“There is no reason why music should be difficult for the audience to understand.” Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Although Samuel Barber composed many works, including art song, opera, choral music, chamber music and orchestral music, it is the Adagio for Strings (an arrangement of the second movement of his 1936 String Quartet op.11) for which he is best known. Nonetheless, he is certainly deemed one of the most talented American composers of the 20th century.
Barber began composing at the age of seven. As a nine-year-old, it is supposed that he said to his mother:
“I was meant to be a composer and will be I’m sure. Don’t ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play football - please. ”
Samuel Barber was more than 25 years younger than Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and his landsman Charles Ives, and is not seen to be part of the musical avant-garde. His works are melodious, and conform to relatively traditional structure and harmony, and are therefore considered more neo-romantic. His Sonata for Piano op.26 in E-Flat Minor, Barber’s most important piano work, is the only work in which he employs the twelve-tone technique used by his younger contemporaries.
After the Adagio for Strings, Barber’s most popular work is the opera Gian Carlo Menotti (his life-partner), which premiered in 1958 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Barber’s opera “Antony and Cleopatra” celebrated its world premier as the inaugural performance at the New Metropolitan Opera in the Lincoln Center in 1966.
for: Voice (medium), 2 violins, viola, cello
Study score
Item no.: 304205
for: Male choir, percussion, brass ensemble
Score
Item no.: 318387
for: Women's choir (SSAA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 317546
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 170410
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 316903
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Music score
Item no.: 317306
TV, Film, Musical und Show
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1316515
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 662119
for: Mixed choir (SAB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 318686
for: Brass ensemble (11 parts), timpani
Score, Parts
Item no.: 318350
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 318246
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Book
Item no.: 317952
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 207098
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 173956
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 395391
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 904806
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 318233
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 902232
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 395387
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 317521
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 317072
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Vocal score
Item no.: 1681327
for: Unison Voices, Keyboard
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 913621
for: Trumpet (B-flat), organ
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 180184
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 895597
for: Flute, Oboe, Trumpet and Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 141041
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 897620
Standard US Set (without european suppl. parts)
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 683287
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 318210
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 899519
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 318723
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 317071
for: 3 or 4 Part Choir a Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 903475
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 901290
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 895607
for: Soloist (soprano), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 318247
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 897387
for: Chamber orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 601247
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 395258
Arranged for piano by Lawrence Rosen
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 185528
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 317500
für Blechbläserquintett und Orgel
for: 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba, organ
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1351680
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 901218
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 898233
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 395434
for: Voice (low), piano
Music score
Item no.: 395302
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 318791