EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT (25 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Mezzo
Set: Exterior. The South. The Present.
Instrumentation: Wind Quintet, String quartet, Bass.
A mother's inability to persuade her 12 year-old daughter to attend her own birthday party forebodes a less than perfect summer ahead.
OUT THE WINDOW (45 Min.)
G. Schirmer
Cast: Mezzo, Baritone
Set: An urban apartment. The Present.
Instrumentation: Piano.
The wife of an insanely jealous husband enlists the aid of a neighbor to assist her in feigning an infidelity, believing this will cure her husband of his jealousy. unfortunately the neighbor has an insanely jealous wife.
PASSION IN THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE (20 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Tenor
Set: An urban elementary school. 1930.
Instrumentation: Piano
Our 8-year old heroine and 9 year-old hero, compounding their ignorance of the facts of life, believe that marriage will be the solution to their problems.
THE RUINED MAID (25 Min.) G. Schirmer
Cast: 2 Sopranos
Set: A London Street. 1900
Instrumentation: Piano
A former scullery maid, dismissed from service by a jealous employer, accidentally meets her former mistress. The maid is now a wealthy courtesan, while her former employer has fallen to a low estate. Each envies the other.
PREDATORS (70 Min.) G. Schirmer
Cast: Mezzo, Baritone
Set: The ground-floor apartment in a Manhattan brownstone. The present time.
Instrumentation: Piano
A Jewish mother with an unmarried daughter encounters a suitable man. She tries to interest him in the daughter, but he has other, more sinister, plans.
PUBLIC DEFENDER (60 Min.) G. Schirmer
Cast: Tenor, Baritone
Set: The interviewing room of a city prison. The present time.
Instrumentation: Piano
A failed attorney is appointed Public Defender to a confessed criminal. He desperately needs a courtroom victory to salvage his career, but the criminal staunchly maintains his own guilt.
LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT LENNY ANYMORE (40 Min.) Theodore
Presser Co.
Cast: Soprano, Baritone
Set: An urban apartment. The present.
Instrumentation: Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Strings
He, shy and unaggressive, has deceived her into believing he is a knight in shining armor. She, a liberated woman, has deceived him into believing she is an old-fashioned girl. Of course, the truth will out, but since both are so adept at deception, they could prove to be an ideal match after all.
MATING HABITS OF THE RADICAL CHIC (40 Min.)
Theodore Presser Co.
Cast: Soprano, Baritone
Set: An urban house. The present.
Instrumentation: Piano
This blasé, intellectual couple stimulate each other romantically by playing some outrageous games.
NOT A SPANISH KISS (30 Min.) G. Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone
Set: Ancient Spain
Instrumentation: Piano
The impecunious Poet is smitten with love for the most beautiful woman in town - who happens to be the Financier's wife. The Poet offers to buy a kiss from her for a sum the greedy Financier cannot refuse. The Poet gets his kiss and the Financier finds that you can't get blood from a turnip.
FORTUNE'S FAVORITES (45 Min.) ECS Publishing
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Baritone
Set: Interior. A restaurant. The present.
Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Strings
The former lovers, both superstitious, meet again. The omens seem to indicate that this is no chance meeting -- they are meant to marry. The number thirteen intrudes itself into their plans. Bad news? Not necessarily.
THE PERFECT WIFE Boosey-Hawkes, Inc.
Music by Pergolesi (adapted from his La Serva Padrona)
Cast: Soprano, Baritone, Mime
Set: Italy. 18th Century.
Instrumentation: Strings, Continuo
In which the servant becomes the mistress of the house.
CHANTICLEER (45 Min.) Boosey Hawkes,
Inc.
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Set: A farmyard. The present.
Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns, Trumpet, Trombone, Timp.,
Perc., Harp, Strings.
Chanticleer, a conceited rooster, falls into the clutches of a fox who is a flatterer.
A GAME OF CHANCE (40 Min.) Boosey
Hawkes, Inc.
Cast: Soprano, 2 Mezzos, Baritone
Set: A garden. The present.
Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, 2 Clarinets, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Timp., Perc.,
Harp, Strings.
A Representative, the eternal messenger of Fate, brings to each of three young women her dearest wish. Instead of happiness, they find regret -- they have not asked for enough.
