Multicultural
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JUNE 2008 NEW ISSUES
African Lullaby
arr. Joan Szymko
The arranger cleverly weaves together two folk lullabies of African origin: the soothing African American song, “Angels Watching Over Me” and “Abiyoyo,” from the Bantu people of southern Africa. Choirs of all ages will enjoy this beautiful arrangement.
SSA - piano, hand drum
duration: 2:00
difficulty level: easy
SBMP 809
see and hear the music: ScorchORDER HERE
Iraqi Peace Song
traditional Iraqi song, arr. by Lori Tennenhouse (based on a vocal setting by Norwegian performer, Knut Reiersrud)
The song is a lullaby, that universal culture of feeling shared between mother and child. Accompanied by a cello, the piece opens with a hauntingly beautiful solo sung in the original Arabic (a transliteration is in the score.) The piano joins and then the choir, singing first the theme about international peace in English, then moving on to the Arabic. A listen to the recording will quickly demonstrate the intrigue of this piece.
SA/alto solo - cello, piano, dumbek
duration: 5:30
difficulty level: easy
SBMP 794
see and hear the music: Scorch
read the text
hear the music [© all rights reserved] Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus, Lori Tennenhouse, conductor
ORDER HERE
Red is the Rose
Robert Sieving
Set to a traditional Irish lyric, the opening pentatonic melody evokes the feel of an Irish folk song; authentic Irish color is added by the accompaniment.
TTB - piano, penny whistle or sopranino recorder
duration: 3:50
difficulty level: medium
Series: Peter A. Eklund
SBMP 795
see and hear the music: Scorch
hear
the music [© all rights reserved] University of Nebraska Varsity Men’s Chorus, Peter Eklund, conductor
ORDER HERE
Unending Flame
Paul Carey
An exciting new song for Hanukkah. The clarinet stylishly opens the piece, leading to a haunting choral melody in the minor mode. A rousing concluding section celebrates the bright Menorah and the joy of Hanakkah.
SA - piano, clarinet; optional orchestra
duration: 3:40
difficulty level: easy
Series: Mary Alice Stollak
SBMP 788
see and hear the music: Scorch
hear the music [© all rights reserved] piano version: Michigan State University Children’s Choir, Mary Alice Stollak, conductor
hear the music [© all rights reserved] orchestral version: Michigan State University Children’s Choir, MSU Orchestra, Mary Alice Stollak, conductor
ORDER HERE
clarinet part - SBMP 788.1 - $5.00 - ORDER HERE
Unending Flame
Paul Carey
An exciting new song for Hanukkah. The clarinet stylishly opens the piece, leading to a haunting choral melody in the minor mode. A rousing concluding section celebrates the bright Menorah and the joy of Hanakkah.
SAB - piano, clarinet; optional orchestra
duration: 3:40
difficulty level: easy
SBMP 791
see and hear the music: Scorch
ORDER HERE
clarinet part - SBMP 791.1 - $5.00 - ORDER HERE
Wana Baraka
Kenyan folk song, arr. Shawn L. Kirchner
An upbeat Kenyan religious folk song that will be a concert favorite. The arrangement builds with great excitement leading to an extensive rhythmic play on the word alleluya.
TTTBBB - a cappella
duration: 3:00
difficulty level: medium
Series: Daniel Hughes
SBMP 807
see and hear the music: Scorch
ORDER HERE
JANUARY 2008 NEW ISSUES
Avinu Malkeinu
Hebrew folk song arranged Ron Kean and Jill Egland
The piece, taken from the Jewish High Holy Day liturgy, is a passionate, dramatic song; the arrangement beautifully highlights all its inherent color and drama.
SATB - piano
duration: 2:40
difficulty level: medium
SBMP 766
see and hear the music: Scorch see the music: PDF hear the music [© all rights reserved] Bakersfield College Chamber Singers, Ron Kean, conductorORDER HERE
Fiddler of Dooney, The
Daniel J. Hall
Set to a colorful poem by one of Ireland’s most beloved poets, William Butler Yeats, the composer dramatically brings the text alive with strong hints of Irish flavor along the way.
SATB - a cappella
duration: 3:10
difficulty level: Medium
Series: Jo-Michael Scheibe
SBMP 748
see and hear the music: Scorch
see the music: PDF
read the poem
CD recording available
hear the music [© all rights reserved] West Texas A&M University Chorale, Daniel J. Hall, conductor
ORDER HERE
Little Birch Tree
Russian folk song arranged by Sue Bohlin
The voices sing the melody throughout, with one short section where it is treated as a canon. The piano accompaniment captures the exciting movement of the dancing leaves of the birch tree. This folk melody was made famous by Tchaikovsky who used it the fourth movement of his Symphony no. 4.
