for SATB wordless chorus, viola solo, and orchestra A suite for solo viola, wordless chorus (SATB), and small orchestra, Flos Campi is one of Vaughan Williams's most enigmatic pieces. Although the six movements all borrow their titles from the Old Testament's Song of Solomon, the chorus never articulates a single word. Instead, it serves as a section of the orchestra, creating an elegant vocal texture and backdrop to the viola's haunting solo lines. The work was premiered in October 1925 by the violist Lionel Tertis, singers from the RCM, and the Queen's Hall Orchestra, directed by Sir Henry Wood.

The state of contemporary music is dizzyingly diverse in terms of style, media, traditions, and techniques. How have trends in music developed over the past decades? Music Composition in the 21st Century is a guide for composers and students that helps them navigate the often daunting complexity and abundance of resources and influences that confront them as they work to achieve a personal expression. From pop to classical, the book speaks to the creative ways that new composers mix and synthesize music, creating a music that exists along a more continuous spectrum rather than in a series of siloed practices. It pays special attention to a series of critical issues that have surfaced in recent years, including harmony, the influence of minimalism, the impact of technology, strategies of "openness," sound art, collaboration, and improvisation. Robert Carl identifies an emerging common practice that allows creators to make more informed aesthetic and technical decisions and also fosters an inherently positive approach to new methods.

The Whistling Blackbird: Essays and Talks on New Music is the long-awaited book of essays from Robert Morris, the greatly admired composer and music theorist. In these essays, Morris presents a new and multifaceted view of recent developments in American music. His views on music, as well as his many compositions, defy easy classification, favoring instead a holistic, creative, and critical approach. The Whistling Blackbird contains fourteen essays and talks, divided into three parts, preceded by an "Overture" that portrays what it means to compose music in the United States today. Part 1 presents essays on American composers John Cage, Milton Babbitt, Richard Swift, and Stefan Wolpe. Part 2 comprises talks on Morris's music that illustrate his ideas and creative approaches over forty years of music composition, including his outdoor compositions, an ongoing project that began in 1999. Part 3 includes four essays in music criticism: on the relation of composition to ethnomusicology; on phenomenology and attention; on music theory at the millennium; and on issues in musical time. Threaded throughout this collection of essays are Morris's diverse and seemingly disparate interests and influences. English romantic poetry, mathematical combinatorics, group and set theory, hiking, Buddhist philosophy, Chinese and Japanese poetry and painting, jazz and nonwestern music, chaos theory, linguistics, and the American transcendental movement exist side by side in a fascinating and eclectic portrait of American musical composition at the dawn of the new millennium. Robert Morris is Professor of Music Composition at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.

This edition of Walton's celebrated Viola Concerto (1962 version) has been off-printed from the William Walton Edition full score, and combines the scholarship of the Edition with the practical benefits of the smaller format. An introduction is provided by the volume editor, Christopher Wellington. Orchestral material is available on hire/rental.

This fun and innovative collection introduces cellists to a range of pop and rock styles. Building on the trail-blazing approach to cello playing that he developed in Ten American Cello Etudes and Ten International Cello Encores, Aaron Minsky presents the intermediate student with attractive new pieces that explore a number of technical and musical challenges.

Embertides is a four-movement suite for organ based on the roughly equal divisions of the church year - Advent, Lent, Whitsun, and Michaelmas - which in turn hark back to earlier, secular traditions. Throughout, there are short references and hints to plainsong and other hymns relevant to the seasons. Drawing on a wide range of colours and textures, the composer creates an evocative and varied suite of pieces, perfectly suited for both recital and church performance; as such, the work will be welcomed by a wide range of players.

for SATB (with divisions), S. and T. solos, and 10 players Commissioned by Merton College, Oxford, this hour-long work for soloists, choir, and 10 players is divided into seven movements, beginning with Palm Sunday. Jackson's setting takes material from each of the four Gospel narratives, interspersed with Latin hymns and English texts by poets associated with Merton College over the centuries including Edmund Blunden and T. S. Eliot. The vocal score includes a piano reduction for rehearsal purposes.

