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Newly In Print
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Sound Clips. Where this icon
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 Getting ready for "Living In A Holy City" with over five hundred voices: the combined Hopewell Valley H.S. and Timberlane Middle School choirs of New Jersey, directed by Ken and Rebecca Elpus. See bottom of page for an action shot. Photo by Mike Schwartz, www.mssphoto.com |
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| Beginner's Alphabet SSA and piano, optional bass and drums, optional string quartet 979-0-051-47977-1 Savridi | "A" is for the Amniotic womb of the sea.
"B" is for the Baby the whole planet used to be. Since the Savridi Singers of Calgary, Alberta, had asked me for a piece on the theme of children and hope, it seemed appropriate to write an alphabet whose key words included Children, Hope and Voices, although there are many other thematic diversions that arise as the letters progress: "E" is for the Elements to which we return. "F" is the Fossils that we resurrect and burn. The piece is both gentle and driving, a perpetual motion chant with a steady-ticking piano part, and a style somewhere between a folk-blues, a nursery rhyme, and the Dixie Cups. "Beginner’s Alphabet" can work with just piano, or you can add bass and drums to the piano, or add a string quartet to all three. The vocal parts are not technically demanding, although to keep that crisp, buoyant, rhythmic style going for the whole piece carries its own demands on a singer’s stamina and musical intelligence. I hope to have a recording to post before long. The soundfile is an excellent model for the diction, which is crystal clear without sounding formal, and for the overall styling and phrasing. In this live performance the drums are a little too forward in the mix; for all that the drums are obviously summoning up the spirit of an old-time rock beat, I still want them to float and glide under the voices like a hovercraft. top |
 At rehearsal for Chamber Music with pianist Hannah Parks and percussionist Kate MacLean (who also played accordion at the premiere of 'Best To Be Singing In Difficult Times'). Commissioned by Jackie Chambers and the Aeolian Singers. Also in the picture is Jackie's daughter, Cecelia White. | |
| Fair Time Ago, A SSA with solos/soli Cypress: CP 1183(Canada) (US) Musical Resources of Toledo Table for Six (and friends) | I was asked to write a piece for Lady Cove, a women's choir from St. John's led by Kellie Walsh, that would honour the role of women in traditional Newfoundland culture. The result, in a gently dancing slow 6/8, is an interweaving of narratives through an interweaving of solos or soli around the tutti texture. There are many ways these solos/soli could be distributed, depending on the vocal balance of the individual choir; during these antiphonal sections the tutti choir stays in two parts, which gives extra wiggle room when it comes to distributing solos without fatally weakening the ensemble sound. This piece looks backward in time, which makes it especially suitable for adult voices, but as many of the narratives come from young women peering into the future, the piece is also especially suitable for young voices. top |
| Heaven Bound Train (double SSAA choir) Colla Voce 21-20226 (SSAA and SATB choir) Colla Voce 21-20112 Recording Available Celesta Amabile | For the Amabile Youth Singers of London, Ontario. A slow cooker that builds to meltdown, this setting of an obscure spiritual takes the old gospel train image (plus the image of the underground railway to freedom) further than ever before, complete with long, scalding steam whistle blasts at the end. Packs a huge wallop that seems to really grip singers - of all my charts, this is the one that choirs have most repeatedly told me they are dying to try. Advanced. Both voicings are for a double choir, and in each case Choir 1 is SSAA. (Depending on the voicing, Choir 2 will be SSAA or SATB.) In both voicings Choir 1 is the more technically demanding, and is suitable for a double or triple quartet as well as a chorus. top |
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  Andrew Dunsmore sings and plays 'Metal and Wood', a piece for solo voice and percussion he commissioned as part of his research into the value of choral training for instrumentalists. The audio clip gives five minutes from the piece, starting when Andrew moves from chant to song by means of the 'A' from a silver tuning fork. ('Make the metal give its note away.') Dunsmore | |
| Ripple Effect SSAA and piano 979-0-051-47978-8 Recording Available Amabile (live) Amabile (studio) | "Dip your fingers in the water and the rings will spread. And they spread to who knows how far away? To beyond what you see, beyond what you hear, Like the voice of the candle when you pray." "Ripple Effect" was written in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Amabile Youth Singers, the choir with whom I’ve collaborated on so many pieces. This is one of my dreamy, creamy pieces, where the text's theme of ripples sent through water and air is reinforced by musical allusions to the chord progression of Donovan's water song "Atlantis" and the D flat tonality and rising thirds of Debussy's airy "Clair de Lune". The goal is a gentle luminosity, a pearly fog or a cool river full of blue and silver sparkles. (A very helpful comment, I'm sure.) "Ripple Effect" refers to the spreading influence of trailblazers like Amabile, as well as the importance of choral music in the search for a transcendence beyond words. Fairly advanced, but well within the reach of a good high school ensemble. top |
| Vive La Rose SA(T)B and piano SSA and piano SSA 979-0-051-48082-1 SA(T)B 979-0-051-48031-9 Cantus Vocum Table for Six (and friends) | A French folk song beloved on both sides of the Atlantic, this bittersweet arrangement was commissioned by Dr. Claire Wilkshire and La Rose des Vents, the choir of the Francophone Community Association of St. John's, Newfoundland. The story of a damsel's broken heart is told with the mixture of simplicity and subtlety in which French songs often excel – what a depth of contradictory feeling there is in her final lines: "Mardi reviendra me voir, / Mais je n'en voudrai pas." "Tuesday he'll come back to see me, But I wouldn't want him anymore." This is one of those songs where the choir tells a sad, sweet, simple tale that also showcases their phrases and vocal warmth. Lots of counter-melodies, lots of counterpoint amid the sad, sweet, simple harmonies. The arrangement is intended to work for trained choirs as well as community choirs where one cannot always count on wide vocal ranges or experienced readers, where the tenor line may be doubled by the contraltos and the baritones may not always be able to divide into tenor and bass. "Vive La Rose" has been recorded by many famous French musicians, and the version of the text that I have used is a tribute to the father of French Newfoundland fiddle music, Emile Benoit. Both soundfiles are from choirs in St. John's, Newfoundland, which is something I had very much hoped for. If you are following Cantus Vocum with a score, note the changes in the baritone at m.28-34 and 84. Thanks to Dr. Claire Wilkshire for making sure the French was accurate. top |
"Living In A Holy City" with over five hundred voices: the combined Hopewell Valley H.S. and Timberlane Middle School choirs of New Jersey, directed by Ken and Rebecca Elpus. Accompanist Elizabeth Hartnett can be seen sitting at the piano, singing along in her head. Photo by Matt Schwartz, www.mssphoto.com |
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