Guitar,Piano,Vocal,Voice - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1344114 Composed by John Joseph Woods. Arranged by Michael Thomas Coull. Contemporary,Patriotic. Score. 8 pages. MTC Publishing #929595. Published by MTC Publishing (A0.1344114). God Defend New Zealand - Arrangement for Voice, Piano and Guitar by Michael Thomas CoullGod Defend New Zealand was first performed in Dunedin's Queen's Theatre on Christmas Day, 1876.  Played by the Royal Artillery Band and sung by the Lydia Howard Burlesque and Opera Burle Troupe, the patriotic song found immediate favour with the Dunedin public.  The words, a poem written by Thomas Bracken in the 1870s, was first published in a competition run by The Saturday Advertiser and New Zealand Literary Miscellany.  The competition was to compose a 'National Air' based on five verses of Bracken's poem, and appeared in the Advertiser on 1 July, 1876 listing a grand prize of 10 guineas.  On 9 September the Advertiser reported that 12 completed entries had been received.  Several weeks later on the 21 October the winning entry by John Joseph Woods, a school teacher from Lawrence, was announced.The popularity of God Defend New Zealand grew throughout the 19th century and entered the 20th century as one of the most popular songs.  In 1935-39 with the help of John McDermott, chief engineer of the NZ Post Office, and others God Defend New Zealand was made New Zealand's national song in time for the 1940 Centennial celebrations.In 1976, almost 100 years after the first public performance, a petition calling for God Defend New Zealand to become the national anthem of New Zealand, organised in Dunedin by Gareth Henry Latta and others, was presented to the Petitions Committee of Parliament with 7750 signatures.  With the permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Government adopted God Defend New Zealand as the countries national anthem.Traditionally God Defend New Zealand is performed in G major, but as this can often be rather high for amateur voices, the anthem is also presented here in F major.

Guitar,Piano,Vocal,Voice - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1284659 Composed by James Nathaniel Holland. 21st Century,Contemporary,Opera. Score. 143 pages. James Nathaniel Holland #875835. Published by James Nathaniel Holland (A0.1284659). PIANO VOCAL SCORE.  This four act contemporary opera, original libretto and music, by 21st century American composer James Nathaniel Holland is the story of the triumph of Love over Evil, however delayed, and the power of keeping steadfast to one’s righteous promise.  Based on the German fairy tale The Six Swans, in a kingdom, during Saxon times, the murderous daughter of an evil entity, Ravia, infiltrates and takes over the lives of a royal family due to the King’s rash promise to marry her many years before. The royal children are sent away by their father for safety to a hidden, woodland cottage, but Ravia discovers where they are and hexes the younger siblings, turning them into swallows.  Usha, the eldest, escapes and flees to the wilderness and is visited by the apparition of her dead mother who explains what is going on and that Usha must swear an oath of silence for six years to break the spell and change her siblings back into human form.Five years pass and a dashing and kind king, Rohric, of another kingdom, finds Usha while hunting, falls in love with and marries her, but Usha must remain silent and cannot reveal who she is.  Ravia, who now is sole queen of the old kingdom, is invited by Rohric’s nobles with hope to secure a “proper� wedding for Rohric.  Usha is accused falsely of killing her own child by the two and is sentenced to be burned at the stake, but as the bell tolls she finally can declare her innocence.  To the crowd’s amazement her siblings change back, all truth is revealed, and for Ravia’s failure, she is dragged back to hell by demons.  Singers:  King Alfred (bass), Ravia (soprano), Princess Usha (mezzo), Queen Mother Arna (soprano), the royal siblings (children’s/boy’s chorus), King Rohric (Tenor), The Evil Noble (baritone), An angel/a demon (bass), SATB ChorusScored for full orchestra.  Instrumentation:  picc/treble recorder, fl12, ob12, eh, cl12, bsn12, hrn 123, tpt123, trom12, tba, timp, perc.12 (bd, crash cym, ride cym with soft mallets and stick, glk, chimes, snar, tri), hrp, stringsDuration:  2 hoursFull Orchestral Score (concert pitch), Piano Vocal Score and Instruments Parts 1 (woodwinds, brass, perc.) and Parts 2 (harp and strings) sold separately.