Band Music Press. By Conrad Kocher. Arranged by James Swearingen. Band Music Press Concert Band. Score and full set of parts. Book only. Published by Hal Leonard.

Composed by David Conte (1955-). Vocal Anthology/Vocal Solo. Secular, 21st century. Vocal score. 35 pages. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.8455).

Composed by Conrad Susa (1935-). Secular, 20th Century. Complete choral score. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.8217).

Violin - Beginning; Intermediate; Advanced

SKU: MB.30859

Saddle-stitched, Wedding. World Music. Book/insert. 68 pages. Mel Bay Publications, Inc #30859. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc (MB.30859).

ISBN 9781513465951. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Imagine a campfire! Envision sitting around the bright flames with your friends and family singing songs out in the great expanse. Imagine that those melodies you sing stir up joy, hope, and belief in the great wonders of the world. Melodies have connected different kinds of people for many, many years. Music brings us closer, and music makes any occasion more festive and memorable. This book was written to promote the love of old folk melodies, provide processional music for special celebrations, and to include players of all levels. Music educators will find that there are many possibilities and combinations for practice and performance. Includes a 16-page pull-out section of twelve selected pieces for an optional cello part.

It is my great hope that music students, families, and educators will all enjoy this very special collection of Beautiful Melodies from Around the World. 

By David Conte. Text: Walt Whitman. For SATB Choir, piano or orchestra. (Mixed Voices). Secular. Choral. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing.

Band Bass Clarinet, Bass Drum, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Bongos, Castanets, Celesta, Clarinet, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Clarinet 3, Contrabass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, English Horn, Euphonium, Euphonium T.C., Flute 1, Flute 2, Horn 1, Horn 2, Horn 3 and more.

SKU: PR.16500100F

Hymns for Wind Ensemble. Composed by Dan Welcher. Sws. Full score. 48 pages. Duration 10 minutes, 41 seconds. Theodore Presser Company #165-00100F. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.16500100F).

ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 9 x 12 inches.

Commissioned for a consortium of high school and college bands in the north Dallas region, FOR THEMYSTIC HARMONY is a 10-minute inspirational work in homage to Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon,patrons of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Van Cliburn Competition. Welcher draws melodic flavorfrom five American hymns, spirituals, and folk tunes of the 19th century. The last of these sources toappear is the hymn tune For the Beauty of the Earth, whose third stanza is the quatrain: “For the joy of earand eye, For the heart and mind’s delight, For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight,”giving rise to the work’s title.
This work, commissioned for a consortium of high school bands in the north Dallas area, is my fifteenth maturework for wind ensemble (not counting transcriptions). When I asked Todd Dixon, the band director whospearheaded this project, what kind of a work he most wanted, he first said “something that’s basically slow,” butwanted to leave the details to me. During a long subsequent conversation, he mentioned that his grandparents,Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon, were prime supporters of the Fort Worth Symphony, going so far as to purchase anumber of high quality instruments for that orchestra. This intrigued me, so I asked more about his grandparentsand was provided an 80-page biographical sketch. Reading that article, including a long section about theirdevotion to supporting a young man through the rigors of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition fora number of years, moved me very much. Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon weren’t just supporters of the arts; theywere passionate lovers of music and musicians. I determined to make this work a testament to that love, and tothe religious faith that sustained them both. The idea of using extant hymns was also suggested by Todd Dixon,and this 10-minute work is the result.I have employed existing melodies in several works, delving into certain kinds of religious music more than a fewtimes. In seeking new sounds, new ways of harmonizing old tunes, and the contrapuntal overlaying of one tunewith another, I was able to make works like ZION (using 19th-century Revivalist hymns) and LABORING SONGS(using Shaker melodies) reflect the spirit of the composers who created these melodies, without sounding likepastiches or medleys. I determined to do the same with this new work, with the added problem of employingmelodies that were more familiar. I chose five tunes from the 19th century: hymns, spirituals, and folk-tunes.Some of these are known by differing titles, but they all appear in hymnals of various Christian denominations(with various titles and texts). My idea was to employ the tunes without altering their notes, instead using aconstantly modulating sense of harmony — sometimes leading to polytonal harmonizations of what are normallysimple four-chord hymns.The work begins and ends with a repeated chime on the note C: a reminder of steeples, white clapboard churchesin the country, and small church organs. Beginning with a Mixolydian folk tune of Caribbean origin presentedtwice with layered entrances, the work starts with a feeling of mystery and gentle sorrow. It proceeds, after along transition, into a second hymn that is sometimes connected to the sea (hence the sensation of water andwaves throughout it). This tune, by John B. Dykes (1823-1876), is a bit more chromatic and “shifty” than mosthymn-tunes, so I chose to play with the constant sensation of modulation even more than the original does. Atthe climax, the familiar spiritual “Were you there?” takes over, with a double-time polytonal feeling propelling itforward at “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”Trumpets in counterpoint raise the temperature, and the tempo as well, leading the music into a third tune (ofunknown provenance, though it appears with different texts in various hymnals) that is presented in a sprightlymanner. Bassoons introduce the melody, but it is quickly taken up by other instruments over three “verses,”constantly growing in orchestration and volume. A mysterious second tune, unrelated to this one, interrupts it inall three verses, sending the melody into unknown regions.The final melody is “For the Beauty of the Earth.” This tune by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872) is commonly sung atThanksgiving — the perfect choice to end this work celebrating two people known for their generosity.Keeping the sense of constant modulation that has been present throughout, I chose to present this hymn in threegrowing verses, but with a twist: every four bars, the “key” of the hymn seems to shift — until the “Lord of all, toThee we praise” melody bursts out in a surprising compound meter. This, as it turns out, was the “mystery tune”heard earlier in the piece. After an Ivesian, almost polytonal climax, the Coda begins over a long B( pedal. At first,it seems to be a restatement of the first two phrases of “For the Beauty” with long spaces between them, but it soonchanges to a series of “Amen” cadences, widely separated by range and color. These, too, do not conform to anykey, but instead overlay each other in ways that are unpredictable but strangely comforting.The third verse of “For the Beauty of the Earth” contains this quatrain:“For the joy of ear and eye, –For the heart and mind’s delightFor the mystic harmonyLinking sense to sound and sight”and it was from this poetry that I drew the title for the present work. It is my hope that audiences and performerswill find within it a sense of grace: more than a little familiar, but also quite new and unexpected.

