Four American Choruses

SKU: PR.114423980

ISBN 9781491136591. UPC: 680160689439.

Origi nally composed for solo cello, this work has been adapted by the composer in response to requests from violists. The melodic theme comes from the final chorus of Hailstork’s Earthrise, a profoundly bold cantata using Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” as text, and full of allusions to all four movements of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Hailstork’s Earthrise features a festival chorus singing in German, alternating with an African American chorus singing in English with vernacular verve. The two choirs ultimately unite to end the cantata together with “Draw the Sacred Circle Closer,” a translation of lines from Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.”.

SKU: PR.44641326L

UPC: 680160643349. 11 x 14 inches.

In January, 2005 at Stetson University, the TARAB Cello Ensemble performed a new music concert that was suberb and exhilarating. To the audience's dismay, the ensemble had no encore prepared (do any even exist?). I later found out that the group was comprised of recent Eastman School of Music graduates, many of whom I had conducted during the end of my academic tenure in Rochester. I was struck by the ensemble's determination to remain together to make music and, with their blessings, set out to rectify this omission in their repertoire. BEGUINE AGAIN is a Latin-American echo consisting of three choruses (the third becomes a little mixed up—as if the dancers momentarily part ways...) plus a Coda, and is roughtly four minutes in duration. The piece was stolen— and extended— from an excerpt of my 12-year-old PARLOR PIECES (1993); the score was completed in May of 2005 in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Florida.

SKU: PR.446413260

UPC: 680160643332. 9 x 12 inches.

In January, 2005 at Stetson University, the TARAB Cello Ensemble performed a new music concert that was suberb and exhilarating. To the audience's dismay, the ensemble had no encore prepared (do any even exist?). I later found out that the group was comprised of recent Eastman School of Music graduates, many of whom I had conducted during the end of my academic tenure in Rochester. I was struck by the ensemble's determination to remain together to make music and, with their blessings, set out to rectify this omission in their repertoire. BEGUINE AGAIN is a Latin-American echo consisting of three choruses (the third becomes a little mixed up—as if the dancers momentarily part ways...) plus a Coda, and is roughtly four minutes in duration. The piece was stolen— and extended— from an excerpt of my 12-year-old PARLOR PIECES (1993); the score was completed in May of 2005 in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Florida.

SKU: GI.G-1133

UPC: 785147813323.

The Song We Sing was commissioned by the Arts Chorale of Winchester (Virginia) to honor founding artistic director Michael Main and his husband, accompanist Richard McPherson upon their retirement from the ensemble after 19 years. Scored for SATB chorus and piano four-hands, the score sets three new poems by Robert Bode, himself a well-known choral conductor as well as a poet. Track Listing: Let's Move to the Sea The Song We Sing Morning Dance “Let’s Move to the Sea” (#1) references Michael’s and Richard’s plan to relocate from Virginia to the seaside resort of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The music is marked “Brightly” and is highly rhythmic and dancelike. Robert Bode’s poem is in three verses, and the music follows this layout, with three clearly related sections. The poem “The Song We Sing” (#2) is a quiet, and rather profound, meditation on the underlying meaning of choral singing—the deeper sense of what it means to sing together. It underscores the fact that choirs often create a feeling of community where individuals are accepted for themselves without prejudice as they come together to make music. Like the first movement, “Morning Dance” (#3) is rhythmic and playful. The poem is organized into four verses, each followed by a refrain. The music, similarly, is written in four sections that are based on closely-related musical materials, each followed by a refrain of almost identical music. Everything culminates in the poem’s ecstatic final line, “Lift your arms to the sun, and dance!” The Missouri State University Chorale is the flagship choral ensemble at Missouri State University. Made up of a diverse group of singers from a variety of backgrounds, this renowned ensemble performs at an incredibly high level and enjoys an international reputation. The MSU Chorale has performed regularly at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, Missouri Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, and has toured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cameron F. LaBarr is director of choral studies at Missouri State University, where he leads a comprehensive choral program including eight choirs and a graduate program in choral conducting. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Missouri State University and earned a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas. Additionally, Dr. LaBarr has completed further study in choral music and conducting with Simon Carrington and Alice Parker. Dr. LaBarr has worked as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, recently at the China International Chorus Festival, the Bali International Choir Festival, and the Limerick Sings International Choral Festival (Ireland).