SKU: A0.817619

     James Alan Bland, composer of “In the Evening by the Moonlight,” was a prolific song writer.  He is said to have created the words and music for more than 600 compositions.  Born in 1854 to a free African American family in Flushing, New York, he made a name for himself as musician, composer and minstrel performer.  Among his compositions were “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers,” “In the Morning in the Bright Light” and “De Golden Wedding.”  His most famous song by far was “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” which the State of Virginia used as its official anthem for over 50 years.

     Bland, in keeping with his persona as a minstrel, wrote the lyrics to “In the Evening by the Moonlight” in dialect.  Years passed and sensitivities changed, but the song’s poignant melody and basic sentiment survived.  Latter day recordings, such as those by Bing Crosby and the Ray Charles Singers, dropped the dialect and objectionable terms.  One of the most notable versions was by singer, pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone, released in 1960 on the album Nina at Newport.

     This brass quintet version begins with the group instrumentally humming along under an eight-measure Horn in F introduction.   The first statement of the melody initially takes the form of a partial call-and-response between a Trombone/Horn duo and Trumpet 1, then switches to an exchange between Trumpet 1 and Tuba.  Next, the melody is repeated but in a rhythmic pattern reminiscent of the 1880 tune “Here Dem Bells”; Tuba plays counterpoint.  Third time around, the melody is presented almost exactly as Bland wrote it and as Hitchcock’s Music Store published it in 1880.  Finally, the tempo slows and the melody is presented as so many have sung it around campfires at YMCA, 4-H and other youth camps all over the country:  softly and tenderly.  The arrangement ends with a brief recapitulation of the introduction.

     There are no really difficult or tricky rhythms in this arrangement.  Trumpet 1’s highest note, which occurs in Section D, is A above its staff; Tuba’s lowest, G below the staff.  Otherwise, there are no exceptionally high or low notes.  The piece opens in the key of F major then, about halfway through, changes to G major.  Tempo opens with a suggested MM of 104, speeds up to 120, slows to 66, increases again to 122 and finally slows to 66.

     Completed in 2022, performance time runs about 4 minutes, 22 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge.  He would also like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms.  Contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.  For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus or Sheet Music Direct search box.  (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)

SKU: A0.518080

Please contact me by email at jfries@ptd.net to make a special request or to find out all that I have to offer and to express your comments or concerns.  You can also type John Fries in the searchbar to see all I have to offer.   The Poor People of Paris is the English name of a popular song from France. The original French language song was La goualante du pauvre Jean (The Ballad of Poor John), with music by Marguerite Monnot and words by René Rouzaud. A recording of the tune by Les Baxter's orchestra (Capitol Records catalog number 3336, with the flip side Theme from 'Helen of Troy') was a number-one hit on the Billboard chart in the US in 1956: for four weeks on the Best Sellers in Stores chart, for six weeks on the Most Played by Jockeys and Hot 100 charts, and for three weeks on the Most Played on Jukeboxes chart.

SKU: A0.835786

Composed 2007, duration 8:30 approx.

The music and text of ‘The Sense of a Place Will Remain’ was inspired by pictures of an early carved stone cross and a tenth-century Viking burial stone on the island of Inchcolm in Scotland.

First performed by Inchcolm New Music Ensemble 29 June 2007, conductor Steve King.

Instrumentation is flexible; the following is a guide:

Part 1 - Violin 1, flute 1 (doubling piccolo if possible) oboe 1,

Part 2 - Violin 2, flute 2, oboe 2 (doubling tenor recorder if possible), clarinet 1, trumpet

Part 3 - Viola, clarinet 2, horn in F, Eb horn (2 players doubling harmonicas in C)

Part 4 - Cello, bassoon

Part 5 - Double bass, bass guitar (or Cello 2 - playing as if usual bass clef, but an octave lower where possible)

SATB voices (doubling metal spoons and pitch pipes)

Optional:

Percussion (one player) - claves, glockenspiel (could be a child’s toy instrument such as an ‘Angel’ glockenspiel), mark tree, spring drum (thunder shaker), frame drum, musical jewelry box (or similar clockwork device).Should a glockenspiel not be available, a special part has been created which arranges the glockenspiel for two flutes, together with the other percussion music. This special part is not visible in the score.

Keyboard instrument with sustaining capability - piano sound

Instructions:

Wind players can breathe ad lib. during any very long notes. From letter D onwards non-wind players who are not soloists blow across the top of small bottles. The pitches produced are not specified, but they should not be shrill. A soft breathy tone is preferred.

About half of the voices play pairs of metal spoons (share printed part between two singers and anyone not holding the music holds metal spoons). Hold the spoons one in each hand, and strike the larger ends together. Spoons are struck together where shown with a large patterned note head. Strike rapidly where a tremolo sign is given.

Four singers play pitch tuning pipes: 1 Soprano and 1 Alto play viola/cello pitch tuning pipes, 1 Tenor and 1 Bass play violin pitch tuning pipes

Pitch pipe playing is indicated with square note heads - player should breathe ad lib. during very long notes. Where there are very long sung notes, the singers may stagger breathing ad lib. Spoken sounds are indicated with x note heads and with the text in italics.

There are many pauses. These can be of varying duration, but on the whole they should not hold up the momentum of the piece, but be of sufficient duration to establish the solo and pitch pipe notes.

Text:

Carve stone

Strike out

Stay at home

Or go far alone.

Blocks of stone are laid

Emblazoned with the signs of great deeds

That signify our memory,

Mem’ries of who we are.

Careful carvings erode through time,

Chiseled grooves smooth away.

Families, they scatter and fade

As generations age

Descendants pass on memory time.

Sense of our allegiance shifts when major faults are found,

Feelings of belonging fall on shaky ground,

But the sense of a place will remain.

SKU: A0.1148567

Listen to the Mocking Bird was first published in 1855. The melody originated with Richard Milburn, a Philadelphia African-American who has been described variously as a panhandling busker and as a musically inclined barber. A songwriter and publisher by the name of Septimus Winner heard Milburn's tune, arranged it, added words, put it into print and claimed credit for its creation under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne. Supposedly, Winner sold the rights to the song for five dollars.

Listen to the Mocking Bird grew to be one of the most popular songs of the mid-19^th century, a real hit. Its sheet music, by one estimate, sold more than 20 million copies. It was sung and performed particularly often during the Civil War, and troops used its melody as a marching tune. It remains somewhat of a standard and has been recorded numerous times, especially as a favorite of bluegrass musicians.

In the lyrics, the singer is remembering his loved one. She has passed away but he recalls their good life together. They particularly enjoyed the call of the mocking bird, which even now is singing o'er her grave.

This arrangement opens in E-flat major with Trumpet 1 introducing the sweetly sad melody, I'm dreaming now of Hally. After the introduction, the tempo picks up to allegro and whirls along. It does slow down several times, and there are four one-measure deviations from the 4/4 time signature: one 6/4, two 2/4s and one 1/4. At measure 65, the key changes to B-flat major for the finale. Trumpets 1 and 2 each play one A-above-their-staff eighth note as their highest pitch; the rest of the music stays well within the normal playing range of the five instruments.

Completed in 2022, performance time runs about 3 minutes, 23 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge. He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)