Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.926665 Composed by Michael A. Morizio. A Cappella,Christian,Sacred. Octavo. 13 pages. M.A. Morizio #3588435. Published by M.A. Morizio (A0.926665). In the first chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, verses 1-10, we observe the intimate relationship that exists, between a spiritual father and his son… I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. In Chapter two we also witness Paul’s commissioning Timothy to entrust to faithful men all that he was taught by the Apostle, that they then may be able to teach others in the same way also. While the elder Paul is now in prison and bound in chains, he is nonetheless empowered by the Holy Spirit to encourage and exhort Timothy to share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ, for the sake of the Gospel. Though Paul is bound in chains, he declares to Timothy the word of God is not bound! Endurance for Paul serves only one purpose, the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.In verse 11, Paul supports his statements by inserting another known 1st century Hymn to Christ, which brings us to our fifth anthem, For If We Died with Him. The text-or lyrics-of this hymn are even bracketed (or indented) in the NKJV Bible, suggesting the hymnic setting.   The proposition of the text is quite clear; if we died with Christ, then we shall also live eternally with Christ. If we endure in the faith, then we shall also reign eternally with Christ. However, there is an insertion of 'Law' here, with a dire warning that the opposite is also true: If we deny Christ, resist, and refuse His beckoning and free invitation to salvation, then He will also deny us. Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:31-23). Thus, the stage has been set for the fifth anthem. The piece is composed for SATB a cappella. The key is F Major. The opening phrase, This is a trustworthy saying, is in ¾ time, where a series of triplets are sung three times each (the Trinitarian opening motif). The meter then shifts to 2/4 with a lovely, distinctive unison melody for the opening phrase, For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. Soon after, when the lyrics shift to the words, If we deny Him, He will also deny us, the song drops into the relative minor key (F minor). The melody in this passage is haunting, and sends a clear warning signal to the listener to pay heed to what is being sung. When the text then transitions from if we are faithless, He remains faithful, however, the key shifts back to F Major in a new (dance-like) rhythm for the final verse, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. A coda is inserted in the final phrase where the triplet pattern is recapitulated (This is a trustworthy saying) and the sopranos ascend to a high F singing the lyrics, we shall live, for He remains faithful! to triumphantly end the piece.  

Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1260120 Composed by Mark S Grossman. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Octavo. 13 pages. Mark S Grossman #853354. Published by Mark S Grossman (A0.1260120). A work for chorus (SATB) and piano. First performance March, 2023 by Schola Cantorum of Silicon Valley.One morning in early 2022, after having somewhat unexpectedly lost my two aunts and one of my best friends in the world over the previous year or so, I woke up and this piece, along with some tears, poured out in about 15 minutes. For Us the Living contains echoes of Brahms' German Requiem (Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras), Shawn Kirchner's Cornerstone, and Dolly Parton's Light of a Clear Blue Morning (another a song about loss). The words are partly based on a short poem I wrote after my father passed away. I ended to him, Go to sleep, rest a while. So, perhaps obviously, the piece is like a lullaby. What I'm saying is that the purpose of mourning is first to comfort the survivors, and a call to take care of each other -- but also to not just wait for salvation, but to use the memory of our loved ones, to be inspired to pick ourselves up and make ourselves useful while we're on this Earth. 

Choral Choir,Choral,SATB Chorus divisi - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1465704 Composed by Stanley M Hoffman. Arranged by Stanley M Hoffman. 21st Century,Classical,Patriotic. 16 pages. Stanleymhoffman.com #1044314. Published by stanleymhoffman.com (A0.1465704). Based on one of only several poems written by my mother, Jewish Holocaust survivor Rita Hoffman of blessed memory (1927–2018), Only from Blood Does Freedom Grow echoes the words of Hatikvah (The Hope), the national anthem of Israel. I have to believe that she wrote this poem around 1948 because of how it is worded. I of course knew the source of inspiration for this poem when I reread it not long ago—something I had not done since the 1990s—but its having been inspired by Hatikvah was really driven home to me by a Facebook comment. That comment inspired me to compose a piece in which the opening and closing sections are based on the opening melody of Hatikvah, but in which the middle section is newly composed. “Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy, and it honors the sword of freedom.” —John F. KennedyMy mother’s brief memoirs are housed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.  https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn502129—Stanley M. Hoffman, 25 June 2024—Only from Blood Does Freedom Grow For so many years a voice sounded in Jewish hearts saying,“We want to have a home, we want to have a life again.”Enough blood has already streamed through rivers,the blood shed by our brothers *[and sisters],they, who for freedom of strangers and nation died.Now, the dream we dreamt for a long time has been awakened in us.We want to ?ght for our state, our country.The moment that we have been waiting for and been praying fortwo thousand years has brought us a spark of hope.We must not despair, for we are nevertheless Jews.We must and must want to persevere.A time will come which itself will become a symbol of our tragedy,and which will remain forever in our hearts -a burning ?ame, and a joyful feast.   —Rita Hoffman (1927–2018)Words: © Copyright 1948 by The Estate of Rita Hoffman.All rights reserved. Used by permission.—Instrumentation 2 Flutes (2 Piccolos)2 Oboes2 Clarinets in Bb2 Bassoons 4 Horns in F2 Trumpets in Bb2 TrombonesTubaTam-tamTimpaniStringsDurationca. 2:30.