Composed by Brian Joyce. Contemporary Classical, Sacred, Lent. Score, Set of Parts. 48 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.160657). - Score,Set of Parts - Contemporary Classical,Sacred,Lent - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. 21st Century, Contemporary Classical, Post-Modern, Neo-Classical. 36 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.158763). - - 21st Century,Contemporary Classical,Post-Modern,Neo-Classical - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. Contemporary Classical, Christian, Folk. Score, Set of Parts. 27 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.158141). - Score,Set of Parts - Contemporary Classical,Christian,Folk - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. Contemporary Classical, Sacred. Score, Set of Parts. 30 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.161463). - Score,Set of Parts - Contemporary Classical,Sacred - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. 21st Century, Neo-Classical, Christian, Sacred, General Worship. Score. 37 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.241799). - Score - 21st Century,Neo-Classical,Christian,Sacred,General Worship - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. 21st Century, Contemporary Classical, Impressionistic, Post-Romantic. 19 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.160877). - - 21st Century,Contemporary Classical,Impressionistic,Post-Romantic - Brian Joyce

Composed by Brian Joyce. Contemporary Classical, Sacred, General Worship, Christmas. Score. 29 pages. Published by Brian Joyce (S0.161021). - Score - Contemporary Classical,Sacred,General Worship,Christmas - Brian Joyce

Instrumental Duet Instrumental Duet,Medium Voice - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836719 Composed by Brian Joyce. Arranged by Brian Joyce. Contemporary. Score and parts. 18 pages. Brian Joyce #6567925. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836719). Even very well-versed singers can be forgiven if they have never heard of Everett Maxwell (1858-1940). He was simply one of millions in the vast American workingclass, one who was known to jot down a poem or two now and then.Here we have six examples of his work, poems which he wrote for his childhood sweetheart whom he waited fifty years to marry. Maxwell’s great grandson asked me to set these poems to music saying, the poems illuminate a picture of life in the American midwest during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His poetry serves as a lens through which we can view his . . . youthful romantic view of nineteenth-century prairie life.Since the poems are so imbued with nostalgia and 19th century romanticism, I endeavored to set them with an equally strong sense of the classic art song tradition.Curiously, these songs feel longer than they actually are. There are many pieces about which one could say the same thing with less charity, but in this case it’s a good thing: the poems are quite short (the longest is only twelve lines, the shortest only four!)The entire cycle lasts just under 12 minutes. The audio sample includes most of one song (A June Night) and all of a second (Have You Found a Place?). These are enough to give you a sense of the whole cycle.

Organ - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836714 Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century,Christian,Christmas,Sacred. Score. 8 pages. Brian Joyce #4805139. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836714). New for the 2019 Christmas Season, here is a Noël (a set of variations of a type popular in the French Baroque) on a somewhat less well known Advent Carol for manuals only.  Venez, divin Messie (O Come Divine Messiah) is an anonymous 16th century tune to which Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin added the words in the early 18th century. It is a charming melody and this new setting will provide organists with a little something beyond the ordinary Advent/Christmas fare.Originally conceived for harpsichord, this piece easily makes the transition to organ manuals. Performance time is between 9 and 10 minutes depending largely on the acoustics of the room. The attached audio file will tell you everything there is to say about the music. You will hear the entire tune plus the beginning and ending of each variation.

Small Ensemble Flute,Harpsichord,Marimba,Multi-Percussion - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836702 Composed by Brian Joyce. Contemporary. Score and parts. 45 pages. Brian Joyce #2897325. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836702). It’s a brave musician who, armed only with a piccolo, is willing to walk onto a stage strewn with the assorted weaponry of a determined percussionist. One’s confidence can be shaken to the point of asking, who is the soloist here, anyway?But the rewards for courage are great: where else will you find bongos, a harpsichord and a piccolo performing together? How many times do you come across a military march in 3/4 time? In what other circumstances would Goldilocks intrude on the Seven Dwarves? What more could you ask?Percussion required (one player): marimba, glockenspiel, field drum, bongos, suspended cymbal with yarn sticks, sleigh bells, maracas (1 or 2, one hand).Piccolos required: one (1).The score assumes a five-octave double-manual harpsichord, but adjustments can be made to accommodate a single without appreciable harm to the music.The audio file accompanying this blurb features snippets of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th movements.  Performance time is approximately 12 minutes. Good luck!

