SKU: PR.362034230

ISBN 9781598069556. UPC: 680160624225. Letter inches. English.

When the Texas Choral Consort asked Welcher to write a short prologue to Haydn's The Creation, his first reaction was that Haydn already presents Chaos in his introductory movement. As he thought about it, Welcher began envisioning a truer void to precede Haydn's depiction of Chaos within the scope of 18th-century classical style - quoting some of Haydn's themes and showing human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation melange of color, mood, and atmosphere. Welcher accepted this challenge with the proviso that his prologue would lead directly into Haydn's masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause in between. Scored for mixed chorus and Haydn's instrumentation, Without Form and Void is a dramatically fresh yet pragmatic enhancement to deepen any performance of Haydn's The Creation. Orchestral score and parts are available on rental.
When Brent Baldwin asked me to consider writing a short prologue to THE CREATION, my first response was “Why?”  THE CREATION already contains a prologue; it’s called “Representation of Chaos”, and it’s Haydn’s way of showing the formless universe.  How could a new piece do anything but get in the way? But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  The Age of Enlightenment’s idea of “Chaos” was just extended chromaticism, no more than Bach used (in fact, Bach went further).Perhaps there might be a way to use the full resources of the modern orchestra (or at least, a Haydn-sized orchestra) and the modern chorus to really present a cosmic soup of unborn musical atoms, just waiting for Haydn’s sure touch to animate them.  Perhaps it could even quote some of Haydn’s themes before he knew them himself, and also show human voices and inhuman sounds in a kind of pre-creation mélange of color, mood, and atmosphere. So I accepted the challenge, with the proviso that my new piece not be treated as some kind of “overture”, but would instead be allowed to lead directly into Haydn’s masterpiece without stopping, and certainly without applause.  I crafted this five minute piece to begin with a kind of “music of the spheres” universe-hum, created by tuned wine glasses and violin harmonics.  The chorus enters very soon after, with the opening words of Genesis whispered simultaneously in as many languages as can be found in a chorus.  The first two minutes of my work are all about unborn human voices and unfocused planetary sounds, gradually becoming more and more “coherent” until we finally hear actual pitches, melodies, and words.  Three of Haydn’s melodies will be heard, to be specific, but not in the way he will present them an hour from now.  It’s almost as if we are listening inside the womb of the universe, looking for a faint heartbeat of worlds, animals, and people to come.  At the end of the piece, the chorus finally finds its voice with a single word: “God!”,  and the orchestra finally finds its own pulse as well.  The unstoppable desire for birth must now be answered, and it is----by Haydn’s marvelous oratorio. I am not a religious man in any traditional sense.  Neither was Haydn, nor Mozart, nor Beethoven.  But all of them, as well as I, share in what is now called a humanistic view of how things came to be, how life in its many forms developed on this planet, and how Man became the recorder of history.  The gospel according to John begins with a parody of Genesis:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”   I love that phrase, and it’s in that spirit that I offer my humble “opener” to the finest work of one of the greatest composers Western music has ever known.  My piece is not supposed to sound like Haydn.  It’s supposed to sound like a giant palette, on which a composer in 1798 might find more outrageous colors than his era would permit…but which, I hope, he would have been delighted to hear.

SKU: HL.48025430

ISBN 9798350126297. UPC: 196288210825. 6.75x10.5 inches.

“Waloyo Yamoni (We Overcome the Wind)” is the grand finale to Christopher Tin's second album 'The Drop That Contained the Sea'. The lyrics are a setting of a Lango rainmaking prayer. It was commissioned by the St. Matthews Chamber Orchestra, and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the Soweto Gospel Choir. New York Concert Review wrote of the Carnegie Hall premiere “The audience reacted after the final notes with the loudest and longest standing ovation I have ever heard at any concert”, while The York Press wrote “We Overcome The Wind was an outpouring of joy; a unanimous standing ovation evinced the sense of togetherness at the heart of this concert.”.

SKU: GI.G-8618

UPC: 785147861805. English. Text Source: Revelation 19:6, 11:15, 19:16. Scripture: Revelation 11:15, Revelation 19:6, 16.

The “Hallelujah” chorus is the final movement of part two of Handel’s Messiah, the part that comments on Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The text of the chorus, assembled from Biblical passages by the oratorio’s librettist, Charles Jennens, is from Revelation 19:6, 11:15, and 19:16: “Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” This edition has been prepared from the first published score in 1767, with comparisons to Handel’s autograph manuscript now housed in the British Museum. The text has been reproduced here without alterations. However, the beamings of the vocal parts have been modernized for ease of reading (the original material has flags instead of beams for every separate syllable). The piano accompaniment is a reduction of the orchestral material: the first and second violin parts are represented in the upper staff, with only occasional inclusion of the viola, trumpet, and timpani parts, the basso continuo, in its original form, is in the bottom staff. The GIA Historical Music Series edited by Dennis Shrock, presents repertoire suitable for performance by public school, college and university, church, and community ensembles, with the purpose of making available to today’s conductors lesser-known and previously difficult-to-procure historical masterpieces. The music, drawn from the Renaissance through the Romantic eras, is in performance editions based on the most current and rigorous scholarly research. The musical scores reflect original intent of notation, with all editorial markings and emendations clearly identified as such. In addition, preface material accompanying the music contains literal translations of foreign language texts and information regarding the lives of the composers, genres, and relevant performance practices. Dennis Shrock is Director of Choral Activities at Texas Christian University. He has been called one of the top choral scholars in the United States and has received a number of awards for his work. He received a bachelor's degree in music education from Westminster Choir College and both master's and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from Indiana University.