Full Orchestra - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1465428

By Eric Benjamin. By Eric Benjamin. 20th Century,Christmas,Classical. 94 pages. Eric Benjamin #1044130. Published by Eric Benjamin (A0.1465428).

A setting for narrator and large orchestra (2+1 2+1 2+1 2/4231 cel. harp tym+2 strgs) of the classic Christmas poem by Clement Moore.  Duration is 6 mins. 

Lyrical and poignant, it is easily  playable by groups at all levels.     Also available in versions for chamber orchestra, band and chamber groups.  

Full Orchestra - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1452522

By Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. By Henry Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. Arranged by Eric Benjamin. 20th Century,Pop,Soul. 44 pages. Eric Benjamin #1031825. Published by Eric Benjamin (A0.1452522).

Classic Motown that features bassoon and piccolo in the studio recording!, and references Pagliacci in the lyrics  Pitched a little lower (Bb) for ease of use, using picc +flute.222/2220 piano glock set strings. 

Full Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1023992

Composed by Kyle Wernke. Contemporary,Folk,Holiday,Patriotic. Score and parts. 109 pages. Kyle Wernke Publishing #2121501. Published by Kyle Wernke Publishing (A0.1023992).

Commissioned by the Fort Smith Symphony - John Jeter, Conductor John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 - November 10, 1843) is perhaps the most overlooked of the Founding Fathers of The United States. Born and raised in Connecticut, John Trumbull was the son of Jonathan Trumbull (October 12, 1710 - August 17, 1785), Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784, the only Royal Governor to side with the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Trumbull fought in the revolution, witnessing Bunker Hill and using his artistic abilities to sketch the British Works at Boston. Later, he was appointed second personal aide to General Washington, and in June 1776 he served as deputy adjutant-general to General Horatio Gates. Trumbull resigned from the army in 1777 over a dispute about the dating of his commission. In 1780 Trumbull traveled to London to study under Benjamin West: It was West who urged Trumbull to paint small pictures of the War of Independence, the works which would make him famous (he painted around 250 during his lifetime). In September of 1780, Continental troops captured British agent Major John Andre, after news of this reached Great Britain, Trumbull was arrested in retaliation. He was imprisoned for seven months. After the War, Trumbull again traveled to London, and then to Paris. It was here that Trumbull began work on two of the works depicted in this piece. He made sketches for the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis and, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, the US minister to France, he began working on The Declaration of Independence. In addition to paintings depicting the revolution, Trumbull painted numerous portraits, including those of George Washington, George Clinton (Governor of New York), Alexander Hamilton (the source of the $10 bill), and John Adams. I was tasked with composing a piece which would be educational for the students in attendance. I ended up writing a piece that would have educational material both in its musical construction and its subject matter. Trumbull's use of color, especially darker hues, and the structure of his paintings informed the construction of the piece. Three specific paintings influenced the work: The Capture of the Hessisans at the Battle of Trenton, The Declaration of Independence, and The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. A recurring theme in the work of Trumbull is how the central act is always depicted at the center, with opposing groups on either side. The piece derives its form from this trait, casting the two large battle sections on the outsides, with the central act of the Revolutionary War in the center (The Declaration of Independence). The only percussion in the piece are drums, lending a certain militaristic feeling to the work, and evoking images of marching armies. Extended techniques are used repeatedly, casting a shade of uncertainty around the military campaigns (Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware and the seige at Yorktown), while The Declaration of Independence is scored in strict time and with more traditional harmonies, solidifying the event as the central moment of American history.

Full Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018959

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 34 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6078723. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018959).

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.

Full Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018940

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 13 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6078661. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018940).

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.

Full Orchestra - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018924

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 76 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6072951. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018924).

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.

Full Orchestra - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1018921

Composed by Benjamin Harry Sajo. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 35 pages. Benjamin Sajo #6072943. Published by Benjamin Sajo (A0.1018921).

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.

By American Folk Hymn. Arranged by Benjamin Harlan. Orchestra. Concert; Hymn; Sacred. EPak. 7 pages. Duration 1:50. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital Sheet Music