Composed by Melissa Dunphy. Octavo. E.C. Schirmer Publishing #8827. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing

SSATB Choir, Piano - Level 3

SKU: CA.925200

Composed by Gabriel Faure. Arranged by Denis Rouger. Separate edition to the CD. Secular choral music. Full Score. Op. 2, No. 1. Duration 2 minutes. Carus Verlag #CV 09.252/00. Published by Carus Verlag (CA.925200).

ISBN M-007-24914-4. Key: A major. Language: French. Text: Hugo, Victor.

The exuberant amorousness of a newly-wed couple pulsates in every note of Gabriel Faure's Dans les ruines d'une abbaye (In the ruins of an abbey). In this piece, the reverent silence of prayer no longer prevails, but within the venerable walls various shouts of joy and sparkling laughter are now heard. The old graves have long been overgrown by stinging nettles, and a new dawn of spring and of love fills the air. Napoleonic post-revolutionary France, which drove the author of the poem, Victor Hugo, into exile, is also building a new world on the ruins of olden days. Although the setting by the composer, 40 years younger than the poet, uses the romanticized backdrop of the old abbey, with its 6/8-meter it reflects the uninhibited happiness of the two lovers, who do not look back. These art songs were originally composed not for chamber choir, but for solo voice and piano. Denis Rouger has carefully adapted them to suit the requirements and expressive possibilities offered by a larger ensemble, without losing the any of the qualities of the original in the process. Each part in the choir has a melodic line drawn from the harmonic and rhythmic framework. In the process, the variety and refinement of the choral language combines with an enormous flexibility in form and expression, as French melodies or German art song demand from a soloist and pianist. The songs have been recorded by the figure humaine chamber choir on the CD Kennst du das Land ... (Carus 83.495).

SATB choir, trumpets, timpani, cymbals, organ

SKU: PL.0202BP

Composed by William Ferris. Choral, Festival, General. Brass Parts. Paraclete Press #0202BP. Published by Paraclete Press (PL.0202BP).

The late William Ferris composed this large, festive work specifically for the dawn of the new millenium and it received its premiere on January 2, 2000. It is based on the words of Psalm 118. A fanfare at the opening provides the sturdy musical material for the entire work. The choir first enters with the words, It is good to give thanks to the Lord. The opening section is full of wonderful sonority for choir, brass and organ. A repeat of the opening fanfare leads to the middle section, based on modal harmonies and reflective in spirit. The fanfare returns and opens the final section with triumphant words, This is the day that the Lord has made. The work ends in a very declamatory manner. This is a splendid new festival work that can be performed in any liturgical season.

SATB choir, trumpets, timpani, cymbals, organ - Medium Difficult/Difficult

SKU: PL.0202

Composed by William Ferris. Cathedral. Choral, Festival, General. Octavo. Paraclete Press #0202. Published by Paraclete Press (PL.0202).

The late William Ferris composed this large, festive work specifically for the dawn of the new millenium and it received its premiere on January 2, 2000. It is based on the words of Psalm 118. A fanfare at the opening provides the sturdy musical material for the entire work. The choir first enters with the words, It is good to give thanks to the Lord. The opening section is full of wonderful sonority for choir, brass and organ. A repeat of the opening fanfare leads to the middle section, based on modal harmonies and reflective in spirit. The fanfare returns and opens the final section with triumphant words, This is the day that the Lord has made. The work ends in a very declamatory manner. This is a splendid new festival work that can be performed in any liturgical season.

Choral SATB Choir and Piano

SKU: PR.312419020

From Terra Nostra. Composed by Stacy Garrop. Sws. Performance Score. 12 pages. Duration 3:15. Theodore Presser Company #312-41902. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.312419020).

ISBN 9781491131862. UPC: 680160680474. 6.875 x 10.5 inches. English.

Commissioned by the San Francisco Choral Society and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Terra Nostra is a 70-minute oratorio on the relationship between our planet and humankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Part I: Creation of the World explores various creation myths from different cultures, culminating in a joyous celebration of the beauty of our planet. Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines human achievements, particularly since the dawn of our Industrial Age, and how these achievements have impacted the planet. Part III: Searching for Balance questions how to 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. In addition to the complete oratorio, stand-alone movements for mixed chorus, and for solo voice with piano, are also available separately.
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?