Piano Trio - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549903

Composed by Traditional. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas,Standards. 9 pages. Jmsgu3 #3685139. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549903).

Arranged with new harmony for the final verse.

Origins

The First Noel is an English Christmas carol. Even more, it was probably written in the late Cornish Renaissance period. While other versions spell the title as Nowell, this is a colloquial variation. Furthermore, Noel is an older word meaning Christmas. Therefore the First Noel translates as the First Christmas. First of all, Gilbert and Sandy published the earliest version. As a result, this version appears in the Carols Ancient and Modern songbook of 1823. William Sandy edited and arranged the book. Similarly, his partner Davies Gilbert edited and added the familiar extra verses. 

Stainer

Organist and composer Sir John Stainer published the most noteworthy customary arrangement in the 1870s.  Stainer is, above all, famous for his songbook entitled: Christmas Carols New and Old (1871). This volume served as an essential catalyst for reviving the English Christmas carol.  Other famous Stainer arrangements from this book include What Child Is This, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, and I Saw Three Ships.

Diatonic Function

The melodic structure in the First Noel is uncommon among English folk tunes. It simply repeats one phrase twice and then follows a variation refrain. All three phrases of the song end on the mediant scale degree. This is unusual because the diatonic function of the mediant is non-final compared to the more usual tonic or even dominant degrees. Consequently, this gives the song an open-ended feeling – like maybe it never ends.

Political Context

The Catholic clergy sang carols outside of the church in Latin. After the Protestant Reformation, the reformers thought it would be better for everyone to sing carols. They decided to bring music back to the common folk. So, they translated the lyrics from Latin into a common language. Moreover, the Protestants wanted more control over the music in the church than what the Vatican allowed. Protestant composers such as William Byrd composed complex polyphonic Christmas music that they called carols.

Nonetheless, some famous folk carols were composed in this era. Eminent composers in the nineteenth century began to revise and adapt them. Consequently, they revived the English carol.

Instrumental Duet,Piano Cello,Instrumental Duet,Piano,Violin - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1260424

Composed by Edward Elgar. Arranged by B. C. Dockery. 19th Century,Classical,March,Romantic Period. 6 pages. Ben Dockery #853591. Published by Ben Dockery (A0.1260424).

Most commonly heard as a graduation processional, this is Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, March No. 1. Arranged for violin and cello duet with optional piano accompaniment. Great for lessons, recitals, graduation and commencement services. Easy intermediate level. Includes score and parts.

Instrumental Duet,Piano Cello,Instrumental Duet,Piano,Violin - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.624659

Composed by Irving Berlin. Arranged by Stephen DeCesare. Contemporary. Score and parts. 8 pages. Exultet Music #4796605. Published by Exultet Music (A0.624659).

The commonly regarded Christmas song which was featured in the film Holiday Inn has now been freshly arranged as a duet for Violin and Cello with Piano accompaniment. Accessible and appropriate for any school or concert setting.

Piano Trio - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549883

Composed by Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Romantic Period,Wedding. 33 pages. Jmsgu3 #3601997. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549883).

Score: 18 pages, piano part: 6 pages, cello part: 4 pages, violin part: 4 pages. duration: ca. 5'. Register for free lifetime updates and revisions of this product at www.jamesguthrie.com This is the famous wedding march from Op. 61 composed in 1842 and commonly performed as a recessional march at the end of a wedding. The piece was originally composed for orchestra, then arranged for organ and performed by Mendelssohn himself.

Mendelssohn: Wedding March

Mendelssohn’s Wedding March is so popular that it’s difficult to imagine a wedding without it. It seems like it’s been around for eternity. In any case, it was only 150 years or so ago that the Wedding March came about. It was performed in Potsdam for the first time in 1842, as a piece of Mendelssohn’s music for the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was first used for a wedding in 1858

Mendelssohn Background

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 –1847) was, by all means, a German mastermind composer, musician and orchestra conductor of the Romantic period. Consequently, Mendelssohn composed in the usual forms of the time - symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music, and chamber music. To summarize, his most famous works include his music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, The Hebrides Overture, his later Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, and his Octet for Strings. His most well-known piano pieces, by and large, are the Songs Without Words. 

Artistic Standing

 Musical tastes change from time to time. Moreover, just such a change occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This plus rampant antisemitism brought a corresponding amount of undue criticism. Fortunately, however, his artistic inventiveness has indeed been critically re-evaluated. As a result, Mendelssohn is once again among the most prevalent composers of the Romantic era.

Early Family Life

Mendelssohn was, in fact, born into a prominent Jewish family. His grandfather was, notably, the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Felix was, in fact, raised without religion. At the age of seven, he was all of a sudden baptized as a Reformed Christian. He was, moreover, a child musical prodigy. Nevertheless, his parents did not attempt to exploit his talent.

Early Adulthood

Mendelssohn was, in general, successful in Germany. He conducted, in particular, a revival of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, specifically with his presentation of the St Matthew Passion in 1829. Felix was truly in demand throughout Europe as a composer, conductor, and soloist. For example, he visited Britain ten times. There, he premiered, namely, many of his major works. His taste in music was. To be sure, inventive and well-crafted yet markedly conservative. This conservatism separated him by all means from more audacious musical colleagues like Liszt, Wagner, and Berlioz. Mendelssohn founded the Leipzig Conservatoire which, to clarify, became a defender of this conservative viewpoint.

Mature Adulthood

Schumann notably wrote that Mendelssohn was the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most brilliant musician, the one who most clearly sees through the contradictions of the age and for the first time reconciles them. This observation points to a couple of features in particular that illustrate Mendelssohn's works and his artistic procedure.

Musical Features

In the first place, his musical style was fixed in his methodical mastery of the style of preceding masters. This being said, he certainly recognized and even developed early romanticism from the music of Beethoven and Weber. Secondly, it indicates that Mendelssohn sought to strengthen his inherited musical legacy rather than to exchange it with new forms and styles or replace it with exotic o.

Piano Trio Cello,Piano,Violin - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.973240

Composed by Lynn L. Petersen. 21st Century,Chamber,Classical,Contemporary,Contest,Festival. 44 pages. Lynn L. Petersen #4744581. Published by Lynn L. Petersen (A0.973240).

Piano Trio (2016) was premiered at Big Sky Alive! 2016 in Kalispell, Montana.  The melodic and harmonic material is based on modes of the ascending melodic minor scale commonly heard in jazz.  The scales vary between the four movements and each movement is based on a different mode derived from those scales:  Lydian Dominant, Locrian sharp-2, Lydian Augmented and Diminished Whole-Tone (Altered).  Duration 12:15.  Advanced level.  Suitable for recitals and chamber music concerts.

Piano Trio - Level 1 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.548647

Composed by Wade. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 7 pages. Jmsgu3 #3407487. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548647).

O Come, All Ye Faithful

O Come, All Ye Faithful arranged for piano trio ( piano, violin & cello) featuring a thought-provoking re-harmonization of the final verse. O Come, All Ye Faithful is an English translation of the Latin Christmas carol Adeste Fideles. No one knows exactly who wrote it. One theory holds that King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656) wrote it. Another view says John F. Wade or John Reading wrote it. Nowadays, we usually attribute it to John Wade. It seems like Stonyhurst College in Lancashire owns the oldest manuscript. It is from the year 1751.

Lyrics

Frederick Oakeley, a Catholic priest in 1841, wrote the English translation. This translation is probably the most common in English-speaking states. To begin with, the hymn had only four verses. Later, the verses grew to eight. Music directors often cut various verses because otherwise, the song goes too long. Some believe that St. Bonaventure wrote the first Latin lyrics. Others hold that King John IV of Portugal is responsible. Yet even others think the Cistercian monks wrote them.

King John IV

His subjects called King John IV of Portugal The Musician King. He became king in 1640. In addition to performing the duties of a king, he composed and wrote as a music journalist. King John built an extensive music library. Unfortunately, the massive earthquake in Lisbon ruined the library in 1755. In addition to making his library, the king started a Music School that produced many accomplished musicians. The king also worked diligently to get instrumental music approved by the Vatican for use in his churches. Aside from his authorship of Adeste Fideles, he is famous for another popular choral setting of the Crux Fidelis, a prevalent Lenten hymn.

Performance in Context

Verses are sometimes left out because all eight verses would take too long to perform. More to the point, though, some of the poems may be unsuitable for whatever church calendar they are intended. The eighth verse deals with the Epiphany, so it makes sense to sing this on Epiphany Sunday but not on other Sundays. Similarly, other poems are used for whether the event is Midnight Mass or regular daytime Mass.

 

Instrumental Duet,Piano Cello,Instrumental Duet,Piano,Violin - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1135288

Composed by Steven Kudlo. 20th Century,Chamber,Classical,Contemporary. 38 pages. Steven Mark Kudlo #735327. Published by Steven Mark Kudlo (A0.1135288).

For violin, cello, and piano, this composition is in six movements, combining neoclassical, expressionist, and common practice styles in each movement. There is at least one meter change in each movement, each movement with a different tonal center. The overall impression is neoclassical, but there is a breadth of styles that is expressive. It could be called polystylism with some postminimalism. It's about 14 1/2 minutes in length.

Piano Trio - Level 1 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.548637

Composed by Mueller. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Christmas. 6 pages. Jmsgu3 #3405971. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.548637).

Arranged for Piano Trio with a re-harmonized final verse. 

Away in a Manger is a popular Christmas song published in the late 19th century and performed worldwide. In England, it is considered one of the two most popular carols of all time; a 1996 poll ranked it as a tie for second place. To begin with, many thought Martin Luther wrote it, but now the song is considered American. The most common musical arrangements are by William Kirkpatrick (1895) and James R. Murray (1887). The melody was first published as Luther's Cradle Hymn by James R. Murray. Then came a confusing series of explanations about how Martin Luther wrote the song. Murray even went so far as to suggest that Luther wrote it for his children. As a result, the music has become known as Mueller. Nobody knows who this Mueller is, but the name stuck.

Popularity

By the 1880's the cradle song was being performed in church. By the 1990's the song was becoming the most popular Christmas song ever. Nearly everyone sang it in school, in church, and at home.

Other musical settings

The first musical setting published with the lyrics appeared in the Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885). The title was Away in a Manger. This edition is the first one not attributing the song to Martin Luther.

Charles H. Gabriel was the first arranger to present the third verse. He also composed and published many different arrangements of the song. In one of his settings, he supplies a chorus for each verse with asleep sung in canon. Another prevalent preparation uses the lyrics to the melody Flow Gently, Sweet Afton Yet another arrangement uses the songs to an old Normandy carol.