For voice and C instrument. Format: fakebook (spiral bound). With vocal melody, lyrics, piano accompaniment, chord names and leadsheet notation. Hymn. Series: Hal Leonard Fake Books. 494 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard.

The Vocal Library. Arranged by Richard Walters. (High Voice). Vocal Collection. Size 9x12 inches. 312 pages. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation.

Concert Band Bass Clarinet, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Clarinet, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Clarinet 3, Contrabassoon, English Horn, Euphonium, Flute 1, Flute 2, Flute 3, Horn 1, Horn 2, Horn 3, Horn 4, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Percussion 1, Percussion 2, Percussion 3 and more.

SKU: PR.16500092L

For Concert Band. Composed by Dan Welcher. Spiral. Contemporary. Large Full Score. With Standard notation. Composed 1994. 76 pages. Duration 10 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #165-00092L. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.16500092L).

UPC: 680160039531. 11 x 17 inches.

Zion is the third and final installment of a series of works for Wind Ensemble inspired by national parks in the western United States, collectively called Three Places in the West. As in the other two works (The Yellowstone Fires and Arches), it is my intention to convey more an impression of the feelings I've had in Zion National Park in Utah than an attempt at pictorial description. Zion is a place with unrivalled natural grandeur, being a sort of huge box canyon in which the traveler is constantly overwhelmed by towering rock walls on every side of him -- but it is also a place with a human history, having been inhabited by several tribes of native Americans before the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. By the time the Mormons reached Utah, they had been driven all the way from New York State through Ohio and, with tragic losses, through Missouri. They saw Utah in general as a place nobody wanted, but they were nonetheless determined to keep it to themselves. Although Zion Canyon was never a Mormon Stronghold, the people who reached it and claimed it (and gave it its present name) had been through extreme trials. It is the religious fervor of these persecuted people that I was able to draw upon in creating Zion as a piece of music. There are two quoted hymns in the work: Zion's Walls (which Aaron Copland adapted to his own purposes in both is Old American Songs and the opera The Tender Land) and Zion's Security, which I found in the same volume in which Copland found Zion's Walls -- that inexhaustible storehouse of 19th-century hymnody called The Sacred Harp. My work opens with a three-verse setting of Zion's Security, a stern tune in F-sharp minor which is full of resolve. (The words of this hymn are resolute and strong, rallying the faithful to be firm, and describing the city of our God they hope to establish). This melody alternates with a fanfare tune, whose origins will be revealed in later music, until the second half of the piece begins: a driving rhythmic ostinato based on a 3/4-4/4 alternating meter scheme. This pauses at its height to restate Zion's Security one more time, in a rather obscure setting surrounded by freely shifting patterns in the flutes, clarinets, and percussion -- until the sun warms the ground sufficiently for the second hymn to appear. Zion's Walls is set in 7/8, unlike Copland's 9/8-6/8 meters (the original is quite strange, and doesn't really fit any constant meter), and is introduced by a warm horn solo. The two hymns vie for attention from here to the end of the piece, with the glowingly optimistic Zion's Walls finally achieving prominence. The work ends with a sense of triumph and unbreakable spirit. Zion was commissioned in 1994 by the wind ensembles of the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Oklahoma. It is dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland.

Choral SATB choir (SATB choir)

SKU: HP.C5367

Arranged by Mark Kellner. Piano Accompaniment. Hymntune, Hymn Arrangements, General Worship, Commitment, Devotion, Love, Adoration & Praise, Sacred. Octavo. 8 pages. Hope Publishing Company #C5367. Published by Hope Publishing Company (HP.C5367).

UPC: 763628153670. Joshua 22:5, Psalms 18:1, Deuteronomy 11:1,13,22, Deuteronomy 19:9.

Tune from Christian Harmony Arranger Mark Kellner looks back to the Sacred Harp tradition with this setting of a tune from Christian Harmony, a compilation of shaped-note songs from 1805. This arrangement approximates the flavor of this unique style, emphasizing that all parts be sung with gusto and a fairly stright tone. The overall effect is a strong, bracing declaration of praise.

Composed by John Rutter (1945-). For choir (SA, SATB, or TTBB) and piano/organ/small orchestra (2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, glockenspiel, harp, strings). This edition: Paperback. John Rutter Anniversary Edition. Sacred. Level A (very easy). Full score. Duration 3.5 minutes. Published by Oxford University Press

SKU: LO.99-3342L

Composed by Thomas Fettke. Choral, cantatas. Eastertide. Split-track accompaniment CD. Lorenz Publishing Company #99/3342L. Published by Lorenz Publishing Company (LO.99-3342L).

UPC: 000308140743.

The Easter Story retells Jesus' suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of the Father in a simple yet profound story that engages the heart, mind, and imagination. The musical score draws upon folk sources, including The Sacred Harp and The Columbian Harmony, spirituals, carols, and songs from English, Irish, and Hebrew traditions. The choral score is carefully crafted for choirs of all sizes and is enhanced by three solos. Two speakers share Ken Bible's compelling narrative which is beautifully underscored by piano accompaniment or Michael Lawrence's brilliant orchestration.