Amidst the heated fray of the Culture Wars emerged a scrappy festival in downtown New York City called Bang on a Can. Presenting eclectic, irreverent marathons of experimental music in crumbling venues on the Lower East Side, Bang on a Can sold out concerts for a genre that had been long considered box office poison. Through the 1980s and 1990s, three young, visionary composers-David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe-nurtured Bang on a Can into a multifaceted organization with a major record deal, a virtuosic in-house ensemble, and a seat at the table at Lincoln Center, and in the process changed the landscape of avant-garde music in the United States. Bang on a Can captured a new public for new music. But they did not do so alone. As the twentieth century came to a close, the world of American composition pivoted away from the insular academy and towards the broader marketplace. In the wake of the unexpected popularity of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, classical presenters looked to contemporary music for relevance and record labels scrambled to reap its potential profits, all while government funding was imperilled by the evangelical right. Other institutions faltered amidst the vagaries of late capitalism, but the renegade Bang on a Can survived-and thrived-in a tumultuous and idealistic moment that made new music what it is today.

Pianoworks: Popular Styles is a superb one-stop introduction to key musical styles of the last 100 years. Through 18 original pieces it captures the essential ingredients of blues, gospel, rock, jazz, and Latin, as well as neo-classicism, minimalism, and other popular classical styles. The pieces are carefully tailored for students of the Pianoworks series, covering technically Book 2 and the final section of Book 1, and the collection works equally well as a stand-alone repertoire resource.

This edition of Walton's Cello Concerto has been off-printed from the Wiliam Walton Edition full score, and combines the scholarship of the Edition (including an introduction by the editor) with the practical benefits of a study score format. Dating from 1956, the work was commissioned by Gregor Piatigorsky and premiered by him the following year. Walton regarded this work as the best of his three solo concertos. Orchestral material is available on hire/rental.

This edition of Walton's Violin Concerto has been off-printed from the William Walton Edition full score, and combines the scholarship of the Edition (including an introduction by the editor) with the practical benefits of a study score format. Commissioned by Jascha Heifetz, the work was completed in 1939 and premiered by Heifetz later that year. Walton revised the concerto in 1943 and it is this version which is presented in the current edition. Orchestral material is available on hire/rental.

for SSATB (with divisions) unaccompanied A setting of one of the seven Advent 'O' Antiphons, O Oriens makes use of luxurious and exotic harmonies, creating a shimmering texture reminiscent of the biblical Morning Star referenced in the title. The focus on human enlightenment in winter's darkness means the piece is equally suitable for secular celebrations of Christmas. It was commissioned for the Choir of Merton College, Oxford, and in 2013 was shortlisted for a British Composer Award.

Leading authorities explore, in direct and accessible language, chamber-music masterpieces by twenty-one prominent composers since 1900. Modern composers as diverse as Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel, Benjamin Britten, and John Cage have confided some of their most personal and intense thoughts to the medium of the string quartet. The resulting repertoire has won the allegiance of string players-and of listeners in the concert hall and at home. Yet, until now, no book has addressed the language of these remarkable works, their interactions with the masterpieces of Beethoven and others, and theirnew approaches to musical expression. Intimate Voices, organized in rough chronological order, offers the observations and intuitions of leading authorities on quartets by twenty-one composers from eleven countries. Its two volumes-available separately or together-comprise an indispensable guide to amateur and professional chamber musicians, scholars, students, and anyone seeking a deeper acquaintance with the great achievements of twentieth-century music. Edited by Evan Jones, Associate Professor of Music Theory, Florida State University College of Music.

