Instrumental Duet,Piano B-Flat Clarinet,Cello,Instrumental Duet,Piano - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1284511

Composed by Spiritual. Arranged by Maria Thompson Corley. 21st Century,Chamber,Sacred,Spiritual,Traditional. 9 pages. Maria Thompson Corley #875686. Published by Maria Thompson Corley (A0.1284511).

“Crossing Jordan� grew out of my daughter Kiana’s surprise request that I arrange a spiritual for voice, piano and cello for her senior recital. She received a degree in commercial music the year before COVID shut everything down, at a time before climate change made blizzards an anomaly here in Central PA. As a result, snow days still existed. I spent one of them doing the first draft of “Deep River,� her favorite.




Later, I decided that if singers engage a cellist for a concert, they might like to program more than one piece for them, so I chose two more water-themed spirituals to complete the set. “His Name So Sweet� is a more meditative version of the song than I’ve generally heard. I wanted the piano, cello, and briefly the voice to imitate the fountain in the text. The mood is ecstasy, resulting from the fundamental change that baptism is meant to create. “Deep River� also includes “Michael Row The Boat Ashore� and “The Water Is Wide.� The latter isn’t a spiritual, however, taken together the message is that the river is deep, the water is wide, but with (the Archangel?) Michael’s help, Jordan can be crossed. “Wade in the Water� is one of the most well-known spirituals. I focus on the idea of escaping enslavement: the opening is quiet, furtive, maybe even nervous. The Moses in the text can be understood to be Harriet Tubman, who might urge escapees to wade in the water so pursuing dogs couldn’t follow their scent. In my mind, the ending symbolizes that the party has vanished, never to be enslaved again.

The first instrumental version of “Deep River� was for trumpet and piano, performed by my sister, Alicia Thompson, and her son, Justin Griffin, during a church service in Atlanta shortly after I arranged it. After hearing a recording, I took borrowed her idea of adding a repeat (which she did to allow enough time for the ushers to take up collection). The clarinet, cello and piano version was premiered by the Isosceles Trio (Doris Hall-Gulati (clarinet), Sara Male (cello), and me (piano)).

Woodwind Ensemble,Woodwind Quartet Alto Saxophone,Baritone Saxophone,Soprano Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.734285

Composed by African-American Spiritual. Arranged by Dennis Ruello. Concert,Gospel,Jazz,Spiritual. 9 pages. Chicory Music #2065711. Published by Chicory Music (A0.734285).

Wade in the Water was a popular instrumental hit in 1966 for the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which prompted further instrumental recordings by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Billy Preston (both 1967). The melody was used for the 1988 Tony! Toni! Toné! hit Little Walter.It was also used to warn slaves back then that a Slave Hunter or a Bounty Hunter was nearby and it was to warn them to go in the opposite direction.Wade in the Water, Children is a 2008 American Documentary directed and produced by Elizabeth Wood and Gabriel Nussbaum. It was filmed by a group of 8th grade students at the first school to reopen in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The film offers a shockingly intimate look into life as a child in the ruined city. This jazz treatment of the tune is for four saxophones (SATB or AATB) and includes a full score.

Woodwind Ensemble,Woodwind Quartet Clarinet - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.734286

Composed by African - American Spiritual. Arranged by Dennis Ruello. Concert,Gospel,Jazz,Spiritual. 9 pages. Chicory Music #2065755. Published by Chicory Music (A0.734286).

Wade in the Water was a popular instrumental hit in 1966 for the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which prompted further instrumental recordings by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Billy Preston (both 1967). The melody was used for the 1988 Tony! Toni! Toné! hit Little Walter.It was also used to warn slaves back then that a Slave Hunter or a Bounty Hunter was nearby and it was to warn them to go in the opposite direction.Wade in the Water, Children is a 2008 American Documentary directed and produced by Elizabeth Wood and Gabriel Nussbaum. It was filmed by a group of 8th grade students at the first school to reopen in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The film offers a shockingly intimate look into life as a child in the ruined city. This jazz treatment of the tune is for four clarinets (SSAB or SSSB) and includes a full score.