SKU: A0.969147

Waltz for a Friday Evening
Friday evening it's still in the air
There's a soft white moon
Glowing through the trees.
At the end of the footpath
I still carry through
My thoughts quietly thought through the day...
@ 2016 Janet Windeler Ryan

Originally written for Open Voices Community Choir with accordionist Jan Le Clair, premiered on December 10, 2016 in Kingston, ON. Also available for SSA and tenor solo. Optional accordion part available upon request from marthahillduncan.com.

SKU: A0.1049261

     The first performance of "Martha, or The Market at Richmond," a romantic comic opera by the German composer Friedrich von Flotow, took place in Vienna in 1847. Subsequent presentations were performed in a number of other languages, including Hungarian, Czech, English and Italian. Two of the most memorable arias from Martha are “The Last Rose of Summer” and “Ach! so fromm.” “Last Rose” was, of course, based on the poem by Thomas Moore. “Ach! So fromm,” known more familiarly by its Italian lyric, “M'appari, tutt'amor,” was an original composition by Flotow, a piece he had composed for an earlier opera and inserted into Act 3 of Martha as Lyonel’s tenor solo.

     In 1955, The Crew Cuts, a Canadian pop singing group, recorded a song titled “Mostly Martha.” Written by Dorcas Cochran (words) and Ralph Sterling (music), it charted in early 1956. As so many pop song writers have done, Sterling borrowed the melody from a piece of classical music: “M’appari.” While “M’appari” and “Mostly Martha” share the same melody, the words and sentiment are quite different. Lyonel laments that Martha has left him, while The Crew Cuts jauntily proclaim, “Mostly Martha, Mostly Martha. What has she got? She's got the most.”

     This brass quintet arrangement takes a middle ground. It follows closely the basic structure of Flotow’s operatic aria but does so in a sort-of up-tempo manner and with a great deal of variation in the accompaniment. It’s not really The-Crew-Cut-style “She’s got the most,” but it’s certainly more positive than Lyonel’s song of longing. The piece starts with a suggested tempo of 90 bpm, changes to 80 at section C, and speeds up to 92 at the end. All instruments get a turn playing the melody, and there are no really tricky rhythmic patterns. There are, however, grace notes, rallentandos, an “a piacere” and a number of fermatas. All notes are, for the most part, within normal playing range of each of the five instruments, with two exceptions: near the end Trumpet 1 has an A above its staff, followed two measures later by a high B-flat.

     Completed in 2022, performance time runs about 2 minutes, 45 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge. He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms. Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt to him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the search box.   (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)

SKU: A0.1382422

After being locked down by Covid, I had almost lost the will to live, let alone go on holiday again outside the UK. Two years before I had had a lovely time in Italy, visiting Rome, Pisa, Puccini's House, Florence, Sienna, and more. Almost at the end of the trip I stayed a couple of days with my dear musical friends in Perugia, where their then 8-year-old daughter, Martha, was making great strides forward on the violin (mum is a concert pianist and teacher, similarly dad, but on the clarinet. I had booked to stay in Cesena where they had moved two, and I had a lovely time here, two, adding Bologna, Rossini's Museum, Rimini and some of the Adriatic coast to my list of places visited. They, too, had had lockdowns, and cancellations, but quite by chance, the weekend I had planned to be in Cesena, was the rearranged date of a special outside concert in the imposing surroundings of Rocca Malatestiana, a medieval fortress than dominates the town. Martha was going to be performing a violin concerto by Rode, and her dad had adapted the orchestral accompaniment, so that the large clarinet ensemble could take its place on the night. It was a wonderful, moving evening, and Martha played so well. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house! When I knew I was visiting them this year, I wrote Martha a little fun piece, with piano accompaniment, that she might have been able to play while I was there. But because of the rescheduled concerto performance, there just wasn't enough time for her to learn and practise the piece with her violin teacher in Bologna. I even added an optional part for clarinet, so dad would not feel left out. Hopefully, one day, I might still hear Waltz for Martha played by its dedicatees! It's a kind of schmalzy Viennese Waltz, in the style of Kreisler and others! You can purchase the piano score and violin part here. The optional clarinet part is available FREE OF CHARGE - by emailing info@philiprbuttall.co.uk.

SKU: A0.969155

LADY'S SLIPPER for SSA, violin and piano - Martha Hill Duncan

A beauty was she, an ethereal sprite
Hovering in mid-air, a magical sight
Flitting through forest and fern and fen
Sweeping o’er stream again and again

Her radiance reflected in every brook
Joy, exuberance flooding each look
Face upturned to loving sun
Whirling, twirling, mystical fun...
Poetry by Carol Chitovas

Written for She Sings! Women's Choir and acclaimed fiddler and step dancer Kelli Trottier, this has a Celtic flavour and can show off a soloist or small group of singers.  The premiere used a cajon drum to further the storytelling.