SA (For two equal voices), piano, wood block, optional cello
SBMP 757
duration: 2:00
difficulty level: easy
see and hear the music: Scorch
see the music: PDF
hear the music [© all rights reserved] Ancora of Piedmont Children’s Choir, Robert Geary, conductor
ORDER HERE
cello part - SBMP 757.1 - $5.00 - ORDER HERE
Shojojee
Japanese folk song arranged by B. Wayne Bisbee
This charming Japanese folk song tells the story of a temple in Shojojee where racoon-like animals would dance and beat their big stomachs like drums to compete with the music from the temple monks. The repetitive Japanese text is not difficult to master; the text underlay is a phonetic transliteration. The instruments add authenticity and color.
SA - piano, finger cymbals, 2 temple blocks, hand drum
duration: 1:30
difficulty level: easy
SBMP 741
see and hear the music: Scorch
see the music: PDF
ORDER HERE
JUNE 2007 NEW ISSUES
Blue Bird
Korean folk song arranged by Jungsun Lee
A beautiful song with a short, but powerfully symbolic text. The Korean is written out as a transliteration making it easy to sing. There is no divisi and a conservative range, inviting choirs of all abilities to enjoy this special piece.
SATB - a cappella
Duration: 2:45
Difficulty level: easy
SBMP 730
see and hear the music: Scorch see
the music - PDF file hear the music [© all rights reserved] performed by The New Choir of San Jose, CA, Eileen Chang, conductorORDER HERE
Eu e Vocé
Brazilian folk song, arr. J. Edmund Hughes
Great rhythmic fun and involvement are possible in this delightful arrangement. The voices play a big part in the quasi-instrumental rhythm, and are optionally joined by finger snaps, lap slaps, and hand claps in a rhythmic interlude that could also incorporate the audience and rhythm instruments.
SSA - piano
Duration: 3:10
Difficulty level: medium
SBMP 710
see and hear the music: Scorch see
the music - PDF filehear the music - MIDI recording sans percussionORDER HERE
My Lagan Love
Irish folk song, arr. Paula Tillen
The hauntingly beautiful melody is enhanced by a dramatic, flourishing violin, with harp-like chords coming from the piano. The melody is first stated by the soprano soloist, and in conclusion, by the choir.
SSAA/sop. solo - piano, violin
Duration: 3:00
Difficulty level: medium
SBMP 720
Series: Sharon Hansen
see and hear the music: Scorch see
the music - PDF filehear the music - MIDI recordingORDER HERE
Ye Jaliya-o
Joan Szymko
From the notes by the composer:
I am an admirer of traditional West African music, with its direct simplicity and wonderful rhythmic complexity. I have composed an original piece of music with text excerpts from “The Pulse of Life” by Catherine De Vinck interwoven with the dominant Lambango lyric:
“Ye Jaliya-o, Allah le ka Jaliya da”
Oh music, God created music.
The “you are the heart, you are the sound....” “Pulse of Life” chant begins as an undercurrent that rises and falls until it overtakes the piece. The rhythms in this piece are clearly African influenced, as is its tonality. The raised fourth (C sharp) is characteristic of Sauta, one of the kora traditional tunings. The kora is a 21 string harp-lute played by the griots as a lead instrument.
SATB - percussion
Duration: 4:15
Difficulty level: medium
Series: Joseph Ohrt
SBMP 726
see
the music - PDF file hear the music [© all rights reserved] Central Bucks High School-West Chamber Choir, Joseph Ohrt, conductorORDER HERE
Ye Jaliya-o
Joan Szymko
From the notes by the composer:
I am an admirer of traditional West African music, with its direct simplicity and wonderful rhythmic complexity. I have composed an original piece of music with text excerpts from “The Pulse of Life” by Catherine De Vinck interwoven with the dominant Lambango lyric:
“Ye Jaliya-o, Allah le ka Jaliya da”
Oh music, God created music.
The “you are the heart, you are the sound....” “Pulse of Life” chant begins as an undercurrent that rises and falls until it overtakes the piece. The rhythms in this piece are clearly African influenced, as is its tonality. The raised fourth (C sharp) is characteristic of Sauta, one of the kora traditional tunings. The kora is a 21 string harp-lute played by the griots as a lead instrument.
SSA div. - percussion
Difficulty level: medium
SBMP 734
see
the music - PDF filehear the music [© all rights reserved] Pleiades, Joan Szymko, conductorORDER HERE