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Winter 2008 NEW ISSUE


SACRED CHORAL — Treble Chorus and Organ
STEVEN SAMETZ [b. 1954]: I cannot dance, O Lord Listen
     • SSA & Organ • #6682 • $2.15 • c. 3:00
“I cannot dance, O Lord, for treble chorus and organ, was commissioned for the Berks Classical Children’s Choir and later arranged for soprano solo and organ (Catalog No. 6683). The lively rhythmic interplay in both versions highlights the joyful text of 13th-century mystic and nun, Mechthild of Magdeburg. The English
translation is by Jane Hirshfi eld.”—Steven Sametz
USE: services, concerts, weddings
     • moderately difficult • skilled choruses


SACRED CHORAL — Unison Chorus and Organ

Psalm Song Series

RONALD ARNATT [b. 1930]: Psalm 1 Listen
     • Unis. or Cantor, Congr., opt. Sop. Descant & Kbd. • #5463 • $1.50 • c. 2:30
“This setting uses one of the simplest forms — a chant for the verses sung by a chorus or cantor and a Refrain for all to sing. In earlier musical forms, the verses would use a simple motif repeated for each verse. In this setting, variety is in each verse to closely match the word rhythms.

One can perform it in many different ways: by assigning verses to the Sopranos and Altos, Tenors and Basses, Sopranos and Tenors, Altos and Basses, vocal soloists, or the full chorus. This will be especially advantageous if the congregation is not joining in singing the Refrain.”—Ronald Arnatt

The back page contains the Refrain for the congregation that may be extracted and reproduced free of charge for congregational use.
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately easy • church use only



SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus and Organ

JULIAN WACHNER [b. 1969]: Missa Brevis
     • SATB (divisi) & Organ • #5829 • $3.90 • c. 13:00
I. Kyrie Listen
II. Gloria
III. Sanctus et BenedictusListen
IV. Agnus Dei
Missa Brevis was composed during the period 1986–87 at a time when I was very involved in the mid 80’s rock/pop scene in New York City. Having just graduated from the St. Thomas Choir school, I was rebelliously involved in a few rock bands as a keyboard player and lead singer, and was composing primarily for that medium. This work, however, is one of two examples of my residual Anglicanism and only shows signs of the ‘New Wave’ in the Sanctus movement. The work has remained a personal favorite and has been well received by choristers and congregations alike, particularly the jazzy, rhythmically charged Gloria.”—Julian Wachner
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately difficult
     • accomplished choruses
     • church use only



DAVID ASHLEY WHITE [b. 1944]: O gladsome light Listen
     • SATB & Organ • #6607 • $1.85 • c. 3:00
O gladsome light is a setting of a wonderfully imaginative paraphrase of the Phos hilaron, written by Reverend Joseph Robinson. Composed for the Mississippi Conference on Music and Liturgy, this anthem is a fine addition to the Evensong service. It highlights both chorus and organ, yet is composed in a way that does
not require a huge amount of rehearsal time. The music is varied, with intimate opening and closing sections that reflect the influence of chant, and a dramatic and colorful high point in the middle section.
USE: Evensong or general services, concerts
     • moderately easy
     • church use only

 

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus unaccompanied

DAVID ASHLEY WHITE [b. 1944]: O sacrum convivium (O heavenly, earthly feast) Listen
     • SATB (divisi) • #6715 • $1.85 • c. 2:00
The singing of O sacrum convivium by the Palmer Choir of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas was a highpoint of the 2007 ACDA national convention. Featuring both homophonic and polyphonic sections, the music is on one hand romantic, but on the other, a bit edgy, all for dramatic purposes. A range
of contrasts with the dynamics helps underscore the vivid text. Besides the original Latin text, the composer includes a new paraphrase in the score that noted hymn writer Richard Leach wrote. Mr. Leach composed his text especially to fit the music that was originally set in Latin.
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately easy
     • church, high school, college, community, professional choruses


