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Here's an opportunity to give your bass players a chance to shine; for once they get the melody and everyone else accompanies them!

Bass Parade

String Orchestra Score & Parts

Reed and Brass (five more duets for B-flat clarinet and B-flate trumpet) was commissioned by Dwight Aspinwall in memory of his and his brother Brian's father, Duncan P. Aspinwall. The combination of clarinet and trumpet is somewhat unusual and there hasn't been much repertoire available. The brothers Aspinwall, who play clarinet and trumpet respectively, had come across the first set of Five Duets (PCET1000), liked them, and wanted more. The challenge for the composer is to write interesting music for these two medodic but very different sounding instruments, and doing so some forty years after the first set was...intriguing. Aside from the use of a harmon mute for the trumpet in one duet, neither instrument is asked to do anything special. The focus is on the playful interplay between clarinet and trumpet.

Reed and Brass

Score

"Variations on a Theme by Schumann" was commissioned by and is dedicated to the Westfield (NJ) High School Orchestra, Craig Stanton, Conductor. The theme is Robert Schumann's "The Happy Farmer" from his collection Album for the Young for piano. The best tunes for variations are those that are familiar, interesting and memorable, and on the (seemingly) simple side. The challenge for the composer is to make each variation interesting without losing sight of the original idea. This work first presents the theme, now cast for strings, as close to the original as possible, followed by up to six variations (the performers may do all or select a smaller number) and a coda that itself is a new twist on the theme — a fugue.

Variations on a Theme by Schumann

COLONEL BOGEY by Lt. F.J. Ricketts, published in 1914, is one the most famous marches ever written (that wasn't composed by John Philip Sousa). As a piano score it sold over a million copies by the 1930s, and it has been recorded many times since. It is best known for its use in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai. According to the composer, the name comes from the nickname of a certain eccentric officer Ricketts encountered at Fort George in Scotland, often at the golf course (when not on duty). Instead of yelling "fore" before hitting a ball, the unnamed officer would whistle a two-note pattern. Ricketts remembered the whistle and used it to start the melody you hear here. (Another coincidence or intentional? In the River Kwai film the tune is most often whistled.)

Colonel Bogey

Voice

LCDR Joel Borrelli-Boudreau commissioned this arrangement for a concert by the combined U.S. Naval Academy Band and The Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Plymouth (UK) to feature the brilliant soprano Emily Casey. Borelli-Boudreau later asked for a version for Ms. Casey and brass band as well. The arrangement uses the traditional Irish tune and the well-known lyrics by Frederick Edward Weatherly (1848-1929). Weatherly wasn't Irish but, somewhat surprisingly, British; his heartfelt lyrics touch the heart beyond borders nonetheless.

O Danny Boy

Soprano Vocal Score

Ensemble

Instrument Family

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Pro*Ject (pronounced either "PRAH-ject" or "pro-JECT") was commissioned by pianist Laura Leon as part of a multimedia work featuring photographic images by Barry Rosenthal and Eric Jacobson for the first two movements, "Laura's Dream" and "Two True Blues." The two movements making up the musical portion of the performance piece were fine in their original multimedia context, but the composer later added the third movement "Samba" for balance in "music only" situations. This is the composer's preferred version for performance. The overall title Pro*Ject is, of course, a bit of wordplay. "Project" as a noun is a planned enterprise designed, as dictionaries say, to achieve particular goals. As a verb it takes on several meanings: To extend outward; to move foward; to cause light or a shadow or an image to fall on a surface; and other definitions.

Movement I, "Laura's Dream," unfolds slowly, always building from the first five-note phrase. The second movement "Two True Blues" indeed is comprised of two blues ideas, one in C minor and the other in the relative E major; the form, however is an overall A B A. The E blues was adapted from the composer's Suite for Harp ("Airs and Dances"). Pro*Ject is respectfully dedicated to Laura Leon, who in addition to commissioning the work has recorded it on her CD "Changing the Pace" (Musical Tapestries).

Pro*Ject

Piano Solo

Concerto Grosso was commissioned by, and is dedicated to, the Camerata Youth Orchestra of Long Island (NY) and its director, Roberta Kaufman. The work is in one movement and based on the exaggeration of the Baroque concerto grosso principle, in which a group of soloists  the concertino  is accompanied by and/or pitted against a larger ensemble  the ripieno. The string quartet performs a slow and somewhat dissonant chorale in duple meter, while the orchestra responds with fast-moving passages clearly in D minor and triple meter. The climax of the work is the first simultaneous presentation of the opposing thematic materials, at which point the music transforms into a sort of synthesis of the two ideas.