Cello,Piano - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836706 Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and part. 19 pages. Brian Joyce #3009363. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836706). A couple of lifetimes ago (or so it seems now) I wrote a quartet of sonatas: one apiece for flute, viola, oboe, and the present work for cello. I thought of them as representing Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter respectively. This one, dating from 1972, expands the concept of a rondo to dimensions covering an entire multi-movement sonata. There are the traditional three movements one would expect to find, but they are tied together through unmetered sections for solo cello set between them. In this way, the true movements almost function as episodes in a giant rondo. Additionally, the solo interpolations form an entity in themselves, each picking up where the previous one left off. And if that weren’t enough, thematic material in the real movements is often first presented in the Interpolations, so it is difficult to tell where an idea really belongs. Given my philosophical leanings at the time (it was the 70s, remember!), this ambiguity was precisely the point.Performance time is approximately 12 minutes.

Choral Choir (SATB) - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836712 Composed by Brian Joyce. Christian,Sacred. Octavo. 21 pages. Brian Joyce #4325937. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836712). If you ever need a break from the soundbyte theology found in so many contemporary Christian lyrics, why not revisit the words of Isaac Watts (1674-1748), who could stretch a single coherent thought across multiple verses of his hymns? Watts was a prolific writer on many subjects, including geography, astronomy, ethics, and psychology. His book on Logic became a standard university text, being used at Oxford for over 100 years. But his greatest desire was to assist Christians in the worship of God and it is his hymns for which he is best remembered today.These old words are here set to new music which represents a blending of three different traditions: First, and most obvious, is the rustic sound of early American shape-note singing. Second is the strong linearity of 13th century Ars Antiqua voice leading, in which each part was more or less independent. And third is my own fondness for mixed meters and sonorities built on fourths and seconds. Yet it all works somehow: these are actually very singable hymns once the choir has acclimated to the style. Most fall comfortably into a simple diatonic language and would present no jarring problems for the listener. Five of the hymns are for standard mixed voices (SATB); one is for men’s voices (TTB); one for women’s (SSA) and the last, a Doxology, is in six parts (SSATTB) with a florid threefold amen. There is admittedly a certain sameness about these settings; perhaps it’s best if they are not all sung in one go, cover to cover. Taken individually, however, there is no reason they couldn’t make for a refreshing change from the usual church anthem, and a group of three or four could easily find a place on a choral recital program.

Organ - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836713 Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century,Christian,Holiday,Sacred. Score. 9 pages. Brian Joyce #4776213. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836713). These are very early works, sins of my youth, as the saying goes. They are written in a faux-baroque style and would be very accessible to all but the fussiest congregations. The hymn tunes involved are (1) We Gather Together [KREMSER], (2) Come, Ye Thankful People [ST. GEORGE’S WINDSOR], and (3) Now Thank We All Our God [NUN DANKET]. They are especially appropriate for the Thanksgiving season, but would not be out of place at any time of the year. The third prelude gives the tune to a 4’ reed stop in the pedal.Performance times: 0:45, 1:45, 1:25 (4 minutes for all).

Woodwind Ensemble,Woodwind Quintet - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836708 Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century,Contemporary. 24 pages. Brian Joyce #3022299. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836708). Full disclosure: This work is frankly atonal. Rhythms are tricky. Harmonies are unconventional to say the least. And even the form is nicely aberrant.Yet something magical happens when writing for winds: because of the weak timbre contact between the different instruments, one can write complex textures without losing clarity. One can write dissonant harmonies without having them sound harsh and grating. In fact, there are moments of surprising beauty here. Take for instance the color canons, passages combining all instruments in clusters whose harmonic and rhythmic motion is essentially static, but which shimmer with ever-changing timbres. The title translates - inexactly - to Keeper of Heaven, or Starry Watchman, or Celestial Caretaker, and refers to an imaginary character whose task it is to walk about the heavens at sunset and turn on the stars. He is the galactic equivalent of the old gentlemen who once went about Victorian streets, lighting the gas lamps and generally keeping an eye on things, making sure that all is well. I do not claim that this character is God the Father Almighty, only that he is an old gentleman. But there might very well be something wizard-ish about him!Performance time is approximately seven and a half minutes. The audio excerpt included here is of the last two minutes, where the music comes the closest to being tonal.

Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century. Score and part. 24 pages. Brian Joyce #2912977. Published by Brian Joyce