DAVID CONTE [b. 1955]: Two Hymns in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament
     • SATB • #6598 • $2.15 • c. 5:00
1. O Salutaris Hostia
2. Tantum ergo
Two Hymns in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament were commissioned by The Church of the Advent of Christ the King, San Francisco, Paul Ellison, conductor, in celebration of Mr. Ellison’s fifteen years of service to the church. They received their premiere performance on October 16, 2005.”—David Conte
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately easy
     • church, high school, college, community, professional choruses

 

Thomas Bold Cantus Hymnus Series
Thomas Bold Cantus Hymnus Choral Series

This new issue brings the first installment in the Thomas Bold Cantus Hymnus Choral Series. Inspired by the success and charm of the collaboration of songs and hymns, Thomas Bold has completed the Cantus Hymnus Choral Series, joining new melodies set to poems of Janet Lewis to familiar hymn tunes for various seasons and occasions in the Christian church year.

THOMAS BOLD, arr. [b. 1952]:
A Cautionary Note Listen
• Baritone Solo, SATB • #6776 • $1.85 • c. 1:00
Country Burial Listen
• Tenor Solo, SATB • #6777 • $1.85 • c. 2:30
A Cautionary Note (based on Royal Oak)
All things bright and beautiful, / All creatures great and small, / All things wise and wonderful, / The Lord God made them all. Hymn text: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848

Country Burial (based on St. Columba)
The King of love my shepherd is, / Whose goodness faileth never; / I nothing lack if I am his, / And he is mine for ever. // Where streams of living water flow, / My ransomed soul he leadeth, / And where the verdant pastures grow, / With food celestial feedeth. Hymn text: Henry Williams Baker, 1868, based on Psalm 23
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately easy (both)
     • church, high school, college, community, professional choruses


The artwork, Choir Rehearsal, is by Malcolm Tuffnell, currently of Goleta, California.© Copyright 2006 by Malcolm Tuffnell. Used by permission.

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus, Piano & optional Violoncello
ROBERT KYR [b. 1952]: The Divine Image Listen
     • SATB (divisi), Piano & opt. Vc. • #6388 • $2.65 • c. 6:00
     • Violoncello Part • #6389 • $2.50
“The opening line of William Blake’s poem The Divine Image is quite striking:‘To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love / All pray in their distress...’ In many ways, this line describes the challenging times in which we live, while the final two lines suggest hope for the future: ‘Where Mercy, Love and Pity dwell / There God is dwelling too.’ Even during the most troubling times, the divine qualities of mercy, love and pity are alive within humanity, suggesting a transformation from darkness to light. I composed this work to celebrate the joyful spirit and music-making of the Pacific Youth Choir, as inspired by its director, Mia Hall Savage.”—Robert Kyr
USE: services, concerts
     • moderately difficult
     • skilled church, high school, college,
community, professional choruses


SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus unaccompanied

PAUL GIBSON [b. 1952]: It Was Not Death Listen
     • SATB • #6691 • $1.85 • c. 3:10
Gibson’s intense a cappella setting captures the exquisite clarity with which Emily Dickinson, in one of her lesser-known poems, depicts the experience of a despair beyond hopelessness.
USE: concerts
     • moderately easy
     • high school, college, community, professional choruses



HANS VON BÜLOW [1830–1894] / DAVID FRIDDLE, ed. [b. 1960]:
Fünf Gedichte von Richard Pohl (Five Poems by Richard Pohl)
I. Am Strande (At the Beach) Listen
     • SATB • #6619 • $1.85 • c. 2:30
II. Regenbogen (Rainbow) Listen
     • SATB • #6620 • $1.85 • c. 2:30
III. Wanderziel (Travel Destination) Listen
     • SATB • #6621 • $2.15 • c. 2:30
IV. Ewige Sehnsucht (Eternal Longing) Listen
     • SATB • #6622 • $2.65 • c. 2:30
V. Seelentrost (Consolation of the Soul) Listen
     • SATB • #6623 • $1.85 • c. 2:30
Hans von Bülow (1830–1894) was one of the 19th century’s foremost musicians. His most lasting musical contribution was as a conductor. Bülow gave the premiere performances of many of the 19th century’s most important works, such as Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger
von Nürnberg
.