Concerto Grosso

Full Orchestra Score & Parts

TRIPLE T(H)REAT for brass trio (trumpet, horn, trombone) is one of a continuing series of works written for trombonist and conductor Keith Johnston. Other works for Johnston or his band at Sacred Heart University include "A Blue Iris" for trombone and organ, and "Nine Feet of Brass (A Concerto for Trombone and Band)." Besides the obvious word play of the title ("triple threat"/"triple treat"), the work focuses on threes in both its meter and form (A-B-A'). The work is in one movement and is based on two ideas, the opening fanfare-like motive and the more lyrical theme that soon follows. This light-hearted work is a great addition to any program.

Triple T(h)reat

Trumpet, Horn, Trombone Trio

In the mid-1980s Steven Rosenhaus donated his services as a composer to the New York Philharmonic then-unique fundraiser, the Radiothon. He offered to write a 3-to-5-minute work for any instrument, with or without accompaniment, in exchange for an appropriate donation to the NYP. The first such work was the Rondo for oboe (or flute) and piano. The second commission was in reality two, to be written for a set of twin musicians who were about to graduate high school and major in music performance in college. The resulting Five Duets for clarinet and trumpet are performance etudes, short studies which focus on 20th-century musical styles and playing techniques. No specific works or composers are ever referenced, and no extended techniques are required.

Five Duets

Mixed Duet

"For Clarinet Solo" is a fascinating addition to any clarinetist's recital. Considered Steven Rosenhaus' first mature work, the music is based on a four-note "cell" that generates all of the melodic and harmonic material.

For Clarinet Solo

Clarinet Solo Unaccompanied

Cinematic Escapades was commissioned by, and is dedicated to, the Linn-Mar High School Orchestra (Marion, IA), Joshua Reznicow, Director. Each of the three movements conveys imagery associated with movie tropes without referencing specific films; it is music for a movie of the mind. "Adventure on the High Seas" musicaly evokes swashbuckling pirate movies. "Extraterrestrial Experience" is a more benign and heartfelt meeting of earthling and alien; its "other worldliness" comes from its odd five-beat meter and harmonies that are tonal but unsettled until the end. The last movement, "The Runaway Train Incident," is a staple of everything from old west serials of the 1940s to movies about adventurous archeologists. The instrumentation is a bit unusual as it calls for string orchestra with "just a touch" of percussion  timpani, snare drum, bells, and suspended cymbal.

Cinematic Escapades

A BLUE IRIS was commissioned by trombonist Keith Johnston and premiered by him and organist Galen Tate at the St. Thomas More Church in November, 2010. It is unusual for a Jewish composer to write music intended for use in Christian services but not unheard of, so the composer's "more interfaith" approach comes as no surprise. The title comes from the poem "Praying" by Mary Oliver, in which prayer doesn't have to be complex  "It doesn't have to be a blue iris"  to open a door "into thanks." A simple, soft prayer can be quite powerful and musically translates here into a meditation that focuses both trombone and organ, inherently powerful instruments, inward. Johnston has commissioned and premiered several Rosenhaus works including TRIPLE T[H]REAT (PCET1004) for brass trio (trumpet, horn, trombone) and NINE FEET OF BRASS (A CONCERTO FOR TROMBONE AND BAND).

A BLUE IRIS

Trombone Solo with Organ

KOL NIDRE PRELUDE, originally for viola and cello, is a meditation on the ancient prayer chanted on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Essentially a legal formula, the Kol Nidre is recited three times to declare all unfulfillable vows between Man and the Almighty to be null and void. The melody on which the Prelude is based is said to date back to Moses' time. The work was commissioned by Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan Kagan through a New York Philharmonic fundraiser, and was first performed at a Yom Kippur service in San Francisco in 1986. It was later recorded by violist Tina Pelikan and cellist Dawn Buckholz for a CD on the Capstone label. This arrangement for string quartet was commissioned by conductor Jamin Hoffman of the Concord Chamber Orchestra for a concert featuring instruments from the Violins of Hope project.

KOL NIDRE PRELUDE

2 Violins, Viola, Cello Quartet

PASTORALE was commissioned in 1985 by David and June Kapell through the New York Philharmonic "Radiothon" fundraiser and completed the following year. It was first performed in Italy, not on harp as intended, but by pianist Leonora Baldelli as part of the 1987 CIPAM/NYU concert series. The premiere in its original instrumentation was given in 1989 by harpist Monika Jarecka at a concert at New York University devoted to Steven Rosenhaus' works. Pastorale is in one movement and traditionally tonal in its harmonic language. No extended techniques or special effects are required.

Pastorale

Harp Solo Unaccompanied

The three Philharmonic Preludes were commissioned by Mrs. Alfred Slade Mills through the 1982 New York Philharmonic Radiothon and premiered a year later. The first prelude, marked Slowly, but moving, is essentially a waltz, although one in which the beat sometimes stretches or condences. The second, Moderately fast, is a perpetuum mobile that calls to mind both C.P.E. Bach and, perhaps, George Gerswhin. The last prelude is a stately processional.

