Arranged by Andy Beck. For Choir. (SATB). Choral Octavo. Choral Designs. Sacred; Secular. Choral Octavo. 12 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

Choir Secular Shaker; Djembe (SATB choir)

SKU: AP.48469

Arranged by Victor C Johnson. Performance Music Ensemble; Single Titles. Alfred Choral Designs. Folk; Multicultural; Secular. Choral Octavo. 12 pages. Alfred Music #00-48469. Published by Alfred Music (AP.48469).

UPC: 038081552927. English. Congolese Folk Song.

A trio of percussion instruments lays down an ostinato groove in this otherwise a cappella arrangement of the authentic folk song from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Expert arranger Victor Johnson sets up an assortment of accessible melodic and harmonic patterns that weave throughout, creating a wealth of fun-to-sing choral textures. Not to be missed!

Choir Secular Shaker; Djembe (SAB choir/3-Part choir Mixed)

SKU: AP.48470

Arranged by Victor C Johnson. Performance Music Ensemble; Single Titles. Alfred Choral Designs. Folk; Multicultural; Secular. Choral Octavo. 12 pages. Alfred Music #00-48470. Published by Alfred Music (AP.48470).

UPC: 038081552934. English. Congolese Folk Song.

A trio of percussion instruments lays down an ostinato groove in this otherwise a cappella arrangement of the authentic folk song from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Expert arranger Victor Johnson sets up an assortment of accessible melodic and harmonic patterns that weave throughout, creating a wealth of fun-to-sing choral textures. Not to be missed!

Band Bass Clarinet, Bass Drum, Bassoon, Bells, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Crash Cymbals, Euphonium, Euphonium T.C., Flute, Flute 2, Horn, Mallet Percussion, Oboe, Percussion 1, Percussion 2, Shaker, Snare Drum, Timpani, Tom-tom, Trombone, Trumpet 1 and more. - Grade 1.5

SKU: CF.FPS128

Composed by Kevin Mixon. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 8+2+4+4+2+5+2+2+4+4+4+6+2+3+1+1+2+6+16 pages. Duration 2:30. Carl Fischer Music #FPS128. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.FPS128).

ISBN 9781491143100. UPC: 680160900602.

The Cherokee nation had a vibrant culture for many centuries in what is now the southeastern United States. The beginning and ending sections of this piece are based on a folk song that is commonly referred to as Cherokee Morning Song. Kevin Mixon's piece is beautiful, lush, and reverent to the original Cherokee song while using all of the colors of the modern concert band to full effect. This piece will make your developing band sound wonderful.

by Craig Duncan. First Lessons. Level: Beginning. Book/CD Set. Size 8.75x11.75. 32 pages. Published by Mel Bay Pub., Inc.

By or arr. Keith Snell. For Clarinet. Woodwind - Clarinet Duet. Belwin Master Duets. Level: Advanced. 36 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing.

Choir Secular (SAB choir/3-Part choir Mixed)

SKU: AP.49719

Composed by Greg Gilpin. Performance Music Ensemble; Single Titles. Alfred Choral Designs. Secular. Choral Octavo. 12 pages. Alfred Music #00-49719. Published by Alfred Music (AP.49719).

UPC: 038081568065. English.

Enjoy the bright energy of ¾ felt in one. This rhythmic Greg Gilpin original may be accompanied by shaker alone or the optional keyboard part. Vibrant vocables have no literal meaning, but virtually bubble with joy---there's a smile built in. A complete form with contrasting sections, varied choral articulations, ostinatos, pedal tones, drones, the works. It's an action-packed musical journey, a colorful collage for the ears.

About Alfred Choral Designs

The Alfred Choral Designs Series provides student and adult choirs with a variety of secular choral music that is useful, practical, educationally appropriate, and a pleasure to sing. To that end, the Choral Designs series features original works, folk song settings, spiritual arrangements, choral masterworks, and holiday selections suitable for use in concerts, festivals, and contests.

2-part choir, piano

SKU: LO.15-3632H

Composed by Michael Ryan. Choral. General. Octavo. Heritage Music Press #15/3632H. Published by Heritage Music Press (LO.15-3632H).

ISBN 9780787764036.

This authentic setting of a cherished isiXhosa folk song contains simply stated vocal lines supported by a light, gently rhythmic piano part. Enhance learning and performance with the pronunciation guide and translation available as a free download, and don't forget the optional djembe (congas) and shekere (shaker) parts. Also available is a synth track accompaniment, complete with African instrumentation!

Choir Secular (Women's Choir)

SKU: AP.49720

Composed by Greg Gilpin. Performance Music Ensemble; Single Titles. Alfred Choral Designs. Secular. Choral Octavo. 12 pages. Alfred Music #00-49720. Published by Alfred Music (AP.49720).

UPC: 038081568072. English.

Enjoy the bright energy of ¾ felt in one. This rhythmic Greg Gilpin original may be accompanied by shaker alone or the optional keyboard part. Vibrant vocables have no literal meaning, but virtually bubble with joy---there's a smile built in. A complete form with contrasting sections, varied choral articulations, ostinatos, pedal tones, drones, the works. It's an action-packed musical journey, a colorful collage for the ears.

About Alfred Choral Designs

The Alfred Choral Designs Series provides student and adult choirs with a variety of secular choral music that is useful, practical, educationally appropriate, and a pleasure to sing. To that end, the Choral Designs series features original works, folk song settings, spiritual arrangements, choral masterworks, and holiday selections suitable for use in concerts, festivals, and contests.

By Victor C. Johnson. For SSA choir, piano (with optional percussion). Concert, Multicultural. Octavo. Published by Heritage Music Press

By Victor C. Johnson. For 2-part choir voices and piano (with optional percussion). New Horizons Series. Concert, Multicultural. Octavo. Published by Heritage Music Press

SKU: LO.99-3946H

Composed by Michael Ryan. General. Performance/accompaniment CD. Heritage Music Press #99/3946H. Published by Heritage Music Press (LO.99-3946H).

UPC: 000308151800.

This authentic setting of a cherished isiXhosa folk song contains simply stated vocal lines supported by a light, gently rhythmic piano part. Enhance learning and performance with the pronunciation guide and translation available as a free download, and don't forget the optional djembe (congas) and shekere (shaker) parts. Also available is a synth track accompaniment, complete with African instrumentation!

Band Bass Clarinet, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Clarinet, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Clarinet 3, Contrabass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, English Horn, Flute 1, Flute 2, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Piccolo, alto Saxophone, soprano Saxophone, tenor Saxophone

SKU: PR.165001000

Hymns for Wind Ensemble. Composed by Dan Welcher. Folio. Set of Score and Parts. 4+24+24+16+8+4+4+24+12+12+8+4+4+4+4+8+8+8+8+4+4+4+4+8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8+4+16+4+8+4+8+8+4+4+4+48 pages. Duration 10 minutes, 41 seconds. Theodore Presser Company #165-00100. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.165001000).

ISBN 9781491129241. UPC: 680160669776. 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.