Bülow was a powerful advocate of Liszt. Richard Pohl was another of Liszt’s devotees, a tireless champion of the New German School in general and of Liszt’s music in particular. Pohl and Bülow were part of Liszt’s inner circle and each undoubtedly became acquainted with the other’s genius during those years.

Bülow set Pohl’s poems in 1861–62 while he was living and teaching in Berlin. The five were published by C. F. Kahnt of Leipzig in 1867.

These five choral pieces are almost unknown today, even though they are excellent examples of the High Romantic style. Bülow’s harmonic language does not approach the extreme chromaticism of Wagner or Liszt; nevertheless, it is innovative. The most notable feature of these works, however, is his use of mixed
meters in Wanderziel.

Pohl’s texts typify the Romantic aesthetic: the artist as outsider, a preoccupation with nature, intense self-consciousness, a tendency towards melancholy, a fascination with and romanticized view of death—all imbued with deeply felt (almost maudlin at times) emotional expression. Attuned to Pohl’s textual accents
and use of heightened language, Bülow interchanges duple and triple meters to great effect at a time when composers were conservative in their use of meter even as they were stretching tonality to its limits.
—Paraphrase of program notes by David Friddle
USE: concerts
     • moderately easy
     • high school, college, community, professional choruses


SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus, String Quartet and Harp (or Piano)

CARLYLE SHARPE [b. 1965]: Eternity’s Music Listen
     • Piano/Choral Score • SATB & Piano • #6602 • $2.65 • c.5:00
     • Full Score* • SATB, String Quartet & Harp • #6603 • $10.00
     • Parts* • #6604 • $15.00
“This work was commissioned in 2005 by Drury University’s Theme Year on Sustainability for the Drury Singers, Allin Sorenson, conductor. The text is adapted from Walt Whitman’s As Consequent, Etc., which poignantly addresses the impact of water on our lives. Ironically, the composition of this work occurred as Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast.”—Carlyle Sharpe
*composer’s engraved facsimile editions
USE: concerts
     • moderately difficult
     • accomplished high school, college,
community, professional choruses



SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus and Piano

MODEST MUSORGSKY [1839–1881] / VADIM PROKHOROV, ed. [b. 1946]: Gopak
    • SATB (divisi) & Piano • #6718 • $2.65 • c. 3:30 Listen
MIKHAIL GLINKA [1804–1857] / VADIM PROKHOROV, ed. [b. 1946]: Poputnaya Pesnia (Traveling Song)
     • SAATB & Piano • #6720 • $3.25 • c. 3:00 Listen
Gopak is a Ukrainian folk dance and song of a vigorous character; ‘Gop’ in Ukrainian and Russian means ‘a high leap or hop.’ The gopak originally was danced only by men. Later it began to be performed by mixed groups. The gopak has no fixed pattern of steps. Men competitively improvise virtuosic dance movements: steps, high leaps, squatting kicks, and turns. Women dance simple steps, sway, clap, or circle.

The main rhythmic pattern of a gopak is anapestic: unstressed-unstressed-stressed. It is one of the most widespread gestures in Ukrainian folk songs and can be found in historical, invocation and lyric songs as well as in lullabies.

Modest Musorgsky composed his satirical song Gopak in 1866. (He arranged the song for voice and orchestra in 1868.) The text is taken from the poem Gaidamaki by the poet and artist Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861), who is regarded as a founder of modern Ukrainian literature. Gaidamaki is one of the poems in
Shevchenko’s collection Kobzar. The Russian translation is by the Russian poet Lev Mey (1822–1862).

Musorgsky’s Gopak is a ‘song/dance out of desperation’—as this type of emotional realization is called in Russian literature and music. The outer sections are of a robust dance character while the middle, lyrical episodes are characterized by a slow tempo, gentle melodic gestures, and a lullaby-like accompaniment.

Traveling Song by Mikhail Glinka is perhaps the first railroad song. It was composed in 1840 as a tribute to the opening of Russia’s first railroad, which connected St. Petersburg with the royal summer residence in Tsarskoe Selo. The song offers a dazzling picture of movement generated by the time’s biggest wonder,
the locomotive engine.