SKU: A0.969157

Maple Dust

The town is bright, it is the trees

With all the red and yellow leaves.

They swirl around like fairy dust

And top the ground with golden crust.

The wind is cruel, it takes the leaves

To far-off places in their dreams,

But where they go, it’s far from home,

And now the leaves are all alone.

In my mind I wish to keep,

The memory of fall so deep,

The beauty of its golden leaves

That flutter softly to the eaves.

© 2007 Airlie Clarke

My niece wrote this poem as a young girl when inspired by autumn in Ancaster, Ontario. The poetry resurfaced many years later in her late grandmother’s treasured possessions. 2012, Martha Hill Duncan

Solo vocal version was Winner of 2009 CFMTA Vocal Writing Competition

SKU: A0.1275386

Welcome to the magic of Schumann’s ‘Kinderszenen, Op. 15: 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples)’ as played by the incomparable pianist Martha Argerich.   From the dancing runs to explosive climaxes, shimmering lyrical passages, and breathtakingly elegant nuances, ‘Of Foreign Lands and Peoples’ is one of the most beloved pieces in piano repertoire.  We’re now offering you the opportunity to get your own copy of the sheet music for ‘Of Foreign Lands and Peoples’, complete with detailed notes and fingerings from the inimitable Martha Argerich.  Whether you’re a student of piano wanting to explore the power of repertoire or a professional pianist looking for the finishing touches to your performance, Martha’s sheet music is the perfect selection.  So join us in discovering the hidden beauty, grace, and emotion of Robert Schumann’s ‘Kinderszenen, Op. 15: 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples)’ as played by the legendary Martha Argerich.  Get your copy today and take your performance of this amazing piece to the next level.

Intermediate
Format: Concert, 9 x 12 inches
2 pages.

Program Notes

Kinderszenen, Op. 15: 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples) is a romantic piano piece composed by Robert Schumann in 1838. This piece is a part of Schumann's Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) suite. It explores themes of the unfamiliar and a child's curiosity of the world.   Von fremden Ländern und Menschen utilizes a lyrical ABA form set in an ABA ternary meter. The opening melody is soft, nostalgic, and reflective representing the innocence of childhood. The second section begins with a marching-like motif that gradually builds intensity as it progresses, creating feelings of awe and wonder as the music approaches the climax. The piece ends reflecting on the initial melody.   Kinderszenen, Op. 15: 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen is an emotionally evocative piece that allows the listener to enter the whimsical world of childhood. The piece’s subtle development makes it a great piece for piano students looking to explore the Romantic era.

SKU: A0.969162

A Child's Song of Christmas

My counterpane is soft as silk,
My blankets white as creamy milk.
The hay was soft to Him, I know, Our little Lord of long ago.
Above the roof the pigeons fly In silver wheels across the sky.
The stable-doves they cooed to them, Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.
  Marjorie Pickthall

A rhythmic and singable remembrance of the very first Christmas.
Also available for SSA and piano.

SKU: A0.829530

Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond ( Martha, or The Market at Richmond) is a romantic comic opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges . The beautiful aria Martha is located in the third act. The melodic material is shared among all the voices in this arrangement.  All ranges remain comfortable for younger players.A tromboone/substitue for horn part, is included.

SKU: A0.969152

SKU: A0.969148

Waltz for a Friday Evening
Friday evening it's still in the air
There's a soft white moon
Glowing through the trees.
At the end of the footpath
I still carry through
My thoughts quietly thought through the day...
@ 2016 Janet Windeler Ryan

Originally written for Open Voices Community Choir with accordionist Jan Le Clair, premiered on December 10, 2016
Also available for SATB and piano.

SKU: A0.969154

For My Mother

Now as the leaves turn brittle and dry
Now as the birds raise their silver wings to the sky,
autumn days grow weary and cold
But there's a warmth and a stillness as your story is told
dear Mother this is for you.
Now when the tears fall silent and long
As great as my wish to accept, to be strong,
autumn days grow weary and cold
But there's a warmth and a stillness as your story unfolds
dear Mother this is for you, for you.

© 2011 Janet WIndeler Ryan

From Searching the Painted Sky, The Opera

SKU: A0.969161

To Home

Deep as the sea and boundless as the night-time

Home its every echo embraces firm and fast

images of childhood and reflections of the past

Mirrors of the memories and the questions never asked

Questions never asked, so questions never answered

Mirrors of myself, or glass reflecting something else?

© 2011 Janet Windeler Ryan

from Searching the Painted Sky, The Opera