For Stacy Horn, regardless of what is going on in the world or her life, singing in an amateur choir the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York never fails to take her to a place where hope reigns and everything good is possible. She s not particularly religious, and her voice is not exceptional (so she says), but like the 32.5 million other chorus members throughout this country, singing makes her happy. Horn brings us along as she sings some of the greatest music humanity has ever produced, delves into the dramatic stories of conductors and composers, unearths thefascinating history of group singing, and explores remarkable discoveries from the new science of singing, including all the unexpected health benefits. "Imperfect Harmony" is the story of one woman who has found joy and strength in the weekly ritual of singing and in the irresistible power of song."

This is a selection of the best-loved carols and hymns for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter: 74 of the most popular titles from Carols for Choirs 1, 2 and 3, plus 26 titles new to the series. There are carols suitable for both sacred and secular occasions, and both accompanied and unaccompanied material. The Order of Service for a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is included.

This study of the Bach Choir provides a much-needed overview of one of the major choral societies in London. Dr Basil Keen examines the background that led to the formation of an ad hoc body to give the first performance in England of J.S. Bach's B minor Mass. The musical and organizational effects of a permanent choral society drawn from one social group are traced during the first twenty years, after such time the pressures of social change led to a complete review followed by a restructuring of the methods of recruitment and internal organization. The rebuilding of the choir at the opening of the twentieth century, the expansion of the repertoire, the upheaval resulting from the First World War and the impact of these events on preparation and performance, are all considered. The book is essentially structured around the tenure of successive Musical Directors: Otto Goldschmidt, Charles Villiers Stanford, Walford Davies, Hugh Allen, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Adrian Boult, Reginald Jacques and David Willcocks, since their varied tastes and interests inevitably had a decisive influence on policy. Keen draws upon previously unpublished material, including minutes and correspondence of the Bach Choir, interviews with relatives and descendants, and examination of family records and correspondence. To date, there has been no survey of a major London choir that encompasses the full history of the organization in context. In this study, Dr Basil Keen provides a thorough examination of the Bach Choir, including the response of the choir to social changes; the influence of conductors and officials; changes in musical taste; relationships with composers and composition; major national and international events; and the effect of these matters on organization and repertoire.

for CCBar and piano This is an imaginative and modern-sounding setting of John Masefield's popular poem (2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Masefield's death). This expressive piece ebbs and flows, and provides imitative textures and well-crafted narrative.

Lists and describes approximately 1,600 published and unpublished choral works by more than 100 African-American composers and arrangers, 600 more works than the first edition. Many of these works, representing all styles from simple four-part settings to avant-garde pieces, have not been performed before because of the difficulty in locating them. White's bibliography provides a useful tool for busy conductors wishing to perform music by African-American composers, and serves as an incentive to choral conductors to program little-known composers as well as unknown works by established musicians. Arrangement is by composer. Entries list number of pages; voicing and solo requirements; vocal ranges; degree of difficulty; a cappella or type of accompaniment; publishers; and catalog number. Also included are a title index; a listing of selected collections of Negro spirituals; biographical sketches of African-American composers and arrangers; and three appendixes: selected source readings, selected discography, and addresses of publishers and composers.

This is the third volume in an on-going series of books surveying the choral-orchestral repertoire. In this study, Green reviews Bach's entire oeuvre, including the more than two hundred works that are rarely performed and therefore rarely discussed. All Bach's works from BWV1 to BWV249 are analyzed, making this volume one of the most useful handbooks on this repertoire. Green reviews each work in great detail, providing information such as an instrumentation list, performance times, publishers, availability of materials, manuscript location (when possible), the hand of the copyist(s), text sources, a discography, and bibliographies specific to each composition. Most importantly, for each work there is a detailed description of the performance issues within the score. This includes evaluations of each solo vocal role, an evaluation of the choral and orchestral parts, along with an estimation of their respective difficulties. There are a number of indexes that provide brief biographical or historical information about each text source indexed back to the works themselves. There is also an index of works by type, vocal solos, choral voicing, instrumentation, liturgical calendar, performance chronology, title, and chorale usage.

for SATB and organ or brass ensemble This arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Glory' (Slava, Op.21) by Terry Price brings this popular Russian anthem to a wider audience. The original Russian text has been replaced with a hymn by the arranger that draws inspiration from words by Reginald Heber, verses from Revelation, and the liturgy, and is particularly suitable for Easter, as well as for general use. Price's arrangement of this rousing tune may be accompanied by organ or brass ensemble, allowing for performance in both church and concert settings.