JEWISH HUMOR FROM OY TO VEY (up to 75 Min.) Theodore
Presser
A selection of Jewish jokes, dramatized.
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Set: Various or neutral
Instrumentation: Piano
Overture
1. Ages of Man
2. Francise
3. Futility
4. Thirst
5. Questionnaire
6. In the Cards
7. Hopeless
8. The Time
9. Identity
10. Prayer
11. True Love
12. Bed and Breakfast
13. Man Wanted
14. Cosmic Conundrum
15. Prospects
16. Deduction
17. Rarity
18. Wisdom
19. Onions
SAY CHEESE (45 Min.) Theodore Presser
Cast: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass
Set: Interior. A store-front photographer's studio.
Instrumentation: Piano
Jimmy, a photographer rejected by the art world and his girlfriend, Kitty, prepare to end it all. A lot of dangerous stuff happens when Feldman and Derek enter with drawn guns, but Kitty saves the day -- no one dies.
LITTLE STORIES IN TOMORROW'S PAPER (60 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Mezzo (in 3 roles; 3 Mezzos may be present) 2 Baritones, Bass
Setting: Exterior. A forest. The present time.
Instrumentation: Piano or Celeste, Electric Piano, Electric Guitar, Acoustic
Guitar, Percussion (Vib., Glock., Bongos), Harp, Bass, Drum Set.
In this dark comedy, two murderers hiding from the law meet with a man whom they befriend, thinking he is a criminal like themselves. When they discover he is innocent of any crime, they try to revenge themselves for his "deception."
LA PIZZA CON FUNGHI (THE MUSHROOM PIE) (60 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Set: Interior. Italy. 1800s.
Instrumentation:
A satire on Italian opera of the period. Voluptua is in love with Scorpio.
In order to be free to marry him, she plans to poison her husband, Count Formaggio.
Her maid, Phobia, warns the Count of his wife's duplicity. For this show of
loyalty, she must lose her life. Eventually, of course, so must all the other
members of the cast.
THE HUSBAND, THE WIFE, THE LOVER (up to 60 Min.) Theodore
Presser
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone, Man (non-singing, may be Stage Manager)
Set: Various
Instrumentation: Piano
1. My Sweet Wifey
2. My! My!
3. The Duel
4. Powerful Medicine
5. Busybody
Variations on a theme. The theme is infidelity.
AT LAST I'VE FOUND YOU (60 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone, Bass
Set: Interior and Exterior
Instrumentation: Piano
Beings from a distant galaxy land on Earth. Two government agents are dispatched to wrest the secret of intergalactic space flight from them. The agents succeed in their mission, but perhaps it would have been better if they had not.
AMERICAN PUNCHLINES (up to 60 Min.) Theodore
Presser
A selection of dramatized jokes.
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone, Bass
Set: Various
Instrumentation: Piano
Overture
1. Smoking Gun
2. Limerick
3. Strawberry Ice Cream
4. Aprés un Rève
5. Prescription
6. Marriage
7. Volunteer
8. Pick-up
9. Sex and Sailing
10. High Tech
11. Quick Fix
12. Savoir-faire
13. Irresistible Me
14. Visit to an Artist's Studio
15. Swami
16. New Girl in the Office
17. Anniversary Waltz
18. Help Wanted
19. Dino's Deli
20. The Beautiful Veranda
I CAN'T STAND WAGNER (40 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: 3 Sopranos, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Setting: A Manhattan apartment. The Present.
Instrumentation:
A composer's masterpiece, "The Zeus Symphony," is premiered in Athens under the direction of the composer. It is acclaimed by all who hear it except Zeus himself, who is so incensed by the association of his regal name with the unpleasant avant-garde symphony that he causes the composer to be pursued by the Three Furies.
THE RAJAH'S RUBY (45 Min.) Comic opera. G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Baritone, Bass, Man speaking
Set: An ordinary living-room
Instrumentation:
A quiet evening at home for this middle-class, middle-aged couple suddenly turns into an exciting psychological thriller.
THE BETROTHAL OF BECKY BROWN (40 Min.) Theodore
Presser
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, 2 Baritones, Bass, Solo Chorus SATB
Set: Interior and Exterior. Wild West
Instrumentation: Piano
A child is born to the notorious Nasty Brown. Much to his chagrin, the child is not only a girl -- Becky -- but one who will grow up to be repelled by dishonesty.