Orchestra Bass Clarinet, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, Contrabass, Contrabassoon, English Horn, Flute 1, Flute 2, Harp, Horn 1, Horn 2, Horn 3, Horn 4, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Percussion 1, Percussion 2, Percussion 3, Percussion 4, Piccolo and more.

SKU: PR.11641139S

Composed by Lowell Liebermann. Full score. Duration 15 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #116-41139S. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.11641139S).

UPC: 680160682119.

Barcarolles for a Sinking City was inspired by the city of Venice, a place that has long held the fascination of artists, writers and composers, and which I have been lucky enough to visit on several occasions. Sadly it seems that future generations may not be so lucky: in addition to the city's slow sinking and recently discovered tilting, studies predict that if global warming and the resultant rise of ocean levels is unabated, the entire city (as well as many other coastal cities around the globe) will be under water by 2100.   I. Funeral Gondola The late, cryptic piano works of Franz Liszt made a profound impression on me as a young composer, among them two works he entitled La Lugubre Gondola (usually translated as The Funeral Gondola ) which were said to be a premonition of Wagner's death in Venice, his coffin transported through the canals in a black gondola. These late pieces of Liszt acquired even greater significance to me after I spent two summers in Bayreuth under the patronage of Friedelind Wagner, the granddaughter of Wagner and great-granddaughter of Liszt. This movement is a meditation on Wagner, Liszt, Venice and its own evanescence. II. Barcarolle/Quodlibet The Quodlibet (Latin for what pleases) is a musical form dating back to the 15th century where many disparate melodies are juxtaposed. Popular in the Renaissance, sacred and secular melodies were combined, often to comical effect due to the resultant incongruity of the words. The form was considered the ultimate test of a composer's mastery of counterpoint. The most famous Quodlibet is without doubt the final Variation of Bach's Goldberg Variations. As a form the Quodlibet is less common in more recent music, although examples can be found in the works of Kurt Weill and David Del Tredici.   My own Barcarolle/Quodlibet was inspired by the (perhaps apocryphal) story of the funeral where musicians were asked to play a Bach Choral, but due to miscommunication played instead the Bacarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. Here, the Bach Choral Allen Menschen mussen sterben (All Men Must Die) is heard in the strings pizzicato, with a tempo indication In slow motion. The alto line of the Bach suggests a phrase from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Alle Menchen werden Bruder) heard in the muted trombone. Before long, the famous tune from Offenbach's opera is heard, followed by quotations from iconic Barcarolles by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Faure, as well as two Venetian popular songs and more Beethoven.   III. Barcarola/Ostinato/Carillon An ostinato is a repeated musical figure, and carillon is Italian for music box. This movement references the obsolete genre of salon pieces that imitated music boxes: such works by composers like Liadov and Gretchaninov used to be a mainstay of pianists' encore repertoire. This movement is however much darker in conception than those pleasant trifles. Utilizing the full battery of percussion, the carefully notated temporal slowing of the ostinato becomes overwhelmed by a poignant chorale melody before this box is snapped shut.   IV. Barcarolle Oubliee (Forgotten Barcarolle) Marked limpido (still) the final movement begins with the sound of rain produced by a percussion instrument called (appropriately) a rain stick. Halting phrases in the harp coalesce into the accompaniment for a plangent melody heard in the clarinet. The central Adagio of this movement leads to a shattering climax, before the opening phrases return and dissipate into nothingness.

Composed by John Rutter (1945-). John Rutter Anniversary Edition. Sacred. Octavo. 8 pages. Duration 2'. Published by Oxford University Press (OU.9780193416734).

SKU: GI.G-CD-730

Composed by Jan Michael Joncas. Sacred. CD. GIA Publications #730. Published by GIA Publications (GI.G-CD-730).

At long last, GIA proudly releases Michael Joncas’s first collection in over eight years. Containing themes of divine providence, rescue, and sustenance, this recording comes from the heart of Joncas’s own suffering due to a bout with Guillain-Barré syndrome. After his recovery, Joncas experienced a new surge of musical creativity that gave birth to In the Sight of the Angels. The lush sounds of choral singing and the elaborate instrumentation of brass, harp, flute, organ, and other instruments makes In the Sight of the Angels a beautiful recording replete with psalm settings, including “Drink in the Richness of God,” “In the Sight of the Angels,” and “Till the End of My Days.” Also present are settings of the three New Testament Lukan infancy canticles—the “Canticle of Zechariah,” the “Canticle of Mary,” and the “Canticle of Simeon.” But, perhaps most appropriate in light of Joncas’s recent experiences are the songs delineating the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s breath (ruach): “All Who Are Led by the Spirit,” “Lord, Send Out Your Spirit,” and “Veni, Sancte Spiritus.” This tranquil recording has a pastoral feel. It is tender and depicts a merciful God who gives us hope in light of suffering. Joncas’s newfound wisdom resonates through this music. It is his sincere wish that those who sing it, play it, and/or hear it will grow closer to God.