3 Japanese Dances

SKU: PR.114412930

UPC: 680160571604. 8.5 x 11 inches. Text: Li Bai. Li Bai. Three poems by Li Bai (701 - 762).

It's a privilege to write a new work for my friend, the pipa master Ms. Wu Man to perform in the 05/06 concert season. Remembering the first time we worked together in 1991, Wu Man premiered my solo piece The Points on the age-old Chinese traditional instrument, with her adventurous virtuosity and sensibility in the piece with new musical concept and language, at the NewWorkOctober concert series at Columbia University in New York, presented by New Music Consort. I have been very happy to keep track with her new experiment and success in the new music field since then. Again, in 2001, I have composed a trio for her to play with Yo-Yo Ma and Young-Nam Kim, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota for the Hun Qiao project. Wu Man loved the piece so much that she commissioned me another new work to perform this time. In Chinese cultural tradition, in which I am deeply rooted, music is a part of an organic art form, along with poetry, calligraphy and painting. I am glad that Wu Man suggested to create our new work together with visual artist Catherine Owens. We are going to combine the art forms together in one. I got my inspiration from three ancient poems, which are drawn in Chinese calligraphy, with exaggerated dancing lines and shapes in layers of ink. The music would go with image projection in Chinese painting according to the poems. Written for Wu Man and commissioned by the Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR, the duet Ancient Dances is written for pipa and a set of percussion instruments (including a pair of naobo, finger cymbals, and bongos; a Japanese high woodblock, a triangle, 3 Beijing Opera gongs in small, medium and large sizes, a suspended cymbal and a conga). It consists of three movements of music - Cheering, Longing, and Wondering, in which the music abstractly represents various expressions, in different textures and tempi, inspired by the text in the three Chinese poems by Li Bai from Tang Dynasty: 1) Riding on My Skiff; 2) Night Thoughts; 3) The Cataract of Mount Lu. The flying lines, as like mysterious and vivid ancient dances, bring the music, the calligraphy, and the painting all together in our work. --Chen Yi.
It's a privilege to write a new work for my friend, the pipa master Ms. Wu Man to perform in the 05/06 concert season. Remembering the first time we worked together in 1991, Wu Man premiered my solo piece The Points on the age-old Chinese traditional instrument, with her adventurous virtuosity and sensibility in the piece with new musical concept and language, at the NewWorkOctober concert series at Columbia University in New York, presented by New Music Consort. I have been very happy to keep track with her new experiment and success in the new music field since then. Again, in 2001, I have composed a trio for her to play with Yo-Yo Ma and Young-Nam Kim, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota for the Hun Qiao project. Wu Man loved the piece so much that she commissioned me another new work to perform this time.In Chinese cultural tradition, in which I am deeply rooted, music is a part of an organic art form, along with poetry, calligraphy and painting. I am glad that Wu Man suggested to create our new work together with visual artist Catherine Owens. We are going to combine the art forms together in one. I got my inspiration from three ancient poems, which are drawn in Chinese calligraphy, with exaggerated dancing lines and shapes in layers of ink. The music would go with image projection in Chinese painting according to the poems.Written for Wu Man and commissioned by the Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR, the duet Ancient Dances is written for pipa and a set of percussion instruments (including a pair of naobo, finger cymbals, and bongos; a Japanese high woodblock, a triangle, 3 Beijing Opera gongs in small, medium and large sizes, a suspended cymbal and a conga). It consists of three movements of music - Cheering, Longing, and Wondering, in which the music abstractly represents various expressions, in different textures and tempi, inspired by the text in the three Chinese poems by Li Bai from Tang Dynasty: 1) Riding on My Skiff; 2) Night Thoughts; 3) The Cataract of Mount Lu. The flying lines, as like mysterious and vivid ancient dances, bring the music, the calligraphy, and the painting all together in our work.—Chen Yi.

SKU: BT.DHP-1216326-070

ISBN 9789043162067. English-German-French-Dutch.

