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Colourstrings Viola ABC - Book C

Colourstrings Violin ABC (Book C) - Tutor

The popular Colourstrings violin tutors are designed for children aged from 4 years and are available in 6 volumes.

Dick and Toff In Wonderland

Erkki-Sven Tüür "Dick and Toff in Wonderland", a swirling duo for flute and tuba was composed in 1991. Duration c. 6 minutes.

Violin Concerto No. 2

Kalevi Aho composed the second violin concerto in 2015 for the Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä. The 32-minute concerto is a large-scale virtuoso work dominated by the soloist. The piano reduction is made by Kari Vehmanen.

Five Mythical Images For Solo Oboe

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed Five mythical images for solo oboe (2015) for 60th birthday of his brother Keijo Aho, who also premiered the work. The five movement work (c. 10 minutes) is a concert piece and suitable also for advanced students. Each movement portrays a muse of the Greek mythology.

Er-Os For Violin and Clarinet

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed ER-OS in 2015 as a wedding gift for conductor-clarinetist Osmo Vänskä and violinist Erin Keefe and named the work with the initials of their names. The virtuosic work is divided in three parts, the overall duration c. 11 minutes. The package includes two copies of playing score (page size B4).

Am Horizont For Viola With Voice

In spring 2020, coronavirus began spreading throughout the world and in many places people were subjected to quarantine. It was then that Hiyoli Togawa, a violist, proposed that the BIS record label release a viola disc entitled Songs of Solitude of short compositions by different contemporary composers, as a sort of reflection of the present time and offering comfort to listeners in their solitude. Hiyoli asked Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) to compose a piece in which she could play and sing simultaneously. The meditative, melancholy Am Horizont is dedicated to Hiyoli Togawa and composed in April 2020. Duration: c. 5'30''.

Flexible Christmas : Trio arrangements for flexible instuments

Six warm-hearted arrangements for 3 flexible instruments, ideal for home, office or school use at Christmas time. Each part can be doubled, and they are available in different transpositions, so the ensemble combination is beyond limits! The package includes a full score, parts 1, 2 & 3 in C, Bb and Eb transpositions, the 2nd part also in viola clef and the 3rd part also in F.Contents: Collan: Sylvian joululaulu • Kotilainen: Varpunen jouluaamuna • Raala: Joulukirkkoon • Sibelius: We ask for Nothing Rich or Rare (En etsi valtaa, loistoa) • Sibelius: The Shining Snows (On hanget korkeat nietokset) • Wartiovaara-Kallioniemi: Tonttu

String Quartet No. 4

According to Jouni Kaipainen, the fourth string quartet (2006) is one of key works of Seppo Pohjola (b. 1965) and holds a place as a landmark in Finnish quartet literature. Of the composer's five string quartets, it is the longest and has the widest thematic arcs of his quartets. Seppo Pohjola has gone through a variety of styles in his musical career. He began as a strict Modernist, progressed towards Expressionism and took on board Romantic influences before ending up in the early 2000s in (a reformed brand of) Modernism again. Osmo Tapio Räihälä describes the end result thus: “The ‘new' Pohjola often anchors his style in a frenetic pulse through which he builds musicalprocesses.” Duration c. 33 minutes. Score (A4) and parts (B4).

Mot Natten - Towards Night : 3 Nocturnes and 2 Interludes For Cello and Guitar

Mikko Heiniö's Mot natten (Towards night), three nocturnes and two interludes for cello and guitar was composed in 2018. This suite found its inspiration and name in Finnish poet Bo Carpelan's (1926-2011) posthumous poetry collection Mot natten (2013), though the movements are not tied to specific poems. The first nocturne, Obscuro (‘twilight'), dominated by pizzicatos, is followed by a more dynamic interlude, Spasimo (‘spasm'). The fragile second nocturne, Sospiro (‘sigh'), is coloured by delicate micro-interval chords plucked on the guitar between the left hand and the nut. The interlude Passi (‘steps') leads with taps on the sound box straight into the third nocturne,Battito (‘beat'), the way having been paved by the heartbeat of strong guitar pizzicatos. The duration is c. 11'30''. The product includes one full score and separate parts for guitar and violoncello.

A Wilderness of Sea

Alex Freeman's A Wilderness of Sea (SSSSAAAATTTTBBBB) draws from four of Shakespeare’s most famous works. It emphasizes a common thread among those works that addresses two of the most universal aspects of human existence: water and impermanence. The recording of the work by Helsinki Chamber Choir conducted by Nils Schweckendick is published by the label BIS - follow the link to listen to it. Duration: c. 15' Alex Freeman (b. 1972) grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Around the age of 13 he became interested in composing. In 1998 he moved to New York to begin his Doctoral studies at the Juilliard School, studying with Christopher Rouse. The focus of his doctoral document led him to Finland. The recipient of a Fulbright Full Fellowship, he moved to Helsinki in 2001 to research Sibelius's sketches and study composition with Eero Hämeenniemi at the Sibelius Academy. Dr. Freeman is currently composing full-time and lives with his wife and children in Finland.

