Steven Paxton
Steven Paxton is a composer, music editor and conductor based in Texas. He has taught choral music, music theory, composition, and electronic music at the collegiate and high school level, and is also an experienced conductor of community-based choral groups. He is the founder and principal editor of Creative Spirit Music Publications. Paxton earned a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University in 1981, and holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in music composition from the University of North Texas.
Choral Music by Steven Paxton
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SAB | 3' | French | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This traditional folk song from Haiti originated as a work song, sung by boatmen in order keep their rowing strokes in sync. The language is Haitian Creole, similar in pronunciation to French, but easier (no silent letters!). Piano accompaniment with simple optional drum. Also available in a version for TTB chorus. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TTB | 3' | French | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This traditional folk song from Haiti originated as a work song, sung by boatmen in order keep their rowing strokes in sync. The language is Haitian Creole, similar in pronunciation to French, but easier (no silent letters!). Piano accompaniment with simple optional drum. Also available in a version for SAB chorus. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 4' | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GA-ZE (SSA) is from the northwestern part of Uganda (West Nile Region), bordering with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). It is closely associated with the traditional Gaze dance of the Lugbara people, and the lyrics are a mixture of Lugbara and Lingala. The Gaze play/dance songs encourage and inspire children, usually […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 3'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SAB | 3'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 3'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 2' | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 – 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His first book of poems, Oak and Ivy, included what would become one of his most well-known works, “Sympathy,” in which he expresses, in a somber tone, the plight of Black people in American society. The third stanza reads as follows: I […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 2'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This traditional folksong from Kentucky first appeared in print in 1919 in John Jacob Niles’s Seven Kentucky Mountain Ballads—nobody knows how long it’s actually been around. This arrangement, with a steadily flowing piano accompaniment, moves along quickly and captures both the poignancy and frustration of a lonely mountain girl: If I had a ribbon bow to […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 4' | English ⋅ Latin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JUSTITIAE DOMINI RECTAE (SSA) is based on the original Gregorian chant sung as an offertory on the Third Sunday of Lent. The Latin text is based on verses from Psalm 19 (18 in the Latin Vulgate): The laws of God are just, rejoicing the heart, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb; therefore your servant will observe them. […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SAB | 2' | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KONIKONECO (3-Part Mixed chorus) is a traditional call-and-response song of the Teso people, who live in eastern Uganda and in western Kenya. The lyrics, from the Ateso language combined with borrowings from other languages and dialects, roughly translates as “Let us celebrate our schools, our learning, and our empowerment.” The piano accompaniment suggests the arpeggios […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 2' | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KONIKONECO (SATB chorus) is a traditional call-and-response song of the Teso people, who live in eastern Uganda and in western Kenya. The lyrics, from the Ateso language combined with borrowings from other languages and dialects, roughly translates as “Let us celebrate our schools, our learning, and our empowerment.” The piano accompaniment suggests the arpeggios typical […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TTB | 2' | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
KONIKONECO (TTB) is a traditional call-and-response song of the Teso people, who live in eastern Uganda and in western Kenya. The lyrics, from the Atesolanguage combined with borrowings from other languages and dialects, roughly translates as “Let us celebrate our schools, our learning, and our empowerment.” The piano accompaniment suggests the arpeggios typical of Ugandan hand-held harps (a’dungu). Other […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 3'30" | Latin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A melodic, prayerful, and emotionally engaging setting of the ancient Latin hymn text attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604), Supreme Creator of Light. Lucis Creator optime, Supreme Creator of light,lucem dierum proferens, Bringing forth each day’s dawn,primordiis lucis novae, Creating anew the primordial light,mundi parans originem: Which first shown when the world was made: More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSAATB | 4' | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Multiple divisi lines in soprano and alto and unison tenor/bass create an effective textural setting of this text from Isaiah 42: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold: my chosen one in whom I delight.” SSSSAAAB unaccompanied. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 2'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Paxton’s RAINDROP SONG is a setting of a whimsical poem by Texas poet Chris Willerton, about a talking raindrop. This short, delightful work for treble choir requires a good pianist, and includes short spoken segments for individual speaker as well as full choir. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 4'30" | Latin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB a cappella settings of three ancient Latin texts in a style reminiscent of Renaissance polyphony, but mixing dissonant and tonal harmonies in a challenging but singable texture. Melodies are often disjunct, even passing from section to section, but always lyrical and poignantly expressive. De castitatis thalamo, virgo virginum, and Ave Maria. Ave Maria also […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA | 3'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSA settings, with piano accompaniment, of texts by e. e. cummings (in Just), Thomas Dekker (The Merry Month of May), and from Genesis 1:11-12 (First Spring). The style is rhythmically intricate, includes spoken passages, and is rooted in an expanded tonality; the piano accompaniment is virtuosic. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 6'30" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Paxton’s VISIONS for SATB choir is a moving setting of the poem by Wisconsin poet Charlotte A. Cote: “You catch sometimes a glimpse of forever — a lake… .” It was commissioned by Paul Rusterholz and the La Crosse Chamber Chorale in celebration of the 1998 Wisconsin Sesquicentennial. Two versions are available, one with […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||