High voice and piano - Moderately Difficult - Digital Download SKU: MQ.8454-2E Composed by David Conte. Secular, 21st century. Instrument part. 6 pages. E. C. Schirmer Music Company - Digital #8454-2E. Published by E. C. Schirmer Music Company - Digital (MQ.8454-2E). English.American Death Ballads was composed especially for tenor Brian Thorsett. We have been frequent collaborators since 2011, when he premiered the complete set of my Three Settings of W. B. Yeats for string quartet and tenor. At his urging, I transcribed and published my Three Poems of Christina Rossetti (originally for medium voice) for high voice, which he premiered at the San Francisco Conservatory in 2014. American Death Ballads was premiered by him at the San Francisco Conservatory, November 1, 2015, with pianist John Churchwell, and at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Conference in Chicago, July 10, 2016, with pianist Warren Jones.The choice of texts for my American Death Ballads was inspired partly by Copland’s Old American Songs, which I deeply admire, but more by my dear friend and colleague the late Conrad Susa’s Two Murder Ballads. The ingenuity of Susa’s accompaniments for his ballads in imagining anew the original source material owes a great deal to Copland’s accompaniment for his songs. Though the content of my songs is completely original and not based on preexisting melodies, I have tried to expand on this further, as the texts are much longer, and go through many different moods and characters. The four texts I chose include stories about murder, death, and dying. Though two of the texts were written in England, they traveled to the colonies almost immediately. The subjects of the texts had spent time in America, and their stories were well known to Americans.Wicked Polly is a cautionary tale. Polly has lived a dissolute and immoral life, saying, 'I'll turn to God when I grow old.' Suddenly taken ill, she realizes that it is too late to repent. She dies in agony and is presumably sent to hell; young people are advised to heed. My musical setting is stately and preacherly in character for the narrator; for Polly it becomes pleading and remorseful. The Unquiet Grave was brought to the attention of Alan Lomax, the great American field collector of folk music, by English folk singer Shirley Collins. The text is taken from an English folk song dating from 1400. In The Unquiet Grave, a young man mourns his dead lover too fervently and prevents her from obtaining peace. The dead woman complains that his weeping is keeping her from peaceful rest. He begs a kiss; she tells him it would kill him. When he persists, wanting to join her in death, she explains that once they were both dead their hearts would simply decay, and that he should enjoy life while he has it. My setting is in a flowing Andante with a rocking accompaniment. Three voices are delineated here: the narrator, the mournful lover, and the dead lover speaking from the grave. The Dying Californian first appeared in the New England Diadem in 1854. Its lyrics are based on a letter from a New Englander’s sailor to his brother who is dying at sea while on the way to California to seek his fortune in the California gold fields. He implores his brother to impart his message to his father, mother, wife, and children. My setting opens with the singer alone in a moderate dirge tempo, then, joined by the piano, moves through many tonalities and moods before ending with supreme confidence as the speaker 'gained a port called Heaven/Where the gold will never rust.'Captain Kidd was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy and murder in 1701. The American connection to this ballad is that Kidd escaped to America and for a time lived in New York and Boston, though he was a wanted criminal by the British authorities and was extradited to Britain, where he was hung at 'Executioner’s Dock.' The lyric was printed in Britain in 1701, traveling to the colonies almost immediately. Though the didactic tone of the text is similar to Wicked Polly, it expresses no regret until the final lines: 'Take warning now by me, and shun bad company, / Lest you come to hell with me, for I must die.' My setting is fast and spirited, expressing the confidence of a man who lived life as he wanted. -David Conte.

