USE CODE “MOREREEDQUINTET” FOR 15% OFF SHEET MUSIC
We started publishing our Akropolis Collection of sheet music in 2012 to increase accessibility, legitimacy, and sustainability of the reed quintet repertoire. Currently housing 23 arrangements and original works from a diverse array of composers, the Akropolis Collection has sold selections to hundreds of reed quintets and university libraries around the country! This month, we’re proud to be introducing 6 new original commissions to the collection by Theo Chandler, Natalie Draper, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Becky Turro, Mario Godoy, and Patrick Holcomb. What are you waiting for? Start your reed quintet journey today!
6 New Pieces Now Available for Purchase
SEED TO SNAG BY THEO CHANDLER
Seed to Snag by Theo Chandler is a three-movement work, the title referring to the life cycle of a tree and by extension, all organic matter. The three movements describe moments in the life cycle occurring between the very beginning and very end of this life cycle, that is between the seed and the snag, which is a term referring to a dead limb that will eventually decompose, then beginning the cycle again. Seed to Snag looks to the Baroque era for its structure, the opening movement, “Sprout,” imitating the slow appearance of limbs and other plant parts using the musical style of a Baroque Prelude, with a heavily-ornamented, slow-moving harmony. The second movement, “Stretch,” is a virtuosic solo for the bassoon recalling a sonata-style solo with harpsichord accompaniment, the other instruments in the quintet resonating the bassoon’s pitches. The final movement, “Sow,” focuses on consistent pulse and imitation as the seeds spin and spread from the tree in rapid succession. The imitation here, however, is so compressed that the instruments often sound as if they are playing with a delay pedal. The piece ends with a restatement of some opening gestures from the first movement, beginning the cycle again. Seed to Snag was commissioned for Akropolis by the I-Park Foundation in 2018.
MUSIC OF FOGHORNS & SEABIRDS BY NATALIE DRAPER
Music of Foghorns and Seabirds by Natalie Draper is inspired by the ocean and includes the use of six tuned wine bottles in the piece! The pitched bottles echo the sounds of foghorns, shifting boats, and the murmurs and chirps of seabirds. *Note ~ A total of six wine bottles are needed for the entire piece: four tuned to Eb3, two tuned to E3. Music of Foghorns and Seabirds was commissioned for Akropolis by the I-Park Foundation in 2018.
FIRING SQUAD BY NILOUFAR NOURBAKHSH
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” The compelling opening of Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece,
constructs an intense moment of reflection on the past by digging into a childhood memory while facing a firing squad: his first encounter with ice. The technique of constructing such an intense moment that is reflecting on
the past was uniquely inspiring to me. Firing Squad is structurally inspired by this sentence, exploring the intense moment of confronting death and expanding the moment into all possible feelings and memories one might
go through before saying farewell to life. Firing Squad was commissioned for Akropolis by the I-Park Foundation in 2018.
THAW BY BECKY TURRO
Thaw is inspired by a trip Becky and her girlfriend took to Acadia National Park, Maine in early March. Each movement is about a specific part of Acadia they encountered during their time in the national park. The first movement, “Hyperborea,” was inspired by Cadillac Mountain, seen in the aftermath of a snowstorm that arrived on their first day there. The second movement is titled “Echo Lake,” which is also a place within Acadia. This movement begins with a smooth, frozen texture that slowly thaws and melts away as the sun comes out. The third movement, titled “Kaleidoscope Cove,” is the most flowing and bright, and characterizes the ocean dancing and crashing against the orange cliffs. Chronologically, the movements move from frozen to melted, thawing into the arrival of spring. Thaw was commissioned for Akropolis by Connecticut Summerfest in 2018.
CREATE. PROCESS. BY MARIO GODOY
create. process. is a reflection on the act of creation. Every new work begins with a small seed of an idea that grows, evolves, and changes with the artist’s mindset and thought process. There is an exciting energy that emerges when the work begins to take shape, but that can quickly devolve into crippling self-doubt. Often times making art takes determination and the willingness to show up and keep trying, even when your mind is telling you what you are doing isn’t good enough. Hopefully—usually—that hard work leads you to more moments of inspiration and something you are proud of in the end. This piece follows the journey through the creative process, from the swirl of thoughts and emotions that accompany it, to the eventual exciting, uncertain, and hopeful release of the work into the world. create. process was commissioned for Akropolis by Connecticut Summerfest in 2018.
the sun rising by patrick holcomb
The Sun Rising borrows its title from John Donne’s aubade of the same name. In Donne’s poem, the speaker mockingly chastises the sun, knowing that the coming of the day means that he will have to leave his lover’s side in bed. Although Donne’s poem has a much lighter tone than Patrick’s piece, both works have in common the themes of leaving home and the passage of time. The piece is a manifestation of Patrick’s intense feelings of sadness over the end of his time at Ithaca College and fear over the start of the next chapter in his life. The conclusion of the piece represents his acceptance that although the sun has risen and his time at Ithaca has come to an end, the sun always sets, and he will be back again someday. The Sun Rising was commissioned for Akropolis by Connecticut Summerfest in 2018.