The table below lists articles written by Noteworthy Sheet Music's associates, published elsewhere but reproduced on the NSM website for the convenience of our visitors. Click on the specific article title link in the "Article Title" column to read the piece here.

 

Author	Article Title	Source
Pratt	Arranging Haydn's Adagios for Flute, or Alto Flute, and Piano	Flute Focus
Bloom	Effective Writing for Flutes and the Contemporary Flutist	Snow Pond Composers Conference
Bloom	Foreword to Debussy's Première Rhapsodie trans. for Alto Flute	Flute Focus
Bloom	Foreword to Drouet's Salute to New YorkSalute to New York	NSM
Pratt	Mozart's Mannheim Sonatas	Flute Focus

The table below lists the works in Noteworthy Sheet Music's catalog that have received outside critical reviews.  Click on the individual title link in the "Piece Reviewed" column to read the review.  

 

Composer/Author	Trans/Arr	Piece/Book/CD Reviewed	Instr.	Reviewer
Benavides	n/a	The Piano in Spain	n/a	Santa Maria Bouquet
Fado, trad.	Figueiredo	Na Rua dos Meus Ciúmes	WW Quintet	Ranck
Traditional	Nicholson	Coolun, A Favorite Irish Air with Four Variations	Flute, ad lib Piano or Harp	Borst Jones
Tchaikovsky	Rupert	The Nutcracker	Flute & Harp	Price-Glynn
Tchaikovsky	Rupert	The Nutcracker	Flute & Piano	Ranck
The Mark Harvey Group	n/a	CD: A Rite for All Souls	Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion	AllAboutJazz, Troy Dostert
The Mark Harvey Group	n/a	CD: A Rite for All Souls	Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion	Music Zoom
The Mark Harvey Group	n/a	CD: A Rite for All Souls	Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion	The New York City Jazz Record, Donald Elfman
Vercoe	n/a	Butterfly Effects	Flute(s) & Harp	Riner
Vercoe	n/a	Butterfly Effects and Other Works	Flute(s) & Harp	Cinemusical, Flutist Quarterly
Vercoe	n/a	Kleemation	Flute & Piano	Bloom
Vercoe	n/a	Kleemation	Flute & Piano	Kafka
Vercoe	n/a	Kleemation	Flute & Piano	Passarella
Walckiers	n/a	2nd Book of Duets, Op.11	2 Flutes	Borst Jones
Walckiers	n/a	5th Book of Duets, Duetto 1	2 Flutes	Plummer

John W. Pratt’s engaging article describing the rationale and underlying processes involved in the creation of effective, compelling music arrangements for flute and piano duo, specifically those he has created of a few of Haydn’s Adagios, was published by Flute Focus on July 15, 2012.  We have reproduced the article here, with permission from Flute Focus. 

=============================================

Arranging Haydn's Adagios for Flute, or Alto Flute, and Piano

Written by John W. Pratt 

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), father of the symphony, string quartet, and piano sonata, unfortunately left no known compositions for flute and keyboard duo (see Grove Music Online), although he had a fine appreciation for the flute and used it extensively in his larger ensemble and orchestral works. There is, however, a long and valued tradition of creating transcriptions of Haydn's marvellous music, although fewer are for flute and keyboard than one might hope, and our flute and piano partnership has enjoyed taking up the challenge. We have identified a few wonderful movements that, when carefully and respectfully arranged for this instrumentation, are as effective and delightful as the originals and allow one to hear them when one might never otherwise, or with new ears if one is already familiar with them.

One example is the slow movement of his 24th symphony (1764), a beautiful Adagio for flute solo accompanied by strings, with even a place for a cadenza. Haydn's flute part needs no change, of course, but it was an enjoyable outlet for a would-be composer to write a cadenza based closely on Haydn's material and style, of a length and freedom suitable to a movement standing alone, with only a pianist, not a full orchestra, waiting in admiration. The string parts, however, require not just transcription but significant adaptation to the piano's sonority. For instance, some of the murmuring in octaves by the strings becomes etude-like on the piano, calling for thoughtful selection of which notes to omit in light of the flute part as well as the piano sound. On the other hand, the lower octaves played by the double bass are surprisingly essential, giving the piano an orchestral feel. Interestingly, going down to the low E of the double basses proves to be just right on the piano.