for upper-voice choir, SATB choir, piano, and optional timpani Setting a newly written text by Charles Bennett, this fifteen-minute choral work takes singers on a journey through five historical events: the invention of printing, the abolition of slavery, the first powered flight, the discovery of penicillin, and the first man in space. In each movement, music and words come together to create a strikingly vivid and personal account of each protagonist's experience, from the printer seeing 'each letter like a person' to the astronaut commenting on the beauty of our planet from space. Chilcott's music is as captivating as ever, with energy in abundance alongside moments of clarity and stillness. This is an ideal concert work for choirs looking to perform with an upper-voice group, or for larger SATB choruses with divisi sopranos and altos. The optional timpani part is printed separately at the back of the score.

for SATB and organ or orchestra or unaccompanied This anthology of 9 mixed-voice anthems combines new material written specially for the collection with established favourites from the Oxford catalogue, some of which appear here for the first time with SATB scoring. Containing both accompanied and a cappella pieces, and with festive anthems (with keyboard or orchestral accompaniment) alongside short, gentle blessings, Mack Wilberg Anthems contains an attractive selection of pieces suitable for a variety of liturgical seasons and will appeal to all mixed-voice church choirs.

for SATB and piano or organ This expressive anthem brings together excerpts from the gospels that express God's commandment to mankind to love one another. Underpinned by a flowing piano or organ accompaniment, Love one another explores this profound topic with sensitive harmonies and effective modulations. Although suitable for performance throughout the church year, this anthem would be particularly affecting in a Wedding or Maundy Thursday service.

for SATB (with optional solos) and organ or piano or small orchestra or chamber group O Come, Emmanuel is an Advent Celebration, suitable for both church and concert choirs. It is based on the 7 Great 'O' Antiphons, and fragments of the well-known plainsong hymn permeate the work. To these, Bullard has added settings of a number of other Advent texts and hymns, including the beautiful 'There is a rose-tree', a rousing setting of 'Chanticleer Carol', and new arrangements of 'Gabriel's Message' and 'Joy to the world!'. The work may be sung throughout by SATB choir, or a range of soloists may take some of the lines. The accompaniment - for organ or piano, or with small orchestra or chamber group - is equally flexible. A number of the movements make highly effective separate pieces and anthems. Written with the composer's long and practical experience, O Come, Emmanuel is a strikingly original work for Advent and Christmas that will enhance both liturgical celebrations and concert programmes at this time.

Love it or loathe it, few would disagree that the music of Harrison Birtwistle stands amongst the most assured, original and challenging music ever to have been produced by a British composer. While for some the uncompromisingly modernist surface of his music can be an obstacle to closer acquaintance, for others, it is Birtwistle's articulation of deep aspects of the human psyche that continues to excite and fascinate. In this book, Jonathan Cross - a leading commentator on contemporary music - aims to uncover the sources of Birtwistle's thinking, and to present a critical account of his musical, dramatic and aesthetic preoccupations through an examination of such topics as theatre, myth, ritual, pastoral, pulse and line. He offers a range of contexts within which the music can be understood so that the curious and the initiated alike may be drawn towards new and enriching experiences of the extraordinarily powerful music of Harrison Birtwistle.

A crucial year in the Britten/Auden relationship, which reshaped and redefined artistic direction in the immediate pre-war period. Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden were key figures of the 1930s, and here Donald Mitchell traces their lives during one crucial year, 1936. They worked hard to establish themselves, first through the GPO film unit, in a collaboration which flowered and spilled over into the theatre, and then radio - a new medium that the liveliest creative minds of the time were exploring and exploiting. Britten and Auden also joined forces in works destined for the recital room and concert hall, among them Our Hunting Fathers, the political symbolism of which Donald Mitchell examines in depth, and On the Island, settings of early Auden that comprised Britten's first important set of songs to English texts. Much use is made of Britten's private diaries, which he kept on a daily basis, and a revealing portrait emerges of the two men's relationship, of their work together in many different fields, and of the reflection within that work of political ideas current at the time. DONALD MITCHELL was Britten's close friend and publisher from 1964 until the end of the composer's life, and his authorised biographer. The T S Eliot Memorial Lectures delivered in 1979

for SAATTBB unaccompanied What sweeter music is an atmospheric setting of Robert Herrick's popular Christmas text. The carol opens with hushed, interweaving choral lines, creating a soft veil of sound that expands texturally and dynamically into an expressive central section. The sustained melodic interest in every part combines to create a gorgeous work that choirs will find a true pleasure to sing. What sweeter music will be included on a forthcoming CD by Commotio.

