‘Night on the Bare Mountain’ by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) is a musical depiction of a witches sabbath on an exposed mountain. It is renowned for its orgiastic and supernatural atmosphere as a group of witches, demons and spirits gather for a night of chaos and revelry. Its pictorial nature has made our many versions a popular choice amongst 8notes members looking for something spooky to play, especially around Halloween.
And if the piece is wild, so too is the story of its composition…
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It is the dance the scandalised the 19th century, a high-kicking, skirt-flipping whirlwind of legs, laughter and naughtiness. Nowadays considered a joyous staple of French culture, in its heyday the dance caused quite the social stir, even leading to attempts to suppress it. Here then is its flamboyant history and that of the music that made it so popular.
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Unlike the fraught history of its trumpet cousin, the trombone has not changed much in design since it emerged in the fifteenth century. With such a long and stable history one might expect a rich solo repertoire for the instrument. Unfortunately, until the early romantic period the instrument was mostly used to double other instruments and vocal lines. Things began to to change, however, in the 19th century, with the first trombone concerto written in 1837. And since then there have been some truly great solo works for the instrument. Here are our top ten.
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What do you get when you mix a bassoon and a cajon? Pure rhythmic magic! In this performance, bassoonist Matthias Racz plays Get It! by Gene Koczinski and takes the bassoon out of its usual classical context and throws it into a groove-heavy, rock-inspired world, with the cajon providing the perfect percussive punch.
Originally a solo piece for bassoon, Get It! gives the performer a chance to unleash their inner rock star. The bassoonist takes center stage, navigating tricky rhythms with flair, while the cajon creates a driving beat that propels the music forward. This unlikely pairing of instruments results in a fun, energetic dialogue that's as exciting to listen to as it is to play. And piece we think is probably the funkiest bassoon piece every written (-:
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Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker of 1892 is the third of his major ballets, the others being Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. It is set at Christmas and tells the story of young Clara, who embarks on a magical adventure with a nutcracker doll, a type of wooden figurine often painted to resemble a soldier. Though not considered a great success after its first performance, it eventually became one of the composer’s most popular works, iconic movements such as the March of the Toy Soldiers, Waltz of the Flowers and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy being amongst our most popular sheet music here on 8notes.
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A wag once remarked that the oboe is ‘an ill wind that nobody blows good.’ Whilst it is true that the oboe is one of the more difficult of instruments to master, in the hands of a good player it may be the loveliest wind of all. It is certainly capable of a very wide range of expression—no instrument can be more lyrically plaintive than an oboe, or more spikily amusing—and over the centuries composers have taken advantage of the instrument’s many qualities to write some very fine concertos for it. Here are our favourites.
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More than any instrument the cello is known for its expressive singing qualities, making it a popular choice as a solo instrument for composers over the last two centuries. It's no coincidence, therefore, that some of the absolute best works in the repertoire are written for it. Here are our ten favourites....
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Bella Ciao (literally ‘Goodbye Beautiful’) is an Italian folk song symbolic of resistance, freedom and rebellion. In its present form it is often associated with partisan Italian anti-fascist fighters during World War 2, even though its origins are much older, probably stemming from protest songs sung by women working in the rice fields of northern Italy in the late 19th century. Its later use in wider culture, especially in the 2017-18 Spanish series 'Money Heist' made it phenomenally popular, making our 25+ versions of it here on 8notes amongst our most sought-after sheet music.
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The iconic Nokia ringtone, known by millions around the globe, has a surprisingly classical origin. It traces back to a piece by the Spanish composer and guitarist Francisco Tárrega, titled Gran Vals
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Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) wrote some of our most popular pieces here on 8notes, including Morning Mood, In the Hall of the Mountain King and Death of Åse. Whilst these pieces are often performed alone, they are actually all from one work, a set of incidental music for performances of Henrik Ibsen’s play, Peer Gynt. Grieg later turned these pieces into two suites, known as Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 and Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55. Nowadays these are among the composer’s most beloved works.
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