SKU: A0.549256

Flight of the Bumblebee from Korsakov's Tale of Tsar Saltan Score: 9 pages, Solo part: 3 pages, Piano accompaniment part: 3 pages. Duration: ca. 1:15 Amaze your listeners with this short but stunning recital encore! Korsakov:

Flight of the Bumblebee

Flight of the Bumblebee is, to be sure, an orchestral interlude composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan. Korsakov, of course, intended to musically portray the chaotic flying pattern of a bumblebee. Nowadays, this piece is one of the comparatively more famous classical works because it frequently appears from time to time in popular culture. In the opera, the piece appears notably at the close of Act III, Tableau 1. This is when the magic Swan-Bird, in fact, changes the Prince (the son of the Tsar) into a bee so he can fly away to visit his father. Interestingly, at this point in the drama, his father, in effect, does not know that he is alive.

 

Korsakov Background

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 –1908) was a uniquely famous composer from Russia. He was likewise a member of an infamous assembly of composers called The Five. Korsakov was furthermore an expert in orchestration. His correspondingly most famous orchestral compositions-Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the Scheherazade suite-are important monuments of the standard music repertoire.  Also, comparatively very important are his suites and excerpts from his 15 operas. Korsakov was moreover fond of using Russian folklore and fairy tales in his music, such as Scheherazade. 

Nationalistic Style

Korsakov believed, similarly to fellow outspoken composer Balakirev, in creating a nationalistic, Russia-centric style of classical music. The new style was in fact called Orientalism. It similarly relied on native Russian materials, exotic scales, and experimental harmonic, melodic and rhythmic procedures. This practice, conversely, ran counter to the developments in Western musical culture.

Musical Developments

Nevertheless, Korsakov developed an appreciation of Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony, and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. Moreover, he undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and mastered Western methods, incorporating them in conjunction with the influences of Mikhail Glinka and other members of The Five. His techniques of composition and orchestration were additionally enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner.

Naval Service

Korsakov combined his music career accordingly with a career in the Russian military. He was in the first place an officer in the Russian Navy. In due time, he was appointed as a civilian Inspector of Naval Bands. As a result, Korsakov expanded his knowledge of woodwind and brass playing, which in turn heightened his capabilities in orchestration.

Legacy

Korsakov in due time contributed a significant number of Russian nationalist works. He also prepared, from time to time, compositions by The Five for presentation. This brought their works straightaway into the active classical repertoire as well. He also shaped an entire generation of younger composers during his time as a music educator. Therefore, music historians consider Korsakov as the foremost engineer of what the public considers to be the Russian style of composition. He served, all in all, as a transitional figure between The Five and the classically trained composers who became the norm over time. In addition to the Russians, he forthwith influenced non-Russian composers such as Ravel, Debussy, Dukas, and Respighi.

 

SKU: A0.533351

One of the most enigmatic figures in the history of the Saxophone, Ali Ben Sou Alle (Charles-Valentin Soualle) was born in
1820 in Arras, France. After receiving his first prize in Clarinet at the Paris Conservatory in 1844. he served as the director of
music of The French Marine Band in Senegal, and then was named first clarinet solo at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. However, after the Revolution of 1848, Soualle was forced to flee France to England where he settled in London, playing in the Orchestra of the Queen's Theatre. His songs and piano pieces were published in London.

While in London, Soualle met another exiled French musician, Louis Antoine Jullien, who conducted a light music series in
London. Jullien encouraged Soualle to take up the saxophone, and after modifying the instrument by adding a single octave
mechanism (the modern system used today) and keys for the lower register, Soualle became known as a virtuoso and began
touring performing solo recitals (or mono-concerts, as they were called at the time) calling his modified saxophone the
«turcophone ». He performed in all the European capitals and then traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Manilla, Java, through
China and then to India where he finally settled in Mysore, becoming the director of the Royal Music for the Maharadjah. It was
during this period that he converted to Islam and changed his nmae to Ali ben Sou Alle (or Ali, son of Soualle). He
subsequently travaled to Ile Maurice, to French Polynesia, the Cap of Natal and the Cap of Good Hope. All of these voyages
were subjects of musical works which Soualle entitled Souvenirs de... and may perhaps have been part of a collection known
as The Royal Album which was presented to the Prince of Wales after a royal concert. Soualle returned to Mysore in 1858 and was almost killed in the Indian Revolution.

Around 1860, Soualle returned to France for health reasons and began publishing his own music. On March 27 1865, he
performed a command performance for the Emperor Napoleon III at the Tuileries Palace in the presence of the entire Imperial
Family. After 1865, nothing more is known about him.

Souvenirs du Cap Bonne Espérence (Souvenirs of the Cap of Good Hope) begins with a dramatic aria, perhaps evoking the trip to the Cap which was, in the 19th century, still very dangerous. The Irish folksong « the Irish Emigrant » is presented as a them and in two variations. Finally an extended polka in rondo form finishes the work brilliantly.