1. Emerald Isle, in this part, the musical spotlight focuses in on the green island of Ireland and its great wealth of traditional folk music. The piece opens with the air ‘My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground’, also known under the title ‘Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms’ (bars 5-24). Next, we hear another well-known air ‘The Minstrel Boy’ (bars 29-44). Finally, the air ‘The Groves of Blarney’, possibly better known as ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ (bars 53-68) is heard. Each air is heralded by a short introduction and brought to an end by a short conclusion. 2. Old Kentucky Memories, following an introduction of 14 bars all attention is claimed by the song ‘My Old Kentucky Home’. As the piece goes on, snippets of memories emerge, fleetingly, surfacing fast, but quickly disappearing again: this is musically featured by way of small motifs and themes from other songs. These can be heard briefly, and then they disappear, musing on Old Kentucky until the introduction returns to end the piece. 3. Uppland, is a province in Sweden that had a rich folk music culture, like the whole of Sweden, that boasts many songs and dances. A notable amount of these songs and dances have been composed in minor keys, three of which feature in this part. First, we hear ‘Svensk folkvisa’(bars 1-38), followed by the famous ‘Värmlandsvisan’ (bars 39-67) and then brought to an end by ‘Vexelsang’ (bars 68-end). 4. Ratatouille, in this part, no folk songs of just one country or one province are featured. This piece is a mishmash (or ratatouille), a hotchpotch of three folk songs with no significant relation at all. In succession, we hear a song from Russia (bars 1-30), one from Japan (bars 31-58) and one from Australia (bars 59-end). The composer of the Russian song titled ‘The Nightingale’ is Alexander Alyabyev (1787 1851), but the composers of the Japanese song titled ‘Sakura’ and the Australian ‘Waltzing Matilda’ are unknown.

1. Emerald Isle, in dit deel zijn de muzikale schijnwerpers gericht op het groene eiland Ierland, op de grote rijkdom aan traditionele volksmuziek. Het werkje opent met de air ‘My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground’, ook bekend onder de titel ‘Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms’ (maat 5-24). Daarna volgt de bekende air ‘The Minstrel Boy’ (maat 29-44). En ten slotte horen we nog de air ‘The Groves of Blarney’, misschien beter bekend als ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ (maat 53-68). Elke air wordt voorafgegaan door een korte inleiding en beëindigd met een korte afsluiting. 2. Old Kentucky Memories, na een inleiding van 14 maten (deels ook als afsluiting van dit deel gebruikt) wordt alle aandacht opgeëist door de song ‘My Old Kentucky Home’. Al gauw doemen er echter flarden van herinneringen op, vluchtig, snel opkomend, maar ook weer snel verdwijnend: dit krijgt muzikaal gestalte door middel van motiefjes en thema’s uit andere songs. Deze zijn even hoorbaar en dan weer vlug verdwenen... Mijmeren over Old Kentucky dus... 3. Uppland, is een provincie in Zweden met een rijke muziekcultuur, zoals heel Zweden trouwens ruim bedeeld is met volksliederen en volksdansen. Opvallend veel van deze liederen en dansen zijn gecomponeerd in mineurtoonsoorten. Dit is ook het geval met de drie voor dit deel uitgekozen songs: als eerste ‘Svensk folkvisa’(maat 1-38), gevolgd door het bekende ‘Värmlandsvisan’ (maat 39-67) en tot besluit ‘Vexelsang’ (maat 68-slot). 4. Ratatouille, in dit deel worden geen volksliedjes van één land of één provincie belicht. Dit werkje is een ‘ratjetoe’ (ratatouille), een allegaartje van drie folksongs die onderling geen enkel verband met elkaar hebben: de enige overeenkomst is dat ze alle drie als volksmuziek bestempeld kunnen worden. Achtereenvolgens klinkt er een lied uit Rusland (maat 1-30), uit Japan (maat 31-58) en uit Australië (maat 59-slot). Van het Russische lied met de titel ‘De nachtegaal’ is de componist bekend: dat is Aleksandr Aljabjev (1787 1851). Van het Japanse lied ‘Sakura’ en de Australische song ‘Waltzing Matilda’ kennen we niet de componist niet.

