BALLADE FOR A PRINCESS

10 minutes Advanced Alymar $8* Tape $5*

20th Century work in the style of the 19th Century ballades of Chopin and Brahms.
This work is in a quasi two-part form. The first part presents a motivic theme, accompanied by some dissonant harmonies. It is episodic and restless.
The second part introduces a very lyrical and romantic theme that is followed by a developmental section. The work concludes with another statement of the lyrical second theme followed by a short codetta.

6 minutes Advanced Alymar $7* Tape $5*

A highly emotional work that begins in atonality and gradually moves to a most tonal conclusion.
The form used is related to the classical sonata form. The A theme is lyrical but with some dissonant harmonies. The B theme is highly chromatic and in an extremely up-tempo mostly triple meter. Each time Resistance has been performed it has created great excitement from the audience.

6+ minutes Advanced Alymar $10* Tape $5*

This is a highly romantic work that is written in the style of a Chopin Nocturne. The themes presented here are found in the opera Lily. The form is episodic with developmental work intersecting the melodic statements. A recording of this will be available in the Winter, 2010. The piece will be on youtube at that time as well. Look here for a link to that site in the coming months.

FROM THE HEADWATERS

9 minutes Upper intermediate Alymar, score and parts $20.00* Tape $5*

Piano Trio (Violin, Cello, Piano)

This is a romantic one-movement work in a broad ternary form. It begins with a dark theme in the two stringed instruments. After the piano enters with that theme it then moves to a romantic melody. The B section is up-tempo with a light melody that is tossed around among the 3 instruments. It returns to an abbreviated A section.

This piece is dedicated to the memory of my brother Gari Baxter.

(This is a revision of an earlier work: The Rejected Stone.)

VOICE AND PIANO

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* * specify vocal range so song can be put in appropriate key. * *

FOUR VIEWS OF LOVE

Prizewinner at the 1997 Delius Composition Competition.
A song cycle that depicts four different romantic moods.

8-9 minutes Difficulty levels vary Alymar $15* Tape $4*

1. WHEN YOU ARE OLD

   Words by W. B. Yeats

   Two and a half minutes. Upper intermediate

   (The only one of the four songs in this cycle that should be sung by a male voice.)

   A song of lost love.

   Through-composed. (Although it ends with a return to the opening line.)
   Lyrical with a soaring dramatic climactic point near the end.

2. LET IT BE YOU

   Words by Sara Teasdale

   Minute and a half Intermediate

   This is a song that expresses deep love. (Dedicated to the composer's wife, Katherine.) In binary form with the same melodic figure opening both sections of the song.

   The song is somewhat chromatic but very lyrical and expressive.

3. LET IT BE FORGOTTEN

   Words by Sara Teasdale

   Two and a half minutes Intermediate

   This is a poem reflecting a melancholy mood.

   Through-composed with a recurring piano figure.
   This is a romantic, expressive song that reflects the melancholy of the words.

4. A THUNDERSTORM IN TOWN

   Words by Thomas Hardy

   One and half minutes Intermediate (somewhat more difficult for singer.)

   The poem is a cute look at young love.

   The song is in a free strophic form.

   It is chromatic with some leaps for the singer.

I Will Always Be Beholden 

From Act I, Scene I of Lily

Arranged for voice and piano.

This aria, sung by Lily to her main love interest Seldon, is a declaration of her dependence on others to maintain her social standing. It is written in the style of traditional operatic arias. That is to say there is strong melodic writing enveloped in a recognizable form.

A recording of this song will be available at the end of summer 2009. The song will be on youtube at that time. Look here for a link to that site.

THREE POEMS BY LINDA PASTAN

Three songs on poems by former Maryland state poet laureate.

8 minutes Difficulty varies. Alymar $12* Tape $5*

1. SELF PORTRAIT AT 44 

   Two and half to three minutes. Intermediate.

   A song about middle age and the acceptance of our limitations and inadequacies.

