Clarinet Solo - Level 1 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.951700

Composed by Michael Arell. Arranged by Michael Arell. Folk,Holiday,Patriotic. Individual part. 3 pages. Michael Arell #6273657. Published by Michael Arell (A0.951700).

Thank you for your interest in learning this music! I have designed the piece so that it will be approachable to musicians after about a year of playing, while still enjoyable for more advanced players. Included is a version in traditional Western notation and a second version with letter names to support learning. Please visit my website www.MichaelArell.com to access a sample recording. Great fit for schools, students, and churches.
Learn more about me on my website: www.MichaelArell.com

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549758

Composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Children,Christmas,Romantic Period,Standards. Score and part. 17 pages. Jmsgu3 #3533255. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549758).

Duration: ca. 3:15 Score: 10 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 4 pages. Tchaikovsky paints a very mysterious mood in this favorite masterpiece from the Nutcracker Suite. It is also a traditional Christmas favorite.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is probably the most popular of the great composers in America. His music certainly appeals to musicians. Likewise, it appeals even to folks who don’t normally listen to serious music. This is probably because of his most noteworthy melodies. Above all, he writes with great emotion. This certainly makes a most noteworthy if not an unforgettable impact.

Education

First of all, He attended classes at the Russian Musical Society. Even more, He also attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied music theory with Nikolai Zaremba. He also consequently studied composition with Anton Rubenstein. It seems like Rubenstein came under criticism from a group of Russian composers known as the Five.

The Five

The Five certainly rejected Western musical influences. They rather sought to use elements from Russian music. They furthermore wanted to use more exotic musical materials.

Western Techniques

More than other Russian composers, Tchaikovsky studied modern Western music. He certainly develops his music like the European masters. So, rather than repeating a motive, he moves to a new key. He then introduces a different theme in the new key. Hence, he maintained his independence from the Five. Even more, he became the first Russian composer of international stature.

Influences

Tchaikovsky was probably influenced in his ballet scoring by Léo Delibes. Richard Wagner influenced his symphonic writing. Tchaikovsky’s most famous works include the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker Suite, and Swan Lake. Also famous are the Violin Concerto in D and the six symphonies. The greatest of the six symphonies may be No. 6, the Pathétique.

Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

The Nutcracker Suite is a ballet that was performed for the first time in December 1892 in St. Petersburg. To begin with, the original ballet failed to attract a positive reception. However, the ballet suite became probably one of the most popular of all of Tchaikovsky’s works. The ballet suite became even more famous in the 1960s. It is now performed all over the world, particularly during the Christmas season.

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549690

Composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Children,Christmas,Romantic Period,Standards. Score and part. 14 pages. Jmsgu3 #3520445. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549690).

Duration: ca. 1:42, 52 measures, Score: 7 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 4 pages. A popular Christmas favorite from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is probably the most popular of the great composers in America. His music certainly appeals to musicians. Likewise, it appeals even to folks who don’t normally listen to serious music. This is probably because of his most noteworthy melodies. Above all, he writes with great emotion. This certainly makes a most noteworthy if not an unforgettable impact.

Education

First of all, He attended classes at the Russian Musical Society. Even more, He also attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied music theory with Nikolai Zaremba. He also consequently studied composition with Anton Rubenstein. It seems like Rubenstein came under criticism from a group of Russian composers known as the Five.

The Five

The Five certainly rejected Western musical influences. They rather sought to use elements from Russian music. They furthermore wanted to use more exotic musical materials.

Western Techniques

More than other Russian composers, Tchaikovsky studied modern Western music. He certainly develops his music like the European masters. So, rather than repeating a motive, he moves to a new key. He then introduces a different theme in the new key. Hence, he maintained his independence from the Five. Even more, he became the first Russian composer of international stature.

Influences

Tchaikovsky was probably influenced in his ballet scoring by Léo Delibes. Richard Wagner influenced his symphonic writing. Tchaikovsky’s most famous works include the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker Suite, and Swan Lake. Also famous are the Violin Concerto in D and the six symphonies. The greatest of the six symphonies may be No. 6, the Pathétique.

Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

The Nutcracker Suite is a ballet that was performed for the first time in December 1892 in St. Petersburg. To begin with, the original ballet failed to attract a positive reception. However, the ballet suite became probably one of the most popular of all of Tchaikovsky’s works. The ballet suite became even more famous in the 1960s. It is now performed all over the world, particularly during the Christmas season.

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549712

Composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Children,Christmas,Romantic Period,Standards. Score and part. 15 pages. Jmsgu3 #3530309. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549712).

Duration: ca. 58, score: 9 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 3 pages.This piece would be a perfect recital encore - short, energetic - leave your audience wanting more. Also, program this for your Christmas pageant.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is probably the most popular of the great composers in America. His music certainly appeals to musicians. Likewise, it appeals even to folks who don’t normally listen to serious music. This is probably because of his most noteworthy melodies. Above all, he writes with great emotion. This certainly makes a most noteworthy if not an unforgettable impact.

Education

First of all, He attended classes at the Russian Musical Society. Even more, He also attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied music theory with Nikolai Zaremba. He also consequently studied composition with Anton Rubenstein. It seems like Rubenstein came under criticism from a group of Russian composers known as the Five.

The Five

The Five certainly rejected Western musical influences. They rather sought to use elements from Russian music. They furthermore wanted to use more exotic musical materials.

Western Techniques

More than other Russian composers, Tchaikovsky studied modern Western music. He certainly develops his music like the European masters. So, rather than repeating a motive, he moves to a new key. He then introduces a different theme in the new key. Hence, he maintained his independence from the Five. Even more, he became the first Russian composer of international stature.

Influences

Tchaikovsky was probably influenced in his ballet scoring by Léo Delibes. Richard Wagner influenced his symphonic writing. Tchaikovsky’s most famous works include the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker Suite, and Swan Lake. Also famous are the Violin Concerto in D and the six symphonies. The greatest of the six symphonies may be No. 6, the Pathétique.

Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

The Nutcracker Suite is a ballet that was performed for the first time in December 1892 in St. Petersburg. To begin with, the original ballet failed to attract a positive reception. However, the ballet suite became probably one of the most popular of all of Tchaikovsky’s works. The ballet suite became even more famous in the 1960s. It is now performed all over the world, particularly during the Christmas season.

Clarinet Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018946

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Individual part. 1 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6078675. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018946).

Programme Notes:

 This composition was written to be considered for pairing alongside Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony #3, the Eroica, but can stand on its own virtues as an intense and slow meditation on heroism. The music is like a boiling pot on the stove that’s just began to overflow its bubbles.

 The first part of the title, kommos, is a Classical Greek term from Attic dramaturgy, literally meaning striking but specifically referring to beating oneself up during lamentation--ripping at the hair, gouging out the eyes--like Oedipus--slapping the forehead, and other acts amid moments of extreme emotional turmoil. For example, from Aeschylus's play Agamemnon, a character bewails: Apollo, Apollo! God of the Ways, my destroyer! For you have destroyed me-and utterly [...]What is this fresh woe [...]what monstrous, monstrous horror, beyond love's enduring, beyond all remedy? And help stands far away! We can easily imagine physical accompaniment to the script; rather than bottling up the pain, the hero lets it all explosively come out.  

 The second part of the title, When the world moved on, is an epigraph taken from American author Stephen King’s The Dark Tower epic. The primary setting of the novel, a world similar in many ways to our own, is experiencing a dark age where the glorious past is all but a distant memory and all good things are referred to wistfully as occurring, When the world moved on. Yet, the main protagonist, Roland, the last gunslinger, emphasizes that it is not just a figure of speech, but the literal distances between destinations have increased, the positions of the stars have changed, as well as the occurrence of other unnatural phenomena. The world has become a gulf of isolation from all corners.

 Taken together, this piece is a lamentation for when the world moved on. Truly completed on Yom Kippur during the Covid-19 Pandemic, being unable to fast or go to synagogue, this is my atonement.

About the Composer:

 Benjamin Sajo (b. 1988) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music, as well as an educator. Since developing a fiercely independent creative voice upon the completion of his studies at Western (2010) and McGill Universities (2013), he continues to find inspiration from the intersection of mythology, art, and nature upon the contemporary human experience. In 2019, he released his premiere album of original music, The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone & Strings, with support from the Ontario Arts Council. He is a member of SOCAN and the League of Canadian Composers.