Choral Artistry provides a practical and organic approach to teaching choral singing and sight-reading. The text is grounded in current research from the fields of choral pedagogy, music theory, music perception and cognition. Topics include framing a choral curriculum based on the Kodaly concept; launching the academic year for beginning, intermediate, and advanced choirs; building partwork skills; sight-reading; progressive music theory sequences for middle to college level choirs; teaching strategies; choral rehearsal plans as well as samples of how to teach specific repertoire from medieval to contemporary choral composers. As part of the Kodaly philosophy's practical approach, authors Micheal Houlahan and Philip Tacka employ two models for learning choral literature: Performance Through Sound Analysis Pedagogy (PTSA) and Performance through Sound Analysis and Notation (PTSAN). Both models delineate an approach to teaching a choral work that significantly improves students' musicianship while engaging the ensemble in learning the overall composition in partnership with the conductor. The final chapter of the book includes rubrics to assess the effectiveness of a choral program. This book does not purport to be a comprehensive choral pedagogy text. It is a detailed guide to helping choral directors at all levels improve the choral singing and musicianship of their students from a Kodaly perspective.

This study of the Bach Choir provides a much-needed overview of one of the major choral societies in London. Dr Basil Keen examines the background that led to the formation of an ad hoc body to give the first performance in England of J.S. Bach's B minor Mass. The musical and organizational effects of a permanent choral society drawn from one social group are traced during the first twenty years, after such time the pressures of social change led to a complete review followed by a restructuring of the methods of recruitment and internal organization. The rebuilding of the choir at the opening of the twentieth century, the expansion of the repertoire, the upheaval resulting from the First World War and the impact of these events on preparation and performance, are all considered. The book is essentially structured around the tenure of successive Musical Directors: Otto Goldschmidt, Charles Villiers Stanford, Walford Davies, Hugh Allen, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Adrian Boult, Reginald Jacques and David Willcocks, since their varied tastes and interests inevitably had a decisive influence on policy. Keen draws upon previously unpublished material, including minutes and correspondence of the Bach Choir, interviews with relatives and descendants, and examination of family records and correspondence. To date, there has been no survey of a major London choir that encompasses the full history of the organization in context. In this study, Dr Basil Keen provides a thorough examination of the Bach Choir, including the response of the choir to social changes; the influence of conductors and officials; changes in musical taste; relationships with composers and composition; major national and international events; and the effect of these matters on organization and repertoire.

Shows how Charles V used music and ritual to reinforce his image and status as the most important and powerful sovereign in Europe. The presentation of Charles V as universal monarch, defender of the faith, magnanimous peacemaker, and reborn Roman Emperor became the mission of artists, poets, and chroniclers, who shaped contemporary perceptions of him and engaged in his political promotion. Music was equally essential to the making of his image, as this book shows. It reconstructs musical life at his court, by examining the compositions which emanated from it, the ordinances prescribing its rituals and ceremonies, and his prestigious chapel, which reflected his power and influence. A major contribution, offering new documentary material and bringing together the widely dispersed information on the music composed to mark the major events of Charles's life. It offers.a very useful insight into music as one of many elements that served to convey the notion of the emperor-monarch in the Renaissance. TESS KNIGHTON Mary Ferer is Associate Professor at the College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University.

for SATB and organ, with optional congregation This hymn-anthem of thanksgiving begins gently and tenderly, but builds to a rousing climax. It culminates with a verse of the hymn Now thank we all our God (which may be sung by the congregation in addition to the choir), underlaid by a powerful organ part and with a soaring descant line above.

Taking up questions and issues in early chant studies, this volume of essays addresses some of the topics raised in James McKinnon's The Advent Project: The Later Seventh-Century Creation of the Roman Mass, the last book before his untimely death in February 1999. A distinguished group of chant scholars examine the formation of the liturgy, issues of theory and notation, and Carolingian and post-Carolingian chant. Special studies include the origins of musical notations, nuances of early chant performance (with accompanying downloadable resources), musical style and liturgical structure in the early Divine Office, and new sources for Old-Roman chant. Western Plainchant in the First Millenium offers new information and new insights about a period of crucial importance in the growth of the liturgy and music of the Western Church.

for SATB, piano, and optional saxophone, bass, and drum kit Ophelia, Caliban, and Miranda puts a jazzy twist on three Shakespearean characters. With newly written texts by Charles Bennett, each of the three movements focuses in on Ophelia from Hamlet and Caliban and Miranda from The Tempest. In the funky opener, 'River Bride', the upper voices take the part of Ophelia, while the tenors and basses play a lover figure. Caliban's song, 'Ariel taught me how to play', is a reflective ballad in which the slave tells Miranda, who has escaped his advances, about the spirit helper Ariel teaching him to play the saxophone. The final movement, 'All good things come to an end', is a sassy yet tender number, where Miranda bids farewell to her beloved husband Ferdinand, declaring: 'I've gone back to the island to remember who I am'. The saxophone, bass, piano, and drum kit parts may be played as written or serve as a guide.

