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

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 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836717 Composed by Brian Joyce. Christian,Contemporary,Sacred. Score. 19 pages. Brian Joyce #5030397. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836717). A sister volume to my Shorter English Preludes (also for manuals only), this new set treats in similar fashion some tried-and-true general purpose hymns of German origin. Included are Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice, Jesus Lives and So Shall I, Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus, Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs, If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee, and All Glory Be to God on High. Each Prelude fits on one or two pages (no page turns required) and none is over two minutes in length. As always, sources and timings are included for your planning purposes and the score prints in landscape format.

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

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!

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.

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.

Small Ensemble,Strings Harpsichord,Oboe - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.836700 Composed by Brian Joyce. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 78 pages. Brian Joyce #2881183. Published by Brian Joyce (A0.836700). An 18-minute concerto in three movements for oboe, harpsichord and string quartet.From the program notes . . . .I can imagine readers glancing over a recital program and seeing that it includes a work for oboe, harpsichord and string quartet. They steel themselves against the onset of what promises to be a dull and dreary piece played by unsmiling people in black suits. My imaginary audience may be pleased to find that this Petit Concert is nothing of the sort. It is actually a rather relaxed piece, combining something of the 18th century Rococo (which was never very serious to begin with) and Steely Dan-influenced Hindemith. But just as a chef will hide the most unlikely ingredients in his sauces and confections, I hope I have concealed these disparate influences in a piece which speaks with its own voice. Here, then, is a short concerto with little if any overt virtuosity; it is offered simple for the enjoyment of players and audience alike. In this it perhaps comes round full circle to composers like François Couperin who preferred to please their listeners rather than stun them.Relaxed the piece may be. To be sure, ranges and techniques are far from extreme and there are plenty of triadic sonorities and almost normal functional harmony here. But there are also moments of jazz-inflected chromaticism and frequent meter changes to contend with. It will take players who can hold their own in a mildly dissonant sound world to pull this off. Careful attention to dynamics, tight ensemble and flawless intonation are a must, but diligent players will be rewarded with an immediate audience-pleaser.A separate harpsichord part is included for players who prefer not to read from the score. Equal temperament and a=440 are assumed for the harpsichord. A two manual instrument is preferred but not absolutely necessary.

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.