There Is a Balm in Gilead

for SATB a cappella choir, with Soprano and Baritone solos

‘Balm in Gilead’ is a fervent prayer to the heavens, to relieve the aches and weighty sorrows of an entire enslaved people. In his memorable autobiography, Frederick Douglass wrote these searing, and unforgettable words; “I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake… I have often sung to to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery…” The immense gift of these rich melodies, reminds us of how far we’ve come- and how far we still have to go.

SKU: MDC-016 Categories: Choral Music, Mixed Voices

Duration:	1-5 Minutes
Voicing:	SATB
Language:	English
Descriptive Tags:	Spirituals

$2.00

This title is available in print or for immediate download. For both options, there is a minimum required quantity of 8 copies for choral titles. Please support self-publishing composers by ordering the quantity according to the number of singers in the ensemble that will perform the work.

Print orders are printed on demand and shipped by our printing partner, and can be expected to be processed within a few days of the order. Please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] to follow up.

Choose Format

Clear

Quantity

Explore More Music…

	Title	Voicing	Duration	Language	Composer
	Coney Island for SATB choir a cappella RCL-005	SATB	4'	English	Campbell, Rich	Info/Listen/Buy »	“Coney Island,” was written by Pulitzer prize winning American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) and was first published in 1911 in the collection “Helen of Troy and Other Poems.”. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she lived for many years in New York City. My immigrant great-grandparents settled in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1890’s, and lived […]
“Coney Island,” was written by Pulitzer prize winning American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) and was first published in 1911 in the collection “Helen of Troy and Other Poems.”. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she lived for many years in New York City. My immigrant great-grandparents settled in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1890’s, and lived […]
	Cycle of Friends for soprano solo, chorus and chamber orchestra SWM-002	SATB ⋅ SSAATTB	25'	English	Kaulkin, Michael	Info/Listen/Buy »	A lyrical meditation on friendship and loss, Cycle of Friends is a concert centerpiece with texts ranging from Sappho and Emily Dickinson to Tang-dynasty China and pre-Columbian Mexico. A soprano soloist serves as an intimate narrator, while the orchestra supplies vivid, transparent color around lyrical choral writing. Completed and premiered in 1996, a newly revised […]
A lyrical meditation on friendship and loss, Cycle of Friends is a concert centerpiece with texts ranging from Sappho and Emily Dickinson to Tang-dynasty China and pre-Columbian Mexico. A soprano soloist serves as an intimate narrator, while the orchestra supplies vivid, transparent color around lyrical choral writing. Completed and premiered in 1996, a newly revised […]
	Hallelujah, Fly Away 12 rounds in the Folk tradition for mixed voices BKR-009		Each round 1′30″ to 2′ (in performance)	English	Kogler, Brian	Info/Listen/Buy »	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 […]
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 […]
	In Those Years, No One Slept for SATB choir a cappella RCL-016	SATB	3'35"	English	Campbell, Rich	Info/Listen/Buy »	The text of “In Those Years, No One Slept” is a scene from a time of conflict/war, by Romanian-American immigrant Claudia Serea. The score is at once rhythmic and exciting, haunting and unsettling. It was a winner of the 2018 Uncommon Music Festival Composition Competition. It is accessible for all fine high school, collegiate and […]
The text of “In Those Years, No One Slept” is a scene from a time of conflict/war, by Romanian-American immigrant Claudia Serea. The score is at once rhythmic and exciting, haunting and unsettling. It was a winner of the 2018 Uncommon Music Festival Composition Competition. It is accessible for all fine high school, collegiate and […]
	Justitiae Domini for SSA choir a cappella PGN-006	SSA	5'15"	English ⋅ Latin ⋅ Other	Gibson, Paul	Info/Listen/Buy »	Set in three languages (Spanish, English, and Latin), each iteration takes a slightly different style for the message of Psalm 18 (19): “The ordinances of the Lord are right…”
Set in three languages (Spanish, English, and Latin), each iteration takes a slightly different style for the message of Psalm 18 (19): “The ordinances of the Lord are right…”
	My Head Fell Off 13 Comic rounds for partnered voices BKR-002	Equal Voices ⋅ SSAA ⋅ SSAB	Each round 1′30″ to 2′ (in performance)	English ⋅ Latin	Kogler, Brian	Info/Listen/Buy »	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 […]
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 […]
	Paint Chips for SA choir and piano CME-010	SA ⋅ SS	2'	English	Mallonee, Caroline	Info/Listen/Buy »	A sweet and evocative, lyrical piece for treble voices and piano, this delicate song is a setting of a list of paint colors by Martha Stewart. The piece is also available in versions for solo voice and piano (baritone or soprano). It can be performed with or without a video/slide presentation of the paint colors.
A sweet and evocative, lyrical piece for treble voices and piano, this delicate song is a setting of a list of paint colors by Martha Stewart. The piece is also available in versions for solo voice and piano (baritone or soprano). It can be performed with or without a video/slide presentation of the paint colors.
	The Children’s Hour for actor, soprano solo, SATB choir and Piano ASA-001	SATB	12'	English	Roque Santana, Alberto	Info/Listen/Buy »	The Children’s Hour is a setting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem of the same name (first published in 1860) composed by Alberto Roque Santana for the Bowdoin Chamber Choir during the summer of 2011. The work is written for an actor, soprano solo, mixed choir and piano, and the composer writes that “the weight of the […]
The Children’s Hour is a setting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem of the same name (first published in 1860) composed by Alberto Roque Santana for the Bowdoin Chamber Choir during the summer of 2011. The work is written for an actor, soprano solo, mixed choir and piano, and the composer writes that “the weight of the […]
	Tonight I Can Write for mixed choir a cappella JBN-010	SATB	5'	English	Bernstein, Jeffrey	Info/Listen/Buy »

	Were You There? for baritone solo and SATB choir, a cappella MDC-017	SATB	–	English	Connor, Michal Dawson	Info/Listen/Buy »	This gorgeously heartfelt Spiritual gently asks the listener, exactly “where they were”, on the dark day when Jesus Christ was brutally crucified… and points an unflinching finger at themselves; a witness to the degrading torture and death that He endured, to expiate the world’s sins. In the entire canon of liturgical hymnody, very few pieces […]
This gorgeously heartfelt Spiritual gently asks the listener, exactly “where they were”, on the dark day when Jesus Christ was brutally crucified… and points an unflinching finger at themselves; a witness to the degrading torture and death that He endured, to expiate the world’s sins. In the entire canon of liturgical hymnody, very few pieces […]