The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems caters for church choirs of all types and sizes, enabling them to have at their fingertips easy music for every occasion. The collection presents flexibility of scoring in a constructive and realistic way, with particular provision for unison or two-part singing, while not forgetting SATB choirs, and a focus on ease of learning and performance. With complete coverage of the Church's year, and a fabulous range of accessible, quality material, this is a vital resource for all church choirs.

The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems caters for church choirs of all types and sizes, enabling them to have at their fingertips easy music for every occasion. The collection presents flexibility of scoring in a constructive and realistic way, with particular provision for unison or two-part singing, while not forgetting SATB choirs, and a focus on ease of learning and performance. With complete coverage of the Church's year, and a fabulous range of accessible, quality material, this is a vital resource for all church choirs. Also available as a spiral-bound paperback.

This book is an ethnographic study of a HIV/AIDS choir who use music to articulate their individual and collective experiences of the disease. The study interrogates as to understand the bigger picture of HIV/AIDS using the approach of microanalysis of music event. It places the choir, and the cultural and political issues addressed in their music in the broader context of South Africa's public health and political history, and the global culture and politics of AIDS.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

(Piano Method). The great Baroque master composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote music for every combination of instruments and voices. His simplest and purest work are four-part chorale compositions and settings, so perfectly constructed that they evoke meditative spirituality. "Figured bass" was a Baroque system of notating harmony. In addition 371 chorales, this collection includes 69 melodies with figured bass. This classic Schirmer edition, edited by Albert Riemenschneider, has sold over 1,000,000 copies since its release in the early 20th century. Primarily for keyboard, the chorales can also be played by other instruments.

for SATB and organ Setting a section from The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air we Breathe by Gerard Manley Hopkins, this Marian piece opens with an extended soprano passage, underpinned by soft yet characterful organ writing. Several hallmarks of Jackson's style are evident, including soaring, melismatic soprano lines, sonorous harmonies, and repeated organ motifs. The result is a captivating and emotive work for church and concert use.

Andrew Gant's compelling account traces English church music from Anglo-Saxon origins to the present. It is a history of the music and of the people who made, sang and listened to it. It shows the role church music has played in ordinary lives and how it reflects those lives back to us. The author considers why church music remains so popular and frequently tops the classical charts and why the BBC's Choral Evensong remains the longest-running radio series ever. He shows how England's church music follows the contours of its history and is the soundtrack of its changing politics and culture, from the mysteries of the Mass to the elegant decorum of the Restoration anthem, from stern Puritanism to Victorian bombast, and thence to the fractured worlds of the twentieth century as heard in the music of Vaughan Williams and Britten. This is a book for everyone interested in the history of English music, culture and society.

for SATB (with divisions) and piano or orchestra This is a beautiful, sensitive arrangement of the African-American spiritual and folk hymn Oh, watch the stars. The text reflects on the beauty of creation, and alternative verses by David Warner celebrating Christ's birth have been included for performance during the Christmas season. Wilberg artfully retains the understated feel and simplicity of the original spiritual while demonstrating hallmarks of his unique style, such as rich harmonies, contrasting keys and textures, and effective obbligato instrumental fills.

Study of musical manuscripts from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, opening a window on piety, liturgy and musical life in late medieval society. The musical culture of the Low Countries in the early modern period was a flourishing one, apparent beyond the big cathedrals and monasteries, and reaching down to smaller parish churches. Unfortunately, very few manuscripts containing the music have survived from the period, and what we know rests to a huge extent on six music books preserved from St Peter's Church, Leiden. This book describes the manuscripts, their provenance, history and repertory, and the zeven-getijdencollege, the ecclesiastical organisations which ordered the music books, in detail. These organisations have their roots in fifteenth-century piety, founded on the initiative of individuals and townadministrators throughout Holland, principally to ensure that prayers and Masses were said for those in the afterlife. Music, both chant and polyphony, played an important part in these commemorative practices; the volume also looks at the choristers and choirmasters, and how such services were organised. ERIC JAS is a lecturer in music at the university of Utrecht.

In "Sacred Song in America," Stephen A. Marini explores the full range of American sacred music and demonstrates how the meanings and functions of this musical expression can contribute to a greater understanding of religious culture. Marini examines the role of sacred song across the United States, from the musical traditions of Native Americans and the Hispanic peoples of the Southwest, to the Sacred Harp singers of the rural South and the Jewish music revival to the music of the Mormon, Catholic, and Black churches. Including chapters on New Age and Neo-Pagan music, gospel music, and hymnals as well as interviews with iconic composers of religious music, "Sacred Song in America" pursues a historical, musicological, and theoretical inquiry into the complex roles of ritual music in the public religious culture of contemporary America.

for SATB chorus and orchestra This arrangement for choir and orchestra of a traditional American spiritual conjures a deep fervency, belying its simple appearance. The opening instruction is 'With hushed awe', and that encapsulates perfectly the gentle radiance of the tender lyrics and the music's highly singable lines.