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Brian Fennelly |
Fantasia Concertante
| Instrumentation | 2(picc), 2,2(BCl),2,2,2,2,0,0,Timp,perc(1 or 2), solo violin and violoncello |
| Length | 12' |
| Difficulty | moderate, suitable for community and advanced college orchestras |
| Comments | Written for the Duo Parnas (Madalyn and Cicely Parnas) in 2009, who premiered and recorded the composer's Sigol for Two in 2009 for Sheffield Lab. Difficult solo parts but written for efficient orchestra rehearsal. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Fantasia Concertante was written in 2009 at the request of Duo Parnas, sisters Madalyn (violin) and Cicely (cello). It consists of a series of contiguous elaborated variations on the theme stated at the very beginning, which is also the material used in several recent works including Sigol Musings for solo violin, String Quartet No. 3, and ‘Sigol’ for Two, a fantasy written for Duo Parnas. The theme is intended as an imagined portrait of the composer’s young granddaughter Sigol, starting rhapsodically and ending with a little dance. The seven parts consist of the theme, a scherzando, a nervous fantasy, an aria which paraphrases the theme, a quixotic drama, a lullaby, and a varied reprise of the scherzando. The relationship of the solo duo to the orchestra is more in the nature of collaboration than confrontation; the orchestra not only provides congenial settings for the solo parts but maintains its own character as well. |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, Prof. Emeritus, New York University
FennellyBL@aol.com
full catalog and bio at http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
and at http://www.composers.com |
| Other | |
The Other Side of Time
| Instrumentation | Winds, Brass, and Percussion: 2Fl, AFl, 2Ob, EHn, 2Cl(BCl), CBCl, 2Bsn, CBsn, ASax, 4Hn, 3Tpt(Flugelhorn), @Trom, BTrom, Euph, Tuba, Timp/Chimes, 4Perc. |
| Length | 13' |
| Difficulty | Moderate, advanced college wind ensembles |
| Comments | (see history) |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned by Charles Peltz and the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble for premiere in Jordan Hall, NEC, Boston, on Feb. 25, 2010. |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Other | |
Fantasy Variations
| Instrumentation | 3(pic)-3(EHn)-3(bcl)-3(cbsn),4-3-3-1,timp,perc,hp,str |
| Length | 25' |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Comments | Commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation; First Prize, 1986 Louisville Orchestra New Music Competition, recorded by the Louisville Orch. on First Edition Records (LP and CD) Bold, bracing, often lyrical music in a series of contrasting variations with passacaglia. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance - http://www.composers.com
Contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Premiere and 2 additional performances by the Louisville Orchestra in 1986 |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Other | |
Empirical Rag
| Instrumentation | 2(pic)-2(E.hn)-2-2,2-2-2-1,timp,perc,str |
| Length | 5 1/2' |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Comments | Lively but sophisticated ragtime in F major with echoes of Mahler in the midsection. Original version was written as brass chamber music for the Empire Brass Quintet. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
Contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Premiered by the Cincinatti Conservatory Orchestra, professionally by the American Composers Orchestra in NYC. Several performances by community orchestra in the US and recorded on CRI CD 759. |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Other | |
Reflections/Metamorhoses
| Instrumentation | 2-2-2-2,2-2-0-0,perc(2),str |
| Length | 12' |
| Difficulty | moderate |
| Comments | Written as a nostalgic memorial, reflective piece after the Oklahoma bombing. Combines lyric string and wind writing with short dance episodes and lively commentary. Suitable for commemorations of events such as 9/11 and playable by community orchestras. String writing is intentionally easy, winds more difficult. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
Contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered (3 performances) by the Woodstock (NY) Chamber Orchestra. Recorded on Albany Records TROY CD 491enthusiastically reviewed at ClassicalCD.com. |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science
|
| Other | |
Lunar Halos (Parasalenae)
| Instrumentation | 2(pic,afl)-2(E.hn)-2(bcl)-2,2-2-0-0,perc,hp,str, solo contrabass |
| Length | 12' |
| Difficulty | moderalte |
| Comments | Colorful fantasy for solo doublebass and chamber orchestra. Challenging solo part and moderate orchestral writing. Solo instrument is paired with the =various orchestral sections in a conversational dialogue. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
Contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned by James VanDemark and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Colombus (OH), premiered by them with further performances by the Rochester Philharmonic and Naples Philharmonic (total of 7 performances).
Recorded on Albany Records TROY CD 491, enthusiastically reviewed at classicalcd.com |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
FennellyBL@aol.com or
Brian.Fennelly.MUS.65@aya.yale.edu
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Other | |
"Sigol" for Strings
| Instrumentation | string orchestra, suggested 6,6,4,3,2 |
| Length | 14' |
| Difficulty | moderate |
| Comments | A dreamlike fantasy with polyphonic episodes followed by a rigorous but lyric fugue. Appropriate for accomplished community orchestras. |
| Sources | American Composers Alliance: http://www.composers.com
Contact: info@composers.com |
| Extras | |
| History | “Sigol” for Strings was written for the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra in November 2007 while in residency at Copland House, Cortlandt Manor, NY, as a recipient of the Aaron Copland Award, and premiered by the WCO in February and March 2008 (3 performances). The two movements, 1) Dreams and Fantasies and 2) Fugue, are fashioned from the outer movements of String Quartet No. 3 (‘Sigol: Thirty Flowers’) of 2005, extended and texturally elaborated for string orchestra with significant solo parts from among the musicians. Apart from the two “Dream” portions of the first movement, the polyphonic style of the music reflects a concern with earlier musical textures: the Renaissance fantasia and the Baroque fugue. The “Sigol” in the title of each of these pieces relates to my young granddaughter Sigol Sara Fennelly and the melodic ideas of my first “Sigol” piece, the solo violin Sigol Musings written for Rolf Schulte. Musical material in all these works derive from a single melodic line, which in “Sigol” for Strings is heard at the very opening.
The work has been recorded for CD release TBA. |
| Contributor | Brian Fennelly, composer (BMI) tel/fax (845) 331-3228
2 Schryver Court, Kingston, NY 12401 USA
FennellyBL@aol.com and/or Brian.Fennelly.MUS.65@aya.yale.edu
American Music Center webpage: http://www.amc.net/BrianFennelly
Prof. Emeritus, New York University Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Other | |
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