SKU: A0.1515020

Heil dir im Siegerkranz (pronounced [?ha??l di??? ??m ?zi???k?ant?s]; German for Hail to Thee in the Victor's Crown, literally: Hail to Thee in the Victor's Wreath) was the Kaiserhymne (imperial anthem) of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 and royal anthem of Prussia from 1795 to 1918.

SKU: A0.1283308

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, XXXVIII.
John Bull was an English composer, organist, virginalist, and organ builder who lived from 1562/63 to 1628. He was educated as a chorister of the Chapel Royal in London and later became a doctor of music at the universities of both Oxford and Cambridge. Bull was one of the most famous composers of keyboard music of the early 17th century, and most of his compositions were written for the virginal, a keyboard instrument popular in the Renaissance period. He was known for his outstanding technical ability and keyboard virtuosity, and his music is distinguished by unfailing resourcefulness in devising new musical ideas. Bull's reputation rests on his extensive compositions for virginals and organ, some 150 extant pieces published in Musica Britannica. He was also one of the contributors to Parthenia, a collection of keyboard music published in 1611. Bull wrote an anthem, God the Father, God the Son, for the 1613 wedding of the princess and the Elector Palatine, in addition to his keyboard compositions, verse anthems, canons, and other works. Bull's music ranked among the foremost composers along with Byrd, Gibbons, and Tomkins.

John Bull had several contemporaries who were also prominent composers during the Renaissance period. Some of these composers include:

William Byrd: Byrd was an English composer and one of the most influential figures in English Renaissance music. He was a contemporary of John Bull and is considered one of the greatest composers of his time. Byrd's compositions include sacred choral music, keyboard works, and consort music.

Orlando Gibbons: Gibbons was an English composer and organist who lived during the same period as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, particularly his anthems and verse anthems. Gibbons' compositions are characterized by their expressive harmonies and intricate counterpoint.

Thomas Tomkins: Tomkins was another English composer who was active during the same time as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, including anthems and services. Tomkins' compositions are notable for their rich harmonies and expressive melodies.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Sweelinck was a Dutch composer and organist who was highly regarded during the Renaissance period. He was known for his keyboard music, particularly his variations and fantasias. Sweelinck's compositions had a significant influence on Bull and other composers of the time.

These composers, along with John Bull, were influential figures in the development of Renaissance music and significantly contributed to the repertoire of keyboard and choral music during that era.

SKU: A0.810972

Albert Robert Mueller (Müller) was a German trombonist born in 1849. He initially received violin lessons and discovered his talent for trombone playing at the age of twelve. He eventually settled in Leipzig and became a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra as well as a teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He wrote the School for Trombone in 1902. (Wikipedia)

The School for Trombone (part of our Vintage Brass Series, not to be confused with the Technical Etudes) is a very detailed and comprehensive book in three volumes totalling 208 pages, the text being divided into German, English and Russian languages.

• Volume I includes detailed lessons on music theory including all scales and keys, rhythm, time signatures, rests, accents, accidentals, explanations of tempo markings, dynamics, posture, tone, a table of positions and notes. The lessons go through different keys starting very slowly and methodically with short exercises....not going too fast for the beginning student. Along the way Mueller inserts easy duets to perform with teacher and student, including many Bach chorales, etc. to get tuning and tone solidified. 

• Volume II for the intermediate level student, begins with the first studies of slurs and legato. He introduces simple songs and famous melodies including more duets. The exercises get progressively more difficult and include the entire collection of ornaments.

• Volume III, for the more advanced student, introduces tenor and alto clefs in scales and studies including more duets. 

Compiled by Gordon Cherry

SKU: A0.549375

Duration: 4:55, Score: 6 pages, Solo part: 1 page, piano part: 2 pages. A very famous aria (Ombra mai fu) from Xerxes
Suitable for any venue requiring meditative music. Excellent choice for a recital encore.

Xerxes

Xerxes is, in fact, an opera seria in three acts by Handel. Moreover, Handel conducted the premiere performance in London in 1738. Handel casts the opera in Persia in 470 BC. The part of Xerxes was indeed originally sung by a soprano castrato. Nowadays, the part is generally sung by a mezzo-soprano or conversely a counter-tenor. In the first place, Xerxes sings an opening aria, Ombra mai fu to a plane tree. Handel sets this aria to one of his most truly famous melodies. Although many refer to it traditionally as Handel’s Largo, Handel has, on the contrary, clearly marked Larghetto in the score.

Handel Background

George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) was born in Germany but eventually became a British citizen. Nonetheless, he was a famous Baroque composer. In fact, he became famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel studied music and, by and large, worked as a composer in Germany and Italy before moving to London. On the whole, Handel was very familiar with the contemporary music of Italy and Germany.

Career in England

It is essential to realize that Italian opera was all the rage in England at the time. Moreover, Handel was really good at writing them. Therefore, he started not one but three opera companies in England. Alexander's Feast was a huge success in 1736, but Handel began composing English choral works. After success with the Messiah in 1742) he certainly never again wrote an Italian opera.