We are fans of the alto flute, and we found that an arrangement of the Adagio from Symphony No.24 for alto flute that is mellower than that for flute, but also extremely beautiful, is obtained by lowering the pitch a minor third. A fourth would allow the alto flute to read the C-flute part directly but feels too low all around. Less than a minor third works for the piano but does not show the alto to greatest advantage.

Haydn wrote many wonderful string quartets throughout his life. His early ones, especially the three sets of six written in 1768–1771 (Opus 9, Opus 17, and the "Sun" quartets Opus 20), are generally considered to have advanced immensely the development of the classical string quartet. The flute can, of course, play the first violin part in string quartets, raising it an octave where necessary and finessing the double stops in some way, but string quartets usually have no need or reason to seek flutes for violin parts. Arrangement for flute and piano obviates this issue, however, and can work well when, for example, the first violin is featured and the other strings support it.

The third movement of Haydn's Opus 20, No. 5, is an Adagio with a simple melody that is treated to delightful filigreed elaboration and obbligato decoration by the first violin. Although more complex string quartet movements may be unsuited to transcription for keyboard and one other instrument, the soloistic nature of the violin part and the simplicity of the lower string parts in this lovely Adagio lend themselves to arrangement for flute and piano. In several passages we found it desirable to raise the violin part an octave to suit the characteristics of the flute, as well, of course, as its range. When the other string parts are transcribed for piano, some octave changes improve the sonic characteristics and help keep the string lines clear, especially where they cross, and partial octave doubling of the melody here and there improves its sound on the piano.

The lowest note available on most alto flutes is the same as the violin's lowest note, so simply transposing the violin part would solve all problems were their characteristics not so different. The third movements of Haydn's Opus 17, No. 1 and Opus 17, No. 2 are both Adagios with gorgeous violin melodies that are harmonized simply by the other three strings. Happily these melodies are equally beautiful on alto flute with very few alterations. When transcribing the other string parts for the piano, octave adjustments are again desirable, for the reasons mentioned earlier. Opus 17, No. 2 also has some passages where we found that the life that strings might add in their way could be supplied most effectively on the piano by further elaboration in the style of Haydn's keyboard music, and it was advantageous to exchange two very high notes for alto flute with the piano a third lower.

With all the music we have played together, from Bach to Walckiers to Martinu to Taktakishvili, these Haydn arrangements for flute and piano are among our favorite repertoire. They are true to the Haydn we revere, yet they also work and are enjoyable for players and audiences alike.

John W. Pratt, May 27, 2012 ©

=========================================

 

John W. Pratt is a retired Harvard Business School professor and pianist whose transcriptions and arrangements are published by Noteworthy Sheet Music, LLC (click here to view all his catalog listings)

 

The Mark Harvey Group's 2-CD set A Rite for All Souls, released in 2020 by Americas Musicworks and distributed by NSM, received the following review by Troy Dostert in AllAboutJazz, July 9, 2020.

==========================================================================

AllAboutJazz.com – July 9, 2020

Mark Harvey Group: A Rite For All Souls

By TROY DOSTERT

There are certain crises in which "mere" protest just doesn't seem sufficient. Whether talking about climate change, the seemingly unceasing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or (to take 2020's signature example) the ongoing challenges of racism in the criminal justice system, the perceived need to resort to something more dramatic than voting or taking part in a march or demonstration naturally arises. If the forces arrayed against us aren't simply unjust or harmful, but might in fact be classified as "evil," then is something more significant warranted? Perhaps calling on divine deliverance is the only logical alternative. At least such was the conclusion of the Mark Harvey Group in A Rite for All Souls, a piece of "aural theater" performed on October 31, 1971 at the Old West Church in Boston, Massachusetts. At a time with public outrage over the Vietnam War hitting fever pitch (the Pentagon Papers had been published that summer), Harvey and his colleagues created something which was part performance art, part jazz concert, and part religious ritual, in the hope of marshaling all manner of resources, both musical and spiritual, for the struggle for peace.

Today, trumpeter Harvey is most commonly known for his long-standing leadership of the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, which he founded in 1973. But his role in the Boston jazz scene went well beyond that, as his work as an activist and Methodist minister put him in a position to do community outreach of various kinds, including his stint in the early '70s as an intern-minister at the Old West Church, where he led the congregation's jazz ensemble. One of his colleagues in that group, Peter Bloom, is featured on Rite, and his expansive creativity on a range of saxophones is one of the delights of this recording. Harvey and Bloom are joined by percussionists Craig Ellis and Michael Standish and, together, the four traverse a musical landscape which is freely-improvised, with each segment drawing thematic inspiration from various poetic resources, including W.B. Yeats' "Second Coming" and Ellis' own "Napalm: Rice Paper."