1. Emerald Isle, in diesem Abschnitt richtet sich die musikalische Aufmerksamkeit auf die grüne Insel Irland mit ihrem großen Reichtum an traditioneller Volksmusik. Das Stück beginnt mit der Melodie My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground“, auch bekannt unter dem Titel Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms“ (Takt 5-24). Anschließend erklingt die bekannte Melodie The Minstrel Boy“ (Takt 29-44). Schließlich ist The Groves of Blarney“, vielleicht bekannter unter dem Titel The Last Rose of Summer“ (Takt 53-68), zu hören. Jede Melodie wird durch eine kurze Einleitung angekündigt und mit einem kurzen Nachspiel beendet. 2. Old Kentucky Memories, nach einer 14 Takte dauerndern Einleitung tritt das Lied My Old Kentucky Home“ in den Mittelpunkt. Im weiteren Verlauf des Stücks erscheinen bruchstückhafte Erinnerungen, die fast so schnell wieder verschwinden, wie sie auftauchen. Dies wird musikalisch durch kleine Motive und Themen aus anderen Liedern dargestellt. Diese sind kurz zu hören und verschwinden dann, während man über Old Kentucky nachdenkt, bis die Einleitung wieder erklingt, die zum Schluss des Stückes führt. 3. Uppland, ist eine schwedische Provinz, die wie ganz Schweden eine reiche Volksmusikkultur mit vielen Liedern und Tänzen hat. Eine große Anzahl der Lieder und Tänze, von denen drei in diesem Abschnitt enthalten sind, stehen in Moll-Tonarten. Zuerst hören wir Svensk folkvisa“ (Takt 1-38), darauf erklingt das berühmte Värmlandsvisan“ (Takt 39-67) und am Ende Vexelsang“ (Takt 68-end). 4. Ratatouille, in diesem Abschnitt werden nicht die Volkslieder eines einzigen Landes oder einer einzigen Provinz vorgestellt, sondern das Stück ist ein Mischung (oder Ratatouille“) aus drei Volksliedern, die keinerlei Beziehung zueinander haben. Zunächst erklingt ein Lied aus Russland (Takt 1-30), dann eines aus Japan (Takt 31-58) und zum Schluss eines aus Australien (Takt 59-Ende). Der Komponist des russischen Liedes mit dem Titel The Nightingale“ ist Alexander Alyabyev (1787 1851). Die Komponisten des japanischen Liedes Sakura“ und der australischen Melodie Waltzing Matilda“ sind unbekannt.

1. Emerald Isle (Île d’émeraude), cette première partie met en vedette la verdoyante île d’Irlande et son riche patrimoine de musique folklorique traditionnelle. Elle s’ouvre avec « My Lodging Is on the Cold Ground », un air également connu sous le titre « Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms » (mesures 5-24). Vient ensuite un autre air célèbre, « The Minstrel Boy » (mesures 29-44), lui-même suivi de « The Groves of Blarney », peut être mieux connu sous le titre « The Last Rose of Summer » (mesures 53-68). Chaque air est annoncé par une courte introduction et s’achève avec une courte conclusion. 2. Old Kentucky Memories (Souvenirs du vieux Kentucky), après une introduction de 14 mesures, toute l’attention se porte sur la chanson « My Old Kentucky Home ». A fil de la pièce, des fragments de souvenirs fugaces émergent, disparaissant aussi vite qu’ils se présentent : cette impression est créée par le biais de courts motifs et thèmes empruntés d’autres chansons. On les entend brièvement puis ils s’estompent, comme de lointains souvenirs du vieux Kentucky, jusqu’ une reprise de l’introduction pour conclure la pièce. 3. Uppland, est une province suédoise aux riches traditions musicales, tout comme l’ensemble de la Suède, qui compte de nombreuses danses et chansons. Beaucoup sont en tonalité mineure, et cette partie en comprend trois. La première est « Svensk folkvisa » (mesures 1-38), qui est suivie de « ‘Värmlandsvisan » (mesures 39-67), et la pièce s’achève avec « Vexelsang » (mesure 68 jusqu’ la fin). 4. Ratatouille, cette dernière partie ne comprend pas d’air provenant d’un seul pays. C’est un méli-mélo, une « ratatouille » de trois chansons folkloriques sans aucun lien. Il y a d’abord une chanson russe, « Le Rossignol » (mesures 1-30), puis « Sakura », originaire du Japon (mesures 31-58) et, enfin, « Waltzing Matilda », venue d’Australie (mesure 59 jusqu’ la fin). La chanson russe est d’Alexander Alyabyev (1787-1851), mais nous ignorons les auteurs des deux autres chansons.

SKU: HL.4002362

UPC: 073999376876. 9.0x12.0x0.076 inches.

Hymns by Giovanni de Palestrina pre-date those of Bach by over a century and incorporate the great polyphonic tradition of Renaissance writing. The compositions used in this suite are from a collection published in 1589 titled Hymns of the Entire Year, and incorporate antiphonal choral effects that lend themselves particularly well to instrumental settings. John Moss uses richly contrasting tone colors and textures as well as characteristic modal tonalities in this wonderful setting for band. (3:30).

SKU: HL.49019330

ISBN 9790220133725. 8.25x11.75x0.242 inches.

The work explores something of how we might experience winter. The title is a play on words and the normal meaning of reels as dances infects both the first movement, with its lilting triplet rhythms, and the last movement which incorporates a vigorous reel-like unison melody that unfolds as part of a series of energetic episodes. The song of the second movement is a long singing line given to the cello, and the ensemble here, as elsewhere, is coloured in the percussion by the use of a steel pan.John Casken.