A very rhythmic drive characterizes this exuberant setting of the traditional Christmas text, “Christ is born today” set in Latin. Choirs love to sing the jazzy rhythms and harmonies that require care in tuning, but once mastered create a contemporary sound world that will energize any Christmas concert or service.
Composer’s Note: “The Red Wheelbarrow,” an innovative environmental/imagist poem I first read as a teenager, struck me as an alluring and joyful means to immerse in a commission by Austin’s Inversion Ensemble for their Planet Home project. The score blossomed during a fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a pastoral setting that […]
Written for the CBSO Children’s Chorus, and first performed by them in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, this light-hearted piece describes a day-dreaming shepherd boy, who suddenly finds himself drawn into the Christmas story. It has also been performed by a youth chorus in Liverpool, accompanied by the Royal Liverpool […]
“The Wind” was commissioned by the Organization of American Kodály Educators as a result of Rich Campbell winning the Ruth Boshkoff Composition Prize. The text is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1885 A Child’s Garden of Verses. The choir begins by emulating the sound of the wind, and then sings directly to the wind, describing the […]
Also popularly known as “The Ryans and the Pittmans,” this song recounts the romantic entanglements of a sailor named Robert “Bob” Pittman. It is based on the English sea shanty “Spanish Ladies,” which has a number of variants known to sailors from New England to Australia. Most of the verses in this version may be […]
“Puzzle” is a 2-part, SA choral piece for children’s choir/ elementary choir. There is also a combined choir (SATB) version. Lyrics by Linda Trott Dickman. How can we resolve our disagreements? “Puzzle” suggests there is a way. The text begins “How to get along together / it’s a puzzle / Will we understand each other […]
Tumbalalayka is a rhythmic, harmonically rich setting of the beloved Yiddish folksong. The voices imitate the strumming of the balalaika in this classic riddle-courtship song—by turns playful and tender. Performed regularly by choirs around the world. It is included on French vocal quartet Quatour Aesthesis’ 2022 CD O Do Not Move. At a glance • WACDA […]
This arrangement of the well known spiritual would suit a good school, college or community choir. It is light and a little jazzy in style. While it can be accompanied by piano alone, the addition of string bass and solo violin is to be recommended. Drum kit could also be an optional addition from letter […]
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 […]
A brief, delightful and whimsical setting of a text by American poet Gertrude Stein. It may be learned quickly. It is almost entirely built on a round, which underscores the poem’s wordplay. For 3-part treble choir, with piano accompaniment. Secular.
The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain form a golden age of round-singing; even the nineteenth provided some fine examples. These twelve rounds, set to texts by Shakespeare, Skelton, Swift, Dryden, Johnson, Carroll and Synge, are of varying difficulty and may require rehearsal. Keeping as they do to the style of the period, they […]
Christmas Time in the Eyes of a Child is a light-hearted secular Christmas song for children, although it could be performed by adults. This version is specifically arranged for children’s choir with piano accompaniment, and can either be sung in unison or in two parts (SA). There is also a solo version and a mixed choir (SATB) version available, the […]
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 […]
Golden Apples Of The Sun (SATB, unaccompanied) is a joyful, rhythmic piece with lyrics inspired by a Yeats poem. Accessible, uptempo and exhilarating, it is ideal for civic events and celebrations. It is a dynamic work that is exciting for both performers and listeners. Winner of the Celebration Singers 80th Anniversary Composition Competition.
