Elgar was pre-eminently the composer of large forms. Complex, lengthy development of musical ideas was for him a measure of genius. His songs, with the exception of the orchestral cycle Sea Pictures , were not often the vehicles for his most striking ideas. Paradoxically, he was also bedevilled by a fine literally taste. He once told a friend that he felt it better to set the best second-rate poet…

The Boosey Voice Coach is an entirely new concept in vocal training. Not a self-teaching manual, and not filled with off-putting diagrams, this series is a wholly practical guide to singing - learning about technique and interpretation through the repertoire itself. Each volume is devoted to singing in one particular language or to singing in a specific context. In each volume of the series, works…

The 'Petite Messe solennelle? is the finest work of Rossini's late years. He composed it between 1863 and 1864 at the age of 71 as a commission for Countess Louise Pillet -Will for the consecration of her private chapel, where the work received its first performance in March 1864. Together with the 'Stabat mater?, the mass is one of the composer's mostimportant sacred works.The unusual instrumenta…

Par ALLISON KEVIN. While one of a kind is a hard rating to achieve at Mel Bay Publications, Kevin Allison has done it with The Ceilidh Dance Book. A ceilidh is a traditional Scottish gathering where people share songs, stories, music, and dancing that is very much alive today. In Scotland, there are hundreds of ceilidh bands, each of which has their own trademark tune sets, making it possible for …

The Jazz Piano Chord Book, with over 1,700 jazz Piano chord voicings contained within, is an essential resource for jazz Pianists, whether they're newcomers to the style or established players who want to improve upon existing skills. The handy and compact layout of this convenient Chord Book allows you to quickly and easily find the chord you are looking for. Its layout of the almost innumerable…

Par SCHOENMEHL MIKE. At a time, when pop and jazz exert lasting influence of the musical environment of an adolescent, it is important that this kind of music should be included in the training of an instrumentalist. The compositions in this book are intended to provide a break from the seriousness of music lessons, and to motivate the student who might be in a phase of 'classical fatigure'. The s…

Hercules at the crossroads (Dramma per musica) - BWV 213. Par BACH JOHANN SEBASTIAN. What does Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio¨ have to do with Hercules? More than you might think at first glance. In the fall of 1733, with the eleventh birthday of the Saxon Crown Prince Friedrich Christian fast approaching, Johann Sebastian Bach composed the secular cantata “Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen” (Let us …

Par MANTOVANI BRUNO. Contrary to what one might think, it is particularly difficult to write a solo or concertante work for an instrument that a person is very familiar with. Whenever I encounter this situation, I always feel a certain reserve or prudence, or even apprehension about leaning toward facility, in terms of gestures. Lack of objectivity can result in the imagination being more instrume…

Instrumentation of Schubert‘s Song Cycle with 7 New Songs after Emily Dickinson. Par STAUD JOHANNES MARIA. At the suggestion of the great Schubert interpreter Christoph Prégardien, I have orchestrated Schubert’s large-scale song cycle “Die Schöne Müllerin” [The Lovely Maid of the Mill] (1823) for a 19-piece ensemble and combined it with seven of my own songs set to poems by Emily Dickinson (1830–1…

Composed when he was only 10 years old, Emile Serper wrote this about his composition: It is my hope that this setting of Ave Maria may have a positive impact and be shared in many ways. After I heard my friends in choir rehearsing the piece, I thought the music might also say, 'Hail, Mother Earth!' It is meant to transcend religions and to serve as a prayer for our planet. The earth needs our hea…