SKU: PR.31241902S

UPC: 680160690589. 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?

SKU: 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?

SKU: CF.BPS147F

ISBN 9781491163832. UPC: 680160922628.

What does the life of a lone warrior look like? What stories does he or she have to tell? This piece for beginning band depicts a lone warrior beginning a journey across an ancient land. This solitary warrior is joined by others on the way, and together they defend those who cannot defend themselves. Each warrior might have a different story and experience, and I would encourage young musicians to create their own through sharing verbally, writing a short story, or even creating a work of art (a picture depicting their warrior or creating a mask their warrior wears might aid in the telling of their warrior’s story).The Warrior’s Path is about one minute and twenty seconds in length, and the technical range (first six notes of the Bb concert scale) should be very comfortable for a student in their second semester of instrumental music instruction. There are some articulations indicated, but overall musicians should strive for a unified even articulation. Throughout the work, the snares should be turned off or directors can choose to substitute with a low concert tom. The piece can be performed with as few as five winds (e.g. Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet and Trombone) and just four percussion (suggested Bells, Snare, Cymbal and Tambourine).The piece began as a flexible chamber piece during the summer of 2020 but has been reorchestrated for use by a full band in a traditional setting. It is my hope the piece provides a meaningful opportunity for students to tell a story through music and other creative outlets. The piece is dedicated to elementary band directors who have fought for their students and their programs each and every day. In their own way, they have been warriors of a different kind using a baton as their sword and their passion for music education and their students as a shield. Thank you in advance for your support of this music, and I wish you and your ensemble well as you take The Warrior’s Path.

SKU: SP.TS571

ISBN 9781585607570.

The popularity of coloring books for the adult and young adult, while relatively recent, has become one of the faster growing recreational activities for artists of all skill levels. It took the innovation of the publisher you've known for many years, however, to marry the visual arts with music in this never before seen original concept and series, exclusively available from Santorella Publications.


Experience the high quality you've come to expect from Santorella Publications in The Colors of Music, with over 60 musical instruments depicted with intricate background patterns. Each image is printed on heavy stock on only one side of the page to avoid bleed-through. Printed in the larger 9 x 12 size, with Santorella's lay-flat binding, the book is designed to last for years, while each page is perforated for easy removal and coloring. Every illustration, while a work of art on its own, will become a one-of-a-kind original piece with your personal touch; a work of art truly suitable for framing.


The foreword from, The Colors of Music.


From the dawn of time, coloring has been one of the most basic forms of self-expression and is often the first creative process which many of us experience. Taking an existing image or pattern and making it our own is a uniquely personal experience. We decide which creative implements to use, perhaps crayons, pencils, or markers, and which colors to apply. As we color, we find we are in control of the entire process, limited only by our imagination, and when we are done, we have an artistic embodiment of our own personality, as unique and individual as each of us is to the other.



It makes no difference if we are relatively skilled or unskilled; we express what is in our heart and mind each and every time we set pencil to paper. As we become more experienced and skilled, we acquire the power through technique and style to more freely express what is so clear in our imagination. In time, our creations become freely expressed works of art.


The same can be said of music. The musician chooses their instrument, then takes an existing pattern of melody and chords and adds unique colors to them to make that piece of music uniquely their own. As musicians, we practice to become more experienced in order to acquire the skills to more freely add our own brand of expression and style to the music.


Both of these art forms have creativity at their core. They allow the artist or musician, both young and old, to freely express feelings within while providing a sense of joy, tranquility, and meditative focus.


The Colors of Music literally reminds us that art and music are on the same page. This trend-setting series, by Santorella Publications, will provide both the artist and musician with yet another creative channel for self-expression and individualism.


Amateur and professional alike will also appreciate the opportunity for some much-needed downtime from the hard work of practicing, or simply the rigors of everyday life, while still being able to enjoy the art form they love. After all, creating art and music is supposed to be fun.

SKU: PE.EP72822

ISBN 9790577011769. 232 x 303mm inches. English.

I have only visited Damascus once, twenty years ago, on the way to Palmyra.  I had a purpose (I was writing music for a play about Palmyra’s Queen Zenobia) but essentially I was a tourist.  Like any visitor, I was thrilled to step out of the noisy modern city into the magical ancient world of the walled Old City, its vibrant souk leading to the magnificent mosque, and a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets filled with the smell of unleavened bread.

In Palmyra, I was met with extraordinary kindness everywhere.  On one occasion, a little Bedouin boy noticed that I was risking sunstroke wandering bare-headed among the spectacular ruins: he showed me how to tie a turban, then took me to have tea with his family in their tent.

Since then, I have watched helplessly as these places of wonder have been devastated and their inhabitants scattered and killed.  When the Sacconi Quartet suggested that I might choose a Syrian poet for our collaboration, I welcomed the idea.

I searched for a long time to find a contemporary poet whose work might gain from any music I could imagine.  I felt it was important to find first-hand accounts of the Syrian experience – but, of course, I was always reading them in translation.  In an anthology called Syria Speaks, I was astonished to read something that looked like prose, but was full of poetry.  It was Anne-Marie McManus’s fine translation of Ali Safar’s A Black Cloud in a Leaden White Sky – an eloquent, thoughtful, contained yet vivid account of life in a war-torn country, all the more moving for its restraint.

In setting these words, I have not attempted to imitate Syrian music.  However, there is what might be called a linguistic accommodation in my choice of scale, or mode.  Several movements are in a mode that I first discovered while writing a cantata commemorating the First World War: it has a tuning that I associate with war, its violence and desolation.  This eight-note mode is similar to scales found in Syrian music.  I did not choose it in the abstract: it emerged from the harmonies I was exploring in the earlier work, and emerged again as I was looking for the right musical colours to set Ali Safar’s words.  In this work, its Arabic aspect is more prominent. - Jonathan Dove