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 words of this carol/motet are well-known from Britten’s teenage tour-de-force, but that double-chorus setting is out of the reach of most church choirs. The powerful text, alternating English and Latin in the style of medieval carols, warrants an additional, simpler setting. The work is suitable for concert performance, as well as for liturgical use […]
This joyous Spiritual proclaims a fervent belief in “Freedom’s Song”, and its infectious, jaunty, rhythm- coupled with a simple, yet unforgettable melody make this a perennial favorite in the canon of slave songs. Absolutely appropriate in the context of a religious service, or festival choir performance in a secular setting.
A setting of Robert Frost’s metaphorical rendering of feelings of depression, isolation and alienation. Rhythmic and thought-provoking. Medium difficulty, appropriate for high school, collegiate and community choirs. Commissioned by Penn High School Choirs, IN.
This anthem is a setting of words from Psalm 5. It is particularly suited to church performance during devotional or penitential seasons such as Lent, or in prayer or dedication services. The anthem was also incorporated as the middle piece of the contrasting set of “Three Anthems“, commissioned by the Purbeck Arts Choir in the […]
This piece was written while walking through the Mission District of San Francisco on a rainy evening. California has been experiencing a serious drought these past few years. I was thrilled to feel the raindrops, hence the celebratory feeling of the piece. — Mark Growden Also available in SATB and TTBB versions.
Music by Mark Growden Text by Pat Schneider THE PATIENCE OF ORDINARY THINGS by Pat Schneider It is a kind of love, is it not? How the cup holds the tea, How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare, How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes Or toes. How soles of feet know Where they’re […]
This composition won first prize in the Longfellow Choral Composition Competition in 2011. I have enjoyed Longfellow’s poetry for many years–“Excelsior” in particular. However, I’ve never managed to develop a huge amount of sympathy for the poem’s protagonist. Here we have a youth who ignores the advice of everyone around him that his journey was […]
Kyries for Worship Services is a 4 piece set of Kyie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison responses written for SATB voices. The first is in a minor key. The rest are in various church modes. This format is typically used in Protestant services after a Prayer of Confession. ISMN 979-0-9025253-0-5
This popular spiritual has been arranged for SATB and piano duet (4 hands, one piano). Uplifting AND fun to sing, with a very exciting accompaniment. There are multiple optional, short solos. A great time will be had by all!
A short call to worship for SATB choir with optional organ accompaniment. Composed for the installation of The Reverend Kenneth Crawford at the Parish of St. James the Great, Darlington, England, July, 2014.
This inspirational piece for treble voices begins and ends with a canon. Originally written for a high school girl’s choir, it is appropriate for younger singers as well as professionals.
The Vocális Chamber Choir commissioned Songs of Crystal for their 15th anniversary. The traditional gift for a fifteenth anniversary is crystal, so for this commission Mallonee linked four poems by Sara Teasdale and created a set that explores each of the four seasons.
The familiar words, “It came upon a midnight clear”, are set to a lively tune, with piano accompaniment, and a simple refrain is added, with the words “Deo, Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo” (“Glory to God in the highest”). Written with women’s voices in mind, it could also be tackled by a good children’s choir.
“We Will Shine Like The Sun” is an uptempo, 2 part piece for treble voices. 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 ending makes it especially suitable as a program opener […]
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 […]
“Winter Stars” was written by Pulitzer Prize winning American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) and was first published in 1920 in the collection “Flame & Shadow.” She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, found acclaim while living in New York City, and became disillusioned in her later years. Perhaps she was writing this poem with World […]
A moving setting of the classic American lullaby. Good for developing singers, but also a good choice for some lovely unison singing with more advanced ensembles. The students we arranged this for absolutely loved it. We hope your choir does too.
In the poem “Psalm of the Sky,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat reimagines “The Lord is My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) in a contemporary context. Performers may highlight the many instances of text painting and create contrast between moments of gentleness, boldness, and carefree movement. The last verse of Psalm 23 is included in Hebrew as a coda […]
Ideal for middle school, high school, or adult chorus, High Clouds, Low Clouds is an fun and accurate description of the most common cloud formations while evoking the 1970s in an entertainingly retro-pop style. High Clouds, Low Clouds, drifting, floating – Cumulus clouds of sunny summer days look like puffs of cotton candy in the […]
This familiar Spiritual is intertwined with another less-known hymn-tune, from one of the earliest collections of Slave songs known- collected by William Francis Allen in 1867. This ardent abolitionist gathered many songs from the post- Slavery communities of Port Royal, South Carolina to create a remarkable published collection of African American music.
Like Softest Music takes its words from Romeo and Juliet: My soul calls upon my name. How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears! The piece is canonic, and much of the piece is sung sotto voce, creating a soft and indistinct choral soundscape that envelops the audience.
“Rain Has Fallen” is one of two settings by Madelyn Byrne of poems from James Joyce’s Chamber Music. The other setting, “Winds of May“, is also available from Swirly Music. The composer writes: Chamber Music is an early work by James Joyce. It is a collection of poems dealing with the young author’s feelings of loneliness, anticipation, […]
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 […]
The voice of the English-speaking working classes is preserved in the rich body of song that developed in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution and in the years surrounding the Great Depression. The songs abound with hope, despair, delight, passion and humour. This original collection of 12 folk-inspired rounds borrows lyrics from English […]
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 […]
Voiced for SSAB with optional organ. A combination of Latin, English, and Greek text. The Improperia, also known as the Reproaches, are a series of antiphons and responses used on Good Friday that remind us of the atrocity of our sin. God had repeatedly saved us and we repeatedly rejected Him. Here I have put […]
“To Soar” was premiered on June 3 and 9, 2018 in New York City by Accord Treble Choir, directed by Liz Geisewite. A live recording appears on Accord’s 2019 album Celestial & Terrestrial. I chose this poem by Walt Whitman to fit the theme of Accord’s June 2018 concert program “On Wings.” The piece squeezes […]
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 […]
When I Am Dead, My Dearest was conceived as a partner piece to Dido’s Lament from Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aeneas. Purcell’s aria begins, “When I am laid in earth”; Rossetti’s poem begins, “When I am dead.” Purcell ends with “Remember me, but ah, forget my fate”; Rossetti’s poem ends, “Haply I may remember […]
This haunting melody, is one of the most beautiful songs that the slaves composed; bone-weary and sorrow-filled… with their eyes firmly fixed on a Great Deliverer somewhere up in heaven. The itinerant preachers that visited the plantations, selected specific passages from the Bible- guaranteeing them entrance to the Promised Land- if they worked hard for […]
“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 […]
This beloved folk tune has been arranged with optional, muted trumpet (the timbre adds to the mood of the piece). The piano accompaniment expands the 4-part harmony of the choir to suggest more contemporary harmony with a few jazz chords. It’s not overdone, however; “Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger” is still a traditional, compelling portrait of a […]
2016 Idaho All-State, 2018 Arkansas All-State selection “If I Can Sing, I Still Am Free” was the winner of the San Diego choir SACRA/PROFANA’s 2014 composition competition. It’s an ideal piece for festivals and large ensembles, with a text that champions inner strength in the face of adversity. It has quickly become one of Campbell’s […]
Based on traditional hymns and chants, these three brief anthems present the seasonal texts in a new and compelling way. “Savior of the nations, come!” and “Creator of the stars of night” are easy and very accessible. “Come thou redeemer of the world,” while more advanced, with close harmonies and disparate key changes, repays the […]
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.
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 […]