   Through-composed song with a recurring romantic piano melody.

2. MARKS 

   One and a half minutes Upper intermediate to advanced.

   The only one of the three songs that should be sung by a female voice.

   A humorous song of the modern woman standing up for her dignity.

   Through-composed but with similar melodic ideas throughout.

3. CAROLINE 

   Two and half to three minutes. Easy vocal, intermediate piano

   This is a thoughtful song about the death of a woman.

   Through-composed bluesy song with extended dramatic piano part.

THE LONG HILL

Words by Sara Teasdale

For female voice and piano.

Two and a half minutes Intermediate Alymar $5* Tape $4*

A song expressing the realization that we can't always live up to our expectations.

In ternary form.

Intermediate level for both performers.

GRANDMOTHER, THINK NOT I FORGET 

Three and a half minutes Intermediate Alymar $7*

Words by Garth Baxter and Katherine Baxter freely adapted from a poem by Willa Cather

For female voice and piano.

Voice and piano version of highly successful song originally written for voice and guitar.

Touching memorial to the composer's wife's grandmother.

This song never fails to bring great response from audiences. It speaks to all who have lost a loved one.

A Wife in London (from The Battle Cry)

3 minutes Difficult for vocalist, intermediate for piano Alymar $5*

Words by Thomas Hardy

Heartbreaking lyrics of a wife receiving a letter stating that her husband has been killed in war, and then the next day she receives a letter from her husband written shortly before he died telling her how much he looked forward to seeing her again.

The music dramatically depicts the romance and the tragedy of the lyrics.

THE MAN HE KILLED (from The Battle Cry)

Words by Thomas Hardy

One and a half minutes Easy Alymar $4*

A touching song of sung from the point of view of a soldier who killed another man in war and realizing that in another situation they might have been friends.

Simple folk-like song easy for both the singer and the pianist.

TWO SONGS OF REFLECTION

Voice and Guitar or Voice and Piano

6 minutes Difficulty varies Alymar* Tape $5*

1. THE CRADLE SONG 

   Words by William Blake

   3 minutes Lower advanced

   An interesting text that begins as a lullaby of a mother to a baby and then midway becomes a song about the baby Jesus.

   The music is set in a binary form to reflect the poetry. Each section has two verses with each being set to similar music.

   Tonal but highly chromatic with many leaps for the vocalist in the A section. The B section is almost folk-like in simplicity.

2. WHAT DEATH CAN TOUCH 

   Words by Chaim Stern

   3 minutes Lower intermediate

   Highly touching words about losing a loved one.

   Through-composed but with many similar phrases.

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The Silver Run

9 minutes, upper intermediate level, ALRY Publications. CD $5* (available late fall, 2003)

The Silver Run is a two-movement work in the neo-romantic style. The first movement, in ternary form, begins with a lyrical chromatic melody that is the centerpiece of this movement. The middle section develops a transitional motive from the first section. The second movement, also in ternary form, is rather upbeat. The first of the two primary themes is lyrical, but active. The second is more rhythmic and chromatic. This is a substantial and fun composition that is sure to be a hit at recitals.

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PIANO AND SAXOPHONE

DES LARMES ENCADRÉES (Framed Tears)

7 minutes Intermediate to upper intermediate Alymar $10, CD $5*

This single movement work is in arch form. There are three mail melodies. The first is jazzy in its harmonic and melodic approach. The second theme, which is more up-tempo, is first hinted at in an interlude between statements of the first theme. It serves as a vehicle for some very interesting development. At the center of the piece is a sorrowful theme based on the folk song The Willow Tree. This is a melancholy piece written especially for the Parisian saxophonist Romain Gravier.

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Choral - Guitar - Organ - Flute

* * * PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. * * *

Music can be purchased from:

• Alymar Publications
  2744 Murkle Road
  Westminster, MD 21158
  Gbaxter@qis.net