Concert Band - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1008264 Composed by William Brenner. Contemporary. Score and parts. 80 pages. William Brenner #5370501. Published by William Brenner (A0.1008264). Halifax was devastated on 6 December 1917 when two ships collided in the city's harbour, one of them a munitions ship loaded with explosives bound for the battlefields of the First World War. What followed was one of the largest human-made explosions prior to the detonation of the first atomic bombs in 1945.(...)In early December, one of the merchant ships in port was the large, Norwegian vessel Imo, en route from Halifax to New York to pick up relief supplies (...) Another was the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc - filled with tons of benzol, the high explosive picric acid, TNT and gun cotton - arriving in Halifax to join a convoy across the ocean.(...)The Imo was departing the harbour on the morning of 6 December 1917 (...) Imo had an experienced, local harbour pilot on board, William Hayes, who knew the navigation rules of the harbour. However, earlier encounters that morning with two inbound vessels moving towards Bedford Basin - both of which Imo had passed starboard-to-starboard - resulted in the unusual position that Imo now occupied, too far to the east (...) The Mont-Blanc had arrived outside Halifax the previous day and anchored overnight at the mouth of the harbour. On the morning of 6 December, the ship was cleared by harbour authorities to proceed toward Bedford Basin. Despite the Mont-Blanc's dangerous cargo, there was no special protocol for the passage of munitions ships in the harbour. Other ships such as the Imo were not ordered to hold their positions that morning until the Mont-Blanc had made safe passage through the port. Francis Mackey, Mont-Blanc's pilot, was guiding the ship inbound on the Dartmouth-side of the Narrows, when he encountered the Imo heading straight towards him in what he believed was Mont-Blanc's lane. Mackey would later maintain that the Imo was moving at an unsafe speed for such a large, unwieldly ship in the harbour, and also that incoming ships (in this case Mont-Blanc) had the right-of-way over outgoing vessels. Regardless of the accuracy of those claims, what is certain is that the Imo was sailing too far to the east, in what should have been Mont-Blanc's path.After a series of whistles and miscommunications between the officers and pilots on the two ships, and failed manoeuvres to avoid a collision, the Imo struck the starboard bow of the Mont-Blanc. After a few moments the two ships parted, leaving a gash in Mont-Blanc's hull and generating sparks that ignited volatile grains of dry picric acid, stored below its decks. (...) The Mont-Blanc exploded at 9:04:35 a.m., sending out a shock wave in all directions, followed by a tsunami that washed violently over the Halifax and Dartmouth shores. More than 2.5 square km of Richmond were totally levelled, either by the blast, the tsunami, or the structure fires caused when buildings collapsed inward on lanterns, stoves and furnaces.Homes, offices, churches, factories, vessels (including the Mont-Blanc), the railway station and freight yards - and hundreds of people in the immediate area - were obliterated. (...) Across Halifax, there were miraculous stories of survival. And equally, stories of tragedy. Many children were killed on their walk to school that morning, or blinded by flying glass. Those that survived the blast stumbled home, only to find their houses shattered, or their parents dead or wounded, among the wreckage. (...) Every year on 6 December, people gather above the Narrows to hear the ringing of the memorial's carillon bells, and to remember the victims of the disaster. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion

Piano,Vocal,Voice - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1079816 By Paul Anka. By David Babyface Foster and Paul Anka. Arranged by Classic Hits: Authentic Arrangements. 20th Century,Contemporary,Pop,Wedding. Score. 3 pages. Michael Boyd Evans #684012. Published by Michael Boyd Evans (A0.1079816). This is a note-for note transcription of the piano accompaniment complete with lyrics and chords. It does not get any better than this - and for an absolutely beautiful song.

Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1138178 By Budapest Scoring. By James Milton Black. Arranged by David Warin Solomons. Christian,Classical. Full Performance. Duration 245. David Warin Solomons #738444. Published by David Warin Solomons (A0.1138178). Variations on this famous gospel song by James Milton Black, in which, in various verses, each instrument has a turn at the tune and at the descant accompaniment. One of the verses goes into the minor mode for a bit more variety. The words of the original hymn are: 1 When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. Refrain: When the roll is called up yonder, when the roll is called up yonder, when the roll is called up yonder, when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. 2 On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of His resurrection share; ahen His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. [Refrain] 3 Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun; let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. [Refrain] Performed by Anita Szabó Ildikó Szabady Iza Nagy Boglárka Dávid.

