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.

Piano Trio,String Ensemble Cello,Piano,Violin - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.987846 Composed by Robert M. Greenberg. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 69 pages. Robert M. Greenberg #90269. Published by Robert M. Greenberg (A0.987846). Preferred Contact Information: RMonteverdi@comcast.net Performing Rights Organization: BMI Website: robertgreenbergmusic.com Facebook Band Page: facebook.com/RobertGreenbergMusic Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZvxnzZ1oA8 Duration: ca. 18 minutes Year of composition: 2013 Program Note: I. Elegy and Variations II. Song and Dance (Shake, Rattle and Roll) III. Re-Invention (Toccatissima) Aside from being an obvious (if hackneyed) reference to the commissioning ensemble, Trio 180, the title 180 Shift well describes the large-scale dramatic action of the piece: from beginning to end, it traverses an expressive distance of 180 degrees, from elegiac sorrow to hot-footed sizzle. 180 Shift is cast in three movements. Each movement is based on the same thematic material, although that material is transformed continuously across the span of the piece. Movement one, Elegy and Variations consists of a series of a theme, six free variations of the theme and a quiet intermezzo before the sixth and final variation. The movement is melancholy, reflective, and generally subdued in tone. Movement two, entitled Song and Dance (Shake, Rattle, and Roll) sees materials introduced in the Elegy transformed first into a introspective song and finally into a vigorous, gigue-like dance. The three parts of the movement are characterized, respectively, by shakes (tremolos), rattles (in the piano; we’ll know them when we hear them) and rolls (arpeggios). Movement three – Re-Invention (Toccatissima) is fast and virtuosic, a (mostly) two-part invention that sees the basic thematic material re-invented once again. 180 Shift is dedicated, with great affection and respect, to Trio 180: Ann Miller, Nina Flyer, and Sonia Leong.