New works by Jan Freidlin for the Violoncello

Three new works featuring the violoncello by the Israeli composer Jan Freidlin have just been published by Musik Fabrik. Many of these works are inspired by the Israeli cellist M. Haran, who has premièred many of Freidlin's compositions. The works include:

From the past... for solo violoncello

Rainy Day Rhapsody for violoncello and piano

Two Snakes' Dance for violoncello and contrabass.

In preparation are two larger works for flute and violoncello, which will be published in the next few days.

All of these works and others for the violoncello are available from our catalog of music for strings.

Thérèse Brenet's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, "Seul tes yeux demeurèrent..."

Thérèse Brenet's Concerto for Violin and orchestra Seul tes yeux demeurèrent..., which is inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's poem "To Helen", has recently been published and is available in our string music catalog.

The 14 minute work is scored for Tympani, 2 percussion, Vibraphone, harp, celesta, and strings (similar to "Des Graines de sable d'or aux mains: Concerto pour guitare"), which was also inspired by Poe's poetry.

The work will be recorded this year by French conductor Jean Thorel, long associated with the music of Thérèse Brenet, with a soloist and orchestra TBA

The complete text of "To Helen", which inspired the work :

I saw thee once- once only- years ago:
I must not say how many- but not many.
It was a July midnight; and from out
A full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring,
Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven,
There fell a silvery-silken veil of light,
With quietude, and sultriness, and slumber,
Upon the upturned faces of a thousand
Roses that grew in an enchanted garden,
Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe-
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses
That gave out, in return for the love-light,
Their odorous souls in an ecstatic death-
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses
That smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted
By thee, and by the poetry of thy presence.

Clad all in white, upon a violet bank
I saw thee half reclining; while the moon
Fell on the upturn'd faces of the roses,
And on thine own, upturn'd- alas, in sorrow!

Was it not Fate, that, on this July midnight-
Was it not Fate, (whose name is also Sorrow,)
That bade me pause before that garden-gate,
To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?
No footstep stirred: the hated world an slept,
Save only thee and me. (Oh, Heaven!- oh, God!
How my heart beats in coupling those two words!)
Save only thee and me. I paused- I looked-
And in an instant all things disappeared.
(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!)

The pearly lustre of the moon went out:
The mossy banks and the meandering paths,
The happy flowers and the repining trees,
Were seen no more: the very roses' odors
Died in the arms of the adoring airs.
All- all expired save thee- save less than thou:
Save only the divine light in thine eyes-
Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.
I saw but them- they were the world to me!
I saw but them- saw only them for hours,
Saw only them until the moon went down.
What wild heart-histories seemed to he enwritten
Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres!
How dark a woe, yet how sublime a hope!
How silently serene a sea of pride!
How daring an ambition; yet how deep-
How fathomless a capacity for love!

But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight,
Into a western couch of thunder-cloud;
And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing trees
Didst glide away. Only thine eyes remained;
They would not go- they never yet have gone;
Lighting my lonely pathway home that night,
They have not left me (as my hopes have) since;
They follow me- they lead me through the years.
They are my ministers- yet I their slave.
Their office is to illumine and enkindle-
My duty, to be saved by their bright light,
And purified in their electric fire,
And sanctified in their elysian fire.
They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope),
And are far up in Heaven- the stars I kneel to
In the sad, silent watches of my night;
While even in the meridian glare of day
I see them still- two sweetly scintillant
Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!

Carson Cooman's "Nantucket Dreaming" series continues with "Shakemo Dreaming" for String Orchestra

In 2002, Carson Cooman began a series of musical compositions deeply connected to the landscape of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Although each piece is an individual work, certain attributes are shared among them, and when completed, the entire cycle could be performed as an evening-length work.

The latest work in the series is Shakemo Dreaming for string orchestra. The five minute work was commissioned for the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic. To quote the composer's performance notes :

Shawkemo Dreaming (2009) for string orchestra is dedicated to Robert Moran. The title refers to Shawkemo, a region of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. This work is one of a variety of pieces deeply connected to the landscape of Nantucket.

Overlooking the harbor and conservation preserves, Shawkemo imparts a sense of
peace, amidst gentle wind and sky. The work begins with bell-like tolling through
which a freely lyrical melody is unfolded. This melodic material is developed, building to small climaxes, before the work settles into a reposed conclusion.

The score and the complete performance set is available for sale in our orchestral music catalog.