Songs from the Sacred Harp

SKU: ST.LS19

ISBN 9790220215209.

CONTENTS

ALISON, Richard
O Lord, turn not away thy face (AATB or AAT)
When we sat in Babylon (AATB or AAT)

ANONYMOUS
But this, and then no more (C - C)
How can the tree but waste (B - B)
Sweet are the thoughts that savour of content (D - F)
Those eyes that set my fancy on a fire (A - B)

CAMPION, Thomas
More now with measur'd sound (Duet: D - E and G - A)
Now hath Flora robb'd her bow'rs (Duet: D - E and D - G)
Woo her and win her (F - E)

GILES, Thomas
Triumph now with joy and mirth (D - D)

HUME, Tobias
Cease, leaden slumber, dreaming (F sharp - F)
Fain would I change that note (D - G)
Soldier's Song: I sing the praise of honour'd wars (G - G)
Tobacco! Tobacco! Sing sweetly for tobacco! (D - F)
What greater grief (D - F)

LANIER, Nicholas
Bring away this sacred tree (D - F)

LUPO, Thomas
Shows and nightly revels (D - E flat)
Time that leads the fatal round (D - E)

MORLEY, Thomas
O grief! e'en on the bud (F - E flat)

ROBINSON, Thomas
Now, Cupid, look about thee (D - G).

SKU: PR.466000470

UPC: 680160099405. 11 x 17 inches.

This is the second incarnation of a work I first composed in 1994 for symphonic wind ensemble. The earlier version was intended to be the summation of three-part suite, each part being named for a different national park in the Western United States. This orchestral version, commissioned in 1999 by the Utah Symphony and dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland, is more than a re-scoring of the earlier piece; it is a re-thinking of all its elements. Zion is a place with unrivaled 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 his 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.

SKU: CA.1037812

ISBN 9790007190927. Language: German/English/French.

I wrote this Christmas cantata from Koroshegy at the request of the Council of the Komitat Somogy. When I visited the still unrenovated little church at Koroshegy about ten years ago I had no idea that this beautiful Gothic building would one day be the scene of the world premiere of one of my works. - The cantata is founded on four pillars: four organ soli which could be described as ritornelli, followed by four a cappella choruses with the same melody but different harmonizations. These are settings of the four verses of In Epiphaniam by Janus Pannonius, the most renowned Hungarian poet and humanist of the Renaissance. Between these pillars I have introduced movements for choir or for soloists based on Hungarian folk tunes and Christmas songs from Transylvania and the Komitat Somogy: songs of the shepherds, angels and wise men, and, after a pastorale for organ, a large scale mixed-voice chorus intoning Ez karacsony ejszakajan [Holy Night]. A narrator introduces the individual numbers with passages from the Christmas story. An organ postlude concludes the work. (Ferenc Farkas) This work may be performed in German, English, French or Hungarian language. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1037800.

SKU: CA.1037809

ISBN 9790007190903. Language: German/English/French.

I wrote this Christmas cantata from Koroshegy at the request of the Council of the Komitat Somogy. When I visited the still unrenovated little church at Koroshegy about ten years ago I had no idea that this beautiful Gothic building would one day be the scene of the world premiere of one of my works. - The cantata is founded on four pillars: four organ soli which could be described as ritornelli, followed by four a cappella choruses with the same melody but different harmonizations. These are settings of the four verses of In Epiphaniam by Janus Pannonius, the most renowned Hungarian poet and humanist of the Renaissance. Between these pillars I have introduced movements for choir or for soloists based on Hungarian folk tunes and Christmas songs from Transylvania and the Komitat Somogy: songs of the shepherds, angels and wise men, and, after a pastorale for organ, a large scale mixed-voice chorus intoning Ez karacsony ejszakajan [Holy Night]. A narrator introduces the individual numbers with passages from the Christmas story. An organ postlude concludes the work. (Ferenc Farkas) This work may be performed in German, English, French or Hungarian language. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.1037800.

SKU: CA.1037811

ISBN 9790007190910. Language: German/English/French.

I wrote this Christmas cantata from Koroshegy at the request of the Council of the Komitat Somogy. When I visited the still unrenovated little church at Koroshegy about ten years ago I had no idea that this beautiful Gothic building would one day be the scene of the world premiere of one of my works. - The cantata is founded on four pillars: four organ soli which could be described as ritornelli, followed by four a cappella choruses with the same melody but different harmonizations. These are settings of the four verses of In Epiphaniam by Janus Pannonius, the most renowned Hungarian poet and humanist of the Renaissance. Between these pillars I have introduced movements for choir or for soloists based on Hungarian folk tunes and Christmas songs from Transylvania and the Komitat Somogy: songs of the shepherds, angels and wise men, and, after a pastorale for organ, a large scale mixed-voice chorus intoning Ez karacsony ejszakajan [Holy Night]. A narrator introduces the individual numbers with passages from the Christmas story. An organ postlude concludes the work. (Ferenc Farkas) This work may be performed in German, English, French or Hungarian language. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1037800.

SKU: 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.

SKU: 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.