SKU: MB.WBM75M

ISBN 9781737795353. 8.75X11.75 inches.

This is a collection of 86 guitar solos in notation only from William Bayâ??s books, Solo Guitar in Worship, Communion, Psalms, Timeless Gospel Melodies and Spirituals. The solos work well as preludes, offertories, communion hymns, recessionals or they can be played for enjoyment.  All 86 solos have been recorded and are available as online downloads with this book.

SKU: PR.312419280

ISBN 9781491137925. UPC: 680160692613.

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: PR.16500102F

ISBN 9781491131749. UPC: 680160680276.

Ever since the success of my series of wind ensemble works Places in the West, I've been wanting to write a companion piece for national parks on the other side of the north American continent. The earlier work, consisting of GLACIER, THE YELLOWSTONE FIRES, ARCHES, and ZION, spanned some twenty years of my composing life, and since the pieces called for differing groups of instruments, and were in slightly different styles from each other, I never considered them to be connected except in their subject matter. In their depiction of both the scenery and the human history within these wondrous places, they had a common goal: awaking the listener to the fragile beauty that is in them; and calling attention to the ever more crucial need for preservation and protection of these wild places, unique in all the world. With this new work, commissioned by a consortium of college and conservatory wind ensembles led by the University of Georgia, I decided to build upon that same model---but to solidify the process. The result, consisting of three movements (each named for a different national park in the eastern US), is a bona-fide symphony. While the three pieces could be performed separately, they share a musical theme---and also a common style and instrumentation. It is a true symphony, in that the first movement is long and expository, the second is a rather tightly structured scherzo-with-trio, and the finale is a true culmination of the whole. The first movement, Everglades, was the original inspiration for the entire symphony. Conceived over the course of two trips to that astonishing place (which the native Americans called River of Grass, the subtitle of this movement), this movement not only conveys a sense of the humid, lush, and even frightening scenery there---but also an overview of the entire settling-of- Florida experience. It contains not one, but two native American chants, and also presents a view of the staggering influence of modern man on this fragile part of the world. Beginning with a slow unfolding marked Heavy, humid, the music soon presents a gentle, lyrical theme in the solo alto saxophone. This theme, which goes through three expansive phrases with breaks in between, will appear in all three movements of the symphony. After the mood has been established, the music opens up to a rich, warm setting of a Cherokee morning song, with the simple happiness that this part of Florida must have had prior to the nineteenth century. This music, enveloping and comforting, gradually gives way to a more frenetic, driven section representative of the intrusion of the white man. Since Florida was populated and developed largely due to the introduction of a train system, there's a suggestion of the mechanized iron horse driving straight into the heartland. At that point, the native Americans become considerably less gentle, and a second chant seems to stand in the way of the intruder; a kind of warning song. The second part of this movement shows us the great swampy center of the peninsula, with its wildlife both in and out of the water. A new theme appears, sad but noble, suggesting that this land is precious and must be protected by all the people who inhabit it. At length, the morning song reappears in all its splendor, until the sunset---with one last iteration of the warning song in the solo piccolo. Functioning as a scherzo, the second movement, Great Smoky Mountains, describes not just that huge park itself, but one brave soul's attempt to climb a mountain there. It begins with three iterations of the UR-theme (which began the first movement as well), but this time as up-tempo brass fanfares in octaves. Each time it begins again, the theme is a little slower and less confident than the previous time---almost as though the hiker were becoming aware of the daunting mountain before him. But then, a steady, quick-pulsed ostinato appears, in a constantly shifting meter system of 2/4- 3/4 in alteration, and the hike has begun. Over this, a slower new melody appears, as the trek up the mountain progresses. It's a big mountain, and the ascent seems to take quite awhile, with little breaks in the hiker's stride, until at length he simply must stop and rest. An oboe solo, over several free cadenza-like measures, allows us (and our friend the hiker) to catch our breath, and also to view in the distance the rocky peak before us. The goal is somehow even more daunting than at first, being closer and thus more frighteningly steep. When we do push off again, it's at a slower pace, and with more careful attention to our footholds as we trek over broken rocks. Tantalizing little views of the valley at every switchback make our determination even stronger. Finally, we burst through a stand of pines and----we're at the summit! The immensity of the view is overwhelming, and ultimately humbling. A brief coda, while we sit dazed on the rocks, ends the movement in a feeling of triumph. The final movement, Acadia, is also about a trip. In the summer of 2014, I took a sailing trip with a dear friend from North Haven, Maine, to the southern coast of Mt. Desert Island in Acadia National Park. The experience left me both exuberant and exhausted, with an appreciation for the ocean that I hadn't had previously. The approach to Acadia National Park by water, too, was thrilling: like the difference between climbing a mountain on foot with riding up on a ski-lift, I felt I'd earned the right to be there. The music for this movement is entirely based on the opening UR-theme. There's a sense of the water and the mysterious, quiet deep from the very beginning, with seagulls and bell buoys setting the scene. As we leave the harbor, the theme (in a canon between solo euphonium and tuba) almost seems as if large subaquatic animals are observing our departure. There are three themes (call them A, B and C) in this seafaring journey---but they are all based on the UR theme, in its original form with octaves displaced, in an upside-down form, and in a backwards version as well. (The ocean, while appearing to be unchanging, is always changing.) We move out into the main channel (A), passing several islands (B), until we reach the long draw that parallels the coastline called Eggemoggin Reach, and a sudden burst of new speed (C). Things suddenly stop, as if the wind had died, and we have a vision: is that really Mt. Desert Island we can see off the port bow, vaguely in the distance? A chorale of saxophones seems to suggest that. We push off anew as the chorale ends, and go through all three themes again---but in different instrumentations, and different keys. At the final tack-turn, there it is, for real: Mt. Desert Island, big as life. We've made it. As we pull into the harbor, where we'll secure the boat for the night, there's a feeling of achievement. Our whale and dolphin friends return, and we end our journey with gratitude and celebration. I am profoundly grateful to Jaclyn Hartenberger, Professor of Conducting at the University of Georgia, for leading the consortium which provided the commissioning of this work.

SKU: CF.CM9635

ISBN 9781491157077. UPC: 680160915637. 6.875 x 10.5 inches. Key: E major. English, English. Abram Joseph Ryan (1838-1886).

Victor Johnson captures the mystery and nuance of the bittersweet poem, Wake Me a Song, by American poet, Abram Joseph Ryan. Nuance, text, and Johnson's rich harmonies paired with intertwining textures make this a noteworthy addition to any program. Also available for SATB Voices (CM9561).
About the Author Abram Joseph Ryan was born Matthew Abraham Ryan on February 5, 1838 in Hagerstown, Maryland. As a young man, Ryan and his family moved west St. Louis, Missouri, where he was educated at the Christian Brothers School. He studied for the priesthood at Niagra University in New York State and was ordained a priest in the Vincentian order on November 1, 1856. He taught theology, first at Niagra university and then at the diocesan seminary in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, until the beginning of the war between the states. Father Ryan enlisted in the army on September 1, 1862, and served as a chaplain throughout the conflict, carrying the wounded to safety and performing last rites on the battlefield. His first piece of poetry was inspired by the death of a younger brother while serving in the army. After the war, he established a weekly literary magazine in which most of his poetry was published. He also put out several volumes of poetry, including Father Ryan's Poems and A Crown for Our Queen. Father Ryan died on April 22, 1886 at a Franciscan monastery in Louisville, Kentucky. About the Song Wake Me A Song is an inspired and sensitive setting of the 19th-century poem by Abram Joseph Ryan. It features sweeping melodic lines, rich harmonies, and a flowingly beautiful accompaniment. To master a performance of this selection, singers must perform very expressively, paying close attention to such musical aspects as phrase shaping, the rise and fall of the melodic line, blending and proper intonation between sections. One strategy that could be used to ensure proper phrasing is the idea of Painting the Phrase. The singer should make a motion as if they have a paintbrush in their hand and paint the melodic line and phrase shape as if they are painting with a nice, flowing brush stroke. One could think about painting a rainbow or an arch to show the rise and fall of the line and/or phrase. The director can also show this gesture while conducting to reinforce this concept.
About the AuthorAbram Joseph Ryan was born Matthew Abraham Ryan on February 5, 1838 in Hagerstown, Maryland. As a young man, Ryan and his family moved west St. Louis, Missouri, where he was educated at the Christian Brothers School. He studied for the priesthood at Niagra University in New York State and was ordained a priest in the Vincentian order on November 1, 1856. He taught theology, first at Niagra university and then at the diocesan seminary in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, until the beginning of the war between the states.Father Ryan enlisted in the army on September 1, 1862, and served as a chaplain throughout the conflict, carrying the wounded to safety and performing last rites on the battlefield. His first piece of poetry was inspired by the death of a younger brother while serving in the army. After the war, he established a weekly literary magazine in which most of his poetry was published. He also put out several volumes of poetry, including Father Ryan's Poems and A Crown for Our Queen. Father Ryan died on April 22, 1886 at a Franciscan monastery in Louisville, Kentucky.About the SongWake Me A Song is an inspired and sensitive setting of the 19th-century poem by Abram Joseph Ryan. It features sweeping melodic lines, rich harmonies, and a flowingly beautiful accompaniment.To master a performance of this selection, singers must perform very expressively, paying close attention to such musical aspects as phrase shaping, the rise and fall of the melodic line, blending and proper intonation between sections.One strategy that could be used to ensure proper phrasing is the idea of “Painting the Phrase.” The singer should make a motion as if they have a paintbrush in their hand and “paint” the melodic line and phrase shape as if they are painting with a nice, flowing brush stroke. One could think about painting a rainbow or an arch to show the rise and fall of the line and/or phrase. The director can also show this gesture while conducting to reinforce this concept.