"Strong, honest, and musically sincere" - Gordon Stout

"Beall has found the key to composing for marimba and soprano" - PAS News

"Song of 'Almah really got to me during the concert. I got all teary during the final movement and had to keep blinking to see the music" - Dr. Karl Seigfried, Music Institute of Chicago, Principal Bass of the premiere performance

The text is taken from the Old Testament book, Song of Solomon, written c. 945 BC. King Solomon, known for writing over 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs, called this composition his Shir Hashirim – his most exquisite “Song of all Songs.” It is an incomparable celebration of romantic love in all aspects.

In the entirety of Solomon’s 700 marriages and 300 additional maid-servant relationships, his search for true love led him to one ‘almah, one young girl, one maiden, who captured his heart like no other. She is called a Shulamite, from the city of Shunem which was located southwest of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The residents were descendents of Issachar, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, and they were known for their strength, humility, and desire to serve unconditionally.

From the Song of Solomon we learn that ‘Almah grew up with harsh brothers who forced her to labor in her family’s vineyards. She viewed herself as a common girl, like the common meadow flowers “a rose of Sharon” and “a lily of the valleys.” Yet, ‘Almah’s life changed forever when the most powerful ruler known to man fell deeply in love with her, making her his only beloved. Like a shepherd, Solomon gave her rest. Like an oasis, he gave her water and safety. Like an apple tree in the forest, he stood out broadly among men. Such are the beginning images in the Song that describe her new life with the king.

In Hebrew, 'Almah means “young girl, maiden, or damsel”. A variation on the word is the Hebrew musical term 'alamoth, which can be translated "soprano." So the Song of ‘Almah is the composer’s duet for marimba and 'alamoth. It was commissioned by Charles Beall, who also chose the Song of Solomon as the text. Although the Song of Solomon contains parts spoken by the King and parts by the Chorus (the Daughters of Jerusalem), the composer only selected key passages spoken by the beloved 'Almah.

In the fall of 2008 the Erato Chamber Orchestra of Chicago commissioned this duet to be complimented with strings.

Love's intensity ... love's heartbreak ... powerful physical attraction ... this is the Song of 'Almah…

The following clips feature Andrew Beall on marimba and Amanda Lynn Dunning, soprano, at the premiere performance in Chicago:

Song of 'Almah Mvt. I (Rose of Sharon)
Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 2 (Click Arrow to Play)


Song of 'Almah Mvt. II (Yearning For)
Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 2 (Click Arrow to Play)


Song of 'Almah Mvt. III (Cedar of Lebanon)
Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 2 (Click Arrow to Play)

Haiku written by 17th century Japanese masters are read in this composition in a setting of Flute, and four percussionist playing an assortment of percussion including vibraphone, cymbals, gongs, tin cans and various collections of wind chimes and metal sounds. The piece has been performed at William Paterson University, Rowan College, the Aspen Music festival, and NYU percussion ensemble to name a few.

Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 2 (Click Arrow to Play)

The title “Faith in Nights” is taken from a poem by Rilke which reflects on the challenges and rewards of solitude and loneliness. On an emotional level the piece charts a journey from tension-filled introversion and silence to outbursts of extroverted activity. In hindsight I see that the piece represents an attempt to include the mystery of hushed, ceremonial sounds with the exuberance of trance and dance traditions. The mechanics of the piece are as follows: virtually all the harmony is built around an Indian raga whose signature intervals are a flatted second, fifth, and sixth, and a major seventh. A great deal of focus rests on the harmonic hinge created by the major seventh, root, and minor second. Rhythmically the piece owes a debt to traditions from India and W. Africa, suffused with American vernacular. Emphasis is placed on lines in the mallets that pick up off one another, crisscrossing contrapuntally. The opening bass drum rhythm, slowed to a desperate crawl, is a New Orleans Mardi Gras rhythm, which is finally picked up at the end of the piece and allowed to take off.

Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 2 (Click Arrow to Play)


Sample 3 (Click Arrow to Play)

(Piano Scores sold separately contact us for information)

This is Holst’s own version of The Planets for two pia nos, dating from the years 1914 to 1916. Unlike most keyboard versions of an orchestral work, it was not an arrangement of the full score. It existed before the orchestral score had been written out, although details of the instrumentation had already been clear in Holst’s mind from the moment he began sketching the work. The reason that he needed a keyboard version on paper was that he suffered from neuritis in his right arm, and this often prevented him from playing over his sketches while he was composing.

He was able to ask two of his colleagues on the music staff of St. Paul’s Girls’ School, Vally Lasker and Nora Day, to play his two-piano version to him on Saturday mornings in his sound-proof music room at the school. These two friends were his chief amanuenses. When the time came for them to help him write out the full score they were able to follow the details of instrumentation which they had written from his dictation in the margins of the keyboard manuscripts they had been playing from. (The manuscripts, autograph and partly autograph, are in the British Library Add. MS 57811: the Royal College of Music Parry Room Library MS 4556-61: and the Royal Academy of Music MS 303.)

The seven movements of this two-piano version were first published separately in 1949-51, and most have been out of print for some time. They are now reissued complete in one volume, providing a welcome opportunity for pianists to discover the music for themselves in performance.

Percussion Notes
The percussion parts for th is arrangement of The Planets, are derived from Holst’s orchestral version, and my own imagination. It is to be used in conjunction with Holst’s complete original two-piano score. All of the original orchestrated percussion parts have been included along with additional percussion scoring which imitates and colors what is heard in the later orchestrated version. The entire suite can be played by two percussionists and two pianists, or the parts may be divided among several players for use in a Percussion ensemble.

The Planets I: Mars (sample 1) (Click Arrow to Play)


The Planets I: Mars (sample 2) (Click Arrow to Play)


The Planets III: Mercury (Click Arrow to Play)


The Planets IV: Jupiter (sample 1) (Click Arrow to Play)


The Planets IV: Jupiter (sample 2) (Click Arrow to Play)


The Planets VI: Uranus (Click Arrow to Play)

The main element behind the relatively simple rhythmic materials used in Topografia Index 3A comes from the idea of mapping and surveying physical features of a region. More specifically, the idea came from my observation of the mountains in the central area of Brazil, called Minas Gerais. The mapping is made possible through the creation of a grid that provides a sensation of continuity and regularity. The multiple directions that the sonic material takes along the piece are somewhat similar to the organization of shapes and colors on a canvas – or the numerous features on a landscape. (AL)

Sample (Click Arrow to Play)

Bento Box (from the CD Sustenance by Dan Lippel, Guitar, Jeff Irving, Vibes, Erin Lesser, Flute for focus recordings)

This trio takes it's inspiration from Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's desert, Bento Box. In this musical "Bento Box", the use of simple instruments are combined into a careful choreography of flavors, textures and colors. This challenging piece for all of the instruments involved will prove to be rewarding and inspiring on any program. A new wonderful recording is also now available on itunes under the title "Sustenance" by Guitarist Dan Lippel.

Bento Box sample (Click Arrow to Play)