MUSIC KITS

EDUCATIONAL MUSIC KITS

PREPARED BY THE COMPOSER

COMPRISING CD, FULL MUSIC SCORE & ANALYSIS

Derek Strahan is an Australian composer, resident in Sydney. He is a represented composer at the Australian Music Centre, experienced in writing concert music for established artists, and many of his works have been recorded and released on CD.

His chamber works, in particular, have proved popular with radio presenters both nationally and on fine music stations in capital cities. As indicated in the summaries below, several of these works have also proved useful in an academic context, through performance by staff members or by senior students. Strahan has also composed music for over 20 film documentaries and 3 feature films much of which is also available on CD.

Australian teachers are making an increasing use of music kits presenting works by Australian composers to satisfy syllabus requirements. Strahan has therefore prepared a number of kits based on his own works to provide material for teaching purposes, and other kits are in preparation.

Below is a survey of the works for which Music Kits are currently on offer, with a supplementary list of kits in preparation, with prices in Australian dollars. All Music Kits are priced in the Sales Summary which follows. This information is repeated in short form in the Check List and in the Shopping Cart.

If you wish to purchase any Music Kits, click here to go to the Shopping Cart to purchase by Credit Card, Visa, mastercard or Bankcard.

Special purchase arrangements are available only for Australian and New Zealand Public Schools and Private Schools, and for music education organisations and institutions in Australia and New Zealand. The arrangements allow you to place an order, receive the goods with an Invoice, and pay on Invoice. Click here to use these special purchase arrangements to purchase from the Check List.

CONTENTS OF MUSIC KITS

Each music kit comprises CD, one full score and analysis with musical examples. Each analysis contains:

The Composer: a thumbnail biography;

Title, origins: outlining how the concept of the work arose.

Background: further exploration of any extra-musical program ideas, and how they influenced musical concepts.

On the final page of each kit is a list of Related Study Topics, pertinent either to music content or to extra-musical program.

A number of Strahan's works lend themselves to discussion of related topics in literature and history. Briefly, the Clarinet Quintet, being a portrait of Princess Lichnowsky, links to Beethoven's interest in 18th century Enlightenment politics. "Altantis", of course, links to Plato. "Voodoo Fire" links to a consideration of African animist religious practises, and their expression in music.

SUMMARY OF MUSIC KITS AVAILABLE

CD "Today-Yesterday" comprises String Quartet No. 1 ("The Key") 26'00"; Clarinet Quintet No. 1 in D ("The Princess") 27'.00. Revolve RDS002. Companion pieces composed in 1980/81. John Gould, Irene Donohoe, violins; Jane Hazelwood, viola; David Pereira, cello; Alan Vivian, clarinet.

The String Quartet employs an idee fixe, or cipher. A cross reference to Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique can be made, but in this case the motif is only 5 notes. The work is in four linked movements of cyclic structure, is strongly melodic, and makes consistent use of jazz-like syncopations and cross-rhythms, but in a context of heightened tension, created by the use of compound harmonies.

In contrast, the Clarinet Quintet is frankly neo-classical in structure and makes more overt use of jazz clarinet figures (after Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw). It has proved very popular on radio and has been broadcast once or twice a year since the original tapes and LP became available from 1981, and is now broadcast from the re-mastered CD. The "Princess" in the title is a reference to a patron of Beethoven, the Princess Marie-Christiane Lichnowsky.

Score & analysis can be provided separately, but both works are on the same CD.

$70.00 each separately, or $120 together. With cassette instead of CD, $20 reduction either package.

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On CD "Voodoo Fire" are the works "Voodoo Fire" for Clarinet, Percussion, Keyboards (Synthesiser /Piano) .(1995) 16'30" , Alan Vivian, clarinet, Michael Askill, percussion, Susan Powell, keyboards; "Atlantis" for Flute/Alto Flute & Piano. (1992) 19'50", Belinda Gough, flute/alto flute, Josephine Allan, piano. JADCD1063.

"Voodoo Fire" was commissioned for Alan Vivian by the Canberra School of Music. The premiere, recorded 21/4/96, is on CD. The work furthers Strahan's interest in applying melodic lines to African polyrhythms. Its 3-part structure reflects the 3 stages of Haitian Voodoo ritual culminating in a Dance to (and Possession by) the African God of Fire, Shango. Parts 1 & 2 also encompass a palindrome. Although the metric elements are complex, the effect is not obscure. Performance is virtuosic.

