Three distinct and simple tunes form this movement, created for their joy, beauty and triumphant innocence.

Amawole (Congo)
Just for fun! A wonderful melody, rhythmically very interesting, with call and response built in. 

Lyrics:
Amawole.
I am Amawole.
I like to see the hen.
I like to see the cockerel.

Iro Ye (Benin)
Many old African folk songs are for children. This song is a lullaby, expressing a parent's love and wishes for their child's long and happy life.

Lyrics:
My Iro,
What am I going to give you?
My Iro,
What am I going to give you?
I have nothing to give you.
I will pray for you.
Your life will be happy,
'Til eternity.

Makotoude (Mali)
A traditional song from Mali; a happy traveling song!

Come Africa, 1 of 2

Three simple tunes form this movement, each created for their joyful beauty and celebratory innocence.

(1)Olele Moliba Makasi (Congo)
The song lyrics refer to the Kasai region of the Republic of Congo, which shares its name with the Kasai river, described by the explorer Henry Morton Stanley as “a powerful and deep river.”  Benguela is a cold current off the southwest coast of Africa which brings winds. A railroad built by the Portuguese government used the same name. It gave access to the central Angolan plateau and the mineral wealth of the Congo Free State. Construction began in 1903 and was completed in 1929.

Lyrics:
Olele! Olele! The current is very strong.
Row! Row! His country, his country is the Kasai.
Olele! Olele! The current is very strong.
Eheho, eh eh eheho, Let Benguela come!
Come, come! The courageous one.
Come! Come! The generous one.
Come! Come!
Olele! Olele! The current is very strong.
- - - - - -
(2) Si Si Kumbale (South Africa)

Seed Sowing Song. This gentle tune was sung by farmers to bless the seeds being planted and to appeal to the universe for an abundant harvest. 

Lyrics: None available.
- - - - - -
(3) Mayo Nafwa (Bemba people of Zambia)

Lyrics (roughly translated) offer a celebratory ascension song about one who has died.

Mayo Dies, Mayo dies and leaves.
Where does he go? Where do we keep him?
Then in the sky. Here in the sky with clouds.
With the ants, with the ants and lizards.
When he leaves.
When he leaves.

Come Africa, 2 of 2

De allacito (by Allacito)
A joyful and simple South American melody repeated, suitable for playing on a basic wooden flute by folk musicians. Its simplicity is its charm.

Lyrics:
From there, from there,
The carnival is coming.
Everyone goes down as a couple.
I go down alone.


El tortillero (The tortilla Vendor)
A farmers market song from a tortilla vendors viewpoint. 

NOTE: Having spent 15 years selling our bison meat in farmers markets, we can identify with the lyrics of this song. Packing up in the dark hours of early morning, setting up at the market, and hoping for good sales from wonderful customers. Lucky for them we didn't sing!

Lyrics:
Dark night, I don't see anything,
But bring my lantern, 
And singing with love,
So I go singing,
With much pain.
Who will buy my little tostadas,
Delicious tortillas?


Sambalele (fictitious name, derived from the word Samba)
Samba, also known as samba urbano carioca, is Brazilian music that originated in the Afro-Brazilan communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Having roots in Angola and in Brazilian folk traditions, linked to primitive rural samba, it is considered one of the most important cultural phenomena of Brazil.

This folk melody is full of fun, creating an imagined person named Sambalele, who is a bit crazy, like Carnival itself, and needs 18 spankings! 

This final part of the South American Suite presents the Sambalele melody, elaborates it, and ends as a Carnival parade approaching and passing in all its glamourous glory.

Lyrics:
Sambalele is sick,
He has a broken head.
Sambalele needs,
Eighteen spankings.

Samba - lele!
Samba, samba, samba la la,
Step on the hem of the skirt.

Carnival!

UNDER SAIL, Part 1 of 3 "Leaving Charleston, SC"

A piece for full orchestra, which depicts in sound, an imagined 1852 voyage of an English flagged medium clipper ship[1] departing from Charleston, SC sailing to Portsmouth, England with a stop in Jamaica. The piece is introduced in three separate movements (postings or episodes).
- - - - - -
Departing from Charleston in the early morning as the tide turns, the ship carries a cargo of South Carolina rice and indigo, to be enhanced later by a consignment of Jamaican rum, and then on to Portsmouth.

