Chris Lexow

Audio Available

Component

Delivery

Ensemble

Eprint Folders

Instrument

Instrument Family

Instrument Type

Item Sequence

Large Print Edition

Marketed Status

Minimum Sell Quantity

MINTS Data Available

Product Line

Prop65

Score Available

Video Available

October Love lends to itself a sense of waiting: where the cold begins to curl through the air and the sun grows old against the leaves and though love tends to lie in the fingers of the springtime lily or a bright magnolia tree, it is at last found in an autumn leaf, falling like a wish to the ground. The piece opens through a falling melodic line, capturing the movement of autumns first falling leaf: how it swims across the wind, drawing color where it moves, how with every nimble twist and turn so much life can be found, or how time unravels with each subtle twitch just before it whispers to ground, “catch me.”  As the leaf comes to rest against the green fingers of grass, a young couple passes into the park. They walk hand in hand, swimming through the leaves with every smiling step, as still more begin to fall against the light. This is the melody. It is the warmest part of the piece. It is love. They share a glance, a smile, and finally a kiss. The leaves know them now and hope they will return. October grows old against the leaves. Love lingers on the trees.

October Love

Piano Solo

Grade

A Night Beneath the Stars was written during the warm months of summer, while I spent many nights taking strolls in fields, parks, and otherwise. Often times I would find a bench, rock, or just lay in the grass and star up at the stars. During one of these nights, a melody started to form in my head and I took it home immediately and expanded on it. Within 24 hours the piece was finished. My ambitions were to capture the sounds of the stars high above, and the reflections of the mind that they brought about. For this, I used the warm key of Ab, and a combination of warm chords and suspensions to bring my melody to life. 

The piece is composed of a simple melody using strings to enforce warm chords that represent the serenity one feels when they clear their mind, taking not only a journey through the good memories, but possibly a tender one or two as well.

A Night Beneath the Stars

String Ensemble

A challenging and lyrical piece for 3 bassoons.

Memorie Dolorose

Bassoon Trio

Format

Mode 9 was written to simply be an opener. It begins with the ensemble tuning to two pitches, first, the brass to a Bb, and then the woodwinds to an A. While the woodwinds are tuning, the piece takes an immediate jump into the piece taking off at a quick pace combining a moving beat with an active bass line in A minor.

The title and key both come from 1547, when a Swiss theorist by the name of Henricus Glareanus published the Dodecachordon in which he solidified the concept of church modes, and added four additional modes to the original eight. One of the modes, mode 9, was designated as the Aeolian mode. I thought this to be a very fitting title as the piece is written entirely in the Aeolian mode.

Mode 9

Concert Band Score & Parts

During the spring months of 2011, on my way to one of my classes, a small but simple melody formed in my head. Rather than trying to turn it in into a grade 4-5 piece, I decided it was time to take Mike Story’s advice and write something a bit more on the simple side. I decided to go with a grade two, since at the time I had both a younger student and cousin both absorbing our musical culture, and their talents brought inspiration to write for a younger ensemble. 

After writing about a minute’s worth of music, it dawned on me that the melody that had formed in my head seemed to represent pirates. I then developed the rest of the piece around the life of a pirate, from sinking ships, to finding ones bonnie-lass, and singing traditional pirate songs. Using a sonata form, simple rhythms, and a fun melody, this piece is fun for all to perform, and brings new levels of challenges for all.

Capsized is a musical piece about a very clumsy pirate who has a problem with every ship he steals, they sink. Every time he obtains a new vessel, he manages to find a way to bring water aboard and watch it make its way to the oceans floor. Throughout his journey, he finds a lady friend, and as he tries to sweet talk her, she obviously doesn’t feel the same way. Forced to find another ship, he reverts back to his old pirate ways, by singing the well known song, “yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!”

Capsized

Voice

December conveys a story of waiting. Whether you’re waiting for a particular moment to happen in your life, or waiting for someone special, once it arrives it is always spectacular and rewarding in some way. Musically, this piece isn’t very challenging. The challenge for the musicians is to convey the text as passionately as they can. Musicians and audience members alike may take different meaning from the text, which was its intended purpose. 
The reason I chose the key of Gb Major is based on theoretical philosophy. C Major is known as the Key of Purity; Gb falls directly in the middle of the C Major octave. While Gb/F# is the tri-tone of C and considered the “devil in music”, I believe that in this key specifically, it is surrounded by the purity of C Major, representing pure love.

December

Alto, Mezzo-Soprano Solo

Global Sections - CORE [DO NOT TOUCH]*

Favicon

Need Help? Contact Us or call 1-800-345-6296    Live Chat

Header

Don't have a business account? Create one

CartDrawer

Children

TrustPilotScript

Customer Service

Selection Made Easy

About J.W. Pepper

J.W. Pepper

CustomFooter

Product List Page - CORE [DO NOT TOUCH]*

Breadcrumb

CustomProductGallery