Brass Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1027894 Composed by William Elsom. Contemporary. Score and parts. 46 pages. Will Elsom #3053855. Published by Will Elsom (A0.1027894). Programme Notes Boudicca became the Queen of the Iceni upon the death of her husband, Prasutagus. The Iceni had lived in relative peace with the Romans, with Prasutagus living as a client king, paying tribute to Rome. The Romans refused to accept a woman as the ruler, and sought to assume total control. To demonstrate its superiority, a Roman Legion attacked the Iceni, captured Boudicca and made her watch as her daughters were raped. She sought revenge, allying the Iceni with the Trinovantes under her command, and wreaked havoc, destroying many Roman settlements. Boudicca was only stopped when Rome sent one of the best generals of the time, Seutonius Paulinus. Seutonius has been depicted offering Boudicca surrender with honour and her life, but when she rejected this, his tactical acumen proved superior, and all the Iceni and Trinovantes were wiped out. 1 – Boudicca Unites the Tribes The piece opens with the initial statement of Boudicca’s theme. Figure 3 depicts Boudicca’s reign as the leader of the Iceni, interspersed with a sadder theme depicting her lonely widowhood. Figure 4 sees the tribes called together with a drinking song and Figure 5 is the war cry, as Boudicca gives a rousing speech, first to her own warriors then to the Trinovantes. The second time bar before Figure 7 sees the tribes fall into a restless sleep. Amid early morning mists, Figure 7 sees restless horses, with distant fanfares heard, signalling the coming of the Romans. The Romans main theme is at Figure 8, with a constant fanfare over the top, signalling the confidence of the leaders. Figure 10 sees the Iceni and Trinovantes coming slowly out of hiding, and Boudicca’s theme growing in volume until the death chords signify the tribes have prevailed. 2. The Bards Sing The tribes sing a hymn to an unnamed Pagan God. At Figure 13, the Euphonium develops Boudicca’s theme depicting Taranis, the Bard of the Iceni, singing wistfully of happier times. He then makes an impassioned speech for peace, before cutting off in mid sentence. He then sits quietly (Figure 16) fearing the future. Figure 17 gives a euphoric and hopeful rendition of the hymn, as if Taranis has not been heard. 3 – Epping NB: It is my piece, and I say Epping is as credible as anywhere as the site of the final battle, and will not enter into any correspondence on the matter! A fanfare awakens the two tribes. Figure 18 sees the tribes prepare for a final battle, and the repeated section depicts two victories at Verulanium (St Albans) and Londinium (London – then a small barracks). At Figure 20 Taranis has a vision, and tries to change Boudicca’s mind about another attack. Boudicca listens to him, but tells him the die is cast, and there is no going back. Death or Glory… The war cry ensues at Figure 21, but at Figure 22 it is the Romans’ theme heard, and the death chords (Figure 24) signify that it is the two tribes that are being slaughtered this time. Brave souls (Repiano and Flugel at 24) fight on in vain to allow Boudicca to escape. At Figure 25 Boudicca prays, but realising all is lost, at Figure 26 drinks poison. As she dies, the last thing this brave British heroine hears is the sound of the Roman’s theme, signifying Seutonius’ total victory.   William Elsom, December 2004

Electronic Keyboard,Organ,Piano and Keyboard - Digital Download SKU: HX.854249 By Paul Anka. This edition: scorch. E-Z Play Today. Pop,Rock. Score. 4 pages. Hal Leonard - Digital #332483. Published by Hal Leonard - Digital (HX.854249). About Hal Leonard E-Z Play TodayFor organs, pianos, and electronic keyboards. E-Z Play Today is the shortest distance between beginning music and playing fun. Now there are more than 300 reasons why you should play E-Z Play Today. * World's largest series of music folios * Full-size books - large 9 x 12 format features easy-to-read, easy-to-play music * Accurate arrangements... simple enough for the beginner, but accurate chords and melody lines are maintained * Eye-catching, full-color covers * Lyrics... most arrangements include words and music * Most up-to-date registrations - books in the series contain a general registration guide, as well as individual song rhythm suggestions * Guitar Chord Chart - all songs in the series can also be played on guitar.

SATB choir, optional congregation, organ, brass quintet, optional percussion - Moderately Easy - Digital Download SKU: MQ.60-4100-E Composed by Jeremy J. Bankson. Christ the King, Easter. Full score. 8 pages. MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music #60-4100-E. Published by MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music (MQ.60-4100-E). This festive setting of DARWALL'S 148TH gives new life to the traditional text associated with it. This setting was originally written for Easter Sunday utilizing the Easter text Rejoice This Easter Day, by Otis Young. A reproducible page for congregation is included in the choir score. The organist may play from either the choral score or the full score.

