Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626 - full score

SKU: HL.238318

UPC: 888680888480. 12x16.75 inches. English.

Nyman's 2011 The Prologue to 'Dido and Aeneas' is a prologue to Henry Purcell's opera on a libretto by Nahum Tate. The libretto is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid. It recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her. This edition of the work is scored for SATB, String section and Harpsichord.

SKU: PR.114419850

ISBN 9781491135808. UPC: 680160681044. 9 x 12 inches.

Both a spectacular concerto for saxophone, and a dramatic tone poem on Roman mythology, QUICKSILVER is a 23-minute concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble by one of the sax literature’s most commissioned and admired composers.Through worded captions as well as gorgeously expressive tone painting, Movement 1 depicts the birth and childhood pranks of Mercury, Movement 2 shows him escorting souls to the gates of the Underworld, and Movement 3 is a phantasmagoric finale portraying Mercury as messenger amid the conflicts of other mythological figures. There are many YouTube performances available, both in the original version with Wind Ensemble, and with Piano.
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making.In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld.The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.

SKU: HL.50606826

ISBN 9798350114409. UPC: 196288188261.

Roughly half of this selection of transcriptions of Baroque vocal and instrumental works consists of well-known pieces by the greatest composers of the period (Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Rameau: Piéces de clavecin, Händel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, J.S. Bach: B major partita, C major orchestral suite), but works by composers less well known nowadays (for example, G. Böhm and J. C. F. Fischer) are also included, together with unusual items such as Polish, German and Hungarian dances from 17th- and18th-century Hungarian manuscripts: the Kájoni and Vietórisz codexes, and Eleonóra Lányi's music book. This volume, previously available in the Leggiero series, is now, in a new guise, part of the series Treasury for String Ensembles. Treasury for String Ensembles provides carefully selected original compositions and arrangements from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, compiled in volumes according to level of difficulty, from beginner's level to professional. Elementary (all in first position): typically for three violins and cello or children's string orchestra. Intermediate: typically for three violins and cello or string quartet or youth string orchestra. Advanced: typically for string quartet or string quintet (with double bass) or string orchestra. The volumes are published in both printed and digital form. The printed edition contains the score and one copy of each part. Further copies can be ordered for the purposes of orchestral performance. The digital edition can be viewed on screen, and the parts can also be downloaded as A4-sized PDF files. The digital edition comes free with the printed edition, using the unique code provided.

SKU: HL.50606824

ISBN 9798350114386. UPC: 196288188247.

Roughly half of this selection of transcriptions of Baroque vocal and instrumental works consists of well-known pieces by the greatest composers of the period (Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Rameau: Piéces de clavecin, Händel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, J.S. Bach: B major partita, C major orchestral suite), but works by composers less well known nowadays (for example, G. Böhm and J. C. F. Fischer) are also included, together with unusual items such as Polish, German and Hungarian dances from 17th- and18th-century Hungarian manuscripts: the Kájoni and Vietórisz codexes, and Eleonóra Lányi's music book. This volume, previously available in the Leggiero series, is now, in a new guise, part of the series Treasury for String Ensembles. Treasury for String Ensembles provides carefully selected original compositions and arrangements from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, compiled in volumes according to level of difficulty, from beginner's level to professional. Elementary (all in first position): typically for three violins and cello or children's string orchestra. Intermediate: typically for three violins and cello or string quartet or youth string orchestra. Advanced: typically for string quartet or string quintet (with double bass) or string orchestra. The volumes are published in both printed and digital form. The printed edition contains the score and one copy of each part. Further copies can be ordered for the purposes of orchestral performance. The digital edition can be viewed on screen, and the parts can also be downloaded as A4-sized PDF files. The digital edition comes free with the printed edition, using the unique code provided.