"Atlantis" was commissioned by Michael Scott, with assistance from the Australia Council, and was first performed at a Masters Degree Recital at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music by one of Mr. Scott's senior flute students, Ms Belinda Gough (now studying in Europe) with staff member Jo Allan on piano. It is the first of three works written to develop material intended for inclusion in a proposed 4-opera cycle on the subject of civilisations in pre-history. 8 leitmotifs are identified: their programmatic and musical importance is explained, as is their use in the work's 13-part structure. A knowledge of Plato's account of Atlantis is essential background reading, and there is reference to writings on the topic from the late 19th century onwards. Cross-rhythms feature in each of two fugues.

Score & analysis can be provided separately but both works are on the same CD. $60 each separately, or $100 together.

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"Eden In Atlantis", Scena for Soprano, Flute/Alto Flute & Piano. (1995) Libretto by the composer. 24'36" Liza Rintel, Soprano; Michael Scott, Flute/Alto Flute; David Miller, Piano. Premiere performance 15/11/96. JADCD1074

This is the third work written in the "Atlantis" series, developing further material for the first opera of the series. The libretto describes a lovers' tryst in a walled garden, and refers to a geologically different earth, in a pre-cataclysmic state, in which the characteristics of Paradise are grounded in the physical condition of the planet: two moons, a year of exactly 360 days, an axis tilted closer to the vertical, and the presence of now extinct species along with humans. It is written in 6 stanzas depicting the passage of time from twilight to dawn and sunrise in the garden. Frequent use is made of bitonality, both in chordal structures, in antiphonal counterpoint. and in accompaniment figures. The vocal writing is strongly melodic, and use is made of cross-rythyms with some passages of synchopation in compound time.The tessitura is high, written for Ms. Rintel (who has sung "Queen Of The Night" in Opera Australia's "The Magic Flute").

CD, score & analysis: $70

SUMMARY OF MUSIC KITS IN PREPARATION

Your interest in any of the following would spur the composer to complete the Music Kit! Those interested, please email the composer for an indication of when the kit might be available. (Link for email)

"Rose Of The Bay", Cycle of 9 Songs about Sydney for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet & Piano. (1987) Libretto by the composer. 52'52" Lauris Elms, mezzo; Deborah de Graaff, clarinet; David Miller, piano. ABC recording, 3-4/12/87. Revolve RDS003

The songs offer a subjective view of Sydney in the context of memories. An eclectic mix of musical styles is employed in response to the varying moods of the songs. Sydney Morning Herald critic Fred Blanks referred to "a labyrinth of ideas which evoke a clash of idiom from romanticism to jazz to atonalism to pastiche. There are quotations from Beethoven's Eroica and Yes, we have no bananas" ... (the latter developed as a fugue). It is a joy to hear the great voice of Lauris Elms applying itself to an Australian work." Song structures vary from strophic to ABA and extensions thereof.

CD, score & analysis $80. With cassette instead of CD, $60.

Piano Trio No. 1 in F (for the Bicentennial) (1987) 35'00" Joshua Tsai, piano; Stan Kornel, Violin; Margaret Lindsay, cello. 2MBS recording, JADCD1056 ("Autumn Pastorale")

The work was commissioned by The Sydney Ensemble and written for performances at a Champagne Breakfast & Lunch in Centrepoint Tower on Australia Day, 1988. It is an overtly tonal and melodic work written in the traditional 4 movements of the classical period, employing Eastern European melodic and rhythmic figures in some movements. There is a surprise quotation of "Click Go The Shears" in the recapitulation of the first movement where it is heard in counterpoint to the second subject. The overall feel is celebratory and approachable.

CD, score & analysis, (proposed price $75.)

"Escorts", Trio for Flute, Alto Saxophone & Piano (1989) 13'00" Julia Fekete-Berky, flute; Albin Berky, alto saxophone; Roland Peelman, piano. 2MBS recording, JADCD 1085 ("Music For A Champagne Breakfast, Vol. 1")

Described as an "Opera Without Words" this work presents in performance as an argumentative "dialogue" between flute and alto saxophone, with the flute cast as the indecisive Ms. Treble Clef, and the alto saxophone cast as various males who escort her as she tries to decide which one she prefers! The effect is duplicated in a stereo recording. A feature of the score is the use of 12/32 and 12/16 time signatures in order to clarify subdivision of compound time into diminished or augmented duple and triple metric "cells", often in opposition to each other. In one episode("The Chauvinist" ) Mendelssohn's Wedding March gets trashed as a marriage proposal is rejected! Much use is made of jazz figures, but in unfamiliar harmonic contexts.

