By Gustav Adolf Merkel. Edited by Wagner, Gerhard D. Organ Music (hymns); Use during church year: End of the church year, Easter and Eastertide, Pentecost, Reformation day. Collection. 64 pages. Published by Carus Verlag (German import).

Composed by Ken Bible. For SATB choir, hymnal style. This edition: Paperback, Words Only Edition. Songbook. Multicultural and Sacred. Words only. 30 pages. Published by Lillenas Publishing Company

Solo soprano voice, 2 violin, viola, 2 cello, contrabass

SKU: CA.9125011

Volgarizzata da Dante. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Edited by Otto Biba. Coppenrath Series. Ave Maria 1901201. Sacred vocal music, Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hymns in praise of the Virgin Mary. Single Part, Violin 1. Composed 1880. 2 pages. Carus Verlag #CV 91.250/11. Published by Carus Verlag (CA.9125011).

ISBN 9790007234355. Key: B minor. Language: Italian.

The Ave Maria is suited for performance in a smaller setting. Instead of the Latin text Verdi set the Italian version, which during his lifetime was still ascribed to Dante. The Carus edition makes this work accessible in its original form. Score and part available separately - see item CA.9125000.

SSTB vocal soli, SATB choir, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 violins, viola, basso continuo

SKU: CA.3323849

Oratorio. Composed by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Edited by Reginald L. Sanders. Organ. Sacred vocal music, Oratorios. Single Part, Organ. Composed 1769. BR-CPEB D 1 (Wq 238). 48 pages. Duration 75 minutes. Carus Verlag #CV 33.238/49. Published by Carus Verlag (CA.3323849).

ISBN 9790007212247. Text language: German. Text: Schiebeler, Daniel. Text by Daniel Schiebeler.

Vol. IV, 1 of the C.P.E. Bach Complete Edition, edited by the Packard Humanities Institute According to C.P.E. Bach, the oratorio Die Israeliten in der Wuste [The Israelites in the Wilderness] can be performed ... at all times, inside and outside the church, simply to the praise of God. The composition depicts the Israelites' journey, full of privations, through the wilderness, their despair and their pleading. This harmonically bold work was first published in 1775 and received numerous performances during the composer's lifetime in German-speaking countries. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3323800.

Choral Cello, Flute, Harp, Oboe, Percussion, Piano, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, alto voice, bass voice, soprano voice, tenor voice

SKU: PR.31241902A

From Terra Nostra. Composed by Stacy Garrop. Set of Score and Parts. Duration 3:15. Theodore Presser Company #312-41902A. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.31241902A).

UPC: 680160690510. English.

Commission ed 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?

Choral Cello, Flute, Harp, Oboe, Percussion, Piano, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, alto voice, bass voice, soprano voice, tenor voice

SKU: PR.31241902S

From Terra Nostra. Composed by Stacy Garrop. Full score. Duration 3:15. Theodore Presser Company #312-41902S. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.31241902S).

UPC: 680160690589. English.

Commission ed 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?

Choral (Studiotrax CD)

SKU: HL.35032193

By Keith and Kristyn Getty. By Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend. Arranged by James Koerts. Shawnee Sacred. General Worship, Sacred. CD. Duration 240 seconds. Published by Shawnee Press (HL.35032193).

UPC: 888680740085. 5.0x5.0x0.146 inches. Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19, Revelation 15:4.

This sturdy hymn from the talented Getty writing ensemble is a rallying call for the church. A folk-like tune begins with simple confident unison lines and slowly evolves into thundering crescendos and glorious harmonies. The words lift a song of endless praise and challenge the singer to take the message of salvation through Christ to the nations. Solid! Score and Parts for Orchestra (rhy, pwhis, uil pipes, fl 1-2, ob, cl 1-2, hn 1-2, tpt 1-3, tbn 1-3, tba, perc, timp, hp, fdl, vn 1-2, va, vc, db) available as a digital download. Score and Parts for Celtic Consort (pwhis, uil pipes, fdl, rhy) also available as a digital download. Note that the StudioTrax CD contains the Celtic Consort accompaniment, not the Orchestra.