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.  â€ƒThe 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.

E-Flat Clarinet,Instrumental Solo,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.577240 Composed by David Warin Solomons. 20th Century,Christian,Christmas. Score and individual part. 8 pages. David Warin Solomons #3038331. Published by David Warin Solomons (A0.577240). This instrumental piece is based on my Christmas Song - a meditation on finding the Christ child within oneself

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549357 Composed by Bach-Gounod. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas,Contemporary,Easter,Wedding. Score and part. 11 pages. Jmsgu3 #3490029. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549357). This arrangement follows the original Bach prelude and so excludes the extra measure that Schwencke introduced in 1783. If you prefer the extra measure, please see Bach-Gounod: Ave Maria, Schwencke version for Alto Clarinet & Piano, S0.661759. The convenient 1st & 2nd endings provide an option for extended performance with minimal page turns for the accompanist. The duration with repeat is about 4:50. Score: 6 pages. Solo part: 1 page, piano part: 4 pages. Based on Prelude #1 in C Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. Well suited for church meditations or school programs or recital encores. Ave Maria Ave Maria is a Catholic prayer that consequently asks for the mother of Jesus (Mary) to intercede. Charles Gounod composed a famous version of the Ave Maria. He was a French Romantic composer who overlaid a new melody on an existing Bach chord progression. The progression is from Bach’s Prelude No. 1 from Well-Tempered Clavier I. This version, as well as Schubert’s version, have become essential items at weddings, masses, and funerals. 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 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 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 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.  

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549450 Composed by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Instructional,Romantic Period,Sacred,Standards. Score and part. 15 pages. Jmsgu3 #3497161. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549450). Score: 10 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 3 pages. Duration: 4:25. Not difficult, but requires sensitivity & dynamic control. Suitable for recitals, church meditations, or school programs.  School Years First of all, Sullivan attended music school at the Royal Academy of Music. Because Sullivan was so talented, the Academy awarded him the Mendelssohn Scholarship for two years in a row. He, therefore, studied with John Goss, who studied with Thomas Atwood, who in turn studied with Mozart. Sullivan similarly studied the piano at the Academy with Arthur O’Leary. Study Abroad During his first year, he also earned money by singing solos in the Chapel Royal. At the end of his second year, the Academy consequently continued his scholarship and sent him to study at the Leipzig Conservatoire. He certainly studied composition, and likewise counterpoint and piano. Hence, during his final year in Leipzig, Sullivan finally completed his graduation composition project: Incidental Music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Association with Gilbert It seems like Sullivan built the bulk of his composing career largely in the 1860s. As a result, he became famous for his incidental music for the Tempest and his Irish Symphony. He, therefore, began collaborating with the poet W. S. Gilbert in the 1870s. Rather than focus on serious opera, Gilbert and Sullivan, in contrast, concentrated on comic opera such as H. M. S. Pinafore, the Pirates of Penzance, and the Mikado. Therefore, certainly as a result of his education and experience, Sullivan composed a total of 24 operas, 11 symphonic works, 10 choral pieces. Even more, he wrote a large number of noteworthy hymns such as Onward Christian Soldiers. The general style of his music is maybe similar to Mendelssohn, Schumann, and perhaps Liszt. It seems like Sullivan was fond of writing distinct melodies for each character in his operettas. His melodies combine together as the characters did. Furthermore, he was a master orchestrator, and therefore played the flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone fluently. The Lost Chord Sullivan wrote his most noteworthy song the Lost Chord in 1877. As a result, it was a great success and was certainly performed all over the world by a variety of singers such as Enrico Caruso. Because Sullivan was the most famous composer in England, the Lost Chord became the most famous of all British or American songs of the 1870s and 1890s. Consequently, in 1888 Thomas Edison recorded The Lost Chord for the phonograph. It was one of the first songs ever recorded. Furthermore, Queen Victoria knighted Sullivan in 1883.  

