My CDs, my books? You might like to buy ‘em to give as Christmas presents.

Forgive me for being a tad commercial. It’s rare.

Today’s music is titled “A Pirate’s Christmas” which is the title piece of my newest CD / album.

To see a press release that tells all about the new CD, go to this website:

https://kickshawrecords.com/press-area/rick-sowash-a-pirates-christmas/

Please consider buying one to help me fund more recordings. It means a lot to me and you will love the music.

“A Pirate’s Christmas & Other Holiday Selections” is available for $10 plus shipping, and can be purchased by credit card at this website:

https://kickshawrecords.com/product/rsp-14-a-pirates-christmas

The “other Holiday selections” include: “King Arthur’s Court at Christmas for trumpet + piano trio,” “A Christmas Rondo” for string trio and “Variations on The Boar’s Head Carol” for piano trio.

(All of my other CDs are also available on that same Kickshaw Records website.)

Sales of my books also help to fund more recordings of my music. All of my books are available for purchase exclusively at amazon.com. At the Amazon website, select "Books" and then search for "Rick Sowash."

Now … you may be wondering … how did I come to compose a chamber work titled “A Pirate’s Christmas” ?

It occurred to me that some familiar carols such as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” sound like pirate songs. Others can be made to sound like pirate songs just by changing the meter: “What Child is This?” played in 2/4 time, for example. Or “O Come All Ye Faithful” played in 6/8.

At the core of my music is what I term “the reconciliation of opposites.”
I thought … what would happen if I reconciled my original Pirate songs (as well as the traditional “Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest”) and familiar Christmas carols, rendering them both in a single piece?

I imagined pirates “boarding" the Christmas carols, taking them captive, but then maybe being converted? Or is it the other way about? Are the carols sneaking aboard the pirate ship? One way or another, the carols and the pirate music are invading each other’s territory! Who will have the last word?

In 2023 I scored the piece for solo cello because that instrument, more than any other, can play the part of a rough, gruff pirate. In 2024 I rescored it for flute, cello and piano so as to add the sparkle of the flute and the epic sweep of the piano.

It’s not a completely serious composition but it’s not entirely silly either. It’s a sincere expression of the comic spirit. There is craftsmanship in this music and it requires outstanding musicians … which the Sylvan Trio certainly are. It is very fortunate for me that they wanted to record the piece. They did it with exuberance and aplomb. And a certain Erroll Flynn-like suavity and dash.

When I hear the Sylvan Trio perform it I smile and laugh and shout, “Yo-ho-ho and a cup a egg nog!”

To hear the Sylvan Trio -- flutist Suzanne Bona, cellist Josh Aerie and pianist Greg Kostraba -- playing “A Pirate’s Christmas,” click on the link above.

There's also a link to a PDF of the score.

🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶

In these weekly emails, I scrupulously avoid political commentary, religious proselytizing, commercial promotion and the pursuit of “filthy lucre” !

However, the gift-giving time of year is upon us and, as I am currently producing fully FIVE new CDs of my recently composed music, an expensive proposition, I’m thirsting for “cash flow.”

Maybe we could assist each other? I will provide you with gift ideas and if you buy any of them then you’ll be supporting my forthcoming recordings.

I promise that this will be the last touch of commerce in these emails -- until next December. So, here goes.

My new CD “A Pirate’s Christmas” is a lot of fun. To see a press release that tells all about it, cut and paste this website address into your browser:

https://kickshawrecords.com/press-area/rick-sowash-a-pirates-christmas/

“A Pirate’s Christmas & Other Holiday Selections” is available for $10 plus shipping, and can be purchased by credit card at this website, which, again, you must cut and paste into your browser:

https://kickshawrecords.com/product/rsp-14-a-pirates-christmas

The “other Holiday selections” on the CD include: “King Arthur’s Court at Christmas for trumpet + piano trio,” “A Christmas Rondo” for string trio and “Variations on The Boar’s Head Carol” for piano trio.

All of my other CDs are also available on that same Kickshaw Records website.

All of my books are available for purchase exclusively at amazon.com. Again, cut and paste “amazon.com” into your browser. At the Amazon website, select "Books" and then search for "Rick Sowash." Easy.
There. The “commercial break” is over. Are we Okay?

Now let’s ascend from the besmirching realm of commerce and soar to the cleansing artistic stratosphere!