte 1p. Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien: La Passion , and No-ja-li ou Le Palais du Silence

From Robert Orledge's notes:

My interest in the wonderful music of Claude Debussy began in the 1980s when I researched and published a book with Cambridge University Press entitled Debussy and the Theatre. During the course of my studies in Paris, I was amazed to discover that Debussy planned over 50 theatrical works but only finished two of these entirely by himself (the opera Pelleas et Melisande in 1893-1902 and the ballet Jeux for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1912-13). Of the rest, many were never started musically (like Siddartha and Orphee-roi with the Oriental scholar Victor Segalen, 1907); some had a few tantalising sketches (like the Edgar Allan Poe opera Le Diable dans le beffroi, 1902-03); some were half-finished (like his other Poe opera La Chute de la Maison Usher, 1908-17); while others were musically complete but had their orchestrations completed by other composers (like Khamma, by Charles Koechlin, 1912-13; or Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien and La Boite a joujoux by his 'angel of corrections' ['l'ange des Corrections'] Andre Caplet in 1911 and 1919 respectively).

For it has to be admitted that what some scholars call Debussy's 'compulsive achievement' could equally well be viewed as laziness, especially as far as the minute detail required for calligraphing his orchestral scores was concerned. It was as if creating the music itself was of greater importance than controlling its final sound, even if Debussy was an imaginative orchestrator when he found the time and energy to do it. It also seems true that Debussy also preferred inventing ideas to turning them into complete pieces. However, despite the lack of detail in many of his sketches (missing clefs, key signatures, dynamics, phrasing, etc.) the notes themselves are surprisingly accurate, whether or not they can be compared with a later draft. Thus, a large number of sketches exist for his Chinese ballet No-ja-li ou Le Palais du Silence and it is not too difficult to see which parts of Georges de Feure's 1913 scenario (see below) inspired which ideas. But Debussy hardly made any attempt to join them together after the first few bars.

It was usually up to his publisher, Jacques Durand, to find solutions when Debussy risked a breach of contract. Debussy was supposed to supervise the orchestrations completed by others, but this supervision was usually very light and restricted to quiet, sensitive moments in which problems were easier to spot. Far from jealously guarding every one of his created notes, as Ravel did, Debussy once even went as far as to ask Koechlin to 'write a ballet for him that he would sign' on 26 March 1914 when he was hard-pressed to fulfil his lucrative contract for No-ja-li with Andre Charlot at the Alhambra Theatre in London. In the end, Debussy (through Durand) sent Charlot the symphonic suite Printemps instead, whose orchestration had been completed by Henri Busser in the Spring of 1912.

So, when I was offered early retirement as Professor of Music at Liverpool University in 2004, I seized the opportunity it would give me to spend time trying to reconstruct some of Debussy's lost potential masterpieces from his existing sketches and drafts--then orchestrating them in Debussy's style when this was appropriate. I had begun this mission in 2001 with the most promising project, the missing parts of Scene 2 of La Chute de la Maison Usher and the sheer joy it gave me at every stage persuaded me to tackle other projects, especially when Debussy experts were unable to identify exactly where I took over from Debussy (and vice versa) in Usher.

SKU: IS.GQ7108EM

ISBN 9790365071081.

After graduating from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp, Guy Cuyvers pursued additional studies at the American University of Washington, D.C. During the 1980s and 90s, Guy wrote many compositions and arrangements for guitar. His first CD Cadence was released in 1996. One year later Pablo’s Friends, a book and CD with some of his guitar compositions, was published. In 1995, his career as a film composer knew a successful start with the release of his first soundtrack. In just a few years, Guy composed and recorded three CD’s with symphonic film music. Guy Cuyvers currently teaches at the music department of the academy in Mortsel, near Antwerp. In 2003, he founded the acoustic band Lunes. Its first album was released in May 2005. For more information on Guy Cuyvers: www.guycuyvers.com.

SKU: IS.GQ7107EM

ISBN 9790365071074.

After graduating from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp, Guy Cuyvers pursued additional studies at the American University of Washington, D.C. During the 1980s and 90s, Guy wrote many compositions and arrangements for guitar. His first CD Cadence was released in 1996. One year later Pablo’s Friends, a book and CD with some of his guitar compositions, was published. In 1995, his career as a film composer knew a successful start with the release of his first soundtrack. In just a few years, Guy composed and recorded three CD’s with symphonic film music. Guy Cuyvers currently teaches at the music department of the academy in Mortsel, near Antwerp. In 2003, he founded the acoustic band Lunes. Its first album was released in May 2005. For more information on Guy Cuyvers: www.guycuyvers.com.

SKU: BR.PB-5584

ISBN 9790004213940. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Little is known about the actual composition process of Lemminkainen and the performance and publication history is rather complex, resulting in a first complete printing of all the four movements en suite through the complete edition of Jean Sibelius Works only in 2013.In summer 1894 Sibelius went to Central Europe, carrying among others a plan for an opera freely based on the Kalevala in his mind. But during this trip he reassessed his composing: I think I have found my old self again, musically speaking. I think I really am a tone painter and a poet. As a result he abandoned his opera plans, but musical material may have found its way into the Lemminkainen pieces which he started composing during that time. Lemminkainen became popular from the beginning and has attained a fixed position in the concert repertoire.Sibelius said about Lemminkainen in Tuonela: The cradle song at the end of the work is maternal love, which rakes the pieces of Lemminkainen together from the River Tuonela..

SKU: BT.DHP-1185847-010

English-German-French-Dutch.

The Last Friend of Napoleon is based on a true piece of Dutch history. In October 1813, when Napoleon was beaten after his unsuccessful Russian campaign, the French withdrew from the Netherlands. At the beginning of 1814, the whole country had been liberated except for the town of Delfzijl, still occupied by French troops. This programmatic work is about political and military stubbornness, chasing dreams, and about love always following its own unequalled way. Being one of the most acknowledged composers of today, Dirk Brossé has created an epic work that depicts a dramatic story, using the full range of the symphonic band resulting in challenging brass passages, a widerange of percussion and a lot of strong, beautiful and melodic material.

The Last Friend of Napoleon is gebaseerd op een waargebeurd stukje Nederlandse geschiedenis. Als Napoleon in oktober 1813 na zijn mislukte Russische veldtocht wordt verslagen, trekken de Fransen zich terug uit Nederland. Begin 1814 is heel het land bevrijd, behalve de plaats Delfzijl, die nog bezet wordt door Franse troepen. Dit programmatische werk gaat over politieke en militaire stijfkoppigheid, over het najagen van dromen en over de liefde, die altijd haar eigen, onnavolgbare weg gaat. Dit werk van Dirk Brossé, een van de meest gerenommeerde hedendaagse componisten, vertelt een dramatisch verhaal door middel van volledig symfonisch blaasorkest waarin koper, eenscala van slagwerk en vooral veel prachtig melodisch materiaal de hoofdrol spelen.

The Last Friend of Napoleon basiert auf einer wahren Episode aus der niederländischen Geschichte. Als Napoleon im Oktober 1813 nach seinem erfolglosen Russlandfeldzug geschlagen wurde, zogen sich die Franzosen aus den Niederlanden zurück. Anfang 1814 wurde das ganze Land befreit, mit Ausnahme der Stadt Delfzijl, die noch von französischen Truppen gehalten wurde. Dieses programmatische Werk handelt von politischer und militärischer Starrköpfigkeit, vom Verfolgen von Träumen, und darum, dass die Liebe immer ihren eigenen Weg geht. Dirk Brossé, der zu den bekanntesten zeitgenössischen Komponisten zählt, stellt mit diesem epischen Werk eine dramatischeGeschichte dar. Er verwendet hierfür das große Spektrum des Sinfonischen Blasorchesters: Er hat anspruchsvolle Episoden für die Blechbläser, eine große Bandbreite für Schlagwerk und zahlreiche wunderschöne Melodien geschaffen.

The Last Friend of Napoleon est basé sur une histoire vraie néerlandaise.Alors que Napoléon est vaincu après sa campagne infructueuse en Russie en octobre 1813, les Français se retirent des Pays-Bas. Au début de 1814, le pays entier a été libéré l’exception de la ville de Delfzijl, toujours occupée par les troupes françaises. Cette œuvre programme aborde l’entêtement politique et militaire, la poursuite de rêves, et l’amour qui suit toujours son propre chemin. De l’un des compositeurs les plus reconnus de nos jours, cette œuvre épique de Dirk Brossé met en musique une histoire dramatique. Il profite pleinement de la palette complète d’un orchestre d’harmoniesymphonique, ce qui entraîne des épisodes stimulants pour les cuivres, une grande variété de percussion et une abondance de matériau mélodique magnifique et puissant.

The Last Friend of Napoleon (L'ultimo amico di Napoleone) si basa su un episodio di storia olandese. Dirk Brossé ha creato un'opera epica che descrive una storia drammatica, utilizzando tutte le potenzialit della banda che si esprimono in impegnativi passaggi degli ottoni, nell’ampia gamma di percussioni e in molto materiale bello e melodico.