For Solo Clarinet in A/Bass Clarinet in B-flat Flute (Piccolo Alto Flute) Horn in F Trombone Piano Violin Viola Violoncello and Double Bass. Crockett's Dance Concerto for clarinet in A doubling on bass clarinet and wind ensemble riffs on the theme of its premiere event at the Smithsonian dancing the night away until dawn. The work's form plays out as if the soloist were performing a set as the leader of some sort of dance band on this--or another planet. An expanded version for thirty-three musicians and a piano reduction (titled Dance Sonata) are also available from the publisher. Duration: c. 18 minutes.
SKU: HL.14008406
ISBN 9780711948716.
A work for solo violin and orchestra, commissioned by Donald McDonald for the 21st birthday of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the 60th birthday of the composer. It was first performed in November 1993 in Glasgow, by James Clark and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maxwell Davies. The spell is one quoted by George Mackay Brown in his book An Orkney Tapestry: 'Let not plough be put to acre except a fiddle cross first the furrow.' Davies's dancing concerto imagines the fiddler following a route from field to field, from dance to dance, accompanied by a bunch of companions in the form of an orchestra. As the music goes on, so it gets brighter and livelier, moving from the dark colouring of clarinets, bassoons and strings to full ensemble with prominent brass and (solo) tuned percussion, as if the dancers as much as the fields were beginning to glow with new life. Score (miniature). Duration c. 20mins.
SKU: HL.14020993
ISBN 9780711952010. 5.5x8.5x0.222 inches.
The solo group consists of a sextet of the woodwind instruments which are normally doubled with more regular members of the orchestra: these six strangers, now brought to the fore, are piccolo and alto flute, cor anglais, Eb and bass clarinets and contrabassoon. They make a motley group, diverse in colour as in register, and one of the tasks of the piece sets itself is to have them blend and cohere, both together as an ensemble and in partnership with the string orchestra (which itself is used with unusual variety and subtlety). Another evident task of the work is to provide fine solos for each member of the woodwind sextet: bright dances for the piccolo, recitatives for the alto flute, a stoical song from the contrabassoon in the extreme bass. The work is cast as a single movement, which begins in the composer's first-movement style of rapid regeneration. This is interrupted by slow interventions, including one for divided strings which gives rise to a sextuple cadenza for the soloists. Out of this comes a slow movement, or sequence of short slow movements, followed by a dancing finale with its own slow episodes. Altogether this is music of songs and dances, heavily tinged with Scottish rhythms and tonalities: one might think of a magic bagpipe, having six chanters and a drone of variegated string texture. This work for woodwind instruments and string orchestra was commissioned by the Strathclyde Regional Council and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. It is the ninth of ten concerti to be written for principal players of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The first performance was given in February 1995 by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by the composer.
SKU: PR.114419280
ISBN 9781491132357. UPC: 680160676125.
Inspired by Chinese tradition, this concerto-like dance suite includes: 1. Lion Dance, 2. YangKo, and 3. Muqam. Each movement draws from melodies and rhythms characteristic of various regions of China many centuries ago. CHINESE FOLK DANCE SUITE is available for violin with full orchestra, or as a recital work with piano.Supported by a major commissioning award from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, Chinese Folk Dance Suite is written for solo violin and orchestra; it was premiered by The Women’s Philharmonic with violin soloist Terrie Baune, conducted by Apo Hsu, on March 10, 2001, at Yerba Buena Center For the Arts Theater in San Francisco.Inspired by various Chinese traditional folk dances, the suite has three movements:I. Lion Dance. Traditionally, people dance with richly decorated hand-made lions, accompanied by percussion ensemble, to celebrate happy occasions and major festivals throughout the country. In this composition, I use Chinese drum and other percussion instruments in the background, to form a dynamic and rhythmic texture responding to the solo part, which imitates the tunes played on the suona (traditional Chinese trumpet). The pitch materials came from the traditional Guangdong tune “Dragon Boat Racing,†and the Chaozhou tune “Lion Playing Ball.â€II. YangKo. Originating in northern China, this is a major folk dance form in mass performance popularized in the country. In YangKo performance, people play rhythmic patterns on the drums hung around their waists while singing and dancing. In the second movement, I imagined a warm scene of YangKo dancing in distance. The solo violin plays a sweet and gracious melodic line while all members of the orchestra sing non-pitched syllables in different layers as the soft background, to imitate the percussion sound which produces the ever-going pulse.III. Muqam. This large-scale music and dance form, from the Uygur nationality in Xinjiang province, originated in the 15th century. My third movement use a 7/8 meter and the melodic style of Muqam music. The fiery dancing gesture culminates in the sustained climax section at the end of the work, after a colorful violin cadenza in both improvisational singing style and polyphonic writing with woven lines.
SKU: HL.238501
UPC: 888680797225. 12.0x16.5 inches.