Marching Band - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1379282 By Vickie Baker. By Vickie Baker. Arranged by Jonathan L Nelson. R & B,Soul. 23 pages. Jonathan Nelson #963963. Published by Jonathan Nelson (A0.1379282). The crowd will be clapping and rocking from side to side when your band pumps up the stands with this southern soul hit by recording artist Vickie Baker!

Guitar,Piano,Vocal,Voice - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1009194 Composed by An-lun Huang. 20th Century,Christmas,Classical. Score. 38 pages. DoReMi Edition #594856. Published by DoReMi Edition (A0.1009194). Based on the fairy tale “The Little Match Girl� by Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875), the famous Danish writer, the Beijing Ballet School of China commissioned An-Lun Huang to compose this ballet in 1977. The play was written by Zhang Dun-yi, and the choreographers were Wu Fu-kang and Huang Buo-hong. The premiere took place in Beijing in 1977. It was performed by the school and the Central Opera House Orchestra, conducted by Zheng Xiao-ying. The music is written in Nineteen Century-Romantic style with some strong Scandinavian flavor. Margot Fonteyn, one of the most important ballet dancers of our age, claimed that “the composer has composed the very, very, very good music for this ballet ! “ She then produced a movie of it, which has been broadcasted by the PBS of U.S.A. in early of eighties. Since the great success of the premiere, this ballet and its music have been widely performed and warmly received. A tape of it was also released in China. This is the story of the ballet: In a little Danish town in the nineteenth century, Betty, a little girl who lost her mother, was selling matches along the street during Christmas time. The sound of the church bell reminded her that the time was quite late, but she was unable to go home until she completed her job. An old man came to light the street lights. He gave her some money and left. Betty tried to sell her matches to a carriage, but the carriage just ran away. Snow fell, cold and hungry, she lit a match on the wall to warm herself. A group of “Fire Fairies� appeared. They danced around her and got her warm. Since they disappeared so quickly, Betty lit another match. She saw a big dining room with a beautiful Christmas tree and a lot of food. While some bus boys were handing her a piece of roasted goose, the typical Danish Christmas food, a nobleman in a portrait hanging on the wall suddenly moved. Everything disappeared again. Betty immediately lit the third match, a “Swan Lake� with a beautiful garden appeared. She met her mother with tears because the mother had passed away for years. Mother got a pair of little red shoes for her as the Christmas gift and danced with her. The “Portrait nobleman� brought the mother out of the scene. Everything was gone but the snow storm. The church bell sounded again, with the morning dawn, the old man came to extinguish the street lights. He found the frozen body of the little girl.

Piano, four-hands - Moderately Advanced SKU: LO.70-1559S A Holiday Collection for Piano--Four Hands. Composed by Gilbert M. Martin. Sacred, Christmas. Sacred Music Press #70/1559S. Published by Sacred Music Press (LO.70-1559S). UPC: 000308109252.A joy-filled and musically colorful compendium of Christmas melodies, brilliantly arranged for four happy hands on one yuletide piano! Eleven carols, masterfully entwined in six separate selections, including a glorious Asleep on the Hay, utilizing both familiar melodies of Away in a Manger; the seldom heard WEXFORD CAROL and CHRISTMAS DAY IS COME wedded together; and a delicately ravishing arrangement of Silent Night. And finally, for sheer sparkle and joy, cheery adaptations of IN DULCI JUBILO with JOY TO THE WORLD; GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN with DECK THE HALL; and I SAW THREE SHIPS with WASSAIL SONG round out this happy, energetic and Christmas tree-bright volume.

Organ, optional trumpet - Medium - Digital Download SKU: MQ.10-589-5E Composed by Robert J. Powell. 9/11 Service, Funeral, National Songs/Patriotic. 5 pages. MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music #10-589-5E. Published by MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music (MQ.10-589-5E). Includes: 1. An Evening Call to Prayer Taps (DAY IS DONE), AR HYD Y NOS, MERRIAL, TALLIS' CANON, EVENTIDE, STILLE NACHT 2. A Prayer for the Protection of Our Armed Forces HESPERUS, GOD OF OUR FATHERS, MONTEZUMA, MELITA 3. War Is the Blemish on Any Nation's Character MATERNA, AMERICA (NATIONAL ANTHEM/ MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE), STAR-SPANGLED BANNER, BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC Tone poems reveal the official hymns of all branches of the Armed Forces, and such patriotic favorites as Materna, America, The Star-Spangled Banner/National Anthem, and Battle Hymn of the Republic. 4. In Memoriam: The Grief of Separation Tempered by Faith and Courage Taps (DAY IS DONE) 5. National Glory Is Restored, but Trumped by the Promise of an International Resurrection EASTER HYMN (WORGAN/LYRA DAVIDICA), DUKE STREET, VICTORY (PALESTRINA), Taps (DAY IS DONE) Parts for optional Trumpet included.

