Showing posts with label music written in 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music written in 2021. Show all posts
"In the Balance" and "Lacunae" for Mezzo Soprano and Piano
Adventures with Alice
I. How doth the little crocodile
II. Beautiful Soup
III. I sing this song for your delight
You can find the music on this page of the IMSLP.
Advanced Violin Scale Studies
Although the practice of scales is essential to building and maintaining strength, technique, tone, and agility—it is very easy to slip into the habit of playing them automatically, without paying attention to how they sound or even being aware of what scale we are playing. The 29 single-page studies in this book are designed to combat that tendency as they are musically, intellectually, and rhythmically challenging. The first 24 studies proceeded through the circle of fifths and address all minor and relative major keys; the last 5 pieces were individually conceived, i.e., apart from the circle of fifths. Occasional fingerings or position guides are suggested but these are largely left to the student or their teachers. No metronome indications are given so that the etudes can be played at individually comfortable tempos—with or without a metronome, or freely as concert etudes. It is the stepwise motion and octave leaps of the etudes that makes the intervals between pitches easy to hear, even in keys with numerous flats or sharps. Just as in Elaine Fine’s more basic scale etude book, Violin Scale Tales, the names of the etudes herein refer to various animals that have scales, including insects, fish, birds, reptiles, a few species of squirrels with scales on their tails, and the solitary pangolin, the only known mammal whose entire body is covered with scales. Again, the author hopes that in addition to experiencing more enjoyable scale practice, students will be inspired to learn more about these amazing creatures, or even write scale studies of their own.It is available here, as an e-book as well as a print book.
Violin Scale Tales
From the Mel Bay Website:
The etudes in this book offer students a musically and intellectually satisfying means of practicing scales in all major and minor keys, even while remaining in first position. Although presented in the traditional order of the circle of fifths, this is where similarities to other violin scale-oriented books end. Of course, the etudes can be played using a mixture of positions by more advanced students. The studies also resonate very well on the viola if played at pitch. These are instructive etudes and can be played as appealing solo pieces. The stepwise motion in the etudes makes intervals between pitches easy to hear, even in keys with many flats or sharps. Both the book and etude titles refer to names of animals that have scales, so you will see natural and harmonic minor scales named after various moths, and major scales named for unusual reptiles, birds, and mammals throughout. The author hopes that in addition to experiencing more enjoyable scale practice, students will be inspired to learn more about these amazing animals or even write scale studies of their own.
It is available as an e-book as well as a print book.
You can find both on this page of the Mel Bay website.
Here's a link to a YouTube playlist that has the first ten pieces.
Rock Crystal for Solo Viola
The music is available on this page of the IMSLP, and you can listen to Paul Cortese's excellent recording here.
You can read a little "backstory" about this piece here.
I am also fond of lonely islands for solo viola
You can listen to Paul Cortese play this piece here (on YouTube). And you can find the music on this page of the IMSLP, and it is streaminig on various formats:
New Year's Greeting for 2022
I like to make these New Year's Greetings modular, so this one has versions for clarinet and viola, two violas, and two violins. I also made an arrangement of it for harpsichord or piano solo (you can see the music below)
You can find the music on this page of the IMSLP. I also made a transcription for harpsichord or piano.
Dancing on the Fingerboard
The first eight pieces in this set use guiding fingers to help shift between first and third position. “Cloud Nine,” introduces harmonics in order to remind the hand and arm of the physical distance from first to fourth position. “Second Hand,” and “What’s on Second” explore second position, and “Who’s on Third?” incorporates third, and re-introduces the harmonic. “Fourth Dimension,” “Can I Have a Little More,” and “Second Chance,” use the first four positions.
“Fifth Business I” and “Fifth Business II,” marked “Serioso” and “Scherzando,” introduce fifth position. The titles refer to the Robertson Davies novel with the same name, and the character (tempo) markings suggest masks of tragedy and comedy. “Sixth Sense” and “Six degrees of Separation” introduce sixth position and a little bit of half position. “At Sixes and Sevens,” is a transposed version of “Six of One,” the first piece in “Half a Dozen of the Other.” It introduces seventh position, and is ironically calm in character.
2026 UPDATE: Now we have a new transcription for cello!
Evolution for high or medium voice with harp or piano
The music is available on this page of the IMSLP, and the text comes from Alice Duer Miller's 1915 Are Women People?
Half a Dozen of the Other: Six Studies for Solo Viola (or cello)
The pieces in this set of solo viola studies are in the more "unusual" keys of F-sharp major, G-flat major, B major, F minor, C-sharp minor (and major), and G-sharp minor. You can find the music on this page of the IMSLP.
UPDATE: Now for cello, on the same page of the IMSLP.
Arrangement: Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing for String Orchestra
You can find the music here, and on this page of the IMSLP. You might enjoy reading this post from my Musical Assumptions blog that has more information about this piece.
Dawn Chorus for Piccolo, 2 Flutes, Clarinet, Bassoon, Violin, and Viola
The score and parts are available on this page of the IMSLP, You can listen here (it's about five minutes long, and it might even give you a hopeful smile).
Transcription: Florence Price's Thumbnail Sketches of a Day in the Life of a Washerwoman for String Quartet
The score and parts are available on this page of the IMSLP, and you can listen to a computer-generated recording here.
Weights and Measures for two violas and for two violins (or violin and another melody instrument)
These have the same scale-based parts for the upper voice as "Weights and Measures" for solo recorder, but the articulations and dynamics here are more suited to strings.
The second voice in the first (above) version is a dedicated violin part, which could also be played on the viola (as a violin and viola duet, or as a recorder--or flute and violin or viola duet), and the version for two violas is set a fifth lower, with both parts in the alto clef. The second voice in the two-viola version can be paired with the solo alto recorder version of the original. Everything can be mixed and matched.
Single-page (for tablet use) and duplex (for double-sided printing) PDFs are available on this page of the IMSLP.
Looking Glass Duo for Viola and Euphonium (or Cello)
You can find the music on this page of the IMSLP, and you can listen to a computer-generated recording here.
Transcription: Tchaikovsky November Troika, October Autumn Song, and April Snowdrops (from The Seasons) for Three Violas
You can find the score and parts for November here, the score and parts for April here, and the score and parts for October here. The arrangements are on this page of the IMSLP (individually under the transcription tab).
You can listen to them as a suite (April, October, November) here.
Weights and Measures: Scale Melodies for Recorder (and other instruments)
I also made transcriptions of the recorder version for viola and for bass clef instruments of every stripe (the lowest pitch is F).
The music for this set of scale pieces is available on this page of the IMSLP.
May 2021 UPDATE: I have set these pieces as duets (recorder and violin)! You can find them through the IMSLP link, or through this post.
2023 UPDATE
Any and all of the versions work perfectly well on the viola d'amore!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
import.ab218fc6@statcounter.com