The Five Chords That Shook My World

Juhani Nuorvala (b. 1961) wrote The Five Chords That Shook My World (2020) for pianist Nicolas Horvath's Hommage Glass project and it is dedicated to him. It's a fantasy meditation on the Train/Spaceship chords in Einstein, that repeating five-chord progression (Fm - Db - A - B7 - E) about which the composer has said that there's something strange, because it never fails to lift the audience to its feet. The duration of the piece is c. 6'30'', and it was premiered by Emil Holmström at RUSK festival (Pietarsaari, Finland) 20th November 2020. A notable variety of influences - microtonality, American minimalism, New Romanticism, popular music, techno - has been regarded as a specialfeature of Nuorvala's idiom. Despite this he is not a collage artist; instead he has blended various ingredients to create a mode of expression entirely his own. Nuorvala's works are often marked with frenzied rhythmic drive. He makes music using elements and materials that both the mind and the body respond to. He finds these elements not only in old or new classical music but in various forms of urban popular music, such as the electronic music of modern dance clubs.

Under the Arching Heavens: A Requiem

Alex Freeman’s Under the arching heavens: A Requiem (2018) was commissioned by Nils Schweckendiek and the Helsinki Chamber Choir to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Finnish civil war. Structured around the Latin liturgy of the mass for the dead, the work has a duration of more than an hour and also incorporates poems in Finnish, Swedish and English, reflecting both the specific reason for the commission and the universality of human suffering caused by war. In the non-liturgical texts chosen by Freeman, birds are a recurring image, as is that of a mother and child. The work ends with lines by Walt Whitman from a poem written in the aftermath of the American Civil War; lines described by the composer as ‘some of the most comforting poetry in the English language.’ Also included on the disc is A Wilderness of Sea, another recent choral piece which draws on works by Shakespeare, and the poet’s images of the sea, and of mankind’s relationship with it. Contents: I. Sydämeni laulu (Aleksis Kivi) II. Requiem aeternam III. Sequentia Dies irae Thrushes (Siegfried Sassoon) (Rex tremendae) Fientliga stjärnor (Edith Södergran) (Inter oves) IV. Sanctus V. Mikä lienee se lintu ollut? (Viljo Kajava) VI. Agnus Dei VII. O Years and Graves! (Walt Whitman) Duration: c. 67’

Concerto for flute and orchestra (1985) : Huilukonsertto

Einar Englund’s (1916-1999) Flute Concerto (1985) is beyond dispute one of his greatest works. Its finest attributes are its rich melodic invention, colourful instrumentation and immediate message. Add to these its rewarding solo part, and the result is truly one of his best concertos – and works. He himself did not hesitate to regard it as such. It was premiered in Helsinki on September 16, 1985, having been completed at Ljugarn on the Swedish island of Gotland at the end of June. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Leif Segerstam, and the soloist was the concerto’s dedicatee, Mikael Helasvuo. The Flute Concerto opens with a Ritornello in which the flute's playful, dance-like passages make sharp contrast with the orchestra's heroic stance. In the mellow Canzona which follows, the flute plays rhapsodically over repetitive orchestral figures. The work's "action-packed" finale hints at parody in its military march-like opening, but also gives rein to the lyricism already familiar from the second movement. This product includes the solo flute part and the piano reduction. The orchestral study score (composer’s manuscript) is available for sale (product number 9790550117471). The performance material is available for hire from the publisher. Duration: c. 23’ Instrumentation of the orchestra: 3(III=picc)222–4330–14–harpsichord(+celesta)–hp–str

Lament For Violoncello and String Orchestra

Anyone who believes traditional tonality to be no longer capable of expressing anything more than timeworn clichés should listen to Kerem's work.” (Robert Maxham / Fanfare) Lament for violoncello and strings was written as a commission from Camerata Nordica and its principal cello, Per Nyström, in 2008. At Per's request the solo part in this piece was composed to represent a lone human voice in a world of disappointment. The composer tells: “I used the violins and violas as an operatic choir: they support and comment on the lament of the lone human being. The bass line is one long drone throughout the piece, representing destiny or unwanted reality. It disappears only whenthe solo voice with the chorus of violins and violas intensifies in their disagreement with life. At the climax of the piece the solo voice is momentarily swallowed by the chorus, only to return with an angry statement of the opening phrase. Thereafter the chorus calms down in acceptance that the world won't change. The bass drone returns to haunt the dying lament of the lone voice. The very last phrase is the only one in a major key and echoes as a prayer for hope.” Duration c. 9 minutes. Score (all three versions), separate solo parts for violoncello / viola / violin and orchestral parts (33221). |||||