SKU: HL.1197761
UPC: 196288134930. 6.75x10.5x0.019 inches.
The Out from the Shadows Choral Series brings you “Summer Is Gone,†a new setting of British poet Christina Rosetti's 1862 poem “Bitter for Sweet.†The composer, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, displays superb control of text painting and dynamics, creating vocal lines as natural as speech. In perfect harmony with Rosetti's text, falling chromatic figures tossed back and forth among voice parts create an inescapable sense of decay and sorrow. Taylor's harmonic rhythm conveys the latent impression of time stretching and constricting. A truly masterful work, this piece makes for a great festival or competition performance. A fun challenge for an accomplished chamber or larger choir, and a memorable addition to any concert. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was an English-born composer and conductor who hailed from an English and African musical family. After discovering his inherent musical ability, Coleridge-Taylor's family arranged for him to study at the Royal College of Music under composition professor Charles Villiers Stanford. After completing his degree, Coleridge-Taylor was appointed a professor at the Crystal Palace School of Music and became the conductor of the Croydon Conservatoire Orchestra. With his compositions, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor sought to draw from traditional African music and integrate it into the classical tradition, in a similar fashion to Brahms and Dvorak with Hungarian and Bohemian music. He was a prolific composer and a well-respected conductor in England and America, even touring in America and being received at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. His most celebrated work was his cantata Hiawatha's Wedding Feast. On his death, close friend and poet Alfred Noyes said, “Too young to die: his great simplicity, his happy courage in an alien world, his gentleness, made all that knew him love him.â€.
SKU: PR.342402070
ISBN 9781491111253. UPC: 680160643226. Octavo inches. Text: Archibald R. Ammons. Archibald Ammons. Text by A.R. Ammons.
To benefit Chorus America, Stucky allowed himself to be auctioned off as a prize - the high bidder would receive a new work from the composer. After a few years and not really hearing anything, Stucky suddenly found himself up against a deadline. He reached back to a favorite poem by A.R. Ammons, Eyesight, which, he says, Won't let...his reader rest till the very last word...one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless..This piece has an odd history. A few years ago, I agreed to be one of the“prizes†in an auction to benefit Chorus America: the highest bidder wouldget a new piece from me, while their money went to the organization. Thewinning bid came from a collection of several professional choruses anddirectors. But I was always a little vague about the details, and, hearingnothing more about it for a few years, forgot the whole thing.One day I received a message from Thomas Edward Morgan, directorof the Ars Nova Chamber Singers in Boulder: they had scheduled thepremiere of my new piece for a few weeks later, and could they have themusic, please? I needed a text, quickly, and (as usual) I was in a Los Angeleshotel room, not at home with my books. So I turned to the internet andsoon tracked down my favorite poet, A.R. Ammons (1926-2001).Once I stumbled on “Eyesight,†I remembered having loved the poemyears before. Archie must have loved it, too, because he included it bothin his Collected Poems 1951-1971 and in the later Selected Poems. It haseverything you want in an Archie Ammons poem: what Edward Hirschcalled his “offbeat, sideways, unpredictable radiance,†his “homespunglory.†It has one of his trademark conversations with a mountain (perhapsfrom his native North Carolina), it has the fluid motion from one line tothe next (enjambment, if you want to get technical) that won’t let him orhis reader rest till the very last word of the very last line, and it has in thatlast line one of those sudden insights that leave us breathless: “some thingsthat go are gone.â€I miss Archie, but he’s not gone. I’m grateful for the wonderful poems heleft us, and I’m grateful that he was always generous and kind when I hadthe chutzpah to add my music to his.
SKU: XC.SATB2207A
9 x 6 inches.
“Shall I Compare Thee is a more wistful take on the classic words. This setting of the text is intended to express the incredible worth of the those we love, especially after they are gone. Lush harmonies and striking rhythms are contrasted with moments of powerful simplicity and reflection, creating an approachable challenge for any mixed choir.
SKU: AP.48861
UPC: 038081561851. English.
After a year with limited music making, there could be nothing better. Imagine throwing open the shutters to sing with your neighbors as this beautiful piece unfolds. It's consistently lyrical and legato, with peaks and valleys built into the dynamics to heighten emotions and capture joy. We love this expressive piano part, especially the delicate music box-inspired introduction. Don't miss the dramatic modulation before the pinnacle refrain crescendos to a big finish.
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.
