for soprano and piano. Par CASKEN JOHN. Chansons de Verlaine were completed in 2006. The third song, Colloque sentimental, was written in 2003 for Alison Smart and Katharine Durran’s New French Song project. It was as a result of having written one short song to words by Verlaine that I subsequently decided to set two further poems to make a group of three. All three were also set by Debussy: L’…

Par ROZYCKI LUDOMIR. The second volume of Ludomir Rózycki's Selection of songs for voice and piano contains nine pieces: Six songs to words by Tadeusz Micinski, op. 16, from the early period of the composer's work, and three songs composed during the German occupation: Ballade op. 60 to words by Adam Asnyk, Kurant to words by Kazimierz Laskowski and Lullaby (A... a... two cats) to the traditional …

Par SZYMANOWSKI KAROL. (VII) The Polish idiom appeared in Szymanowskis music in 1920, foreshadowing the beginning of a new period of creativity, later called nationalistic. Before this idiom was realised and such compositions typical of the Polish style as the ballet Harnasie, the Mazurkas, Stabat Mater, Fourth Symphony and Second Violin Concerto had been written, the change in musical thinking an…

Par HAYDN JOHANN MICHAEL. The Christmas responsories belong to a particular tradition of choral settings of responsoria which had developed since the middle ot the 16th century. The entirely homophonic style of composition make the words easily understandable. The forward flow of the words - Haydn did not repeat words - is intensified and accentuated by harmonic means. In contrast to hias Holy Wee…

Par BUXTEHUDE DIETRICH. Buxtehude took the melody and words from the evening hymn Christ, der du bist der helle Tag. The words are embellished with coloratures and a change of meter enhances the work’s charme. This composition goes beyond the bounds of a straightforward chorale cantata through its use of concertante elements, which also applies the voice parts. The title of this work, on a copy ma…

Par BUXTEHUDE DIETRICH. Buxtehude took the melody and words from the evening hymn Christ, der du bist der helle Tag. The words are embellished with coloratures and a change of meter enhances the work’s charme. This composition goes beyond the bounds of a straightforward chorale cantata through its use of concertante elements, which also applies the voice parts. The title of this work, on a copy ma…

Psalm 109 (110). Par CARISSIMI GIACOMO. These psalm settings are in the tradition of classical vocal polyphony as practiced in the modified a cappella style of the 17 th century [“stylus gravis”]. Characteristic of this style is the continuo line, which generally doubles the vocal bass, only occasionally functioning independently. Despite its closeness to the tradition of the a-cappella style, Car…

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war! It is these words from Shakespeare's Othello that these works by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar fall back on. The work was a sensational success from the very beginning, especially March #1. At its premiere in 1901 under the composer's direction, the audience requested two repeats - in 1902 the words of 'Land of Hope and Glory' were added to th…

Composed in 1741 Handel's Messiah has remained a popular choice for choir performances for nearly 275 years. With 3 Steps To Sing anyone can now learn and rehearse the piece at home, regardless of their ability to read music.This easy-to-follow learning method for the Tenor part includes the following steps:Step 1 - Visual Learning DVDA voice part recorded by a professional singer (Soprano, Alto, …

Make the silence talk'La Muette knew how to make the silence talk like no one', writes Djavann in his book (La Muette, © Flammarion 2008). Those words deeply touched me for they express one of the most beautiful metaphors in music. Through the lines of discourse, beyond words, I was listening to the silence of 'La Muette'. A rare and intense listening which joins the same internal listening I use …

Lyric Scenes on Fragments by Sappho. Par JOST CHRISTIAN. The Greek poetess Sappho wrote her poems, which have survived in fragmentary form, in exile in Sicily in about 600 BC. Full of natural intensity and liveliness, her verses revolve around the conditions of a human existence that is bittersweet. Her credo is: “the most beautiful thing is that which one loves”. Christian Jost has captured the m…

Große Credomesse. Par MOZART WOLFGANG AMADEUS. Here, as also in his earlier 'Litte Credo Mass' KV 192, Mozart made use of a church music device which can be traced back in south-German and Austrian church music to the beginning of the 18th century: frequent repetition of the opening words of the 'Credo'. This presupposes that the setting of the words of the intonation 'Credo in unum Deum' as part …

Par MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY FELIX. Mendelssohn describes to his friend Klingemann the 1840 work as 'a ?symphony for chorus and orchestra?? First three symphonic movements, to which 12 choral- and solo- movements are appendaged; the words from the Psalms, and indeed all pieces, vocal and instrumental, are composed in the words ?Everything which has breath, Praise the Lord?; one understands by this th…

If you've ever felt compelled to play Flight of the Bumblebee on the 5-string banjo, this is the book for you!Challenging banjo transcriptions of classical masterpieces may seem like a humorous anachronism to some, but not for Italian master Claudio Parravicini, a conservatory graduate who, while majoring in French horn, always believed that the banjo was 'a virtuoso instrument capable of enrichin…