Consequently, he died in 1759, a treasured genius. Accordingly, the English government gave him full state honors at his funeral. Hence, he is buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Legacy

Music historians agree that Handel was in general one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era.  To demonstrate, his works such as the Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remain consistently popular up to the present time. He especially composed the coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest for the coronation of George II. Nevertheless, it has specifically been performed at every succeeding British coronation since. His oratorio Solomon has by all means also continued to be prevalent. As a matter of fact, Sinfonia from act 3 was featured in the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. Handel was particularly prolific. To enumerate, he wrote over forty operas.  Since the late 1960s, we have expressly experienced a revival of baroque music. Similarly, we have especially seen a pique of interest in historically informed musical performances. Since his death in 1779, interest in Handel's music has all in all, expanded.

 

SKU: A0.550389

Domenico Scarlatti's Andante Mosso, Sonata No. 33, also known as the Keyboard Sonata in B minor, K.87, was composed in the 18th century. The historical context of this sonata can be understood by examining the period in which Scarlatti lived and worked:

Location: Scarlatti spent much of his career in Spain as a music teacher to the royal family.

Influence: Scarlatti's music was influenced by his time's Italian and Iberian musical traditions.

Popularity: Scarlatti's sonatas, including the Andante mosso, Sonata No. 33, gained popularity in the 20th century, thanks in part to the championing of his works by renowned pianists like Vladimir Horowitz.

Significance: Scarlatti's sonatas are considered a significant contribution to the musical and technical standards of keyboard instruments during his time.
 
The Andante mosso, Sonata No. 33, reflects Scarlatti's unique style and innovation in keyboard music, featuring a spirited and agile melody that captures the listener's attention.

SKU: A0.951615

The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory. This arrangement is written for 3 tenor trombones, and bass trombone, or three baritones and tuba, or any combination to equal the quartet.

SKU: A0.1260605

SPIRALS IN THE SKY, BY MARTHA HILL DUNCAN
FOR SOLO PIANO, LATE INTERMEDIATE, 21 PAGES
.....................................
In this whimsical marriage of astronomy and music, my husband,  astrophysicist, Dr. Martin Duncan and I have combined our talents to celebrate the beauty of the night sky and the magic of music. M.H. Duncan

Martha Hill Duncan’s passion for music started early, inspired by her mother, who sang and played the piano by ear. Martha was a member of the first graduating class of the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin.
Her piano works have been inspired, at least in part, by her long-time career as a piano teacher and some of these pieces, as well as her art songs, appear in educational publications and syllabi. Piano collection titles include The Sunken Garden, Isla Vista Suite, Precipitations, Angular Measures, Limestone Etchings, Rainy Days and Cottage Days. Since moving from the United States to Canada, many of her compositions have been inspired by Canadian landscapes and texts. In January 2014, her youth opera, Searching the Painted Sky, with poet/librettist Janet Windeler Ryan, was premiered at the National Opera Association Convention in New York City. She was named a finalist for the 2020 Louis Applebaum Award.
A former piano examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, she is also a founding member of Red Leaf Pianoworks, a self-publishing composers’ collective. Originally from Houston, Texas, Martha and her husband Martin have lived in Kingston, Ontario since 1988. She also conducts the women’s choir She Sings! and has two grown children and two granddaughters. To explore more of her music, please visit www.marthahillduncan.com

Dr. Martin Duncan was born in London, England and was raised in Montreal, Canada. As a child, his biggest question was, “What would happen if...?� His first experiments involved creating foul-smelling concoctions with his chemistry set in his
parents’ basement. He survived and went on to complete an Honours Physics degree at McGill University, followed by graduate degrees in astronomy at the Universities of Toronto and Texas at Austin. Post-doctoral research was performed at Cornell University, the University of Toronto and the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1988, he became a professor of astronomy and physics at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
In his academic career he has co-authored over 120 scientific papers, which have been cited over 8,000 times. He has presented numerous invited talks at international scientific conferences and has been the guest speaker at many public lectures. His research has ranged from the study of black holes to simulations of the formation and orbital evolution of planets and comets. He is best known for the prediction of the existence of a disk of small icy bodies beyond Neptune, which he and his colleagues called the Kuiper Belt. In 1996, the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 6115 “martinduncan� in honor of his contributions to planetary dynamics.

SKU: A0.1291707

John Bull was an English composer, organist, virginalist, and organ builder who lived from 1562/63 to 1628. He was educated as a chorister of the Chapel Royal in London and later became a Doctor of Music at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Bull was one of the most famous composers of keyboard music of the early 17th century, and most of his compositions were written for the virginal, a keyboard instrument popular in the Renaissance period. He was known for his outstanding technical ability and keyboard virtuosity, and his music is distinguished by unfailing resourcefulness in devising new musical ideas. Bull's reputation rests on his extensive compositions for virginals and organ, some 150 extant pieces published in Musica Britannica. He was also one of the contributors to Parthenia, a collection of keyboard music published in 1611. Bull wrote an anthem, God the Father, God the Son, for the 1613 wedding of the princess and the Elector Palatine, in addition to his keyboard compositions, verse anthems, canons, and other works. Bull's music ranked among the foremost composers along with Byrd, Gibbons, and Tomkins.