This saxophone concerto, written in one continuous movement with a wide variety of tempi, celebrates the talents of John Harle, who has been a central player in the Michael Nyman Band for over ten years. Composed in 1991, The title is in refence to the spiraling dance of a scout bee who has discovered a food source and intends to communicate this back to the members of the hive. These circluar motions are reflected in figurations of the work. It was first performed in 2002 by the Central England Ensemble with Sarah James as the soloist.
SKU: HL.48182237
UPC: 888680837259. 9.0x12.0x0.228 inches.
“Flutes on holiday by Jacques Castérède was written in 1962 for three or four Flutes. Each Flute part is quite difficult on this quartet and would be for advanced-intermediate / advanced flautists. This piece features four sections, each one expressing a different mood: Flûtes Pastorales is quite calm with some enthusiastic highlights, Flûtes Joyeuses reflects a very joyful part with a small dance in the middle, Flûtes rêveuses sounds timeless and reminiscent of a theme of Castérède?s 'Twelve Studies' and Flûtes Légères has a fast and light melody. Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) is a renowned composer and pianist. He has won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1953 and has composed numerous melodic pieces including ballets, concertos, symphonies, ensemble and chamber music.â€.
SKU: PR.114417130
ISBN 9781491110409. UPC: 680160626687. 9x12 inches.
A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant, Not Alone is inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai's poem Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow. The premiere was given on April 26, 2014 by the PRISM Quartet with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which commissioned the work to celebrate its 25th Anniversary NYC Season. From the Program Note by Matthew Levy (The PRISM Quartet), Not Alone (2014) is an interdisciplinary work...but it stands alone in a chamber music setting. The work spans a stunning range of textures, from introspective solos for each of the four saxophones to majestic hyper-active gestures. The PRISM Quartet recorded Not Alone for a 2017 release on XAS Records titled Paradigm Lost. But we're excited for a wider community of saxophonists to embrace the work, and share it with their own audiences. Not Alone is published together with Happy Birthday to PRISM, a brief miniature that Chen Yi wrote for the quartet's 20th anniversary celebration in 2004. For advanced performers._________________________Text from the scanned back cover:NOT ALONE for Saxophone QuartetHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PRISM for Saxophone QuartetNot Alone is a 14-minute saxophone quartet and dance score inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai’s “Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.†The expansively-textured sax quartet matches the exploratory and dramatic movements and gestures in the dance. NOT ALONE was commissioned by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company which premiered the work in collaboration with the PRISM Quartet. Also included in this publication is Chen Yi’s fascinating take on “Happy Birthday to You,†composed in celebration of Prism’s 25th anniversary season.A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant, Not Alone is inspiredby the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai’s poem “Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.†The premierewas given on April 26, 2014 by the PRISM Quartet with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which commissioned thework to celebrate its 25th Anniversary NYC Season. Program Note by composer Chen YiThe original inspiration for this work for both the choreographer and the composer came from the Tang Dynasty poem - Alone Under the Moon by Li Bai. The poem describes the poet being alone in a garden. The moon and his shadow became his companions that night. The choreographer brings this idea to modern life in an urban setting. She created a series of “mindscapes†which are the result of the exploration of the different mental and physical states of being alone.Through self-examination, the choreographer raises the question: are we ever really alone? Our physical being may be standing by itself, but what about our introspective self? When we are still, we let our thoughts pass by like flowing water. If we could engage with our shadows, what would it be like?Program Note by Matthew Levy, The PRISM QuartetThe PRISM Quartet has commissioned a great many composers since our founding days in 1984. Chen Yi is among ahandful of our very favorites, and one to whom we’ve returned time and time again. Her music is powerful, expansive,intimate, and draws connections between Eastern and Western, ancient and modern traditions in a voice all her own.Chen Yi has written or adapted four works for the PRISM Quartet. She penned a wonderful miniature called HappyBirth day to PRISM to celebrate the ensemble’s 20th anniversary back in 2004 (Dedication, Innova Recordings).We subsequently commissioned her to compose Septet (2008) for Erhu, Pipa, Percussion, and Saxophone Quartet(2008), premiered and recorded with the New York ensemble Music From China (Antiphony, Innova Recordings 2010).In 2015, the PRISM Quartet performed and recorded (XAS Records) a new version of her saxophone quartet concerto,BA YIN, with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Wind Ensemble under the baton of Steven Davis (originally writtenfor the Rascher Quartet and scored for saxophones and string orchestra.).Finally, Not Alone (2014) is an interdisciplinary work written for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company with the PRISMQuartet, but it stands alone in a chamber music setting. The work spans a stunning range of textures, from introspectivesolos for each of the four saxophones to majestic hyper-active gestures. The PRISM Quartet recorded Not Alonefor a 2017 release on XAS Records titled Paradigm Lost. But we’re excited for a wider community of saxophonists toembrace the work, and share it with their own audiences.In his liner notes for the recording, WNYC’s John Schaefer writes: “As with much of her music, Chen employs percussiveeffects and glissandi; in Chinese music these are not considered “extended techniques†or special effects, but animportant part of the performer’s arsenal. Here, they help create the twilit mood of the opening moments. The piecesoon becomes more dramatic, suggesting the arrival of the drinker’s companions (real or imagined) and his or herincreasingly garrulous outbursts. Passages of consonance and discord can easily be heard as companionable singingand bouts of drunken argument. The piece bustles along on a kind of restless energy, until, finally, that restlessnesssubsides, giving way to a gently humorous ending where a short falling phrase signals the drinker falling asleep.â€.