REBA (30 Min.) Theodore Presser
Large cast
Set: The South. A backyard. 1920.
Instrumentation: Piano
Reba's mother is a servant in the home of a white family. A funeral is being held for the young daughter of the house, who until her illness was Reba's playmate. Reba envies the attention being given the dead child.
PHILLIP MARSHALL
(2 Acts) G. Schirmer
Large cast.
Set: A doctor's office which accommodates other sets.
Instrumentation: Orchestra
Lieutenant Marshall, returning home after fighting for the Confederacy, finds only despair and disarray. His attempts to help his loved ones end in disaster.
Theodore Uppman and Julia Lovett in the World Premiere in Chautauqua (1974)
A PIECE OF STRING (3 Acts) Published
by: G. Schirmer
Large cast.
Set: A square in a town in France. 1900.
Instrumentation: Orchestra
The destruction of an ordinary man by rumor and innuendo.
See also SLEEPING BEAUTY (UNDER FAMILY AUDIENCE)
THE MAKER OF ILLUSIONS (1 act, 75 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, 2 Mezzos (may be doubled), Tenor,
Baritone, Children's chorus.
Set: From the valley to the mountain top.
Instrumentation:
A wicked queen is exiled to a mountaintop, where she is guarded by a genie and his goblins. Fearing the loss of her beauty, the queen commands the genie to bring her a youth whose life force she can steal. The genie's magic proves no match for the youth's sister.
SLEEPING BEAUTY (2 Acts) Theodore
Presser, Inc.
Large cast
Set: A royal palace and a witch's cave.
Instrumentation: Orchestra
The familiar story.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
(45 Min.) Boosey and
Hawkes
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Baritone
Set: Interior and Exterior (Unit.)
Instrumentation: Chamber Orchestra
Watch the baritone change from performer to wolf to huntsman and learn why little Red Riding Hood should have listened to her mother. According to Opera News, the most performed opera internationally.
Little Red Riding Hood in China, 1981:
THE TOY SHOP (45 min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Mime
Setting: A toymaker's home.
Instrumentation: Timp., Perc. Strings
The Toymaker has created two life-like dolls, which he thinks of as his children. A Magician hears of these marvelous creations and attempts to steal them to use in his act. He is thwarted by the dolls themselves.
FAIR MEANS OR FOUL (60 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast 2 Sopranos, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Set: Interior. A fairy-tale kingdom.
Instrumentation: Piano
The contemplative Prince is the object of the Regent's evil plans to keep him from ascending to the throne. These plans might very well have succeeded if not for the combative princess.
WHO AM I? (60 Min.) Boosey and Hawkes
Cast: 2 Sopranos, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone
Set: 2 Mythical Kingdoms (Unit.)
Instrumentation: Piano
Seeking revenge for imagined slights, a princess's handmaiden forces her mistress to change places with her. Whereas the princess is content to be a commoner, the handmaiden finds being royal not at all to her liking.
ANDROCLES AND THE LION (50 Min.) Theodore
Presser
Cast: Mezzo, tenor, Baritone, Narrator, Mime
Set: Various. (Unit) The year one.
Instrumentation: Piano
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (45 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Baritone, Narrator, Seven Children
Set: Various. (Unit)
Instrumentation: Piano
The familiar story.
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN (50 Min.) Theodore
Presser
Cast: Soprano, Baritone, Mezzo (in 2 roles), Children
Set: Various. (Unit)
Instrumentation: Piano
The familiar story.
CINDERELLA (50 Min.) Theodore Presser
Cast: Soprano, Mezzo, Baritone (in 4 roles).
Set: Various. (Unit)
Instrumentation: Piano
The familiar story, but adapted from the Grimm Brothers rather than Disney.
ONLY A MIRACLE (50 Min.) G. Schirmer
Cast: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass
Set: Exterior, Biblical times
Instrumentation: Piano
Herod, desperately searching for the Child, offers a large reward for information regarding His whereabouts. The Landlord who turned Mary and Joseph away from the Inn suspects his slave girl of having given them shelter. He will do anything to collect the reward and she will do everything to protect the Child, who can be saved now only by a miracle.
FATHER OF THE CHILD (75 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Cast: 2 Sopranos, Mezzo, 2 Tenors, 2 Baritones, 2 Basses
Set: Unit. The birth of Christ.
Instrumentation: Piano.
The Angel Gabriel descends to Earth in human form to protect Mary from Satan. Joseph doubting the Holy Conception, demands a miracle of Gabriel before he will believe. Satan intervenes to sabotage the miracle, but Gabriel sacrifices himself so that it can occur.
THE PINK SIAMESE (40 Min.) Boosey Hawkes
Large cast
Set: Urban. The Present.
Instrumentation: Piano
The poor kitten, with fur the wrong color, is ostracized but finds happiness in a circus.
NO LAUGHING MATTER (45 Min.) G. Schirmer
Large cast
Set: A Palace
Instrumentation: Piano
A king takes a young bride whose natural ebullience is suppressed by the dour Council of Ministers in the name of preserving dignity in the kingdom. When the tables are turned, rejoicing prevails.
A VERY SPECIAL GIFT (45 Min.) G.
Schirmer
Large cast
Set: Inner city. The Present.
Instrumentation: Piano
Billy seems to have no talent for anything. When he comes into possession of a tame bear, he is revealed to have a very special gift indeed.
SUITE ON ARMENIAN THEMES FOR STRING ORCHESTRA
Seesaw Music Corp.
 "...rich
and melodic score..." |
CONCERTO GROSSO FOR STRING ORCHESTRA G. Schirmer
CONCERTINO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND STRINGS Seesaw
CONCERTINO FOR SAXOPHONE QUARTET AND STRINGS Seesaw
CONCERTINO FOR VIOLA AND STRINGS Seesaw
CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND WIND ENSEMBLE
Seesaw
CONCERTO FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA Seesaw
CONCERTO FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA IN A CLASSICAL MODE
Seesaw
CONCERTO GROSSO FOR STRING ORCHESTRA G. Schirmer
|
"...a graceful work that has older tendencies despite its newness.
Mr. Barab's late Romantic harmonies, however, were not quite as reactionary
as they appeared on the surface. They were, indeed, treated in some very
20th century ways—especially in the constant shiftings of meter and
the complex crossing rhythms." |
DUO CONCERTANTE FOR TWO VIOLAS AND WOODWINDS Seesaw
CONCERTINO AND RIPIENO FOR TROMBONE ENSEMBLE Seesaw
DANCES FOR OBOE AND STRINGS Seesaw
MORE VARIATIONS ON TCHAIKOWSKY'S ROCOCO THEME FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA Seesaw
ALLEGRI FOR CELLO AND PIANO ECS Music
DIVERTIMENTO FOR THREE RECORDERS AND STRINGED INSTRUMENT ECS Music
DUO FOR CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
|
A Sprightly addition to the cello and piano repertory was given its premiere in Goodman Concert Hall on Wednesday night by the Clark-Schuldman Duo. Composed last year by Seymour Barab (a cellist himself), the piece is blandly labeled Duo for Cello and Piano but the music has a quirky individuality about it that sticks in the memory. What impresses about Mr. Barab as a composer is that he seems to achieve his effects effortlessly. His idiom is essentially very conservative melodically and harmonically, but through little shifts of accent and emphasis he creates music that frequently gives the impression of being—engagingly—off balance or out of synch. This is music of high spirits and good will (with just a hint of devilishness thrown in). ALLEN HUGHES |
DUO FOR FLUTE AND MARIMBA
Seesaw
DUO FOR FLUTE AND PIANO Seesaw
DUO FOR STRING QUARTETS Seesaw
DUO FOR VIOLA AND CELLO Seesaw
DUO FOR VIOLA AND HARP Seesaw
DUO FOR VIOLA AND PIANO Seesaw
Recorded by Zoe Records
DUO FOR VIOLA AND PIANO II Seesaw
DUO FOR VIOLA AND PIANO III Seesaw
DUO FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO Seesaw
|
"Seymour Barab's new "Duo" referred constantly to old
ways of hearing harmony, but its playful shifts in phrase length, its
militant repetitive quality in the first movement and the more conciliatory
Andante that followed made music that always grasped our interest." |
DUO FOR VIOLIN AND VIOLA
Seesaw
EIGHT VARIATIONS FOR CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
LITTLE SUITE FOR THREE FLUTES Boosey and Hawkes
MOTO PERPETUI FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO Seesaw
Perpetual motions in sonata form
MINUTE WALZES FOR CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
PARTITA FOR VIOLIN AND CELLO
Seesaw
|
"This well-made piece in five movements seemed an excellent example of his work." |
PIANO TRIO Seesaw
PIANO TRIO II Seesaw
PIANO TRIO III Seesaw
|
"The piece was marvelous...spirited, captivating and refreshing. The composition is ambitious and it remains exciting from beginning to end." —ROCKLAND COUNTY NEWS |
QUARTET FOR Bb CLARINETS Boosey
and Hawkes
QUINTET FOR FLUTE AND STRING QUARTET Seesaw
QUINTET FOR SOPRANO, SAXOPHONE AND STRING QUARTET Seesaw
QUINTET FOR WINDS AND PIANO Seesaw
SAXOPHONE QUARTET G. Schirmer.
SAXOPHONE QUARTET II Seesaw
|
"...lyrical but rhythmically complex..." —ARIZONA DAILY STAR "Barab employs rather nostalgic melodies and keeps everything comfortably tonal but below each melody the ensemble's other three voices weave around each other in exceptionally intricate patterns, with rhythmic complexities to match..." —ARIZONA DAILY STAR |
SAXOPHONE QUARTET III Seesaw
SCHERZI FOR OBOE AND PIANO Seesaw
SEVEN DEADLY SINS FOR BRASS QUINTET SeesawSEXTET FOR PIANO AND WIND QUINTET Seesaw
SONATA FOR FLUTE AND HARP IN A CLASSICAL MODE Lyra Music Co.
SONATA FOR BASSOON AND PIANO Seesaw
SONATA FOR TWO CELLOS AND PIANO Seesaw
SONATINA FOR THREE FLUTES Boosey
and Hawkes
STRING QUARTET Seesaw
|
"The second piece on the program was Barab's "String Quartet."
The piece is playful, with a bouncing melody underlying slight dissonance.
At times, the instruments appear to be competing for domination, sounding
as one member of the audience commented, like a party where everybody
is talking at once. The lovely melodies throughout created a light-hearted
mood. The individual "voices" of the instruments blended into
the whole and then moved out, to be heard as individual songs in a mild,
though never unpleasant, cacophony. During the performance, the audience
listened attentively, and responded at its end with thunderous applause,
directed both to the performers and to Barab, standing at the rear of
the auditorium. —NORTH COUNTRY NEWS, Westchester NY |
STRING QUARTET II Seesaw
STRING TRIO Seesaw
SUITE FOR BASSOON AND STRING QUARTET Seesaw
SUITE FOR BASSOON AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR CELLO AND BASSOON Seesaw
SUITE FOR CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR CELLO QUARTET (FOUR CELLOS) Seesaw
SUITE FOR CLARINET, VIOLA AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR CLARINET, BASSOON AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR CLARINET AND CELLO Seesaw
|
"My own favorite was Seymour Barab's Suite, a perky, witty creation that brought out the best in each of the duettists. It was perfect music to liven up a summer evening." —PITTSBURGH-POST GAZETTE |
SUITE FOR CLARINET AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR FLUTE AND BASSOON Seesaw
SUITE FOR FLUTE, VIOLA AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR FLUTE, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO and BASS Seesaw
SUITE FOR HARPSICHORD AND STRING QUARTET Seesaw
SUITE FOR HORN, VIOLIN, VIOLA AND CELLO Seesaw
|