Part 1 events:
- Dawn at anchor (The ship rides at anchor; a gentle breeze is stirring; rigging lines and blocks are heard knocking by wave action and breezes.)

- Ascension to the yards 1:21 (Crew responds to the bosun's call[2]  and climbs into the rigging.)

- Top Sail let Fall 1:51 (At the bosuns call, the mizzen top sail is loosed and let fall from a cross tree of the mizzenmast.[3])

- Set sails 1:57 (The deck crew hauls the lines, to the sea shanty Johnny Boker, to form the sail and catch a light breeze. The ship slowly moves over its anchor point.)

- Haul anchor! 2:32 (To the sea shanty Hanging Johnny, the crew turns the windless [4] to retrieve the anchor. The clicking of the windless pawl may be heard to accelerate as the windless turns ever quicker.) 

- Steerage way 2:58 (The ship is now moving quickly enough that the tiller is more effective, allowing the ship to be closely controlled. It moves out of the harbor.)

- Mainsail let fall 3:40 (The bosun orders the main-course sail to fall from the mainmast.[5])

- Haul away! 3:49 (The deck crew hauls the lines to set the main-course sail. The ship is now clear of harbor traffic, the main top-gallant sail [6] is set; stay sails are set. The tempo increases as the headlands are cleared.)

- Into Open Ocean Rollers 4:50 (Wave heights are running at 8', the effects of a storm off the coast. As the storm moves up the coast, the winds are strong out of the North. The main topsail, foresail[7] and fore topsail are set to take advantage of the wind from behind or aft. The ship quickly moves south toward Jamaica.)

- Ship Sails into the Distance 6:30 (Bearing SSE, it moves out of our sight.)
- - - - - -
Terms:
[1] A medium clipper ship was a sharp-bowed vessel shaped to cut though the water easily for speed, but unlike an extreme clipper, had a wider beam, or width, to allow greater cargo capacity.
[2] The bosun was a ship's officer in charge of equipment and the workings of the crew.
[3] The mizzenmast is the rearmost mast on a three masted ship.
[4] The windless is a manually turned winch used to retrieve a line.
[5] The mainmast is the central mast on a three masted ship.
[6] A top gallant sail is a sail set above a top sail. Top sails are just above the mainsails.
[7] Fore sails are set on the foremost mast of a three masted ship.

UNDER SAIL, Part 1 of 3:  "Leaving Charleston SC"

UNDER SAIL, Part 2 of 3, "Jamaica Bound"

The ship passes through the Windward Passage, a strait between Eastern Cuba and Haiti, arriving in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  After loading the ship with cargo, the crew is granted liberty, before finally departing port for their final leg the next day.


Part 2 events:
-  Light breeze and gentle seas in the Windward Passage
-  Arrival at Montego Bay, 2:45[1]
-  Loading cargo, 3:06
-  Crew liberty, 3:33 [2]
-  Barroom brawl, 4:55, (Run away when the police arrive!)
-  Return to the ship
-  Depart port for England

- - - - - - - - - - 
Lyrics:
[1] Jamaican work song 'Hill and Gully Rider:
Refrain
Hill and gully rider,
Hill and gully.
Hill and gully rider,
Hill and gully.

Took my horse an' come down,
Hill and gully,
But my horse done tumble down,
Hill and gully
An' the night come a tumblin' down
Hill and gully.

[2] Jamaican market song, 'Linstead Market':
I carried my ackee fruit going to Linstead Market,
Not a penny-worth sold.
I carried my ackee fruit going to Linstead Market,
Not a penny-worth sold.

Lord what a night, not a bite,
What a Saturday night!
Lord what a night, not a bite,
What a Saturday night!

UNDER SAIL, Part 2 of 3:  "Jamaica Bound"

Remembering Dave Brubeck and Stan Kenton....

Let your toes tap along to this fun tune!

The piece incorporates the well known bass figure from Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and transforms it into a Stan Kenton style big band blow out! 

Playfulness abounds as solo breaks in the saxes, trumpets and trombones alternate with the sounds of the full band.

Happy Toes ("Take Two On Five")

Original recording 05.04.2023. 
Performed by Alexander Vladislavov.