Mixed Choir

SKU: CF.CFD16

Composed by Charles H. Gabriel, Conrad Kocher, Dennis Allen, Fanny J. Crosby, John Bacchus Dykes, John Darwell, Lelia Morris, Lowell Mason, Phoebe Knapp, Robert Lowry, Samuel Wesley, Traditional, Various, Walter Knapp, and William H. Doane. Arranged by Bob Burroughs, Dana Mengel, Dennis Allen, Elizabeth Campbell, Hal H. Hopson, Ken Berg, Melodie Tunney, Patrick M. Liebergen, Ruth Elaine Schram, Stan Pethel, and Walter Knapp. Jewel Case. Carl Fischer Concert Band Recordings. Audio CD. With Standard notation. Carl Fischer Music #CFD16. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.CFD16).

ISBN 9780825860164. UPC: 798408060169.

Since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, hymns have been the tie binding the hearts and spirits of Christians together. With their beautiful melodies and poetically penned words, hymns are the universal language of Christian worship, the bond that draws believers together from all walks of life and across the world. With texts of faith and inspiration, hymns speak to present time with words of assurance of hope, and help direct us toward the future in glory. Next to the Bible, they have endured as the timeless voice of the Christian faith, teaching and inspiring believers throughout generations. In this collection of “favorites” we offer listeners a compilation of the genre’s most beloved and inspirational hymns of faith. Arranged by some of today’s most distinguished church music icons, the hymns in this collection will thrill and comfort the faithful listener. Drawing upon the words and melodies of some of the world’s greatest hymn writers, including Fanny Crosby, Charles Wesley, and Martin Luther, the arrangers in this collection maintain each work’s original integrity while beautifully transporting each hymn into the realm of today’s modern worship world. From the stirring strains of “Amazing Grace” to the majestic power of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” this collection will inspire Christian worshipers.

SKU: HL.49014551

Composed by Thomson. This edition: Paperback/Soft Cover. Book. Edition Schott. Classical. 12 pages. Schott Music #ED 11330. Published by Schott Music (HL.49014551).

ISBN 9781847611345.

W. Bergmann * F. Brueggen * R. Clemencic * F. Conrad * L. Davenport * C. Dolmetsch * E. Hunt * B. Krainis * H.-M. Linde * D. Munrow * K. Otten * G. Scheck * C. Taylor * M. Vetter * Index of names and groups.

(Church Opera in One Act). By Conrad Susa (1935-). For voice(s). Vocal solo, christmas. Choral Score. 40 pages. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing

By Conrad Susa. Choral. For SATB choir, Harp, Guitar, and Marimba. Christmas. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing.