Chamber Orchestra - Digital Download SKU: A0.1035224 Composed by Frederik François Chopin (1810-1949). Arranged by James Strauss. Romantic Period. Score and parts. 33 pages. James Strauss #5806027. Published by James Strauss (A0.1035224). Unless your name is Mozart, Mendelssohn or Korngold, the first compositional steps are always the hardest. Chopin was probably no older than 14 when he set to work on a set of variations for piano and flute. Already in love with opera, he decided on the happy- ending aria, Non più mesta (No longer sad) from Rossini’s opera Cinderella. As the curtain comes down, Cinderella gleefully warbles, No longer sad beside the fire shall I sit alone, singing; my long years of heartache were but a streak of lightning, a dream, a game. We are unsure what actually prompted Chopin to select this for his unique combination of flute and piano, but it was most likely written for the composer’s father who was a capable amateur flute player. In the end, the piece was probably dedicated to Józef Cichowski, a close friend of his fathers and an amateur flautist as well. We are indeed fortunate that this early piece of Chopin juvenilia has actually survived, as Jozef Nowakowski, one of the composer’s friends, kept the single manuscript copy as a memento. For one reason or another, the work did not appear in print until 1953. This charming and fluent set of variations presents the theme and four decorated versions of the original tune. Added triplet figuration enlivens the first variation, while the second relies on a florid bel canto style to embellish the theme. Rapid downward arpeggios propel variation three, and the concluding variant displays rapid staccato figuration. Stylistically, there is nothing in this composition to suggest Chopin’s hand. You certainly won’t hear Chopin’s fingerprint in the piano part, as all the interesting bits are given to the flute. In addition, it’s the only Chopin piano part that can comfortably be played by most amateurs. Clearly, the future poet of the piano had a long way to go! Here in a Flute and orchestra version.

Chamber Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1470559 By Reinhold Behringer. By Traditional. Arranged by David Warin Solomons. Contemporary,Traditional. 44 pages. David Warin Solomons #1048222. Published by David Warin Solomons (A0.1470559). An arrangement for piccolo and orchestra of the Barbara Allen folk song with many interesting cadences, harmonies and countermelodies.In Scarlet Town where I was born,There was a fair maid dwelling,Made every youth cry, “Well-a-day”,Her name was Barbara Allen.All in the merry month of May,When green buds they were swelling,Young Willy Grove on his death bed lay,For love of Barbara Allen.He sent his man down unto her then,To the town where she was dwelling.“You must come to my master dear,If your name's Barbara Allen.”So slowly, slowly she came up,And slowly she came nigh him,And all she said when there she came,“Young man I think you’re dying.”[“A dying man, no, no,” said he,“One kiss from thee would cure me.”“One kiss from me thou never shalt have,If your poor heart was breaking.”]He turned his face unto the wall,And death was drawing nigh him,“Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all,And be kind to Barbara Allen.”As she was walking o’er the fields,She heard the dead-bell knellin’;And every stroke did seem to say“Unworthy Barbara Allen!”When he was laid dead in his grave,Her heart was struck with sorrow,“Oh mother, mother make my bed,For I shall die tomorrow.”And on her death bed she lay,She begged to be buried by him,And so repented of the day,That she did e’er deny him.“Farewell”, she said, “You virgins all,And shun the fault I fell in.Hence forth take warning by the fall,Of cruel Barbara Allen.”.

Chamber Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.869356 Composed by Thomas Oboe Lee. 20th Century,Baroque,Classical,Contemporary,Romantic Period. Score and parts. 113 pages. Thomas Oboe Lee #15879. Published by Thomas Oboe Lee (A0.869356). Instrumentation: 1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 English horn, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, timpani and strings.Program note: In the year 2010, my wife Kristin Beckwith and I went to Paris twice, the first time in May and the second time in December right after Christmas. The weather was magnificent in May. Our friends Seph and Roger met us there. Being long-time veterans of Paris, they took us all over the city: Le Marais, the Left Bank, Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, Père LaChaise cemetery, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin des Tuileries, Notre Dame cathedral, Eiffel Tower, the flea market at Porte de Clignancourt, the canal at Saint Martin, etc. Since the weather was so great we basically stayed outside the entire two weeks. My wife Kris said that we had to return next again to Paris to go inside the museums. So we did. The weather in Paris after Christmas was very damp and chilly. So we did indoor activities: Le Louvre, Musée D’Orsay, Palais Garnier, etc. We even attended a beautiful performance of Swan Lake by the Paris Opera Ballet at L’Opéra Bastille. I should also mention that on both occasions I met up with a former student of mine from Berklee, Joe Makholm. He makes a living in Paris playing jazz piano. Joe got us a gig at the Swan Bar in Montparnasse. On the first occasion we did it as a trio with a French bass player. I played flute. On the second occasion, we did it as a duo. Playing jazz in Paris? You can’t beat that!!! Early this year, Steven Lipsitt and I had a chat about my writing a new work for the Boston Classical Orchestra. My last work for the BCO was a piano concerto with Robert Levin as soloist. I told Steven that this time I wanted to write a symphony. He said, Sure. Go ahead. I told him it would be about Paris. He said he would put Mozart’s Paris Symphony on the same program. I said, Fabulous! Symphony No. 8 … City of Light (2011) is in five movements. 1. La Seine Presto, Moderato 2. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur Largo 3. Palais Garnier Allegro, Trio 4. Avenue des Champs-Élysées Allegro 5. Musée du Louvre Largo, Moderato This work is dedicated to my wife and muse, Kristin Beckwith. Audio Link: https://thomasoboelee.bandcamp.com/album/symphony-no-8-city-of-light-2011Video link: https://youtu.be/-Yn76vWg7jE