Pēteris Vasks - Baltā ainava

Fugue with a long-ish subject. Worked on this on and off for many years, finally finished it today. Hope you like it!

Fugue in C minor

What’s in a name? Let's hear . . . 

This is a musical cryptogram, a musical piece is based on the letters of a composer's name. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the first to create a version in his 'Art of the Fugue'. 

Definitely fun to do, this composition is based on the letters of my name:   K-E-N-N-E-T-H   R   L-I-N-D-N-E-R -Jr.  

It is a “theme and variations” piece.  The theme is stated at the beginning, followed by many variations based on the theme, but not necessarily restating it in expected ways. The fun is to try to use as many different forms of the theme as reasonably possible, while maintaining listening interest and enjoyment.

This piece uses a standard symphony orchestra, slightly scaled down. It introduces the theme, followed by 15 variations, the last one a fugue. It ends with a grand restatement of the original theme in the opening key signature of C major, doubled in metric length.

Explanation & History: 
A composer’s name may contain many letters not directly corresponding to musical notes, so a transcription scheme may be used. For the letters in “Kenneth” and "R", the musical note E was used as the center datum. Then the number of letters in the alphabet from E to the nonmusical named letters were counted. This number was then used to count the number of steps on a musical grand staff from middle E, (both up and down), to find the musical notes to use. “Lindner” and “Jr” used D as its center datum. Easy for me to say, I know, but if you're still with me, that's how it worked out.

An old tradition, after an early example was composed by J.S. Bach (B-A-C-H, final theme of his Art of the Fugue), it was followed by other composers such as Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms (the C-L-A-R-A theme), Edvard Grieg (the G-A-D-E theme, the name of one of his favorite composers, Neils Gade), Dimitri Shostakovich (D-S-C-H-D, E-flat, C, B-natural), Alban Berg (A-B) and Arnold Schoenberg (A-S-C-H-B-E-G) among others.

Variations on KRLjr

This concerto combines the expressive qualities of the violin with the solid sound of a wind band. The violin part requires the talents of a collegiate level player. The band parts were written to be performable by an accomplished high school band.

Violin Concerto I

The music begins somewhat mournfully as villagers sadly gather to bid farewell to one known to them as the Prophet.  Reflected in Gibran’s words below, the mood of the music shifts and deepens while gathering insight. It ends with a buoyant, if not a sense of release, as each child's unique path triumphantly coalesces for them. (See 'Show more' below.)

This is lovingly dedicated to children of all ages!
- - - - - - - -
Background
When the project was first conceived in the late 1980s, because the music would not flow, the only choice was to set it aside. After a 35-year gestation, it gratefully re-emerged and was finished in early 2020.
     -     -     -     -     -    -     -
Narrative:
And a woman . . . said, Speak to us of Children

And he said: 
	“Your children are not your children.
	They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you, 
and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
for they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might, that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness.
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.” 

― Kahlil Gilban  ―

Soloists and Choir:
				And he said: 
0:41		Your children are not your children.
1:10		They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
1:43		They come through you but not from you, 
2:43		and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

3:28		You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
3:40		for they have their own thoughts.
4:15		You may house their bodies but not their souls,
4:32		for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
6:41		You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
7:31		For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

8:44		You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
9:08		The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
11:08	Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness.
11:29	For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.

14:02	Hymn of Thanksgiving

On Children (from The Prophet)

Graduating from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, I majored in Music Education and bass trombone. I was also fortunate to have the renowned John W. Coffey, bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony, as an adjunct teacher. 
While keeping my day jobs, I've performed professionally in symphony orchestras, bands and brass groups, and also enjoyed playing tuba and euphonium. 
I am a self-taught composer with 130+ copyrighted original pieces and arrangements, from symphony orchestra and concert band, as well as brass groups and solo works.
Retiring from the corporate world, (computer reliability and QA for medical devices), my wife Kathy and I were privileged to raise 100% grass fed bison for 20 years, and sell to wonderful customers in Southern California farmers markets. After retiring a 2nd time before the pandemic, I've happily returned to my first love of music!
Thanks for listening. I hope you will let me know how you enjoy these pieces!

Variations on KRLjr

Ken Lindner