An updated edition of the first book on this subject, covering influences, key works and reception history. From the start of the English musical renaissance, British composers were preoccupied with Germanic principles of sonata writing, despite their subsequent exposure to influences outside this tradition, among them late romantic music, French impressionism, Russian nationalism, Scriabin, British folk music, African-American music and neo-classicism. Regardless of education - or the climate, fully explored here, at the Royal College and the Royal Academy - the Austro-German tradition proved inescapable. This first study of the subject offers detailed commentary on key works, with plentiful musical examples, revealing influences and techniques and demonstrating composers' attitudes towards the genre. The reception history of the piano sonata is also discussed, to build up a picture of public musical taste. The appendix contains transcripts of interviews, including one with Sir Michael Tippett; these are particularly significant, as most of the subjects are now dead. Also included is a useful reference section, cataloguing the sonatas, as well as a full discography chronicling the recording history of each sonata, updated in 2012. Lisa Hardy studied music, mathematics and education at the University of Keele and researched her PhD at Goldsmiths' College, London, under the supervision of Professor Peter Dickinson. She works as a freelance piano and flute teacher and piano accompanist in the North East of England and teaches music at Durham High School for Girls.

How is the Beatles' "Help " similar to Stravinsky's "Dance of the Adolescents?" How does Radiohead's "Just" relate to the improvisations of Bill Evans? And how do Chopin's works exploit the non-Euclidean geometry of musical chords?
In this groundbreaking work, author Dmitri Tymoczko describes a new framework for thinking about music that emphasizes the commonalities among styles from medieval polyphony to contemporary rock. Tymoczko identifies five basic musical features that jointly contribute to the sense of tonality, and shows how these features recur throughout the history of Western music. In the process he sheds new light on an age-old question: what makes music sound good?
A Geometry of Music provides an accessible introduction to Tymoczko's revolutionary geometrical approach to music theory. The book shows how to construct simple diagrams representing relationships among familiar chords and scales, giving readers the tools to translate between the musical and visual realms and revealing surprising degrees of structure in otherwise hard-to-understand pieces.
Tymoczko uses this theoretical foundation to retell the history of Western music from the eleventh century to the present day. Arguing that traditional histories focus too narrowly on the "common practice" period from 1680-1850, he proposes instead that Western music comprises an extended common practice stretching from the late middle ages to the present. He discusses a host of familiar pieces by a wide range of composers, from Bach to the Beatles, Mozart to Miles Davis, and many in between.
A Geometry of Music is accessible to a range of readers, from undergraduate music majors to scientists and mathematicians with an interest in music. Defining its terms along the way, it presupposes no special mathematical background and only a basic familiarity with Western music theory. The book also contains exercises designed to reinforce and extend readers' understanding, along with a series of appendices that explore the technical details of this exciting new theory.

for SA and piano I remember sets a text reflecting on the wonder of the natural world and the people who shape our lives. The stirring melody calls to mind the folksong tradition, and is underpinned by a gently flowing piano accompaniment. The middle section brings a contrast of tonality, with the altos accompanying the sopranos' melodic line, before the beguiling melody of the opening returns to bring the setting to a poignant close.

for SSA unaccompanied Songbird sets an evocative text by the composer describing songbirds that spin tunes of gold. The catchy, colourful melody is first presented by tutti voices, and is then woven through the vocal parts, often to scat accompaniment.