Vocal Solo,Voice - Level 1 - Digital Download SKU: A0.719770 Composed by Various. Arranged by Curtis Hanson. Sacred. 10 pages. Curtis Hanson #6069399. Published by Curtis Hanson (A0.719770). As years come and go, one increasingly recalls memories of earlier times. One of the most vivid and cherished memories I have while growing up is of Sunday mornings, going to church, sitting in the same pew each week with my grandmother, hearing and singing the beautiful hymns of our faith, and then returning home to the aroma of beef slowly roasting in the oven. My father directed the church choir, my mother and older brothers sang in the choir, so the wonderful music of our faith was instilled in me from an early age. This medley, and others in the series, are arrangements of many of my favorite hymns from those early years, many of which have been lost in more recent editions. For this series, I have mostly elected to use the older texts as that is the way they were first written and the way I first learned them. (*See below for more comment on the texts in this set.) There is a reverence and beauty in the language enriching the vocal tone which, I believe, is lost in contemporary, conversational, or politically correct syntax. I shudder to think of the day when a penitential phrase such as Hear thou my prayer, O Lord is rendered as Hey, God-dude, listen up - I'm talkin' atcha! I have also opted not to include the many wonderful hymns and carols which are associated with the major festivals of Christmas and Easter as those are commonly found in other collections. A caveat: I have no delusions, and I offer no pretenses, that these settings are great art. They are simply expressions of faith which I hope may bring a small measure of joy to other church musicians. The general concept of each medley is to present the hymn, often in its original chorale form, and then vary its harmony or texture. The hymns in this set are Children of the Heavenly Father, Day by Day, Thy Holy Wings, and Beautiful Savior. This collection of arrangements is also available for SATB voices and piano or piano solo.*A note on the texts in this set: Having grown up in a Swedish Lutheran church, the grandson of Swedish/Norwegian immigrants, and currently being choir director of another Swedish Lutheran church, these hymns have a special place for me. This medley of hymns was originally arranged for my church choir with the first verse of each in Swedish. Being under copyright, permission was obtained to use the more familiar English translations of the first three songs for local use. For this edition, I have opted to create my own texts for the first and third hymns while the second hymn is a translation in public domain. I have also provided a verse in English in lieu of the Swedish for those Nordically challenged. The fourth hymn is not a Swedish melody but for obvious reasons is a mainstay of the Lutheran hymnal. Like the other hymns, the first verse is in Swedish while the other traditional verses are also public domain.

SSA choir and handbells or piano - Medium - Digital Download SKU: MQ.50-1143-E Composed by Craig Carnahan. Christmas, Christmas-Sacred. 15 pages. Duration 3 minutes, 45 seconds. MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music #50-1143-E. Published by MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music (MQ.50-1143-E). English.Only four handbells are used to creat a mysterious and haunting accompaniment in this very effective setting of the Catalan carol EL CANT DES OCELLS. (A piano accompaniment is provided as an alternative option.) There are a few moments when the choir sings unaccompanied until the bells re-enter, but overall the music is approachable and not difficult. Duration 3:45.

SATB choir divisi (a cappella), oboe - Medium - Digital Download SKU: MQ.50-1429-E Composed by Sandra Peter. With oboe. Christmas, Hanging of the Green. 8 pages. MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music #50-1429-E. Published by MorningStar Music Publishers - Digital Sheet Music (MQ.50-1429-E). Winds Through the Olive Trees was widely sung in many Sunday school programs early in the 20th century. This arrangement will bring back some of those memories, as the tune is set here for adult voices and oboe. The simple Austrian carolStill, Still, Still is woven into the piece to further create a sense of peace and calm as one contemplates the setting of the birth of Christ. The arrangement was written for Christmas at Luther College 2008. Parts for Oboe (Violin, Flute) and Clarinet in B-flat are included in the choral score.