Orchestra New Music Preview – Carl Fischer Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sneak peeks of various publishers’ new string orchestra music for next fall are starting to show up in everyone’s mailbox – including Stanton’s!
We have been listening and looking at the new material, and as always, there are standouts, which Stanton’s will be stocking, advertising and including on New String Orchestra Music Reading Sessions. Here are three levels of “Top Choice Original Pieces” from Carl Fischer:
DOTONBORI DASH by Alan Lee Silva (Grade 4)
Illustrating an adventurous chase through the lively and colorful Dotonbori Market in Osaka, Japan, your students will end up with a good grasp of A minor pentatonics, Col Legno (simulating Taiko Drums), slap pizzicato and the sense of a driving forward motion, accomplished through tumbling melodic lines that are shared by every section of the string orchestra plus a percussive element that hints at a rock band rhythm section.
THE VOYAGE by George Sweet (Grade 2)
Influenced by the composer’s love of sci-fi and fantasy movies, this could be a 1980′s film score! Pushing the far edge of Grade 2, it features meter changes, major seventh harmonies and other accidentals, triplets and off-beats as your spaceship tumbles through the cosmos. Each of the three major melodic themes are infectious and every orchestra section performs a major role in propelling the piece forward.
STORM CHASER by Kevin Mixon (Grade 1)
Using nothing faster than eighth notes, and staying in the key of E minor with no accidentals, this very playable romp sounds much more difficult than it actually is. With cello and bass tremolo simulating thunder, it starts with random finger snaps in the upper strings to conjure up the sound of raindrops. Once the main theme kicks in, the use of accents and very basic hemiola push your storm chasers into the eye of the hurricane!
Contact us for more great recommendations, and keep your eyes open for more orchestra music previews in the coming weeks…