SKU: A0.549335

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

SKU: A0.1083429

The 19th century Christian hymn which is well known as the alleged last song the band on RMS Titanic played before the ship sank has been freshly arranged for a Soprano Saxophone solo with Piano accompaniment. Accessible and appropriate for any church or concert setting. An accompaniment track is also available.

SKU: A0.1083630

The 19th century Christian hymn which is well known as the alleged last song the band on RMS Titanic played before the ship sank has been freshly arranged for a Soprano Saxophone solo with Piano accompaniment. Accessible and appropriate for any church or concert setting. An accompaniment track is also available.

SKU: A0.730536

SKU: A0.646595

This dance from the pen of papa Mozart incorporates the use of some ornamentation. Arranged here for soprano saxophone and piano.

SKU: A0.1182615

The Eagles' Victory Song was the creation of Charles Borrelli and Richard Courtland Harrison, a Washington, D.C. music teacher and arranger for jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. The song was mistakenly credited to R. Courtland by the Copyright office and in various editions of Eagles programs from the late 1950s through the 1960s.

In 1963, Jerry Wolman purchased the Philadelphia Eagles. Wolman was a sports fan growing up and loved hearing the Washington Redskins' fight song Hail to the Redskins at games. Spawning from his admiration for the Redskins' song, Wolman searched for musicians to implement a team song for the Eagles, and founded The Philadelphia Eagles' Sound of Brass band in 1964. The group included 200 musicians and dancers, and was led by Arlen Saylor, who was appointed as the Eagles' entertainment director in 1966 and is credited with penning an arrangement of the fight song that the band played at home games during halftime in the 1960s. Wolman's push to popularize the fight song flew under the radar, however, and in 1969 the Sound of Brass band was discontinued.

The song came back into light in 1997, when Bobby Mansure, founder of an unofficial Eagles pep band, asked team management to allow the band to play in the parking lot during home games. Management gave Mansure's pep band an audition, allowing them to play at two preseason games to gauge fan reaction. The song went over so well that Mansure and the band retained a permanent position as the official Philadelphia Eagles Pep Band.

In 1998, following Mansure's reintroduction of the song, Eagles management attempted to rebuild its popularity among fans by changing some aspects of the song: they modified the key, changed the opening lyric from Fight, Eagles Fight to Fly, Eagles Fly, and re-marketed the song with that as the title. In addition, they appended the popular E-A-G-L-E-S chant—which had emerged in the 1980s—to the end of the song. While management planned to play the song throughout the 1998 season, the Eagles' poor performance that year caused them to hold off reintroducing the song until the following year. The Eagles fared better during their 1999 season, and subsequently, the fight song was played after every score.

SKU: A0.533493

Souvenirs d’Île Maurice begins with a lyrical pastorale in 12/8 time which features chromatic harmonies in the piano. The Rondo section presents first a Waltz theme in minor mode and then reprises the pastorale theme which is then varied in several brilliant passages.

One of the most enigmatic figures in the history of the Saxophone, Ali Ben Sou Alle (Charles-Valentin Soualle) was born in
1820 in Arras, France. After receiving his first prize in Clarinet at the Paris Conservatory in 1844. he served as the director of
music of The French Marine Band in Senegal, and then was named first clarinet solo at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. However, after the Revolution of 1848, Soualle was forced to flee France to England where he settled in London, playing in the Orchestra of the Queen's Theatre. His songs and piano pieces were published in London.

While in London, Soualle met another exiled French musician, Louis Antoine Jullien, who conducted a light music series in
London. Jullien encouraged Soualle to take up the saxophone, and after modifying the instrument by adding a single octave
mechanism (the modern system used today) and keys for the lower register, Soualle became known as a virtuoso and began
touring performing solo recitals (or mono-concerts, as they were called at the time) calling his modified saxophone the
«turcophone ». He performed in all the European capitals and then traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Manilla, Java, through
China and then to India where he finally settled in Mysore, becoming the director of the Royal Music for the Maharadjah. It was
during this period that he converted to Islam and changed his nmae to Ali ben Sou Alle (or Ali, son of Soualle). He
subsequently travaled to Ile Maurice, to French Polynesia, the Cap of Natal and the Cap of Good Hope. All of these voyages
were subjects of musical works which Soualle entitled Souvenirs de... and may perhaps have been part of a collection known
as The Royal Album which was presented to the Prince of Wales after a royal concert. Soualle returned to Mysore in 1858 and was almost killed in the Indian Revolution.

Around 1860, Soualle returned to France for health reasons and began publishing his own music. On March 27 1865, he
performed a command performance for the Emperor Napoleon III at the Tuileries Palace in the presence of the entire Imperial
Family. After 1865, nothing more is known about him.

SKU: A0.1451874

This newly arranged version of a popular Christmas Spiritual is in the style of the Big Band era. It is scored for a Soprano Saxophone solo with Piano accompaniment. This arrangement is accessible and appropriate for any church or concert setting. An accompaniment track is also available.