Clarinet Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018929

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Individual part. 5 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6072959. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018929).

Fugue: Wear Pearls and Smile is, on the outset, a fast, rambunctious adventure for many voices playing at the same time. It was conceived as a pairing for the equally vivacious second symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven–his 250th birthday is this year–but can stand on its own as one of my hardest, most challenging works to cook up.

This piece is dedicated to those forced to appear positive when internally they’re falling apart. The title is inspired by a quote that’s been with me for a while, Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile? by Lynn Hecht Schafren, the celebrated American jurist famous for campaigning for gender equity in courts. I’m taking the quote out of its initial context, but the power of that quote, for me, exemplifies how hard it is to maintain a sense of emotional decorum and dignity when you’re authentically a hot mess. And what’s more of a musical hot mess than a fugue?

There are two realities to this piece. I’ll quote Dmitri Shostakovich, from his autobiography: The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, […] It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ‘Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing,’ and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering ‘Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.’ On the one hand, it is insincere happiness, cloying perhaps. But the other truth, I’ll quote Oscar Hammerstein II, from The King and I: While shivering in my shoes / I strike a careless pose / And whistle a happy tune / And no one ever knows, / I'm afraid. I forced myself, against all impulses of my current being, to forge happiness. This piece, with its origin being a mental puzzle (fugues are puzzles), it became a construct where I could lift myself up and regain a sense of purpose. Therefore, it is invented–out of a literal need to survive–pure, genuine happiness.

Future Performances: If you are interested in performing this work, please e-mail me.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:

Benjamin Sajo (b. 1988) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music, as well as an educator. Since developing a fiercely independent creative voice upon the completion of his studies at Western (2010) and McGill Universities (2013), he continues to find inspiration from the intersection of mythology, art, and nature upon the contemporary human experience. In 2019, he released his premiere album of original music, The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone & Strings , with support from the Ontario Arts Council. He is a member of SOCAN and the League of Canadian Composers.

Clarinet Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018927

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Individual part. 5 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6072957. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018927).

Fugue: Wear Pearls and Smile is, on the outset, a fast, rambunctious adventure for many voices playing at the same time. It was conceived as a pairing for the equally vivacious second symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven–his 250th birthday is this year–but can stand on its own as one of my hardest, most challenging works to cook up.

This piece is dedicated to those forced to appear positive when internally they’re falling apart. The title is inspired by a quote that’s been with me for a while, Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile? by Lynn Hecht Schafren, the celebrated American jurist famous for campaigning for gender equity in courts. I’m taking the quote out of its initial context, but the power of that quote, for me, exemplifies how hard it is to maintain a sense of emotional decorum and dignity when you’re authentically a hot mess. And what’s more of a musical hot mess than a fugue?

There are two realities to this piece. I’ll quote Dmitri Shostakovich, from his autobiography: The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, […] It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ‘Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing,’ and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering ‘Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.’ On the one hand, it is insincere happiness, cloying perhaps. But the other truth, I’ll quote Oscar Hammerstein II, from The King and I: While shivering in my shoes / I strike a careless pose / And whistle a happy tune / And no one ever knows, / I'm afraid. I forced myself, against all impulses of my current being, to forge happiness. This piece, with its origin being a mental puzzle (fugues are puzzles), it became a construct where I could lift myself up and regain a sense of purpose. Therefore, it is invented–out of a literal need to survive–pure, genuine happiness.

Future Performances: If you are interested in performing this work, please e-mail me.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:

Benjamin Sajo (b. 1988) is a Canadian composer of contemporary classical music, as well as an educator. Since developing a fiercely independent creative voice upon the completion of his studies at Western (2010) and McGill Universities (2013), he continues to find inspiration from the intersection of mythology, art, and nature upon the contemporary human experience. In 2019, he released his premiere album of original music, The Great War Sextet: Canadian War Poetry with Trombone & Strings , with support from the Ontario Arts Council. He is a member of SOCAN and the League of Canadian Composers.