Gaspare Spontini, composer and conductor, was celebrated for his operas in the late 1700s and early 1800s, although he also composed several pieces of vocal chamber music at the same time. The chamber repertoire was composed with the amateur performer in mind: the tessitura of his melodies falls mostly within the medium/high range and does not call for any special techniques. This does not, howeve…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Andante con Variazioni by Beethoven is a theme and variations written originally for mandolin and keyboard in 1796. It is arranged here for cello and piano by cellist Steven Isserlis and is a work full of charm and humour with a touch of pathos in the minor variation. It shows the young Beethoven at his most elegant.  / Instrumental Music / Répertoire / Violoncelle et Pi…

Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. These four dances are written in a kind of neo renaissance style. Because of the fact that little technical demands are required from its performing artists, these dances are mainly meant for beginning groups, youth ensembles and also for bands in all kinds of small strengths. Jan Van der Roost originally had pedagogical intentions with this piece. / Niveau : 1 / Pièce de …

For Guitar Vol. 1. Par STOVER RICHARD RICO. The product of decades of scholarly investigation, Volume 1 contains 67 musical works by the virtuoso Paraguayan guitarist Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944). This is the first edition of Barrios' music based on all available sources: manuscripts, phonograph recordings and published editions (pre-1970s). Written in standard notation only, the two volume…

Born in South Africa, but now an Irish citizen, Kevin Volans' musical idiom has been shaped by an unusually diverse range of experiences, including studies with Stockhausen in Cologne, field trips to South Africa to study traditional music, his own involvement with the New Simplicity movement, his collection of contemporary art and African textiles, friendships with composers like Morton Feldman a…

The Trois Etudes de concert, which was written at the beginning of Liszt's work as a conductor in Weimar, appeared in three separate books in 1849. The original manuscript, which was lost until recently in the Bibliothèque musical François-Lang in Royaumont (north of Paris), reveals many details that have been overlooked or not corrected so far. Therefore it served as the main source for the new U…

Cherubini owes his fame as a church composer primarily to the 'Requiem in C minor? of 1817. It was held in extraordinarily high esteem by such composers as Beethoven and Schumann and served as a model for early 19th-century Requiem settings. Dispensing entirely with solo voices, it captivates with its rigorous formal concentration and its restrained use of musical resources in both choir and orche…

Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated was written by hymnist, Frances Ridley Havergal, daughter of the well-known English hymnist William Havergal. Francis wrote that it was on occasion of visiting the home of a friend that the hymn was composed. It seems there were ten persons in the home that she was visiting, some converted and some still unconverted. She prayed, 'Lord, give me all in this ho…

The theme from BBC Radio's The Archers. Par WOOD ARTHUR. Barwick Green is the familiar theme from the well-known BBC's radio show The Archers. The piece, written by Arthur Wood is presented here for piano solo. / TV, Film, Comédie musicale / Recueil / Piano

Par JOHNSON TIMOTHY. TRIUMPHANT SPIRIT was written to capture the essence of the spirit of triumph that exists when we endure hardship, and prevail. Those who took part in the rescue efforts resulting from the attacks on America on September 11, 2001 vividly personified this spirit. TRIUMPHANT SPIRIT displays impressive compositional techniques, colorful orchestration, and dazzling rhythmic counte…