Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1265872

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 21st Century,Chamber,Contemporary,Multicultural,Sacred,World. Octavo. 35 pages. Musica Semplice #858636. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1265872).

Missa Semplice (2003) is a contemplative and minimalistic choral piece for SATB chorus with cantors, two marimbas (or 1 marimba-two players), vibraphone, and upright bass. Its meditative and accessible nature make it an excellent choice for both concert and liturgy settings. 

**Please note that this setting of the Latin Mass does not include a Credo.**

Ensembles wishing to perform this, please contact me via email at whitleybill99@gmail.com for parts.

Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1283969

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 21st Century,Chamber,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 3 pages. Musica Semplice #875142. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1283969).

For James: a kind of lullaby (1993)

Built in 1898 the James Monaghan Mansion--now, and since 1942 the home of Gonzaga University's music department--was for many years believed to be haunted. In addition to reports of disembodied footsteps, doors dramatically opening themselves, and sudden appearances of hostile presences, there was also reports of the organ playing itself...

...which is where I, primarily an organ student at the time, spent a majority of my time. This piece was written entirely at the organ, on that organ while an organ and piano student at Gonzaga. Written in four layers as if for organ, in the end I found that it sounded much better on the piano. It has never been performed or recorded on organ.

The working title was Excorsising Monaghan.  The finished piece sounded less ghostly and more like a lullaby. Whether or not it was James doing the haunting, I thought it best to offer the lullaby to him.

--Bill Whitley, 2023.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1252990

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 20th Century,21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 10 pages. Musica Semplice #846743. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1252990).

In the spirit of Cage's In a Landscape and composed with the aid of a six-sided die, Labyrinth Walk is ambient and meditative as the name suggests.  

This is many ways was my first 'mature' work in the sense that every work that came later was focused on the same theme of meditative tools...ambient and atmospheric textures, etc. It really all began with 'Labyrinth Walk' - Bill Whitley.

Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1252567

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 2 pages. Musica Semplice #846514. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1252567).

Still Life (1992) is my first study in music-as-object. The result is a sort of melancholy ambient, cinematic piece.

B-Flat Clarinet Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1266397

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Individual part. 9 pages. Musica Semplice #859152. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1266397).

A tip of the hat to Stravinsky's Three Pieces,  this and my String Trio (also 2001) I see now as my last 20th Century composition.  Not only was the 20th century over, but these two were the last to fit the 20th century, avant-garde ethos.  By 2003, I'd already begun to move away from most of the Western European Art Music tradition.

1. Dance
2. Verset
3. Rant

Music for Solo Clarinet was written in the fall of 2001. These were spontaneous, uncommissioned, un-requested works that seemed to come from nowhere. But looking back, I see that they encapsulate a lot of what I was feeling (what everyone was feeling) in the fall of 2001: confusion, sadness, anger, disappointment... Each movement features one of the three primary ‘colors’ produced by the three different registers of the clarinet, and each is a sonata-allegro form, where tiny gestural figures are used as themes.

Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1252087

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. Classical,Contemporary,Sacred. Score. 4 pages. Musica Semplice #846217. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1252087).

Out of the Depths (Psalm 130) shares several things with How Long Will You Forget Me? (Psalm 13).  Both were responses to a mentor's challenge of setting three Psalms to music, as Songs without Words. Both use the same melodic motif, and both explore feelings of abandoment and isolation. 

Out of the Depths is longer, more developed, and tracks the text of Psalm 130 more closely.

Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1265899

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 21st Century,Contemporary,Sacred. Octavo. 22 pages. Musica Semplice #858643. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1265899).

This Missa Semplice (2003) for SATB Chorus and Piano (or keyboard) is a minimalist and meditative setting of the Latin mass. It is perfect for liturgies or recitals.

22 pages

This setting does not include a Credo.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1279784

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Arranged by Bill Whitley. 20th Century,21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 10 pages. Musica Semplice #871233. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1279784).

Lydian Improvisations (1993) is three short, contrasting movements for solo piano.  I wrote these three movements while working on a rigorous recital program that included works by Prokofiev, Debussy, Beethoven, Satie, and Scarlatti, and they show their influence. They are playful, sometimes circusy, and feature extreme emotional shifts.

Piano - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1247228

By Bill Whitley. By Bill Whitley. Christian,Classical,Contemporary,Religious,Sacred. Full Performance. Duration 134. Musica Semplice #841773. Published by Musica Semplice (A0.1247228).

Exploring feelings of abandonment and isolation....In 1985, while still thinking of myself as songwriter, a mentor presented me with the challenge of setting three Psalms to music.  But the catch was that these settings would have to be solo piano pieces: Songs Without Words.

How Long Will You Forget Me? (Psalm 13) was the first composition to come out of that challenge and my first notated instrumental piece. Out of the Depths (Psalm 130) was the second. (I still have yet to compose the third one.)

I've written and discarded more pieces than I can count, but this  simple little piece has stuck with me.  I can see sparks in it of works that were to come later.  Simple and naive as it is, it still sounds like my own voice.