SKU: HL.48024961

UPC: 840126950366.

Composer's note: My approach to arranging this carol, as well as the other carols in Nordic Christmas, was to look at the text (originally in Danish by Nikolai Grundtvig, 1783-1872) and its background to see if there are new meanings hidden in the material. Perhaps there are circumstances around its creation or messages the original authors were trying to say that somehow get lost in the way they are interpreted today. Lovely is the dark blue sky is usually performed as a lustrous up-tempo carol, but thinking of Grundtvig's story and life, writing this text between episodes of severe mental illness, and his vision of a child looking at the dark blue sky at night, I made the atmosphere of this arrangement more dreamy, still and full of wonder. I still wanted to keep it childlike, with the choir singing tenderly and the soprano solo is ideally sung by a child. The melody was written 'by an old man who had never before composed any music', as stated in the 1853 hymnbook in which this melody first appeared. It is the only known composition of its writer, the Norwegian-Danish Jacob Gerhard Meidell (1778-1857), who was a captain in the Danish Army and later a customs inspector in Copenhagen. The text was written by one of the great Danish hymn writers, N F S Grundtvig in 1810. It was written between a manic and a depressive episode. During a time of being well, he wanted to write about Christmas through the eyes of a child. The message is simple, as a children's song with storybook elements.

SKU: PR.415411560

UPC: 680160642946. 9 x 12 inches.

The Mythology Suite consists of three movements of my Mythology Symphony, which I arranged for large wind ensemble. The arrangements of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits were commissioned by James Ripley and Carthage College for the Carthage Wind Orchestra's 2017 Japan tour. I added Pandora Undone to complete the set; Stephen Squires and the Chicago College of Performing Arts gave the premiere of the entire Suite in February 2017. Movement 1: The Lovely Sirens The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens' beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors' peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots--represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise. Movement 2: Penelope Waits This quiet movement represents Queen Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, as she patiently waits twenty years for her husband's return from fighting the Trojan Wars. Penelope herself is represented as an oboe. She is accompanied by the ensemble as she keeps at bay the suitors who wish to marry her and inherit her riches. Movement 3: Pandora Undone This movement is, in turns, both lighthearted and serious. The music depicts a young, naive Pandora who, while dancing around her house, spies a mysterious box. She tries to resist opening it, but her curiosity ultimately gets the best of her. When she cracks the lid open and looks inside, all evils escape into the world. Dismayed by what she has done, she looks inside the box once more. She discovers hope still in the box and releases it to temper the escaped evils and assuage mankind's new burden.
The Mythology Suite consists of three movements of my Mythology Symphony, which I arranged for large wind ensemble. The arrangements of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits were commissioned by James Ripley and Carthage College for the Carthage Wind Orchestra’s 2017 Japan tour. I added Pandora Undone to complete the set; Stephen Squires and the Chicago College of Performing Arts gave the premiere of the entire Suite in February 2017.Movement 1: The Lovely SirensThe Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens’ beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors’ peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots—represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.Movement 2: Penelope WaitsThis quiet movement represents Queen Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, as she patiently waits twenty years for her husband's return from fighting the Trojan Wars. Penelope herself is represented as an oboe. She is accompanied by the ensemble as she keeps at bay the suitors who wish to marry her and inherit her riches.Movement 3: Pandora UndoneThis movement is, in turns, both lighthearted and serious. The music depicts a young, naïve Pandora who, while dancing around her house, spies a mysterious box. She tries to resist opening it, but her curiosity ultimately gets the best of her. When she cracks the lid open and looks inside, all evils escape into the world. Dismayed by what she has done, she looks inside the box once more. She discovers hope still in the box and releases it to temper the escaped evils and assuage mankind's new burden.

SKU: GI.G-9088

ISBN 9781622771691. English.

In 2010 the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments granted a recognitio to The Revised Grail Psalms. This translation was prepared as a liturgical translation intended for use in the Roman Catholic Liturgy. Within a year of its publication, Christian leaders from groups beyond the Roman Catholic Communion expressed appreciation for certain aspects of The Revised Grail Psalms, particularly the poetic quality of the text and the sprung rhythm which facilitates recitation, chant, and musical settings of the texts. They further inquired if we might consider publishing another edition of The Revised Grail Psalms, focusing more directly on the original Hebrew while yet seeking a more inclusive final text of the sort preferred in the current worship of their respective communions. Thus The Ecumenical Grail Psalter came to be. Extracted from the Introduction to The Ecumenical Grail Psalter   Endorsements for The Ecumenical Grail Psalter “A lovely translation! The Ecumenical Grail Psalter retains the elegant simplicity, beauty, and rhythmic flow of earlier Grail Psalms. This makes it ideal for public reading and singing, as well as for individual devotional use. I applaud the inclusive language, and I hope it will be widely read and sung. It is a wonderful gift to the Church!” —J. Clinton McCann, Jr. Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation Eden Theological Seminary “Lyrical in language with an ear for the musicality of words, this fresh revision of the Grail Psalter voices the longing, lament, and lavish praise contained in the Psalms. I especially appreciate the attentiveness to inclusive language, which invites women readers and prayers of these texts to feel more at home in this richly hued rhetorical landscape. The monks of Conception Abbey have offered a gift to the larger ecclesial family, further shaping our liturgical life through engagement with the Psalter. As a Baptist theologian and seminary president, I am deeply grateful.” —Molly T. Marshall President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation Central Baptist Theological Seminary “A translation of the Psalms marked by noble simplicity, accessibility, freshness, and candor. These texts are beautifully singable—well poised for chanting and singing in a variety of cultural contexts. They are also well suited for devotional and liturgical reading, inviting worshipers into the world of the Psalms with vivid, uncluttered language. May this volume be widely received across Christian traditions.” —John D. Witvliet Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary.