Violin and Viola and More

To see the summer sky for Violin and Viola falls into four movements. The first movement opens with the two instruments sounding almost as one playing very high glassy harmonics. Gradually an expressive viola solo emerges withboth instruments descending to their lower ranges. A livelier quasi scherzando solo for violin accompanied by viola pedal notes leads to a chorale like passage the violin at the top of its range whilst the viola is at itslowest. The movement ends with the two instruments coming together once again on a unison Bb and fades away almost as it has begun but this time in the husky lower registers.The second movement is much faster and openswith a downward flurry for both instruments. A continuous pizzicato line for viola is interrupted by more violent passages in the violin. The two instruments come together in a dance-like passage before the roles are reversed.Finally an ecstatic melody surfaces in the viola and is later continued in the violin before the movement closes with the spiky figures of its opening the two instruments ending in unison.The third movement encompasses isthe most delicate and still music of the piece. After a very tranquil opening an expressive violin melody is accompanied by a gentle rocking figure in the viola. Tentative at first intensity and speed gather until the violinreaches stratospheric heights. Both of the instruments play at the extremes of their registers before moving to common ground for a more lively textural passage. This is followed by a passionate reminder of the movement’s opening gradually fading away to nothing.The piece ends with a Moto Perpetuo. The instruments begin by dovetailing a single line which develops into two strands before a more violent section appears punctuated by strident doublestops. Both instruments have slightly manic solo episodes before the movement quickly dies away in the single line of its opening

for Violin Viola and Orchestra-There is no reference to the origin occasion or a performance of the Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for Violin Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (320d) because in all probability it was composed in Salzburg (presumably in summer or early autumn 1779): Mozart seems to have had no reason to write about it. It was apparently in Paris that he first had the occasion of giving the genre of the ?Symphonie concertante? his special attention. On April 5 1778 he wrote to his father: ?Now I shall write a sinfonie concertante for flute wendling oboe Ramm Punto horn and Ritter bassoon?.Even more discouraging must have been the fact that he had similardifficulties in Paris in having the works performed as he had in Mannheim. After the organizier of the Concerts spirituels Le Gros contrary to his promise did not include the mentioned ?sinfonie concertante? in his program.Mozart had no reason to compose any more for this genre in Paris. After Mozart?s return to Salzburg he might have been eager to introduce the new genre there especially since adequate instrumentalists were available. Also the choice of the solo instruments (violin and viola) in the work presented here was probably influenced by the popularity of this instrumental combination in Salzburg at that time.- Urtext of the New Mozart Edition- Full score

There is no reference to the origin occasion or a performance of the Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for Violin Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (320d) because in all probability it was composed in Salzburg (presumably in summer or early autumn 1779): Mozart seems to have had no reason to write about it. It was apparently in Paris that he first had the occasion of giving the genre of the ?Symphonie concertante? his special attention. On April 5 1778 he wrote to his father: ?Now I shall write a sinfonie concertante for flute wendling oboe Ramm Punto horn and Ritter bassoon?.Even more discouraging must have been the fact that he had similardifficulties in Paris in having the works performed as he had in Mannheim. After the organizier of the Concerts spirituels Le Gros contrary to his promise did not include the mentioned ?sinfonie concertante? in his program.Mozart had no reason to compose any more for this genre in Paris. After Mozart?s return to Salzburg he might have been eager to introduce the new genre there especially since adequate instrumentalists were available. Also the choice of the solo instruments (violin and viola) in the work presented here was probably influenced by the popularity of this instrumental combination in Salzburg at that time.- Urtext of the New Mozart Edition- Full score

Grade 3 Upwards-A flexible compendium of folk tunes from the North of England arranged for two violins or violin & viola plus optional cello. Includes On Ilkley Moor Bahtat Scarborough Fair Dance Ti Thy Daddy Blaydon Races and many more.

Work for Oboe Violin Viola and Cello. Parts available: CH56341.This quartet was commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Arts and written in the autumn of 1967. It is dedicated to Lady Norton and is the second of LennoxBerkeley’s three works written with the oboist the late Janet Craxton in mind the other two being his Sonatina OP 61 and Sinfonia Concertante OP 84.The work begins with a fairly extended introduction leading without a breakinto an Allegro. The whole composition is based on the internal of a third (sometime major sometimes minor) which is heard in the opening phrase of the introduction and again in the main theme of the Allegro though here in atotally different context. The allegro is in more or less traditional sonata form. The middle movement is a kind of Scherzo growing out of a rhythmical figure for the strings and a rapid arpeggio (major and minor chords) forthe oboe. This is a Presto; a more relaxed middle section corresponding to the Trio in a classical work is followed by a much shortened version of the Scherzo. The last movement is brief but very slow all four instrumentstaking up in turn a gently rocking figure that moves to and fro between two notes always a major or minor third apart. The music becomes more animated but returns to the opening figure and dies away each instrument droppingout one after the other leaving the cello alone in the last bar.

Three vamp parts are layered on each other in this innovative improvisation collection allowing soloists to join in as they please.Some vamps are simple others more challenging. Improvising becomes accessible with soloing guidelines and tips. 35 different styles are covered including jazz classical hip-hop rock country-western Asian African Celtic Latin Gregorian and more.Each page has sugested notes for soloing so your solo will always fit with the other players. These volumes are available for four instruments ? Violin Viola and Cello/String Bass ? so string players can improvise together.

Schnee - Ten Canons For Nine Instruments was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 2006-08. Commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk for 'Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2008' with support from Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung and The Danish Arts Council. Dedicated to Harry Vogt and Ensemble Recherche. Programme Note: In the beginning of the 90s I arranged some of J.S. Bach’s canons for ensemble – in total seven single standing works from his entire life span. I became totally absorbed into this music and arranged them with the intention of the music being repeated many many times as a kind of minimal music. Obviously I didn’t know which durations Bach had in mind but by listening to his canons in this way a profound new moving world of circular time was opened to me.Depending on the perspective on these canons the music and its time can stand still or move either backwards or forwards.In my own work an ongoing idea has persisted of at some point writing a work consisting of a number of canonical movements that would explore this universe of time. And when I was offered the commission for Ensemble Recherche and Wittener Tage it felt as the right time to do this.In Schnee a few simple and fundamental musical questions are explored. What is a Vorsatz? And what is a Nachsatz? Can a phrase be answering? Or questioning?The guideline or rule for the canons is very simple: We start out with an answering Vorsatz followed by a questioning Nachsatz. Throughout the time of the piece these two are intertwined more and more as more and more dicht geführt canons until at the end they are interchanged. Now the question and then the answer. The two canons are identical like a painting in two versions but with different colors. And where the first one does not include the space the second one does as well as containing more