"Much interest centered on the world premiere of Seymour Barab's 1992 Suite for Horn, Violin, Viola and Cello. It proved a light hearted piece, far less taxing to the listener than to the performers, who continually had to keep tricky, syncopated rhythms, off-beat accents, and other subtle stumbling blocks sorted out." —BUFFALO "This is a work sure to travel well and far, a vigorous, tuneful work in a neo-classical idiom. The work goes over familiar territory with such zest that it never seems stale." —CALGARY HERALD "The Suite was light and cheery, yet conveyed a subtle intimacy." —GLENSIDE NEWS |
SUITE FOR OBOE, CLARINET, CELLO AND PIANO
Seesaw
SUITE FOR TRUMPET, ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR TWO CELLOS Seesaw
SUITE FOR VIOLA AND CELLO Seesaw
SUITE FOR VIOLIN, HARP AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR VIOLA, HORN AND PIANO Seesaw
|
"...a deliciously tuneful miscellany, Barab's music is so listenable, one almost doesn't notice its complex rhythms, its just slightly off-kilter harmonic twists." —TULSA WORLD |
SUITE FOR HORN, CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
SUITE FOR VIOLIN AND CELLO Seesaw
TRIO FOR VIOLA, CELLO AND PIANO Seesaw
|
"Any concert-goer who may still be put off by 'modern' music would have been reassured by that of Barab, which is brief and news to a modified post-Stravinsky idiom" —NEWS-TIMES, HARTFORD "The Barab-trio is exciting music that demands attention." —LITCHFIELD COUNTRY TIMES |
TRIO-SONATA FOR VIOLIN, OBOE AND BASSOON
Seesaw
TRIOLET FOR THREE BASSOONS Seesaw
WIND QUINTET Seesaw
SUITE FOR PIANO SOLO Seesaw
VARIATIONS ON A HEBREW THEME FOR PIANO, FOUR HANDS Seesaw
FOUR SONGS Boosey
and Hawkes
1. Go, Lovely Rose (Edmund Waller)
2. She's Somewhere in the Sunlight Strong (Richard LeGallienne)
3. Minstrel's Song (Thomas Chatterton)
4. I Can't be Talkin' of Love (Esther Matthews)
PARODIES Boosey
and Hawkes
Voice and Piano
As some children's jump-rope rhymes might have been set to music by the masters.
1. I'll Never go to Macy's (Handel)
2. Miss Lucy (Donizetti)
3. I was Standing on the Corner (Wolf)
4. Poor Old Lady (Moussorgsky)
5. Charlie Chaplin (Duparc)
6. Spanish Dancer (DeFalla)
|
"The wild anomalies between text and Mr. Barab's deadly earnest musical styles were clever indeed..." |
THE RIVALS (Texts by James Stephens) Theodore
Presser Co.
1. The Daisies
2. The Rose in the Wind
3. The Hawk
4. The Rivals
A MAID ME LOVED (Patrick Hannay) Boosey and Hawkes
AN EXPLANATION (Walter Learned) Boosey and Hawkes
BAGATELLES ECS Publishing
for High Voice, Recorder and Guitar
1. Prelude
2. Roundelay (John Dryden)
3. Prue (Thomas Moore)
4. The Fly (William Blake)
5. If Love were what the Rose is (Charles Algernon Swinburne)
6. Tom (Thomas Moore)
7. The Owl (Alfred Lord Tennyson)
8. The Pigtail (William Makepeace Thackeray)
|
"Mr. Barab sustains a determinately antique flavor in most of the eight songs, which not only exploit delicious blendings of instrumental sonorities, but give the singer wonderful opportunities for vocal and poetic subtleties." |
