SKU: A0.555478

An arrangement for string orchestra of the hymn tune New Britain (Amazing Grace), based on a similar piece originally scored for organ. Very simple.

SKU: A0.1324947

Continuing the tradition of pieces based on characters in the Dungeons and Dragons game that I run, The Bedouin of Wyrms follows a young ranger who struggles to find a place in the world, trying to find out how to deal of moral quandaries with no correct answer. Despite this, Sylveon Jastire keeps a kind heart and solemn sense of purpose.

The Passionate

Sylveon Jastire is young and adventurous, with the naivete to match. With this outlook, she cares about only one thing; protecting her family by entering the wilds and taking care of any threats before they even have the chance to become problems. 

The Lamented and The Headstrong

Sylveon, known colloquially as Silver, learns the difficulties of the world, and that nothing is as straight-forward as it was at her desert temple home. In the second movement, Silver learns the consequences actions have on the world, both good and bad. In the third, her resolve tightens as she doubles down on her ideals. This proves to be a good thing, as her tenacity eventually leads to her liberation.

The Free

Silvers work has paid off. Through a strong belief in her ideals and a little flexibility in her methods, Silver has Met countless friends, slain countless evils, and saved the brother she never knew she had from an evil that lurked beneath. Now nothing holds her back and Silver has grown to be one of the strongest people in Verdai.

SKU: A0.813844

Largo (from Symphony No. 9 in E minor) (From the New World) (Db) (String Orchestra) - Intermediate - Digital Download. This marvelous arrangement of the Largo, based on the second movement of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, would be a fabulous addition to any music library and could be performed for concerts, recitals and church services, especially Funerals, but would be appropriate any time during the church year. This arrangement is suitable for high school and college students but professional musicians would also enjoy playing this selection. Included are a score and a complete set of parts (23 pages). This selection is one of the many arrangements from the The Regis Bookshar Trumpet Ensemble's extensive music library which are being made available for the first time.

Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 (subtitled From the New World and popularly know as the New World Symphony), was composed by Antonin Dvorak in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America from 1892 to 1895. It premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City on December 16, 1893 and has been described as one of the most popular of all symphonies. The second movement of the symphony, upon which this arrangement is based, is marked Largo, and begins with a harmonic progression of chords which is then followed by a solo instrument playing the famous main theme.

Dvorak was interested in Native American music and the African-American spirituals he heard in North America. While director of the National Conservatory he encountered an African-American student, Harry T. Burleigh, who sang traditional spirituals to him. Burleigh, later a composer himself, said that Dvorak had absorbed their spirit before writing his own melodies. Dvorak stated:
  
  I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them.

He further explained how Native American music influenced his symphony:

  I have not actually used any of these (Native American) melodies. I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music, and, using these themes as subjects, have developed them with all the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint, and orchestral colour.

In 1893, a newspaper interview quoted Dvorak as saying, I found that the music of the negroes and of the Indians was practically identical, and that the music of the two races bore a remarkable similarity to the music of Scotland. Most historians agree that Dvorak is referring to the pentatonic scale, which is typical of each of these musical traditions.

Dvorak was influenced not only by music he heard, but also by what he had seen, in America. He wrote that he would not have composed his American pieces as he had if he had not seen America. It has been said that Dvorak was inspired by the wide open spaces of America, such as the prairies he may have seen on his trip to Iowa in the summer of 1893. Notices about several performances of the symphony include the phrase wide open spaces about what inspired the symphony and/or about the feelings it conveys to listeners.

The theme from the Largo was adapted into the spiritual Goin' Home (often mistakenly considered a folk song or traditional spiritual) by Dvorak's pupil, William Arms Fisher, who wrote the lyrics in 1922. Regis Bookshar thought it would be wonderful if other instrumentalists could have the opportunity to play this beautiful melody, so, he has created this version for a String Orchestra. Parts included with the purchase are a 1st Violin, a 2nd Violin, a 3rd Violin, a 1st Viola, a 2nd Viola, a 1st Violon.

