Piano,Violin - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549327 By Barry Manilow. By Bruce Johnston. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Contemporary,Rock. 8 pages. Jmsgu3 #3486059. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549327). Duration: ca. 3:00, score: 5 pages, solo part: 1 page, piano part: 2 pages.Very famous song suitable for church, recital or nightclub. I Write the Songs is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and made famous by Barry Manilow. Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976[2] after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975.[3] It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977.[3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song of 1976.[4]The original version was recorded by The Captain & Tennille, who worked with Johnston in the early 1970s with The Beach Boys. It appears on their 1975 album, Love Will Keep Us Together. The first release of I Write the Songs as a single was by then teen-idol David Cassidy from his 1975 solo album The Higher They Climb, which was also produced by Bruce Johnston. Cassidy's version reached #11 on the UK Singles Chart in August of that year.[5]Johnston has stated that, for him, the I in the song is God,[2] and that songs come from the spirit of creativity in all of us. He has said that the song is not about his Beach Boys bandmate Brian Wilson.[6]Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip.[3] After persuasion by Clive Davis, then president of Arista Records, Manilow recorded the song, and his version of I Write the Songs was the first single taken from the album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. It first charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 1975, reaching the top of the chart nine weeks later, on January 17, 1976. Wikipedia

Piano,Violin - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.948808 Composed by Serghei Rachmaninov. Arranged by Adrian F. Pipas. 20th Century. 7 pages. Adrian F. Pipas #6642575. Published by Adrian F. Pipas (A0.948808). ЗдеÑ�ÑŒ хорошо (Zdes' khorosho, How nice is here) was written in April 1902, in a sweet moment in the composer's life: he had overcome a creative block and had just married his cousin Natalia Sarina. Zdes' khorosho is n. 7 from Twelve Romances, op. 21, a beautiful song that talks about the bond between man, nature and God. It’s also a love song; One of the things I like the most is the balance between contemplation and passion that Rachmaninov accomplishes. The poem, by the Countess Glafira Adolfovna Einerling, a contemporary writer of the composer who wrote under the pseudonym of Galina, simply describes a sunset. I don't know if the landscape portrayed is similar to what Rachmaninov could see from his home but no doubt he felt it part of his own; he even changed the beginning of the poem so he said that the nice place was here. Zdes' khorosho is a song full of lyricism, seemingly simple but demanding for the singer (please pay attention to the pianissimo at the last verse, which seems to arise from nowhere), with an exquisite accompaniment. Some scholars think that the true essence of Rachmaninov is found in songs like that, rather than in his athletic piano concerts.In 1963, the Russian composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski (father and grandfather of conductors) orchestrated ten songs by Rachmaninov, including Zdes' khorosho, and there is a later orchestration of this song by Michael Rot. You know that I usually find it difficult to renounce the original piano versions, especially when the composer didn't orchestrated them, but I recommend you to listen to Anna Netrebko singing this song with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev.You might wonder why I don't share this version here, there are two reasons: first, I can’t do without that beautiful piano; two, I chose my version months ago (something that lately happens quite often). I said before that Zdes' khorosho is between contemplation and passion; Most of singers enhance the most contemplative perspective, that's the case of the lovely performance by Anna Netrebko. Others sing the most passionate version, like the one we’re listening today. Its tempo is faster than usual, it lasts about a minute and a half; maybe it would surprise you if you're used to slower versions. I hope you enjoy this song as much as me; I think this performance by Nicolai Gedda and Gerald Moore, recorded live in 1966, is wonderful.Source: Liederabend.cathttps://www.liederabend.cat/en/bloc/entrades/400-how-nice-it-is-here