CD, with score and analysis. (proposed price $60.)

Solo Cello Suite No. 1 (1991) 15'00" Georg Pedersen, cello, live recording at Ku-Ring-Gai Virtuosi recital, November 1999. 2MBS recording released on JADCD 1081 (the 10th Anniversary Jade CD, titled "Sanctus").

The work is a Suite of Jazz Dances in six movements.

Prelude - Riffs -Tango- Boogie-Woogie - Blues - Soft-shoe Shuffle - Fugal Jive and Coda

Solo Cello Suite No.1 was written for Georg Pedersen. It is a frankly frivolous work which also has a serious purpose. The frivolity lies in the nature of the music which takes the form of a set of twentieth century dances of the kind used in dance halls and also used as the basis for performance acts in vaudeville and later in film musicals. The serious purpose derives from the approach to this source material: each movement is at the same time a dance and also a study in metric accuracy, particularly as regards "swing" rhythms. It also aims to adapt features of baroque music to features of "swing" arrangements or perhaps vice versa! There is a resemblance between the sequential use of a melodic figure, retaining its melodic and rhythmic shape through shifts of tonaIitv in, say, a Prelude J.S. Bach, and, say, the closing "riff"passage of an arrangement by Fletcher Henderson for the Benny Goodman Orchestra. By using this device in a work for solo cello, the composer aims to reconcile the work of well-known composers who lived three centuries apart and to underscore the similarity of thought processes. The work is also written to exploit the capacity of the cello to sing two-part harmony. Needless to say, this effect can only be achieved by a virtuoso performer! .

CD, score & analysis $50.

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LIST OF AVAILABLE MUSIC KITS

The prices given below are in Australian dollars, and are the core price for the Music Kit itself. Postage and packaging (P&P) are extra, and will be automatically quoted on your Credit Card order form for your approval. If you are ordering by special arrangement for payment on Invoice, the P&P cost will be added to your Invoice. Score size with kit is A4.

Additional copies of CDs and Music Scores may be order from the CD Catalogue and Music Scores Catalogues.

 

String Quartet No. 1 ("The Key")

CD, score & analysis .......................................................................$70.00

Cassette, score & analysis ..................................................................$50.00

 

Clarinet Quintet No. 1 in D ("The Princess")

CD, score & analysis ........................................................................$70.00

Cassette, score & analysis .................................................................. $50.00

 

(As String Quartet & Clarinet Quintet are released on the same CD or cassette, a package of the two together will allow a cost saving)

 

String Quartet/Clarinet Quintet package

One CD, 2 scores , 2 analyses ........................................................... $120.00

One cassette, 2 scores , 2 analyses ...................................................... $100.00

 

Voodoo Fire, for clarinet, percussion & keyboards

CD, score & analysis .......................................................................$60.00

 

Atlantis, for flute/alto flute & piano

CD, score & analysis ...................................................................... $60.00

 

(As Voodoo Fire and Atlantis are released on the one CD, package of the two together will allow a cost saving)

 

Voodoo Fire/Atlantis package

One CD, two scores, two analyses .................................................. ....$100.00

 

Eden In Atlantis, Scena for soprano, flute/alto flute & piano

CD, score & analysis ...................................................................... . $70.00

 

LIST OF MUSIC KITS IN PREPARATION & PROPOSED PRICES

(CDs and music scores for the following are currently available.Complete kits will be available when the analysis has been prepared. This site is updated regularly)

 

Rose Of The Bay, song cycle for mezzo-soprano, clarinet & piano

CD, score & analysis .........................................................................$80.00

Cassette, score & analysis ...................................................................$60.00

 

Piano Trio No. 1 in F (for the Bicentennial)

CD, score & analysis ........................................................................ $75.00

 

Escorts, Trio for flute, alto saxophone & piano

Copy on CD/cassette/DAT/minidisc, score & analysis .................................. $60.00

 

Solo Cello Suite No. 1

CD, score & analysis..........................................................................$50.00

Derek Strahan - Mini Biography/Credo

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