There is an anything-goes aspect to the performance, particularly in the selection of musical instruments, which range from conventional choices such as trumpet, French horn, saxophones and drum kit to more unusual ones such as saxophone mouthpieces, organ pipes and other "found" devices which the group assembled as a "sculptural installation." That experimental spirit along with the group's flair for the dramatic—the band entered the church for one segment wearing monks' robes and displayed gigantic tarot cards on either side of the stage—might bring to mind the theatrical approach of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. And Harvey's aesthetic is clearly influenced by that group's fondness for spectacle. But unlike the Art Ensemble's liberal use of humor and irreverence, the music here is deadly serious.

Much of the recording has a spartan simplicity, with dialogue between Harvey and Bloom at the center, augmented by Ellis and Standish. Ellis possesses fearsome skills as a drummer, with a powerful delivery which invigorates "The Second Coming," perhaps the most impassioned music on the recording, as the musicians use Standish's recitation of Yeats' bleak vision as fuel for their evocation of a frightening impending apocalypse. But the music only reaches this kind of intensity in select moments, as it is more often content to carve out space for reflection and lamentation. There is anger here, certainly; Ellis' harrowing "Napalm: Rice Paper" has a barely-contained rage which leads to a scorching barrage from Bloom and Harvey. But the prevailing sentiment is much more one of irreparable loss and tragedy, with silence and absence playing a bigger role than grander gestures in propelling the music.

Admittedly, with over ninety minutes of music altogether, it is a lot to take in at once. The stasis of some prolonged segments makes one miss the ambience and other visual components that undoubtedly contributed to the concert's power. But even as a partial glimpse into an era in which music meant so much more than just entertainment or a pleasant diversion, A Rite for All Souls is invaluable. Harvey and his partners are indeed wrestling with demons here, and it is a potent thing to behold.

Track Listing

(CD 1): Invocation/introit; Recitation (Spel Against Demons); Fanfare; Recitation (The Second Coming); The Falconer; The Falcon; Recitation (Orpheus); The Soul of Charon; (CD 2): Prelude; Recitation (Napalm: Rice Paper); Rite for the Souls of the Children; Coda; The Rite continued; The Rite concluded.

Personnel

Mark Harvey: trumpet; Peter Bloom: saxophone; Craig Ellis: percussion; Michael Standish: percussion.

Album Information

Title: A Rite for All Souls | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Americas Musicworks

The Mark Harvey Group's 2-CD set A Rite for All Souls, released in 2020 by Americas Musicworks, received the following review in Music Zoom.  Check out the original posting in Italian at http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=31627#.XqwhzZlCR1M, or read the Google translation here:

Mark Harvey Group – A Rite for All Souls

We now know Mark Harvey as an established musician and arranger at the head of the Boston Aardvark Orchestra and who has often played alongside many of the big names in contemporary jazz. This double album, however, is something special:   it is a concert held in 1971 at the Old West Church in Boston, found while putting his tapes in order. Then he made music with a group together with Peter H. Bloom on reed instruments and flutes, and Craig Ellis and Michael Standish on percussion; there was also Duncan John Draper on keyboards, who is not present here. After a first phase playing jazz rock, the group finds its own physiognomy on the avant-garde paths. It is a very creative period in American music and the four of them play in front of audiences lit only by the light of candles, creating intimate atmospheres for the enjoyment of the music. In this concert, almost a ritual, as the title wants to underline, the two parts are published entirely, each on a CD, the theatrical part is missing, but the music conveys the intentions of the group performed in very particular conditions. The interaction and concentration of the musicians is obvious, everything flows between inspired solos and free from constraints, in complete freedom. Also contributing is the multitude of instruments used, both by percussionists and Harvey, on trumpet, flugelhorn and other instruments of the brass family and Peter H. Bloom.  In the midst of the music poems are recited, including Craig Ellis' Napalm: Rice Paper, in which the drama of the Vietnam war is remembered with the power of words. A beautiful historical and musical document.