Call 800-543-5429 VIV 931

American Solstice is loosely based on an original fiddle tune that captures something of the flavor and independence of the American frontier spirit. The second theme reflects the influence of the American hymn collection known as The Sacred Harp, yet it features unexpected harmonies and yearning melodic lines. This is followed by a sprightly section of playful imitation and canon. The three themes develop and interweave, with an extended fugue built on the fiddle tune that culminates in an exhilarating crowning statement. American Solstice is written for flute, clarinet in B-flat, piano, 2 violins I, 2 violins II, 2 violas, 2 violoncelli, and doublebass.
VIV 931, 68 pages, $36.95

Dr. Barbara Harbach, Professor of Music at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has toured extensively as both concert organist and harpsichordist. She holds academic degrees from Pennsylvania State University (B.A.), Yale University (M.M.A.), Musikhochschule (Konzertdiplom) in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Eastman School of Music (D.M.A.). In 2002, Harbach received an honorary doctorate in music, honoris causa, from Wilmington College, Ohio for her lifetime achievement as a composer, performer, editor, and publisher.

Her lively performances and recordings have captured the imagination of many American composers, and the body of work written for and dedicated to Harbach is substantial. Musical America has called her "nothing short of brilliant" and Gramophone has cited her as an "acknowledged interpreter -- and, indeed, muse -- of modern harpsichord music."

She was host of the weekly television music series Palouse Performance seen throughout the Inland Northwest.

As a composer, Harbach has written symphonies, works for chamber ensemble, string orchestra, organ, harpsichord; musicals, choral anthems, film scores, modern ballets, and many arrangements for brass and organ of various Baroque works. She is also involved in the research, editing and publication of manuscripts of eighteenth-century keyboard composers as well as historical and contemporary women composers. Her work is available in both recorded and published form through Naxos Records, Gasparo Records, Kingdom Records, Albany Records, Northeastern Records, Hester Park, Robert King Music, Elkan-Vogel, Augsburg Publishing, Agape Music and Vivace Press. In addition, Harbach is the editor of Women of Note Quarterly.

Harbach initiated Women in the Arts-St. Louis, a celebration featuring over 800 events with various cultural organizations in the St. Louis region. This initiative heightened the awareness and understanding of the achievements of women creators while providing audiences with new and historical examples of the work of women writers, composers and artists.