"Down to the River to Pray" (also known as "Down in the River to Pray," "Down in the Valley to Pray," and "The Good Old Way") is a 19th-century American folk hymn variously attributed as an African-American spiritual/slave song, Appalachian song, and gospel song. In recent years, it was popularized in the 2000 motion picture, "O Brother, Where Art Thou," and by folk/bluegrass performer Alison Kraus.

In this arrangement, the first three presentations, or verses, of the pentatonic tune employ simple, traditional harmony and limited instrumentation, evoking the simplicity of folk-singing style. Verse 4 is characterized by a direct key change up a fourth (from concert Eb to Ab) and more active harmonies. After a short, two-bar modulation up one more step to Bb major, the final verse begins with rising parallel harmonies under the melody in trumpet 1, and continues with more contemporary harmonies. The piece concludes with a simple "Amen"-like ending.

©2019 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com

A Soldier's Life in WWI for Brass Quintet Arranged by Jari Villanueva A medley of tunes sung by Soldiers in the Great War Reveille-Bugle Call Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning by Irving Berlin Mademoiselle from Armentières-French Tune K-K-K-Katy by Geoffrey O?Hara There?s a Long Long Trail A-Winding by Alonzo ?Zo? Elliott Over There by George M. Cohan Score 2 Trumpets in Bb Horn in F Trombone Tuba Optional Drum Set Eb Alto Horn (Substitute part for Horn in F) Treble Clef Baritone (Substitute part for Trombone) A very interesting setting of tunes from World War I for Brass Quintet with optional Drums. A sure hit for concerts commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War 1 A retired member of the United States Air Force Band where he served on the Music Production staff (as well as a trumpeter and bugler) and a student of Bill Holcombe, Jari Villanueva continues writing for different ensembles. His arrangements are played by brass quintets all over the country including many military groups. Many of his arrangements can be found on Sheet Music Plus and JV MUSIC. Jari is a 2016 Sheet Music Plus Arranging Contest winner and winner of the 2016 Holiday Arranging Contest.

One of the best-loved gospel songs worldwide, ?How Great Thou Art? began as a nine-stanza hymn of praise, ?O Store Gud? (?O Great God?), written in 1885 by Swedish poet and lay minister Carl Gustav Boberg (1859?1940). In 1891 Boberg published the poem, accompanied by a Swedish folk melody, in Sanningsvittnet (Witness for the Truth), a weekly Christian journal of which he was editor. Today, the tune is commonly named ?Sanningsvittnet? in hymnals. From its Swedish origins, the text was translated to German in 1907, then to Russian in 1912. The Russian text became the basis for a translation to English by Stuart W. K. Hine (1899?1989), a British Methodist missionary who discovered it in 1931 while on mission in the Ukraine. Hine's work commonly contains four verses: the first two being a relatively close translation of stanzas by Boberg, and the latter two being original verses by Hine. Published in 1949, ?How Great Thou Art? gained great popularity in North America after George Beverly Shea began singing it in the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades in 1955. It has been named the #1 favorite hymn by respondents to various polls in both the United States and United Kingdom. ©Copyright 2013 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com

Bernard Scherr has arranged six lovely Portuguese Folksongs for Brass Quintet entitled:

1. Mourisca do Santo João de Braga (Moorish architechture of Saint John of Braga) as a march

2. A Pastorinha (The Shepherdess) - a lovely andantino

3. O Xi-Xi (Wee-wee) - a silly song

4. O ai, o linda! (Oh, the beauty!) - a lyrical romance

5. Coradinha (The blushing one) - a dance-like jaunt

6. Carro amaricano (American Car) - driving around in the auto

These movements are of contrasting styles and will make a lovely addition to your program.

Instrumentation is for 2 Trumpets in B-flat, Horn, Trombone & Tuba.

For advanced performers.