SKU: PR.312419270
ISBN 9781491137918. UPC: 680160692606. English. Charles Mackay.
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: HP.C6317
UPC: 763628163174.
Christmas Spiritual Jack Schrader has given this favorite Christmas spiritual a relaxed, big-band, 'swing style' setting. Arranged for SSATB voices with piano or orchestra, this fresh setting is sure to fill the season with joy and good will. Jack's printed notes ask the singers to embrace the text that describes the mission of those first shepherd-followers and you, too, will be led to the Savior of Bethlehem. Ideal for both adult or youth choirs in either church or school. The full orchestration by Don Hart consists of parts for: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horns 1 & 2, Trumpets 1, 2 & 3 (or Tuba), Percussion 1 & 2, Harp, Rhythm, Violins 1 & 2, Viola Cello and Bass.
SKU: AP.48368
UPC: 038081551913. English.
Originally written for Kiss Me Kate, this Cole Porter tune has become a treasured part of the Great American Songbook. A sultry bass line and finger snaps command attention right from the first sizzling measure. Clean jazz writing makes the harmonies jump right off the page. Add the optional SoundPax or SoundTrax to bring the sound of classic Broadway to your stage!
About Alfred Pop Choral Series
The Alfred Pop Series features outstanding arrangements of songs from the popular music genre. These publications provide exciting, contemporary, and educationally-sound arrangements for singers of all ages, from elementary through high school, to college and adult choirs.
SKU: AP.49704
UPC: 038081567914. English.
This powerful choral anthem was written by Broadway songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty in honor of the 40th anniversary of The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC. Lynn's text uses harmony as a metaphor to represent acceptance, and Stephen's inspirational music is a canvas of hope and strength. Robust piano, bass, and drum parts provide a sturdy pop accompaniment for three full voicings designed to accommodate any four-part group.
SKU: HL.49003214
ISBN 9790220117282. UPC: 888680784249. 8.25x11.75x0.052 inches. Latin.
Glorious Hill may be performed by a male choir.Text by Pico della Mirandola (1463-1497) from De Hominis Dignitate.Glorious Hill was commissioned by the Hilliard Ensemble and first performed by them at its summer Festival of Voices in Lewes, Sussex, in August 1988. It was the first piece I wrote for the ensemble and I focused on the singers' unique ability to move with ease from early music to tonal music of the present day. There were techniques which I asked for which I hardly needed to notate - the staggered breathing of the two tenors to supply a continuous unbroken held note for example - and the piece moves between passages for solo voices and sections of highly chromatic homophony, almost as if the music were switching between the 12th century of Perotin and the 16th century of Gesualdo. Each of the four voices is given its own solo passage, sometimes accompanied, sometimes quietly supported by the other voices.The title, Glorious Hill comes from the name of the small-town Mississippi setting of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke. I wrote the music for the 1987 production of this play at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre, the first time I had written any incidental music for the stage. Williams makes very specific demands in terms of music and there is one particularly powerful scene, the penultimate one, throughout which music and atmospheric sound effects are continuous. The principle character Alma argues passionately about the vital importance of human choice with the man to whom she has, too late, admitted her love. I watched this section every night throughout the 4 week run of the play watching the different ways in which the actress, Frances Barber, played the scene. There is a powerful emotional and philosophical connection between the imagery of this scene and a passage from the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man which forms the text of Glorious Hill. This passage has been described as one of the few passages in Renaissance philosophy to treat human freedom in a modern way. The text, which is sung in Latin, is addressed by God to Adam before the fall from grace.Gavin Bryars.
SKU: HL.49045742
Georg Kreisler equals scathing, dark black humour on the piano! The Singphoniker have arranged Georg Kreisler's best known songs for all-male ensemble and recorded them on CD. Schott now publishesthe corresponding music edition for men's choir TTBB with piano accompaniment (Georg Kreisler - Lieder und Chansons, ED 22735). In addition, all songs from the sheet music album are available in separate editions: Mein Weib will mich verlassen - Gott sei Dank!-[My wife wants to leave me - Thank God] The wife's moving out in Mein Weib will mich verlassen cannot be too soon at all. When the woman finally went out of the door, everything was only a dream.Oi weh! [Oh dear!] This pleasant arrangement with Kreisler's humorous text most certainly creates an exuberant atmosphere in the concert.
