American Carillon Music Editions
The 2010 American Carillon Music Editions new collection is now ready for purchase. This collection includes music suitable for a variety of instrument sizes, a range of technical difficulty, many familiar pieces that audiences will recognize (and love), music suitable for patriotic occasions, weddings, festivals, and even Halloween.
Original Compositions We feature Three English Folksongs by Ronald Barnes who demonstrates his genius as a “Master of Melody” in The Crystal Spring, Sweet Europe and As I Was Going to Banbury, two Geoffrey Cook scores, Lost Love, a haunting “Song Without Words” and a very energetic The Winding Path where the path “begins but never ends”, Johan Adriaenssen’s Out on the Rolling Sea (Parafrase over het Oostindisch Venuslied), a piece based on a Dutch sailor’s song popular 400 years ago, and a festive piece by John Courter, ideally suited for “pomp and circumstance”, Festive Fanfare for Carillon, composed for the dedication of the Berea College Carillon in 2000. In Witches’ Wake, Australian composer, Lyn Fuller, paints a humorous picture of witches dancing, Ed Nassor’s Campanella II intones the Westminster Quarters using big bass bells to a festive accompaniment of dancing trebles, and in A C-Minor Eclipse, Karel Keldermans establishes a serious mood with slow-moving figures until a surprise ending. Hjemstavn Variants by Theron Kirk is based on a Danish folksong where each variant is marked with a “jangle of bells”, David Maker’s Paul Revere, Bellfounder, vividly portrays Revere’s famous ride after discovering that the British are coming, and Kenneth Theunissen’s Hattem Groove “says it all” in the title.
Arrangements We are excited to offer two well-known J. S. Bach arrangements: Siciliano from Flute Sonata No. 2 arranged by Ronald Barnes and edited by Milford Myhre, and Carlo van Ulft’s arrangement of Largo from Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, also known as Arioso, a popular piece for weddings. No wedding repertoire would be complete without including Pachelbel’s Canon in D, a beloved piece and mainstay for wedding party processionals, arranged for carillon by Ed Nassor. Every carillonneur needs to have a large collection of patriotic music at the ready. Karel Keldermans has arranged Sousa’s The Liberty Bell March, a rousing march that is a favorite of many, and Lee Cobb has arranged a beautiful and yet easy-to-play collection of well-known songs that will be indispensable for many patriotic occasions. Let Freedom Ring includes America the Beautiful, This Land is Your Land, The Star-Spangled Banner (arranged for easy singing), and My Country, ‘Tis of Thee. Jürgen Buchner has arranged Justinus Knecht’s Theme with Four Variations, a theme and set of contrasting variations which culminate in a very splashy ending, and has additionally created his first volume entitled Music from Würzburg. This collection of “fun to play” and “easy to listen to” music demonstrates the versatility of four 18th and 19th century English, German and Italian composers. Karel Keldermans has arranged a three-movement sonata by another 18th century Italian composer, Baldassare Galuppi. His Sonata II was originally composed for piano. To make sure you create a concert program with the “audience in mind”, include at least one piece that is either familiar, or that can easily capture the attention of the listener. Carlo van Ulft has arranged a collection of Salon Music, consisting of La Zingana, a Hungarian Mazurka (The Gypsy”) and The Fountain, two of Carl Böhm’s energetic and crowd-pleasing pieces. Karel Keldermans arrangement Marche Alla Turque, based on Mozart’s last movement of Piano Sonata 11 (Alla Turca), will certainly get your audience out of their chairs to march with the music. Another crowd-pleasing ending to a concert would be a selection from Jeff Davis’s A Stephen Foster Treasury. This collection includes five of Foster’s best known songs: Oh! Susanna, Beautiful Dreamer, Ring, Ring de Banjo, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, and Camptown Races. Don’t be surprised if people are still humming the tunes as they shake your hand following the concert.
Duets We are very excited to round out our 2010 collection of scores with several duets arranged by John Knox. Two Russian Operas includes duets based on Modest Mussorgsky’s Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov and the Prelude from Khovanschina. Spectacular!
Sue Bergren - Music EditorMark Bergren - Publications Editor