Par SCHWEITZER BENJAMIN. The chiaroscuro-technique developed by painters of the Italian renaissance served to intensify contrasts and effects of optical depth. In Klar/Obskur, I tried to transfer the general idea of this technique on the rather unusual instrumentation of two double-reed woodwinds and piano. On the one hand, a clear, well articulated playing is characteristic for these instruments,…

Par ROELS STIJN. Close est un choral qui chante les louanges d?un thème universel : l?amour. Les gens qui nous sont chers sont ceux que nous aimons avoir auprès de nous, afin de pouvoir les serrer dans nos bras de temps en temps. C?était particulièrement difficile pendant la période où sévissait le COVID ? une privation que de nombreuses personnes ressentaient profondément. Le besoin de chaleur hu…

From Coppelia Ballet. Par DELIBES LEO. French composer Léo Delibes (1836-1891) was primarily known for his operettas and short comic operas. He was also famous for the ballet Coppelia from which arranger Wil van der Beek has transcribed the czardas for concert band. Characteristic of this work and the music of Delibes' in general are rhythmic, alternating melodies. Another trademark of Delibes' wo…

This beautiful piece by Tobin Stokes is loosely based on the five stages of grieving by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The first section of the music, set for 6-part treble choir on the text Hear my prayer, Oh Lord, is polyphonic at a subdued dynamic level. The second phrase of the verse, and let my crying come unto thee, is homophonic and builds to a full climax before diminishing to a very soft and pass…

Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. In the most literal sense: a piece for an occasion. The actual occasion was Jan de Haan’s twentieth anniversary as a conductor of the top Dutch brass band, “Soli Deo Gloria” (Leeuwarden). To mark the occasion, the band commissioned the Belgian comopser Jan Van der Roost to create a surprise piece: without knowledge of the person being celebrated, a suitable source of inspira…

This setting of the opening to Psalm 102 was composed in the early 1680s. Purcell, who was in his early twenties, had succeeded John Blow as organist of Westminster Abbey around the beginning of the decade and his star was in the ascendant as a court composer. In this piece he pulls off a remarkable compositional coup: a single, gradual climax, lasting over two minutes and culminating on the final…

Aus tiefer Not. Par RENTZSCH FRIEDHELM. Friedhelm Rentzsch, long a cellist in the Dresden Philharmonic, set Psalm 130, whose character of penitence is especially impressive here, through the reduction of the musical forces to a solo alto with orchestral accompaniment, and this in a most unique, urgent manner. Through the addition of a sombre text by Erich Arendt the subective manner of the song is…

Par MC CARTNEY PAUL. A Leaf is Paul McCartney's second composition in the classical idiom. Completed in 1994, A Leaf was conceived for the intimate resources of a solo piano. McCartney gratefully acknowledges the invaluable contribution of John Fraser in bringing this work to fruition. Its seven linked movements are for the most part reflective in character, expanding into bravura passages which t…

Par DOBSON SIMON. Torsion was commissioned by the Leyland Band and first performed on 23 January 2010 at the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass, Manchester, by Leyland Band conducted by Jason Katsikaris. This colourful and dynamic work is the most personal and ambitious that Simon Dobson composed during his residency with the Lancashire brass band. The dictionary defines torsion as …

A Chorale about Love. Par ROELS STIJN. Close est un choral qui chante les louanges d?un thème universel : l?amour. Les gens qui nous sont chers sont ceux que nous aimons avoir auprès de nous, afin de pouvoir les serrer dans nos bras de temps en temps. C?était particulièrement difficile pendant la période où sévissait le COVID ? une privation que de nombreuses personnes ressentaient profondément. L…