Philharmonic Preludes

Deconstruction Blues was commissioned by clarinetist Guido Arbonelli, who asked 60 composers from around the world to write an unaccompanied work for any clarinet, 60 seconds in duration. Arbonelli included the work in a later, narrowed-down but still-considerable half-hour of music which he called "The Namaste Suite" in performance. Deconstruction Blues begins as a minor blues in 5/4 but, as the title suggests, this changes as the music progresses. The player is asked to perform some notes "slap tongued," a technique more associated with saxophones; the effect is something akin to a pitched "thunk." Makes a great encore!

Deconstruction Blues

Bass Clarinet Solo

Breathless for two clarinets and bassoon was commissioned by clarinetist Bohdan Hilash and premiered by his trio on a concert tour of the U.S. in 1994. The title comes from a phone call from Hilash to Rosenhaus one Thursday afternoon, in which Hilash asked for a piece to be written for his upcoming tour in five days. Accepting the challenge, Rosenhaus wrote this single-movement, three-minute piece. It's fast-paced and fun, with frequent time signature changes and the use of each instrument's full range. The work does not require any extended techniques, nor does it present breathing challenges; it only seems that way.

BREATHLESS

2 Clarinets and Bassoon Trio

Prayer was written at the request of the Sacred Heart University (SHU) Concert Band and its director Keith Johnston and was premiered by them on March 24, 2013. The dedication reads "In memoriam, Newtown, CT, December 14, 2012". On December 14, 2012, 26 people  20 children and 6 adults  had been shot in Newtown, CT, just a few miles from the university. The work was written for the band to play at the first memorial service for the lives lost. The music is a prayer which acknowledges the tragedy but turns towards consolation. "Prayer" is cast in one movement; the tempo is slow but never rigidly so. It begins with a single note on the chimes (or piano) and grows into a melody in G minor. Emotions prevail at first but gradually lead to contemplation, and the music shifts to B-flat major. Chimes, with their religious associations, are used throughout, but no specific religion is associated with the work.

Prayer

Concert Band Score & Parts

RESCUING PYSCHE was commissioned by the Music Teachers National Association and the NYSTMA and premiered at the latter's conference at Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) in October 2011 by flutist Kelly J. Covert and pianist Nathan Hess. In Greek mythology Psyche (literally "breath" or "soul" in ancient Greek) is at first a human princess whose beauty aroused the goddess Aphrodite's jealousy. After many trials and tribulations common to the mythology, Psyche is sent by Aphrodite on what is, essentially, a suicide mission to the underworld to retrieve a bit of Persephone's beauty in a box. Psyche is successful but too curious about the box's contents and, upon opening it, is put into a deep sleep. Eros, who had already fallen in love with her, saves Pschye from her sleep (according to some sources) by playing a flute. Later the other gods transform Psyche into the goddess of the soul so that she may live with Eros on an equal basis. While Rescuing Psyche takes inspiration from the myth, the music does not follow any specific program.

Rescuing Psyche

Flute Solo with Piano

QUADTYCH for violoncello and piano was composed for the 2015 Thor Johnson Commission sponsored by the Delta Omicron Foundation, Inc. The work was premiered by cellist Adriana La Rosa Ransom and pianist Tuyen Tonnu. The title "Quadtych" is a photographer's term for a set of four images. Each of the four movements provide different mental images, and while there are connections among the movements, each has its own harmonic language and overall "feel." The work is basically tonal, but not always in ways one expects.

The first movement, Allegro, begins with the cello and piano quietly sharing the main idea in unison and octaves before moving on. The basic structure is A B A'. The composer writes this about the second movement: "In proposing this work to the Delta Omicron Foundatioln, I suggested incorporating a musical reference to Thor Johnson for whom the commission is named. In my research I discovered much about Johnson's conducting career as well as his connections to both Delta Omicron and the music of the Moravian Church. Further research guided me to concerts he instituted of early American music, including works by Moravian-Americans like Johann F. Peter (1746-1813). With permission and the encouragement of the Moravian Music Foundation, Inc., I selected the theme of the second movement of Peter's String Quintet No. 3. The music isn't quoted verbatim, but it's the starting point for my own composition. The form and harmonic language are different from the original. It begins with the pianist accompanying the cello with the right hand alone, lending the music a somewhat ethereal quality. The third movement, Spirito, is a scherzo, or "joke" in Italian, but no joke is intended. The slow final movement, Adagio, is an unabashed lush ballad with traces of French impressionism and even a bit of jazz informing the harmonies.

Quadtych

Cello Solo with Piano

Global Sections - CORE [DO NOT TOUCH]*

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