SKU: PR.312419290

ISBN 9781491137932. UPC: 680160692620. Texts from The King James Bible, creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt; Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Walt Whitman, Lord Byron, Esther Iverem, William Wordsworth, Wendell Berry, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Charles Mackay, William .

Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?

SKU: BT.MUSM570200641

English.

Jesus Reassures His Mother is a setting of medieval lyric poetry written anonymously in the 14th century. The poet recounts a vision of the young Mary rocking the infant Christ to sleep. The child requests his mother to sing a lullaby but, alas, knowing her child’s fate she is too sad to sing. Jesus tells her that all mothers worry about their children’s futures and insists that she should sing nevertheless. Mary recounts the visit of Gabriel and the events of Christ’s birth but reflects how sad it is to have delivered a child to such a fate. Jesus reassures his mother that he will be with his father in heaven where Mary will come to join Him at the end of time, there to livein eternal bliss. At this point Mary is persuaded by and echoes her child’s reassuring words, and she is joined in this by the choir (now representing us all). The vision fades away in the voice of the narrator whose loneliness and longing return. We learn that it is Christmas Day. This setting grows from the visionary mystical world inhabited by Julian of Norwich whose Revelations of Divine Love provided the inspiration for a work Anne Boyd composed in 1994. The medium has been expanded from the Song Company’s six solo voices used in the Revelations to the double motet choir of the Sydney Philharmonia who commissioned this work for their 75th anniversary. The parts of the infant Jesus, Mary, the Narrator and the angel Gabriel are taken by choir soloists: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The work is situated in the context of Boyd ’s personal musical aesthetic which she describes as the intersection of Christian Love with Buddhist silence.

SKU: HL.293402

ISBN 9781540051042. UPC: 888680936198. 5.0x5.0x0.075 inches.

This cantata is a celebration of light. Filled with time-honored carols and expressive original songs, this work will dazzle and inspire. The first half of the cantata is dedicated to hopeful prophecies associated with the coming Light of the World. With the birth of Jesus, the second part moves forward to declare the tidings of great joy and is crowned with an opportunity for the congregation to join in singing, Joy to the World. Brant Adams and Robert Sterling shine as orchestrators of this truly festive work. Glorious! Songs include: A Festive Call to Christmas; Celebration of Light; Come, Golden Light; Dazzling Joy; Beautiful Name; Dreamer of Stars; Angel Song; Silver and Shadows; Joyous Carols of Christmas. Score and Parts for Full Orchestra (fl 1-2, ob, cl 1-2, bn, hn 1-2, tpt 1-3, tbn, 1-2, tba, timp, perc 1-2, hp, pno, vn 1-2, va, vc, db) available as a Printed Edition and as a digital download. Score and Parts for Consort (fl, cl, tpt 1-2, tbn, perc, kybd str) available as a Printed Edition and as a digital download.

SKU: HL.293405

ISBN 9781540051073. UPC: 888680936228. 5.0x5.0x1.059 inches.

This cantata is a celebration of light. Filled with time-honored carols and expressive original songs, this work will dazzle and inspire. The first half of the cantata is dedicated to hopeful prophecies associated with the coming Light of the World. With the birth of Jesus, the second part moves forward to declare the tidings of great joy and is crowned with an opportunity for the congregation to join in singing, Joy to the World. Brant Adams and Robert Sterling shine as orchestrators of this truly festive work. Glorious! Songs include: A Festive Call to Christmas; Celebration of Light; Come, Golden Light; Dazzling Joy; Beautiful Name; Dreamer of Stars; Angel Song; Silver and Shadows; Joyous Carols of Christmas. Score and Parts for Full Orchestra (fl 1-2, ob, cl 1-2, bn, hn 1-2, tpt 1-3, tbn, 1-2, tba, timp, perc 1-2, hp, pno, vn 1-2, va, vc, db) available as a Printed Edition and as a digital download. Score and Parts for Consort (fl, cl, tpt 1-2, tbn, perc, kybd str) available as a Printed Edition and as a digital download.

SKU: LO.99-2365L

UPC: 000308120479.

“Night of Wonder, Night of Joy” is a worship service that celebrates the wondrous miracles surrounding the birth of our Savior. The story begins with Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, finding shelter behind the inn as they prepare for Jesus’ birth. The scene then shifts to generations earlier, when the Israelites were enslaved and expectantly looked forward to the coming of a King to free them, the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. The first Christmas scene returns as the service concludes with a celebration of the wonder and joy of God’s special gift to us: a Savior, Jesus Christ. The narration may be presented simply, by readers, or dramatically, with characters in costume pantomiming the events as the story unfolds. Inspired by these miraculous events, Niel Lorenz and Ruth Elaine Schram have combined their great talents to create a dramatic musical experience that is certain to fill the hearts of all believers with a sense of wonder and joy in God’s goodness.