John Bull had several contemporaries who were also prominent composers during the Renaissance period. Some of these composers include:

William Byrd: Byrd was an English composer and one of the most influential figures in English Renaissance music. He was a contemporary of John Bull and is considered one of the greatest composers of his time. Byrd's compositions include sacred choral music, keyboard works, and consort music.

Orlando Gibbons: Gibbons was an English composer and organist who lived during the same period as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, particularly his anthems and verse anthems. Gibbons' compositions are characterized by their expressive harmonies and intricate counterpoint.

Thomas Tomkins: Tomkins was another English composer who was active during the same time as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, including anthems and services. Tomkins' compositions are notable for their rich harmonies and expressive melodies.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Sweelinck was a Dutch composer and organist who was highly regarded during the Renaissance period. He was known for his keyboard music, particularly his variations and fantasias. Sweelinck's compositions had a significant influence on Bull and other composers of the time.

These composers, along with John Bull, were influential figures in the development of Renaissance music and significantly contributed to the repertoire of keyboard and choral music during that era.

SKU: A0.1284518

John Bull was an English composer, organist, virginalist, and organ builder who lived from 1562/63 to 1628. He was educated as a chorister of the Chapel Royal in London and later became a Doctor of Music at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Bull was one of the most famous composers of keyboard music of the early 17th century, and most of his compositions were written for the virginal, a keyboard instrument popular in the Renaissance period. He was known for his outstanding technical ability and keyboard virtuosity, and his music is distinguished by unfailing resourcefulness in devising new musical ideas. Bull's reputation rests on his extensive compositions for virginals and organ, some 150 extant pieces published in Musica Britannica. He was also one of the contributors to Parthenia, a collection of keyboard music published in 1611. Bull wrote an anthem, God the Father, God the Son, for the 1613 wedding of the princess and the Elector Palatine, in addition to his keyboard compositions, verse anthems, canons, and other works. Bull's music ranked among the foremost composers along with Byrd, Gibbons, and Tomkins.

John Bull had several contemporaries who were also prominent composers during the Renaissance period. Some of these composers include:

William Byrd: Byrd was an English composer and one of the most influential figures in English Renaissance music. He was a contemporary of John Bull and is considered one of the greatest composers of his time. Byrd's compositions include sacred choral music, keyboard works, and consort music.

Orlando Gibbons: Gibbons was an English composer and organist who lived during the same period as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, particularly his anthems and verse anthems. Gibbons' compositions are characterized by their expressive harmonies and intricate counterpoint.

Thomas Tomkins: Tomkins was another English composer who was active during the same time as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, including anthems and services. Tomkins' compositions are notable for their rich harmonies and expressive melodies.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Sweelinck was a Dutch composer and organist who was highly regarded during the Renaissance period. He was known for his keyboard music, particularly his variations and fantasias. Sweelinck's compositions had a significant influence on Bull and other composers of the time.

These composers, along with John Bull, were influential figures in the development of Renaissance music and significantly contributed to the repertoire of keyboard and choral music during that era.

SKU: A0.1283457

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book CXXV.
John Bull was an English composer, organist, virginalist, and organ builder who lived from 1562/63 to 1628. He was educated as a chorister of the Chapel Royal in London and later became a Doctor of Music at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Bull was one of the most famous composers of keyboard music of the early 17th century, and most of his compositions were written for the virginal, a keyboard instrument popular in the Renaissance period. He was known for his outstanding technical ability and keyboard virtuosity, and his music is distinguished by unfailing resourcefulness in devising new musical ideas. Bull's reputation rests on his extensive compositions for virginals and organ, some 150 extant pieces published in Musica Britannica. He was also one of the contributors to Parthenia, a collection of keyboard music published in 1611. Bull wrote an anthem, God the Father, God the Son, for the 1613 wedding of the princess and the Elector Palatine, in addition to his keyboard compositions, verse anthems, canons, and other works. Bull's music ranked among the foremost composers along with Byrd, Gibbons, and Tomkins.

John Bull had several contemporaries who were also prominent composers during the Renaissance period. Some of these composers include:

William Byrd: Byrd was an English composer and one of the most influential figures in English Renaissance music. He was a contemporary of John Bull and is considered one of the greatest composers of his time. Byrd's compositions include sacred choral music, keyboard works, and consort music.

Orlando Gibbons: Gibbons was an English composer and organist who lived during the same period as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, particularly his anthems and verse anthems. Gibbons' compositions are characterized by their expressive harmonies and intricate counterpoint.

Thomas Tomkins: Tomkins was another English composer who was active during the same time as John Bull. He was known for his sacred choral music, including anthems and services. Tomkins' compositions are notable for their rich harmonies and expressive melodies.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Sweelinck was a Dutch composer and organist who was highly regarded during the Renaissance period. He was known for his keyboard music, particularly his variations and fantasias. Sweelinck's compositions had a significant influence on Bull and other composers of the time.

These composers, along with John Bull, were influential figures in the development of Renaissance music and significantly contributed to the repertoire of keyboard and choral music during that era.