SKU: A0.1201464

“Mountain Goats and Other Creatures� was Commissioned by Rachel Jayson and the Lexington High School Symphony Orchestra.

It was inspired by the folk music of my native land of Bulgaria, informed by my experience as a rock musician, reimagined through the lense of my place inside of a community of like-minded artists and musicians, where I have made my real home today. 

The first movement - Mountain Goats - is a sort of celebration of renewal, promise, and hope. It represents the tenacious will of grass growing through the snow of early spring, the powerful longing for human connection, the warmth of the sun against your skin on a bright chilly day. It carries both the pristine optimism of youth, and the nervous energy of trying something for the first time. 

The second movement - Samodivi - in contrast is dark, heavy and full of passion and desire. According to Balkan myths, Samodivi are gorgeous nymphs who live in the woods and often seduce men with their beautiful song and dance. They are feared and envied at the same time. The music of the second movement represents the mysterious dark forest at night - lower strings create the moss under your feet, higher strings use extended techniques to simulate the noise of branches clicking the wind, a few soloists represent different creatures - both real and imaginary - scurry through the woods above your head. Then you hear the lone song of a Samodiva in the distance, your heart is beating hard, your steps are leading you straight towards the call against your better judgement. It is the ancient story of fear and desire, of self control and complete abandon. You, the listener, become witness to a wild dance, fire in the woods, snakes in their long blond hairs, slender bodies dressed in white clouds dancing to an imaginary beat.  Then it all ends abruptly and you left to wonder: Was it real? Did I see it? Am I safe?


The third and final movement of the piece is based on a popular rhythmic folk dance in Bulgaria called Kopanitsa, while the melody creates a fugue between the different voices of the orchestra. The Kids are the little of the mountain goats - free to frolic high above tree line, above any human traces, as close to the clouds as one can get and still be touching the ground below. They are carefree, daring, and somewhat naive, yet safe under the watchful gaze of their parent. The movements ends in cascading repetitions of a musical motif in 5/8 representing the relentless passing of time or at least our perception of it.

SKU: A0.962334

Falls House Press has published his works  Faces and Mot pour Laura in the United States. Various articles in specialized journals and sites have cited the composer, such as the Flutist Quarterly (Circus Brasilis - The flute music of Sergio Roberto de Oliveira), Early Music America (Something New for Early Music), Andante.com (The heirs of Villa-Lobos), 21st Century Music, Musicabrasileira.org, etc. Sergio Roberto de Oliveira has frequently been invited to lecture at American universities, and has spoken at more than a dozen institutions including Princeton and Duke. In 2009 he was Artist-in-Residence at Duke University. In addition the USA and the UK, Oliveira's music has also been played in many countries, with invitations for concerts exclusively with his music in México, Italy and Holland (Amsterdam).  The Spanish Magazine Sonograma has published 2 interviews with Sergio.

Sergio is the founder and a member of the group of composers Prelúdio 21. The group is one of the most active worldwide. It holds a distinguished place in Brazilian contemporary music, having been active for 15 consecutive seasons, with a permanent series of monthly concerts since 2008. In 2011 the group released the CD String Quartets, with performances by the Quarteto Radamés Gnattali. Oliveira is also a member of the group of composers Vox Novus, based in New York.

To commemorate 15 years of activity as a composer, Oliveira released a box set with 4 CDs, as well as a CD with composer Mark Hagerty, and produced the series QUINZE, with 13 concerts including his works, between July and October of 2012.  More than 130 musicians, including 28 composers, participated of QUINZE (CDs and series).

His discography includes 14 CDs as producer, 14 as composer, 22 as general producer, 2 as arranger and 2 as pianist. His catalog of compositions includes approximately 115 works for various ensembles, including Symphony Orchestra.  

Sergio Roberto de Oliveira is a member of the Latin Academy of the Arts and Science of Recording.

He died from pancreatic cancer in 2017.