SKU: R0.44924

SKU: A0.968358

Arranged by veteran performer and music educator, Lawrence Underwood, as the fourth installment in his 2021 Hymn Song Collection series, this brand new setting of Will the Circle Be Unbroken? is a rollicking good time! Alternating between blues, a fast country two-step, and swing, this arrangement is a journey in fun. Suitable for use as special music in church or as a recital piece, this new arrangement is sure to be an audience favorite!

SKU: R0.45949

SKU: A0.551530

Sonata in E Minor, Duration: 7:15
1. Adagio
2. Allegro
3. Menuett & 2 Variations

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was an influential composer who worked during a time of transition between the Baroque and Classical styles of music. His personal approach, known as empfindsamer Stil or sensitive style, applied the principles of rhetoric and drama to musical structures. The duets composed by C.P.E. Bach are significant because they showcase his unique style and are considered to be some of his most important works. They are known for their unpredictability and expressive qualities, which were a departure from the style of his father, Johann Sebastian Bach.

SKU: A0.1318416

This well-known standard is arranged as a clarinet solo with piano accompaniment, including a brief piano solo. Please note that the audio uses the soprano sax version of this arrangement.

SKU: A0.1050878

O mio babbino caro (Oh my dear Papa�) is an aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi (1918) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to separate her from Rinuccio. It provides an interlude expressing lyrical simplicity and love in contrast with the atmosphere of hypocrisy, jealousy, double-dealing, and feuding in medieval Florence. It provides the only set-piece in the through-composed opera. This Aria is arranged by Raymond Fenech The duration is 3.21 minutes and it is an Intermediate level piece.

SKU: A0.533651

A lyrical piece in ABA form for bass clarinet and piano.

SKU: A0.549231

J. S. Bach BWV 508. 

Bist du bei mir

Bach adapted this aria from a lost Stölzel opera called Diomedes. He changed the original orchestral instrumentation to soprano, strings, and continuo.  He also modified the voice-leading making it sound more like a Bach composition. The work appears as BWV 508 No. 25 in the Anna Magdalena Notebook No. 2.  

Source

Only a few remnants of the original opera have survived. Historians speculate that Anna Magdalena got the song from the Leipzig Opera after the bankruptcy of 1720. Chances are good, though, that the tune was a favorite of everyone in Leipzig at the time.  

Lyrics

When thou art near, I go with joy
To death and to my rest.
O how joyous would my end be,
If your fair hands
            Would close my faithful eyes. - Unknown

Bach Overview

First of all, Johann Sebastian Bach is maybe the greatest composer in music history. Certainly, he was prolific. As a result, everyone has heard of his works. Furthermore, these works number well over a thousand. It seems like people are probably most familiar with the instrumental works such as the Brandenburg Concertos, and the Goldberg Variations. But, similarly famous are such noteworthy works as the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Musical Offering, and certainly the Art of Fugue. Seems like his most famous vocal works include the most noteworthy Mass in B Minor. Also, most noteworthy, though, are the St. John Passion, and certainly the Christmas Oratorio.

 History

Bach came from a long line of musicians and above all, composers. Consequently, he, first of all, pursued a career as a church organist. So as a result, he gained employment in various Protestant churches in Germany. For a while, he worked as a court musician in Weimar and Köthen. Here he probably developed his organ style and likewise his chamber music style. Eventually, he, therefore, gained an appointment as Cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig. Here he worked until difficulties with his employer ultimately drove him away. The King of Poland finally appointed him as court composer.

 Style

It seems like Bach created a fascinating new international style. He synthesized elements of the most noteworthy European music ideas into his new style. Even more, this new style was probably his synthesis of European musical rhythm and form. Furthermore, he demonstrated a complete mastery of counterpoint and motivic development. His sense of harmonic organization probably propelled him to the top.

Revival               

Mendelssohn conducted a Bach revival in the nineteenth century. His effort probably helped to re-familiarize the public with the magnitude of Bach’s works. During this period, scholars published many noteworthy Bach biographies. Moreover, Wolfgang Schmieder published the BWV (Bach Werke Verzeichnis). As a result, this is now the official catalog of his entire artistic output. The BWV number allows us to locate a work in the catalog. Sometimes scholars will simply use an S (Schmieder) as an abbreviation for BWV.

 Voyager

NASA launched two Voyager spacecraft in 1977. Onboard are phonograph records with sounds, music, and images of life on Earth. The purpose of the launch was to inform intelligent extraterrestrial life forms about conditions on Earth. The music on the disc is varied. There is Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Stravinsky among others. However, because Bach is so important in our music history, it contains three times more Bach than all the others combined.