BITS AND PIECES ECS
Publishing
Soprano, Clarinet and Piano
1. Slow, Slow, Fresh Fount (Ben Johnson)
2. The Rain (Anon.)
3. Did Not (Thomas Moore)
4. Waste (Harry Graham)
5. The Blossom (William Blake)
6. Late Riser (Anon.)
7. Do not Love too Long (William Butler Yeats)
8. There was a King (Anon.)
9. I heard a Linnet Courting (Robert Graves)
Recorded by the Ariel Ensemble on Orion records
|
"...beguiling..."— "...proved refreshing, even though the composer thumbed his nose
altogether at the twentieth century--His unabashed Romanticism accommodated
the amorous pastoral sentiments of the poetry, which he set nicely." "A winning sense of humor, occasionally a gentle poignance, and attractive melodies are among the features of this brief song cycle." —THE NEW RECORDS "Relatively serious settings of poems alternate with absurd little wise-cracks, stressing the creative dichotomy of "light" and "heavy 'art'" —RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH "Barab's way is to combine the vocal line with a hauntingly melodious piano part..." —AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
|
BAWD BALLADS Seesaw
Voice, Violin, Viola and Cello
1. Sylvia and Cupid (John Dryden)
2. Dick and Rose (Matthew Prior)
3. Coridon and Phyllis (Charles Sedley)
4. Priest and Penitent (G.G. Belli)
5. He and She (Anonymous)
6. Alexis and Celia (John Dryden)
7. Strephon and Chloe (Charles Hanbury Williams)
8. Miss Jane (John Lockman)
9. Elle et Lui (Anonymous)
10. A Maid and a Man (Anonymous)
|
"...wittily set by Barab" —THE
EAGLE
|
A LITTLE LIGHT MUSIC Seesaw
Voice, Clarinet (or Viola or Cello) and Piano
Texts by the Composer
1. Infallible System
2. Why Johnny Hates School
3. A Learned Man
4. Penny Scale
5. I Love a Latin Band
Recorded by Theresa Treadway Lloyd on Albany Records
LOVERS Seesaw
Voice, Clarinet, Viola, Cello, Piano
Texts by Sir John Suckling
1. Careless Lover
2. Patient Lover
3. Rejected Lover
4. Constant Lover
5. False Lover
6. Perplexed Lover
7. Honest Lover
MOMENTS MACABRES ECS
Music
Voice, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, String Quartet, Bass
Anonymous Texts
1. Prelude
2. Old Roger
3. Down by the Greenwood Shady
4. The Walk
5. A Man of Words and not of Deeds
6. Gypsies in the Wood
7. Elegy for Frederick the Great
8. Mama had a Baby
|
"Seymour Barab's "Moments Macabres," [is]a cycle of children's songs composed in 1976 to British nonsense and counting rhymes as compiled by W.H. Auden. It's a clever soufflé prepared in a masterly way; Mr. Barab's musical punning, sense of timing and tuneful zest could not be more skillful, either in its perky vocal lines or in the dancing ensemble of string quartet, flute, oboe and clarinet." PETER G. DAVIS |
SONGS OF PERFECT PROPRIETY Boosey
and Hawkes
Voice, Wind Quintet and Piano
Setting of poems by Dorothy Parker
1. Song of Perfect Propriety
2. Now at Liberty
3. Ultimatum
4. Renunciation
5. Inventory
6. Social Note
7. A Very Short Song
8. One Perfect Rose
9. Wisdom
10. Men
11. Lullaby
12. Comment
13. Symptom Recital
14. The False Friends
15. Love Song
16. Indian Summer
17. Somebody's Song
18. Song of One of the Girls
19. Bric-a-brac
20. They Part
21. Chant for Dark Hours
22. The Choice
23. The Trusting Heart
24. Coda
Recorded by Barbara Cook on Esoteric Records.
AIRS AND FANCIES ECS
Publishing
Voice, Violin, Cello and Harpsichord (or Piano)
1. Music, When Soft Voices Die...(Percy Bysshe Shelley)
2. The Cuckoo (Justin Richardson)
3. Weep You no More, Sad Fountains (Anonymous)
4. Werther (William Makepeace Thackeray)
5. Five Reasons (on a round by Henry Purcell)
6. Autumn (Dante Gabriel Rossetti)
7. Why Does He (She) so Long Delay?
| "...these songs were alternately sensitive and amusing,
nay, hysterical settings..."
—GREENFIELD RECORDER "The evening's biggest winner.." — |
COSMOS CANTATA Seesaw
Music Corp.
Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Chamber Orchestra
Text by Kurt Vonnegut
MERRY ARE THE BELLS G.
Schirmer
SATBa
SWEET WAS THE SONG G. Schirmer
SATBa
THE SILVER SWAN G. Schirmer
SATB
FIRST PERSON FEMININE Boosey
and Hawkes
SSA with Piano
Texts by Sara Teasdale
1. Pierrot
2. The Daisy
3. The Song for Colin
4. The Wayfarer
5. The Look
6. Love Me
7. The Kiss
OPERA PLOTZ Seesaw
Music Corp.
SATB, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Flute, Harp, Oboe, Cello, Bass and Percussion
Comic synopses of some popular operas.
