Beautiful legato call and response harmonies, lush suspensions and a flowing piano accompaniment will make this piece a joy to rehearse and program for contest and concert. The Latin text will be easily learned and allow your choir to develop unified vowels and a warm and blended tone quality. Available separately: SATB, SAB, SSA. Duration: ca. 3:40.
MORE»
List: $1.80
This jubilant praise anthem offers unison and budding 2-part choirs a great opportunity to develop part-singing skills. An optional flute part, which primarily doubles the vocal descant, provides additional support to young singers and also substitutes as the descant for choirs singing the song in unison. Available separately: Unison/opt. 2-Part Treble, CelebrationTrax CD. Duration: ca. 1:54
MORE»
List: $2.10
Over the many years since its publication, this festival arrangement by Roy Ringwald has earned an honored place in the choral repertoire as a true Shawnee Classic.
MORE»
List: $2.50
Text: Robert Southwell
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Difficulty level: 3
The Ceremony of Carols is one of Britten's best-known and most-performed works. It is a brilliantly conceived and dramatic concert work which sees the voices process to their places singing unaccompanied plainsong and, at the end, processing out again to the same chant. These movements can also be accompanied but strictly only if the voices do not process. The final Alleluia can be repeated as many times as necessary to get the singers to and from their destination.
The carols are for three-part children's voices (though, of course they can be sung by female adults as well) and they form a two-part work around a central Interlude for harp which is based on the plainsong from the Procession. Variety is the key word here as all the carols have such individual identities. The forthright Wolcum Yole!, the deliciously lyrical There is no Rose, the swinging Balulalow, the fiery and dramatic This little Babe all contribute to a work which is a feast of discovery throughout. Lovely solos and duos add further colour and the harp part, an inspired choice of accompaniment, enriches, colours and surrounds the voices with its pictorial musical imagery. If anything shows Britten's genius for writing for voices it must be this work.
The challenges here are in creating a real equality between voice parts, fielding a confident pair of soloists, and making the most of the wonderfully colourful poems Britten has chosen to set. Pronunciation is not really an issue, but when I recorded this work with the Finzi Singers I decided to follow the example of Sacred and Profane and use authentic medieval pronunciation for which an expert coach was necessary. It brings an added element of colour to a familiar aural experience.
Duration: 22 minutes
Paul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011
MORE»
List: $2.25
This is the ShowTrax CD to Liza's signature song! Available separately: SATB, 3-Part Mixed, 2-Part. Performance Time: Approx. 2:30.
MORE»
List: $29.99
One of the most potent phrases ever used to describe our Lord: “Guilty of Innocence.” This incredibly emotional anthem from the best-selling Easter cantata, Once Upon a Tree, is now available as an octavo. Vividly retelling the story of Christ's fateful destiny, from Herod's attempt to kill him as a baby, through a lifetime of accusation and condemnation, to the trial before Pilate, his only crime was being guilty of innocence. Truth threatens and love challenges. This powerful, moving anthem will leave you breathless.
MORE»
List: $2.65
The great poet and essayist Langston Hughes used the power of words to speak out against racism, division, poverty and greed. In this new setting of the poem “Give Us Our Peace,” we first hear the African American spiritual “I've Been in the Storm So Long.” Once the historical context is established, a treble chorus – representing the role of innocent children – enter singing “Dona Nobis Pacem” (grant us peace). Finally, the mixed chorus enters with the bluesy/gospel theme that carries the rest of the song. Powerful and inspiring.
MORE»
List: $2.95
The classic song recorded by Willie Nelson gets a fantastic remake by the British group The Jive Aces in a recording and video that brings a little sunshine into even the darkest world! This pop choral arrangement is simple, yet appealing and will brighten up every concert program! Available separately: SATB, SAB, SSA, ShowTrax CD. Combo parts available digitally (tpt 1, tpt 2, tsx, tbn, gtr, b, dm). Duration: ca. 3:15.
MORE»
List: $1.95
In this Ladino romace, a young man expresses his undying passion for his beloved, Rozina.
MORE»
List: $1.75