SKU: AP.36-A263301
UPC: 660355020445. English.
The idea for Totentanz, S. 126 (Dance of the Dead) was conceived by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) in 1938. Two versions were to follow, the first completed in 1853, and the second version finished in 1864. The flashy virtuosic piece for the solo piano uses the Gregorian plainchant melody Dies irae (Day of Judgement) in a set of variations. The first version, which is nicknamed De Profundis, is most commonly heard in the 1919 edition by famed Italian composer, pianist, and conductor Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924). Instrumentation: 3(3rd dPicc).2.2.2: 2.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(2-3): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Piano in the sc.
These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.
SKU: PR.114424240
ISBN 9781491137581. UPC: 680160691036.
THE BONES OF MR. FORTUNE (FREE AT LAST!) is an 11-minute concerto-like work for solo flute accompanied by symphonic winds and percussion – perfect to play with band or with orchestra, as well as with the composer’s own piano reduction. The work features lengthy cadenzas, and exhilarating dance-like sections with the ensemble. Hailstork describes the historical inspiration: Abused in life and death, an enslaved man (Mr. Fortune) was owned by a surgeon who preserved his skeleton to study anatomy. The bones remained with the doctor’s family for generations, and were given a proper burial making national news in 2013, 215 years after Mr. Fortune’s death.Abused in life and death, an enslaved man known as Mr. Fortune was honored with an elaborate funeral more than 200 years after he died in Connecticut.Mr. Fortune was owned by Dr. Preserved Porter on a farm in Waterbury, Connecticut. When Fortune died in 1798, Porter, a bone surgeon, preserved his skeleton by having the bones boiled to study anatomy at a time when cadavers for medical study were disproportionately taken from slaves, servants and prisoners.One of Porter’s descendants gave the skeleton in 1933 to Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, where it was displayed from the 1940s until 1970. The descendant referred to the slave as “Larry†and his name was forgotten at the time.A study by forensic anthropologists at the Quinnipiac University School of Medicine concluded that Fortune was about 5 feet 5 inches tall and died at around 55 years old. He suffered a number of painful ailments, including a fracture in his left hand, a severe ankle sprain and lower back pain. “He was an individual who was in considerable distress,†a forensic professor, Richard Gonzalez said.I was taken by the bizarre story of Mr. Fortune and decided to use it as the stimulus for this work.
SKU: AP.36-A263302
UPC: 746241287199. English.
SKU: CF.CAS63
ISBN 9780825889387. UPC: 798408089382. 8.5 x 11 inches. Key: D major.
Originally written for string quartet, this fantastic characteristic piece from Glazunov is a welcome addition to the string orchestra repertoire, as arranged by Deborah Baker Monday. Well-suited for the more advanced ensemble, it contains excellent musical opportunities and the chance to play the music of a prominent Russian composer. Deborah's setting stays very true to the original, but enhances it for use by the full ensemble. Alert your contest/festival music committee to this worthy new piece for high school string orchestras.Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936) lived during a very transitional period of Russian music history, active as a composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a part of the Romantic school of Russian music following in the tradition of Tchaikovsky, like his fellow composers Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov.During his years at the conservatory he instructed many students who chose to pursue the modern trends set forth by Debussy. Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and even Prokofiev took instruction from Glazunov. Although they considered him old-fashioned, he was remembered as a stabilizing influence during transitional times.Glazunov’s music stayed within the category of Russian Romanticsm: nationalistic with classical formality. His list of works includes numerous symphonies, concertos, piano and vocal works, and chamber works including seven string quartets.Op. 15 was first given the title “Suite†(a collection of dances), and after a friend’s recommendation he changed the name to “Novelettesâ€. The five movements are of contrasting style, but beautifully reminiscent of their particular themes:I. Alla SpagnuolaII. OrientaleIII. Interludium in modo anticoIV. ValseV. All’ UnghereseThis movement is very well adaptable for string orchestra. The original string quartet moodis light, using harmonics and pizzicato, but there are forceful sections which allow for strong sectional playing (especially with the cello and bass orchestral sound). There is very much interesting melodic material offered for all instruments which lends itself to a fantastic string orchestra arrangement. Conductors will find material in all sections which provide greatopportunities for rehearsal.The form is a large ABA with a D.C. al fine, but the sections are not square by any means.There is lots of energy and momentum in the material of both sections, as well as a modalcharacter which gives the music an exotic sound. Bowing patterns abound in all sections formore great teaching opportunities.
About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series
This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:
