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Endangered Species Songbook

Text Source

A dear friend, poet and renown educator of educators, Nancy E. Cardenuto, graciously accepted Don's invitation to write poems about the selected endangered species and their music. You are encouraged to include a reading of the species' poem prior to the performance of its music.

 

A short bio: After spending over 35 years involved in various aspects of education throughout many areas of the world, Nancy E. Cardenuto has settled for the time at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. As Assistant Professor of Education, she nurtures future teachers to promote creative and innovative learning paths.

Music

Don "Orfeo" Rechtman

Instrumentation

Piano. (One composition is for oboe (or Chinese suona) solo and orchestra.)

Endangered Species Songbook (1996) and Dance of the Siberian Crane (2010) by Don "Orfeo" Rechtman
are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
    (This means you can perform it non-commercially or commercially without having to pay royalties, but you are required to acknowledge its authorship and where you got it. You cannot modify it without written permission from Don "Orfeo" Rechtman.)

All poems for the Endangered Species Songbook (1996) by Nancy E. Cardenuto
are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
   (This means you can publish and perform it non-commercially or commercially without having to pay royalties, but you are required to acknowledge its authorship and where you got it. You cannot modify it without written permission from Nancy E. Cardenuto.)
 

All selections were inspired by animals that are on the endangered species list. The hope is to enrich the student's awareness as well as their musicianship. State, national and international music programs and competitions such as those hosted by the MTNA are welcome to use these pieces and any music on this site for their programs.

To copy the file to your computer, right-click the link and select "Save target as... ".
You will need a PDF reader to read and print the printable score.
To open the Sibelius format score, you will need either Sibelius or the free
Sibelius Scorchreader to read, play and print the file. To save the file, right-click "Sibelius" and select "Save Target As..." and save it to your computer. The file suffix is ... .SIB.TXT   Delete the .TXT ; it may warn you about changing the suffix; click YES. The file is then ready for a Sibelius program.

Anthony Anteater Has a Sore Tongue

The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF

Sibelius SIB

Audio MP3

This piece introduces the chromatic scale.
   Since the writing of this music, thanks to raised awareness and consequent protection, the Giant Anteater has been removed from the endangered list and placed on the vulnerable list. However, the banded anteater, or Numbat, is still on the endangered list.

 

 

 

  Penelope Panther’s Prance
The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF
Sibelius SIB

Audio MP3
This piece introduces alternating left and right hand movement.
   Both the Florida panther and  the African black panther are on the endangered list. The term "black panther"  usually refers to a black leopard or black jaguar.

  Ellie the Elegant Elephant
The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF
Sibelius SIB
Video MP4 (6MB) -- Ellie the Elegant Elephant played by my student Bob (乔禹嘉 - QiaoYuJia) who studied piano at Shenzhen Music Sound Co., Ltd.

This short tone poem has a gradual crescendo followed by a gradual decrescendo as the elephant walks toward you and then past you.

   Both the Asian (Indian) elephant and the African elephant are on the endangered lists.

  Orangutango
The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF
Sibelius SIB

Audio MP3 (2.8MB)
Full of monkey business, it is just plain fun! It has a bit of acting to do on top of a tango rhythm. It incorporates note clusters for a percussive effect.

   Both the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are on the endangered list; the Sumatran orangutan is considered to be critically endangered, with less than 6,000 left.

  Fleagle the Regal Eagle
The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF
Sibelius SIB

Audio MP3
This is an easy predominantly black key piece, excellent for overcoming any phobias of playing sharps and flats!
   The American bald eagle and the golden eagle were removed from the endangered list in 2007, and serves as proof that conservation programs do work.
 

  Pandamonium
The Poem PDF

Sheet Music PDF
Sibelius SIB

Audio MP3 (3.5MB)
With true oriental flavor, it was written long before the composer even considered traveling to China. (He has since visited pandas in China, and was delighted to discover the authenticity of this musical description of the panda!)

   Pandas like so many other endangered species, is losing out to habitat loss. Thanks to conservation efforts, there is hope the panda will soon be moved up to the vulnerable classification and off the endangered list.

  Dance of the Siberian Cranes
Suona (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: suǒnŕ) solo (a Chinese instrument; may be played by the oboe) with orchestral accompaniment

Full Score PDF
Sibelius SIB (May also be used to generate parts for an orchestra. 2.4 meg, as it includes a short audio track of Siberian cranes.)

MIDI Recording MP3 (10.1 meg)


This is included on this page because, although not written as part of the Songbook, it is indeed a critically endangered species, with only around 1,500 Siberian cranes left. The crane's winter home is at China's largest fresh water lake, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province. Unfortunately, the water habitat itself is endangered, which is affecting hundreds of species including the Siberian crane.

   The suona part is quite difficult, and may best be played with two players, one on the lower pitched suona, the other on the higher pitched. It does cover the extreme range of the oboe. Of musical interest is the motive, which is built on a simple four-note pattern.


 

 

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Last modified: 02/23/22