1. Carmen
2. Palleas and Melisande
3. Hansel and Gretel
ALICE, A CABARET Published
by: ECS
Narrator, Cello and Piano
Verses from "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll
1. Prologue
2. Mock-Turtle
3. Mouse
4. Humpty-Dumpty
5. Alice
6. Chorus
7. White Rabbit
8. Epilogue
| Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival "...A tour de force..." —CAPE COD TIMES |
|
Carnegie Recital Hall "...a joyful, energetic, delightfully witty romp." |
BAB BALLADS Seesaw
Narrator, Violin, Cello and Piano
Poems by W.S. Gilbert
1. An Undecided Man
2. To the Terrestrial Globe
3. A Ghost to his Lady Love
4. To Phoebe
5. The Yarn of the Nancy Bell
G.A.G.E. A CHRISTMAS STORY
G. Schirmer
Narrator, Orchestra
A messenger of God appears in a dream to a poor music teacher, commanding him to compose a piece ot glorify the Lord.
THE SELFISH GIANT (Text by Oscar Wilde) Seesaw
Narator, Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, 2 Horns, Strings
|
"...a gentle tale about the power of nature and children to transform a mean-spirited giant into a caring individual. The composer received an enthusiastic ovation..." —WESTCHESTER DAILY "...highly imaginative..." —WESTCHESTER ARTS DAILY |
SONGS WITHOUT TUNES Seesaw
Narrator, Flute and Piano
1. My Sweet Wifey
2. The Pessimist
3. If we Didn't Have to Eat
4. The Little Peach
5. Keep Your Dogs out of the Kitchen
TALES OF RHYME AND REASON Boosey and Hawkes
Narrator, Dance Pantomime (optional) and Chamber Orchestra
(Each work is scored for 1-1-2-1, 2-1-1-0, Harp, Percussion (1), Strings and
has a duration of about 15 minutes. The dancers, who act out the narration,
perform on the space in front of the orchestra.
1. Always arguing
Two mouse children are the despair of their mother mouse because of their noisy
brawls. The appearance of a cat, however, teaches them the value of knowing
when to be quiet as a mouse.
(Cast of Characters: Brother Mouse, Sister Mouse, Mother Mouse, Cat)
2. A Kiss from Alice
Alice's father, a woodcutter, is an employee of the stingy old Baron. When Alice
falls ill, the Baron refuses to buy the medicine that will cure her. The Baron
himself is then taken ill and can only be saved by a kiss from Alice. But it
is too late: he dies, the victim of his own stinginess.
(Cast of Characters: Baron, Woodcutter, Doctor)
3. Bigger and Better (May be done with Wind Quintet
rather than Orchestra)
Bull, a frog, having the power to inflate himself, believes he can become the
largest creature on earth. When his companion, Jade, describes to him a cow
she has seen, he tries to emulate its size, with unfortunate results.
(Cast of Characters: Bull, a male frog (and cow), Jade, a female frog)
4. What Will the Neighbors Say?
The old man and old woman, on their way to market to sell their donkey, are
so fearful of what the neighbors will say if either of them, or both of them,
or neither of them, rides the donkey, that they miss the market altogether.
(Cast of Characters: Old Man, Old Woman, Donkey (two players), Neighbors (two
or more players).
5. The Lordly Lion
A lion, as is known, is King of the Jungle. Our particular lion, however,
is too egomaniacal to be content with that low estate. He believes he rules
the earth and heavens as well. It is a flea who teaches him what real power
is.
(Cast of Characters: Lion, Witch Doctor, Dermatologist, Psychiatrist (Doctors
may be played by one performer).
6. Braggerty Rabbit
The rabbit is challenged to a race by a turtle, who beats
him handily; not by speed but by trickery.
(Cast of Characters: Rabbit, Two identical Turtles)
THREE FABLES Seesaw
1, 2 or 3 Narrators, Violin, Cello and Piano
Texts adapted from Bab Ballads by W.S. Gilbert
1. A and B
2. Deadly Enemies
3. Knowing Robinson
| "The highlight of the evening..." —OSHKOSH NORTHWESTERN |
THREE RIDDLES IN THE TALMUDIC TRADITION Seesaw
Narrator and Chamber Orchestra, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, 2 Horns, Harp,
Percussion, Strings.
1. The Boiled Egg
2. The Princess in the Mirror
3. The Clever Coachman
WILLIE WAS DIFFERENT
Seesaw
Narrator, Flute, Clarinet and Piano
Text: "Willie was Different" by Norman Rockwell