This express tongue twister of a song starts with the refrain, which moves in a perpetual mobile mode. The verse is of a lyrical character, despite the fact that the tempo never wavers, staying the same throughout the work. The song is included in the song cycle A Farewell to St. Petersburg.”—Vadim Prokhorov

Both editions include a transliteration guide for the Russian lyrics and an English
singing translation.
USE: concerts
     • moderately difficult (both)
     • skilled high school, college, community, professional choruses


GWYNETH WALKER [b. 1947]: Sing On! (A Musical Toast) Listen
     • SATB & Piano • #6524 • $2.15 • c. 3:00
“The pleasures of music, food and love are ‘toasted’ in Sing On! Based on the familiar text by Col. Henry Heveningham (‘If music be the food of love...’), this musical setting adds a few new touches: the clanking of knife-on-glass to set the tempo, a gesture of a toast-celebration as the final cut-off, and playful clusters
(perhaps cream puffs!) in the piano accompaniment. A middle section delights in reordering the words: ‘If food be the music of love... if music lovers love food... if the love of food be music...’ This may speak to the gourmets in the audience. Delicacies, one and all! ...Sing on!”—Gwyneth Walker
USE: concerts
     • moderately easy
     • high school, college, community, professional choruses

 

SECULAR CHORAL — Male Chorus unaccompanied

JUDITH SHATIN [b. 1949]: The Jabberwocky Listen
     • TTBB • #6977 • $3.90 • c. 4:55 (pre-revision recording)
“When the Virginia Glee Club at the University of Virginia approached me about commissioning a piece, I spent a great deal of time reading and thinking about potential texts. Some members of the Club made excellent suggestions. In the end, however, I chose Lewis Carroll’s delightful poem, The Jabberwocky. In this
time of trauma, I was drawn to the metaphorical slaying of the dragon. The Jabberwocky is an optimistic poem, with a perfect marriage of form and sound.

While many of us love this poem and know it by heart, fewer are aware that Carroll’s poem is the source of words such as ‘chortle’ that have become part of our language. In the setting of the text, I have tried to capture the whimsy of the original, adding interludes of percussive nonsense syllables, rolled tongue roars, bellows and whistles. The use of the latter two play on the meaning of ‘outgrabe,’ defined in Through the Looking Glass as a cross between ‘bellowing and whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle.’ ”—Judith Shatin
USE: concerts
     • moderately difficult
     • accomplished high school, college,
community, professional choruses

VOCAL MUSIC

SCOTT GENDEL [b. 1977]: The Space Between
     • High Voice & Piano • #6822 • $22.50 • c. 20:00 • difficult

LIBBY LARSEN [b. 1950]: When I am an old woman
     • Soprano & Piano • #4827 • $5.00 • c. 2:30 • moderately difficult

HENRY MOLLICONE [b. 1946]: When Diamonds are a Legend
     • Soprano & Piano • #7030 • $7.50 • c. 1:50 • difficult

STEVEN SAMETZ [b. 1954]: I cannot dance, O Lord
     • Soprano & Organ • #6683 • $7.50 • c. 3:00 • moderately difficult

KEYBOARD MUSIC

DANIEL PINKHAM [1923-2006]: Elegy
     • Organ Solo • #6526 • $5.00 • c. 5:00 • moderately difficult

JAMES SCLATER, arr. [b. 1943]: Five Old American Songs
     • Clarinet and Organ • Score & Part • #6991 • $30.00 • c. 17:30• moderately easy

NICK STRIMPLE [b. 1946]: Three Contemplations on Southern Folk Hymns
     
• Organ Solo • #1.3357 • $12.50 • c. 12:30 • moderately easy

JULIAN WACHNER [b. 1969]:
“Angelus” from Triptych for Organ and Large Orchestra
     • Organ Solo • #6729 • $17.50 • c. 9:00 • difficult

“Agape” from Triptych for Organ and Large Orchestra
     • Organ Solo • #6898 • $7.50 • c. 8:00 • moderately easy