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549516 Composed by Edvard Grieg. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Instructional,Romantic Period,Sacred,Standards. Score and part. 17 pages. Jmsgu3 #3502617. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549516). Duration: ca. 4:00, Score: 9 pages, solo part: 3 pages, piano part: 4 pages. Super-famous instantly recognizable tune, not very difficult - suitable for a recital or church meditation. Works particularly well on the Alto Clarinet! Grieg Background In the first place, Edvard Grieg (1843 –1907) was a Norwegian composer as well as a concert pianist. As a matter of fact, most music historians consider him one of the foremost Romantic-era composers. Consequently, his music is part of the international standard classical repertoire. Grieg moreover used Norwegian folk music in his own compositions.  Consequently, he ushered Norwegian music to transnational consciousness. Furthermore, he forged a national musical identity for Norway. It is important to realize that he did this in a manner similar to Jean Sibelius in Finland, and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia. Legacy Grieg is especially celebrated in the city of Bergen. For example, the city has erected numerous statues depicting Grieg. Specifically, the city has named a concert hall (Grieg Hall), a music school (Grieg Academy), and a professional choir (Edvard Grieg Kor) after him. As a matter of fact, there is also a museum located at his former home in Troldhaugen. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (Op. 46) Grieg wrote incidental music for the purpose of illustrating a play by Ibsen known as Peer Gynt. The play includes, in particular, the famous selection entitled, In the Hall of the Mountain King. In this composition, Grieg depicts the exploits of the scoundrel, Peer Gynt. In one famous episode, for example, Peer steals a bride at her wedding. For this reason, the people chase him, but soon Peer falls, striking his skull on a boulder. He wakens forthwith in a highland bounded by angry gnomes. Consequently, the music of In the Hall of the Mountain King represents the mad gnomes taunting Peer. Therefore, each time the theme repeats it gets louder and faster. In the end, Peer surprisingly escapes from the mountain. Holberg Suite and Misc. Summary It must be remembered that Grieg originally wrote his Holberg Suite for the piano. In other words, he only later arranged it for strings. Further, Grieg composed many songs with lyrics by famous writers such as Heine, Goethe, Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, and others. On balance, Norwegian pianist Eva Knardahl recorded altogether Grieg’s whole piano catalog on LP in 1980. These recordings were released again on CD in 2006. In any event, Grieg himself performed and recorded the bulk of these pieces toward the end of his life.

E-Flat Clarinet,Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549540 Composed by Edvard Grieg. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Concert,Contemporary,Romantic Period,Sacred,Standards. Score and part. 11 pages. Jmsgu3 #3505897. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549540). Duration: ca. 3:40, Score: 5 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 3 pages. Super-famous instantly recognizable tune, not very difficult - suitable for a recital, funeral or church meditation. Grieg Background In the first place, Edvard Grieg (1843 –1907) was a Norwegian composer as well as a concert pianist. As a matter of fact, most music historians consider him one of the foremost Romantic era composers. Consequently, his music is part of the international standard classical repertoire. Grieg moreover used Norwegian folk music in his own compositions.  Consequently, he ushered Norwegian music to transnational consciousness. Furthermore, he forged a national musical identity for Norway. It is important to realize that he did this in a manner similar to Jean Sibelius in Finland, and BedÅ™ich Smetana in Bohemia. Legacy Grieg is especially celebrated in the city of Bergen. For example, the city has erected numerous statues depicting Grieg. Specifically, the city has named a concert hall (Grieg Hall), a music school (Grieg Academy) and a professional choir (Edvard Grieg Kor) after him. As a matter of fact, there is also a museum located at his former home in Troldhaugen. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (Op. 46) Grieg wrote incidental music for the purpose of illustrating a play by Ibsen known as Peer Gynt. The play includes, in particular, the famous selection entitled, In the Hall of the Mountain King. In this composition, Grieg indeed depicts the exploits of the scoundrel, Peer Gynt. In one famous episode, for example, Peer steals a bride at her wedding. For this reason, the people chase him, but soon Peer falls, thereupon striking his skull on a boulder. He wakens forthwith in a highland bounded by angry gnomes. Consequently, the music of In the Hall of the Mountain King represents the mad gnomes taunting Peer. Therefore, each time the theme repeats it gets louder and faster. In the end, Peer surprisingly escapes from the mountain. Holberg Suite and Misc. Summary It must be remembered that Grieg originally wrote his Holberg Suite for the piano. In other words, he only later arranged it for strings. Further, Grieg composed by and large many songs with lyrics by famous writers such as Heine, Goethe, Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, and others. On balance, Norwegian pianist Eva Knardahl recorded altogether Grieg’s whole piano catalog on LP in 1980. These recordings were released again on CD in 2006. In any event, Grieg himself performed and recorded the bulk of these pieces toward the end of his life.Register for free lifetime revisions and updates at www.jamesguthrie.com