Choral Choir,Choral (SATB divisi) - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1373417

Composed by Phil Beaman. Classical,Contemporary,Contest,Festival,Pop,Romantic Period. 10 pages. Phil Beaman #957783. Published by Phil Beaman (A0.1373417).

I originally wrote Total Eclipse as an expressive Art Song for solo voice and piano.  I used several lines of poetry from Newburgh Hamilton (1741) and set them to unique music that is a fusion of Classical, Romantic, and Modern, with a touch of Pop.  The music expressively drifts from major to minor to modal every few measures, inspired by the themes of darkness and light.  When I adapted it for SATB I filled out the already rich harmony and added ethereal 'oo's under some of the melody.  In a few brief measures, at different places, SAB each will have a divisi line where it splits to 2 parts.  (The texture is never thicker than 5 parts at once.)  This approachable piece of music is a good introduction for singers to the interpretation of an Art Song and is a dramatic performance piece for concert.  And perfect for the upcoming April 8 total eclipse!
(Haydn also used variations of this text to create several Recitatives and an Aria for his oratorio Samson.)  
10 pages, 2:00 minutes
Vocal Ranges:  all 1 octave; Sop - middle C to C; Alto - low G to G; Tenor - D to C; Bass - G to G
attached recording is of the original solo voice version which SATB is closely based on.  Be the first choir to record this and send me a link which I will post.  plbeaman@gmail.com
also available on this site as a vocal solo in several keys, and as a Unison Choral hymn

Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.844381

Composed by Phil Beaman. A Cappella,Christmas,Contemporary,Jazz,Sacred. Octavo. 8 pages. Phil Beaman #2950269. Published by Phil Beaman (A0.844381).

For this Christmas here is a dramatic a capella piece that is a Fantasia based on the old English carol God Rest You Merry Gentlemen. It is an eclectic fusion of Classical music and 1950's Free Jazz and West Indian/Caribbean rhythms with exuberance and pulse. It is in verse-refrain form, but is very freely treated and each of the four verses is wholly unique while expressing, and sometimes expanding upon, each word. There is no Time Signature and thus irregular measures which change every few bars which would utilize 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 7/4, but always maintains a strong pulse. It contains abrupt changes in dynamics and a rubato tempo. This is a challenging work with dynamic results.
8 pages (I have only printed the refrain once (after the first verse) and it is repeated the same after every verse. If I inserted it after each verse this would have been a 19 page score to print. Best to just memorize the short catchy refrain.)
4:45 minutes
I originally wrote this as an a capella piece. Years later I also transcribed it for Instrumental Quartet. If you do not wish to do this piece a capella there are 15 different Instrument Quartet combinations also published on this site which double the four voice parts and are all in the same concert key and can be used as accompaniment.  
The recording attached is of the Brass Quartet version which exactly doubles the SATB voices so that you can get an idea of the rhythms and harmonies.  

Piano and voice (solo and SATB chorus) - Digital Download

SKU: LV.4090

Composed by H.P. Danks. Portraits, Courtship, Hairstyles. Lester S. Levy Collection. 4 pages. Published by Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries (LV.4090).

Amber Tresses Tied in Blue. Song and Chorus. Words by Samuel M. Mitchell. Music by H.P. Danks. Published 1874 by Cottier & Denton, 269 Main St. in Buffalo. Composition of strophic with chorus with piano and voice (solo and satb chorus) instrumentation. Subject headings for this piece include Portraits, Courtship, Hairstyles. First line reads Far away in sunny meadows, where the merry sunbeams play'd..

About The Lester S. Levy Collection

The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music consists of over 29,000 pieces of American popular music. Donated to Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, the collection's strength is its thorough documentation of nineteenth-century American through popular music. This sheet music has been provided by Project Gado, a San Francisco Bay Area startup whose mission is to digitize and share the world's visual history.

WARNING: These titles are provided as historical documents. Language and concepts within reflect the opinions and values of the time and may be offensive to some.