RECORDING CREDITS - The Philovox Ensemble

Tracks 2, 3, 4 and 9-10 were recorded on September 26, 2007 at The Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, MA, and on September 30, 2007, at the recording studio of Futura Productions, Roslindale, MA by the Philovox Ensemble directed by Jane Ring Frank. The organist was Heinrich Christensen (tracks 2 and 4). The
soprano soloist was Mary Sullivan (track 4), the baritone soloist was Sumner Thompson (track 9) and the tenor soloist was Steven Soph (track 10). The members of the Philovox Ensemble were sopranos Jennifer Ashe, Adriana Repetto and Mary Sullivan, altos Mary Gerbi, Thea Lobo and Kristi Vrooman, tenors Eric
Esparza, David McSweeney, David Scott and Steven Soph and basses Jacob A. Cooper, Marc DeMille, John Proft and Sumner Thompson.

Tracks 1, 5-6 and 19-21 were recorded on January 13, 2008 at The Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, MA, and on January 14, 2008, at the recording studio of WGBH Radio, Boston, MA, by the Philovox Ensemble directed by Jane Ring Frank. The organist was Heinrich Christensen (tracks 1 and 5) and the pianist was
Scott Nicholas (tracks 18-20). The members of the Philovox Ensemble were sopranos Jessica Cooper, Adriana Repetto and Mary Sullivan, altos Mary Gerbi, Martin Near and Kristi Vrooman, tenors Eric Esparza, Jason McStoots and Steven Soph and basses Marc DeMille, Paul Guttry, Timothy Macri and Darrick Yee.

The producers were Antonio Oliart Ros and Robert Schuneman and the recording engineer was Antonio Oliart Ros; editing and mastering was by Robert Schuneman, Arsis Audio, Boston, MA.


RECORDING CREDITS - Guest Artists

Tracks 7-8, Two Hymns in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament by David Conte were recorded May 13, 2006 at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Rochester, NY. It was performed by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy, Director. These tracks will appear on an ARSIS Audio CD featuring music by David Conte
which will be released later this year.

Track 11, The Divine Image by Robert Kyr, was recorded on April 19, 2006, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Portland, OR, by the Oregon Repertory Singers, Gil Seeley, Conductor. The violoncellist was Hamilton Cheifetz, the pianist was Naomi LaViolette and the recording engineer was Amer Isse. This track is used with the
kind permission of Gil Seeley and Hamilton Cheifetz.

Track 12, It Was Not Death by Paul Gibson, was recorded on June 18, 2005, at the Mary Chapel, Mount St. Mary’s College - Chalon Campus, Los Angeles, CA, by the Los Angeles Chamber Singers, Peter Rutenberg, Conductor. This recording is © 2005 by the Los Angeles Chamber Singers. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Peter Rutenberg.

Tracks 13-17, Fünf Gedichte von Richard Pohl by Hans von Bülow, were recorded on February 21, 2006, at the Chapel of the Venerable Bede, University of Miami (FL), by the University of Miami Frost Chamber Singers, David Friddle, Conductor. The recording engineer was Jamie Tagg. Permission to use this track was kindly given by William Hipp, University of Miami.

Track 18, Eternity’s Music by Carlyle Sharpe, was recorded on January 26, 2006, at the 68th annual Missouri Music Educators Association Convention held at the Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, MO, by the Drury University Singers, Allin Sorenson, Conductor. The instrumentalists were Pamela Davis and Alexis Zarins,
violins, Kathy Murray, viola, Jacque Trtan, violoncello and Nancy Dygert, harp. The recording engineer was Brian Kopac. This track is used with the kind permission of Scott E. Harris, “Shhh” Productions.

Track 22, The Jabberwocky by Judith Shatin, was recorded on April 1, 2006, at the Old Cabell Hall Auditorium, University of Virgina, Charlottesville, VA, by the Virgina Glee Club, Frank Albinder, Conductor. Permission to use this track was kindly given by Frank Albinder. This is a pre-revision recording.

All pieces on the recording are © Copyright 2008 by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Inc., or © Copyright 2008 by Ione Press, Inc. This recording is not authorized for sale, lending, broadcast, or public performance.

© 2008 ECS Publishing. All rights reserved.