Musical Works, Transcriptions & Translations by Byrwec Ellison

 

 

 

COMPOSITIONS FOR ORCHESTRA

 

 

Janequins (1978/2005)

Dance suite (after a set of original piano pieces) in homage to French composers of the early 20th century, to the Renaissance era composer Clement Janequin and to the spirit of Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin” (2/2/2/2, 4/3/2+1/1, perc, strings)

Monsieur Ravel’s Dancing Shoes (premiered by the Kurt Sprenger & Fort Worth Civic Orchestra, Texas Christian University, 12/3/05)

Monsieur Fauré’s Muse

Monsieur Satie’s Nap

Monsieur Debussy’s Fingers

 

 

Mbuti (in work)

Suite inspired by music of the Mbuti pygmies of the Ituri rainforest in northeast Congo

 

 

 

ORCHESTRAL TRANSCRIPTIONS

 

 

Pictures from an Exhibition by Modeste Mussorgsky (1995)

An alternative version of Mussorgsky’s keyboard masterpiece refracted “in the style of” composers who were masters of the orchestral palette (3/2+1/3/3, 4/3/3/1, perc, pf, strings)

Promenade I - after Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (premiered by Leonard Slatkin & BBC Symphony, BBC London Proms, Royal Albert Hall, 9/1/2004)

Gnomus - after Stravinsky Petrushka

Promenade II - after Rimsky-Korsakoff Scheherezade

The Old Castle

Promenade III - after Wagner Die Meistersinger

Tuilleries (Children Quarreling at Play) - after Bartók Concerto for Orchestra and Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony

Bydlo - after Respighi Pines of Rome

Promenade IV - after Ravel Daphnis et Chloe

Ballet of the Unhatched Chickens - after Kabalevsky The Comedians

Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle - after Shostakovich Fifth Symphony

Promenade V - after Elgar Enigma Variations

The Market Place at Limoges - after Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky

Catacombs/Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua - after Messiaen Turangalila Symphony

The Hut of the Baba-Yaga - after Copland Billy the Kid

The Great Gate of Kiev - after Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, Mussorgsky Boris Godunov, Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra and Stravinsky The Firebird

 

The BBC Proms concert featuring the Promenade I has been commercially released on CD (Warner Classics 2564 61954-2)
Recording Links

MusicWeb-International
Britannia Club
Crotchet Listing
MDT Listing

Concert Links
Slatkin's Notes
Telegraph Review

 

 

Chorale No. 1 in E Major by César Franck (2001)

Franck’s mighty organ chorale scored identically to Franck D minor Symphony except for two small auxiliary trumpets in place of trumpets in F (2/2/1/2/1/2, 4/2/2-cornet/2-aux+1/1, timpani, hp, strings)

 

 

 

Danserye Suite (in work)

Suite of Renaissance dances from the 1551 edition by Tielman Susato (2+1/2+1/2+1/2+1, 4/3/2+1/1, perc, strings, kazoos)

Mille ducas

Ronde

Entre du fol

Ronde et Salterelle

La Battaille

 

 

 

LIBRETTO TRANSLATION

 

 

Maurice Ravel/Colette                                                                    L’Enfant et les Sortilèges

New English translation (2002)

Sassy, contemporary American update of Colette & Ravel’s moderne era fairy tale intended to speak directly to the 21st century sensibility, language and experience of a new generation of young listeners (Link to text)

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Byrwec Ellison