Search Music:

brass trio (tpt, hn, tbn); 2222;2220;timp;glock;perc;strings

This short work was written at the request of Rachel Young, conductor of Auckland Youth Choir. The choir’s 2006 Christmas concert was to also involve the Auckland Girls Choir, Auckland Boys Choir, and Aotea Youth Symphony Orchestra. A work which could open the concert, involve all performers, and make use of the performance space was needed. And it had to be easy to learn and quick to put together!

After considering various texts I approached noted New Zealand hymn writer Marnie Barrel to ask if she had anything suitable as a text. She very kindly wrote the text that I used for the work. Each choir has an energetic presentation of a verse which describes some of the features and feelings of Christmas. This is followed by an Alleluia. Towards the end of the work, the Alleluia becomes the basis of a canon for all the choirs along with the orchestra.

• Hamilton: A Christmas Fanfare; computer-set 

  Full score | Pdf - computer set
  

picc, 2fl, 2ob, 2cl, alto cl, bs cl, ten sax, bari sax, bsn, 2tpt, 2hn, 3tbn, euph, tba, timp, vib, xyl

• Rimmer: Autumnal Alleluias; computer-set 

  Full score | Pdf - computer set
  

• Rimmer: Autumnal Alleluias; computer-set 

  Full score | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  $14.00
  • • Quantity:
  • Borrow

• Rimmer: Autumnal Alleluias; computer-set 

  Score and parts | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  • Hire

(1)2222; 4331; timp., perc. (3); strings E flat clarinet instead of Cl. 2 Percussion: xylophone, glockenspiel, snare drum, bass drum, tom toms, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, triangle, woodblock, castanets

In 1975 when Shostakovich died I was in the fourth form at St Bedes College and already hooked on the music of the Russian genius. When the death notice appeared in the paper I solemnly set to work on an orchestral piece ‘Dedication to Shostakovich’, much to the amusement of my schoolmates. Now, 31 years later, and during the centenary celebrations of Shostakovich’s birth, I have had the opportunity to write another dedication to the composer, courtesy of the Christchurch Symphony and Otago University (who funded the commission).

When the idea of writing a piece based on a Shostakovich theme was first suggested, I immediately thought of a ‘Theme and Variations’. However, I found it too difficult to settle on a single theme – there were so many good ones to choose from! This gave me the idea of basing the piece around more than one quotation from the composer’s oeuvre. Shostakovich himself was fond of quoting other composers’ works (and his own works also), as in the Eighth String Quartet when the quotations form a string of coded messages. I decided to take this route, and ended up creating a piece that quotes Shostakovich 14 times. Some of these quotations are literal ones, while others are more disguised. Some are quite lengthy and form a structure to base the music around, while others are very short and fleeting.

The Shostakovich of this piece is not the Shostakovich of the epic symphonies (although they have their place here). Instead, I use lesser-known early works as my starting point: those youthful, zany, cutting edge works that express an almost manic character on occasions. So the work opens with menace from the Fourth Symphony, followed by cheekiness from the Aphorisms for piano, and satire from The Age of Gold ballet. In amongst these are references to numerous other pieces, and particularly a deathly string chord from the 15th String Quartet. They are brought together through free-association of ideas, and a few recurring motifs. The final section uses a theme from the Tenth Symphony, second movement, as the basis for a frenzied conclusion.

When I wrote this piece I had in my mind the image of the crazed composer writing a sort of jumbled diary that lurches from farce to despair in rapid succession. Shostakovich was very fond of the 19th century Russian author Gogol, basing his first opera The Nose on one of Gogol’s short stories. Another of Gogol’s stories is Diary of a Madman, which uses the formula of ‘laughter through tears’, a formula that is very often present in Shostakovich, too. Therefore, my piece Diary of a Madman: Dedication to Shostakovich is designed as a funny/sad commentary on a great composer who’s music could induce both laughter and tears.

• Ritchie, A.: Diary of a Madman: Dedication to Shostakovich; computer set 

  Full score | Pdf - computer set
  
  $25.50
  • • Quantity:

• Ritchie A.: Diary of a Madman - dedication to Shostakovich; computer-set 

  Full score | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  $30.00
  • • Quantity:
  • Borrow

• Two works by Anthony Ritchie 

  CD
  
  • Borrow

This setting was written at the request of Robert Alburn, Director of Music at Christ’s College Canterbury (Christchurch). As with my 2002 setting of the same text, this setting was written to be paired with my earlier Nunc Dimittis (1984). In fact, this is my fourth settin gof the Magnificat text (three in English and one in Latin)!

The music, being written for a school group, is relatively straightforward and the text follows the English version given in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. I have attempted to make this setting similar in general style to the earlier Nunc Dimittis although the pieces have been written more than 20 years apart. It is hoped that they can be used as a logical pairing. The Nunc Dimittis was also written for a school group.

The work commissioned for liturgical use, which meant limited repetition of text, and a ease of understanding for the listener. However the work is also suitable for concert situations.

The music begins and ends firmly in E flat major and seldom strays far from that tonality. One feature of the work is the occasional use of free chanted music, against which a treble soloist sings a more lyrical line.

• Hamilton: Magnificat; computer-set 

  Full score | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  • Borrow

• Hamilton: Magnificat; computer-set 

  Full score | Pdf - computer set
  

(1)2222; 4231; timp., perc. (3); organ (2-3 manuals and pedals); strings Percussion: bass drum, side drum, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, xylophone, slapstick, tam tam)

‘Organ Overture’ was commissioned by the Southern Sinfonia to celebrate the orchestra’s 40th anniversary. It was written and funded as part of the composer’s work at the University of Otago. It features a prominent part for concert organ, and is also partly a tribute to ‘Norma’, the Dunedin Town Hall organ. Orchestras often bring together many threads of a musical community, and are a vital part of the culture in New Zealand cities. The diversity of instruments and musicians on display in an orchestra are a great source of inspiration for composers and music-followers alike. In this overture I give thanks to the Sinfonia, and wish it a long and happy future. Elements of southern weather find their way into the music. The piece opens stormily, with jagged lightning and rumbling thunder. A vigorous theme emerges and leads to a gusty, pulsating passage. As this calms a little, a drum rhythm appears. Following a flowing melody on strings, accompanied by the organ, the percussion rhythm battles with rest of the orchestra. This leads to a fugue on the woodwinds, based on the opening melody. The organ then takes over with a brief cadenza, leading to a rhythmic coda in which the main themes are summarised.

• Ritchie, A.: Organ Overture; computer set 

  Full score | Pdf - computer set
  

• Ritchie A.: Organ Overture; computer-set 

  Full score | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  $17.50
  • • Quantity:
  • Borrow

• Anthony Ritchie: Organ Overture 

  CD
  
  • Borrow

• Childs, D.N.: Think on These Things; computer set 

  Full score | Hardcopy - computer set
  
  • Borrow