A 17th-century riddle poem, “I Saw a Peacock With a Fiery Tail” at first seems fantastical: A peacock with a fiery tail! I saw a comet drop down hail! Full of evocative text painting, this choral setting reveals the sense of the poem by dividing each line between the two choirs and then reordering the […]
Most rounds in popular collections are either sober or light-hearted. Where are the truly chucklesome examples? They do exist, of course: one thinks of classics such as “Thy Jolly Red Nose” or “The Old Man from Calcutta”; even, perhaps, of the bawdy catches of Henry Purcell and John Blow. But they are rarely found between […]
If music be the food of love . . . then you’ll simply love this collection of rounds that has Food as its theme. Expect some heartburn as you sing of pumpkins, peas, eels, gammon steak and applesauce—all washed down with ale and black coffee. The twelve rounds encompass many moods and offer more than […]
Apple Pie is a novel, fun, upbeat and humorous tale of two friends searching for their favorite dessert. It was the winner of the Wasatch Chorale Ars Nova Composition Competition; their call for scores asked for a piece suitable for an afternoon family concert. With a rollicking piano part moving it along, the chorus tells […]
Without doubt, children of all ages enjoy singing rounds. The rounds they learn are likely to be the old worthies of past centuries: “Sumer is icumen in”, “Fie, Nay, Prithee, John” or “Well Rung, Tom!” This original collection balances the standard repertoire with a variety of easy, feel-good rounds: the sweet, the comic and the […]
The round in Western culture has been associated as closely with wit as it has with praise. Here are thirteen risible rounds of varying difficulty intended for a cappella performance. Admirably suited to treble voices, they may be sung by mixed groups of all ages. The lyrics are light and teasing, the music jaunty and […]
This is the combined choir (SATB) version of “Puzzle.” There is also 2-part, SA choral piece for children’s choir/ elementary choir. Lyrics by Linda Trott Dickman. How can we resolve our disagreements? “Puzzle” suggests there is a way. The text begins “How to get along together / it’s a puzzle / Will we understand each […]
The round is the first tool of any music teacher wishing to develop in children an ability to listen to others while holding an independent line. Rounds also build cohesion among singers, providing opportunities to improve ensemble, sight-reading, articulation and breathing. Here are thirteen original rounds of varying difficulty for Youth Choir: while intended for […]
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 […]
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 […]
I. Curiosity (Why are…?) II. Desperation (How do I? How do you?) III. Contemplation (I Wonder Why) PROGRAM NOTE Search was commissioned by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City for the Radio Radiance program. The text was assembled by the composer from the suggestions Google makes when one types a question word into […]
“It’s a beautiful, wonderful world, A world of wonder for all to share; Let us walk together, hand in hand, Spreading peace and friendship throughout the land…” Inspired by a visit to botanical gardens in California, this song is intended to reflect the beauty of nature around us, and to suggest that we should live […]
Are you a square? Can you easily retrieve a gas bill from 1979? Do you pine for the return of spats? Do you chew each mouthful forty times while letting the bottle “breathe”? And when you watch TV, do you recoil from all murders except those committed on the village green? If so, these rounds […]
This very simple Christmas song is aimed at younger children. It is in unison throughout, apart from a brief optional descant part near the end. Accompaniment is for piano, and a few simple percussion instruments may be added if desired. This is the original version (GTT-025a), which refers directly to Christ’s Nativity, and is suitable […]
This delightful piece sets a whimsical poem by the American poet, Susan Kinsolving, about steps taken internationally to make the world a better place. Sanford Dole’s Dance Steps has artistic merit…no one can doubt the artistic merit of Dole’s entertaining piece. I was not looking forward to enduring Susan Kinsolving’s absurdist text, printed in the […]
This very simple Christmas song is aimed at younger children. It is in unison throughout, apart from a brief optional descant part near the end. Accompaniment is for piano, and a few simple percussion instruments may be added if desired. As the original version (GTT-025a) refers directly to Christ’s Nativity, I have also been asked […]
Gloria in D was premièred in December 2014 by the Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee in their ‘Christmas in the Basilica’ concerts. It is written for a large chorus, soprano soloist, brass ensemble, consisting of three trumpets and three trombones, timpani and organ. Richard Hynson, who conducted the première in Milwaukee, writes: “As music Director of […]
“We Will Shine Like The Sun” is an uptempo piece; this arrangement is for combined SA treble choir & SATB choir with piano accompaniment.. The empowering text inspires imagination with optimistic lyrics that are ideal for young singers. The score includes a driving piano accompaniment, a clapping section, and an optional tambourine part. The rousing […]
Ducks in the Garden is a short a cappella piece based on a very silly poem by Will T. Laughlin. It was premiered in June, 2012 by the San Francisco Choral Artists, Magen Solomon, Artistic Director. Hear the work performed in the amusing video embedded above. Morning comes — The day is fine; Ducks in […]
This light-hearted holiday song was commissioned by a local community chorus, one of whose members wrote the words. I was asked to include a part for children’s choir, and I understand everyone enjoyed taking part. It has a simple message – to chase away the gloom, and spread light and happiness to all at Christmas […]
