During the holiday season, many cities organize community sing-alongs of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah.  Here in Columbus, this year is no exception – especially because 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death.  The ProMusica Chamber Orchestra will be hosting their annual Messiah sing-along on Friday, December 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Theatre in downtown Columbus.  Please check their website for further information or to purchase tickets for the event.

For those of you wanting to “get in shape” for the event, check out the Do-It-Yourself Messiah.  Each CD has a particular voice part (soprano, alto, etc.) highlighted, and is perfect for practicing as you drive to and from work.

Many musicians reading this blog already own their own Messiah score – the ProMusica event will be using the G. Schirmer edition.  If you would like to purchase your own copy, or for more information, please contact us.

Conductor Dr. Timothy Seelig is perhaps best-known for his 20 year tenure as director of the Turtle Creek Chorale.  Now retired from that position (but still an active guest conductor throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe), he has imparted much of his wisdom and experience in a series of books.  Tim’s entertaining yet practical approach to the voice and to the choir is easy to read, enlightening, informational, and often laugh-out-loud funny!

His first book, The Perfect Blend, is a collection of over 100 warm-up exercises, including photos, rehearsal and programming tips, and “things they didn’t teach you in school.”  The accompanying DVD shows the exercises in action.

Tim followed up with The Perfect Rehearsal, a resource to help maximize your rehearsal time to the fullest.  Written as if taking a trip, Tim gives you refreshing, informative and entertaining new ways to plan and execute your rehearsals.  A DVD is available for this resource as well.

The Perfect Choral Workbook explores all the “other” jobs a choral conductor must tackle.  Subtitled “Everything You Need to Organize Your Choral Program,” there are over 50 forms and lists on the included CD-ROM with printable files that will assist you with a range of tasks from making sure you are in the right place, to possessing the necessary tools, and to cultivating magic in your music program.

Tim Seelig’s Quick Fixes asks the question, “What do you do when the choir starts the repertoire and all of the beautiful singing heard during warm-ups goes out the window?”  With this resource, you can quickly identify the symptom in the index, read the plan of treatment and immediately fix the problem…right on the spot!

For our readers in New York, make sure to check out Dr. Seelig’s sessions at the upcoming NYSSMA Winter Conference (December 3-6 in Rochester, NY).  A dynamic clinician with lots of information to offer you, his sessions are not to be missed!  And after the session, stop by the Stanton’s booth in the exhibit hall to pick up your own copy of the resources he discusses. 

For more choral conducting resources, please contact us!

I’ve been busy preparing to perform with the NYP Voice Ensemble once again at their annual concert. This time round, it’s even more fun with Acappuccino guest performing and I’m directing the alumni ensemble, the VocaKakis.

What more, Acappuccino returns to their choral roots as we present 2 Latin-American pieces, plus 2 more from our landmark performances.

If you’re interested in attending the concert, feel free to drop us (Acappuccino) an email. For more details, feel free to visit the group’s site.

Composer and educator Ken Berg’s Solfege Suites are a perfect way to introduce musical concepts to young singers. The names give away the character of each piece, but the truly fabulous part is that the text is all solfege syllables. Besides teaching solfege, form and other musical elements, these selections also stand alone as performance pieces. Galop from Solfege Suite #1 is our best-seller from the series. Full of accelerating excitement and teaching opportunities, it’s a perfect concert closer. Solfege Suite #1 also includes March and Bolero, and Solfege Suite #2 contains Mazurka, Chaconne and Gavotte.

For more concert suggestions for young choirs, please contact us!

Silver Lake Chorale

Silver Lake College will kick off the holiday season by holding its second annual “Christmas at Silver Lake” celebration featuring two separate music concerts.

“Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”, a collaborative effort between the Silver Lake College Choral Organizations, Handbell Ensemble and Campus Ministries Program, will be held on Saturday, December 5^th at 7:30 pm and a “Christmas Instrumental Concert” featuring the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble will be held on Sunday, December 6^th at 3:00 pm.  Both events are free and open to the public and will be held in the Silver Lake College Chapel located at 2406 South Alverno Road in Manitowoc. Canned Goods to benefit Peter’s Pantry will be taken at the door.

 The “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” concert will present a variety of Choral and Handbell Repertoire that includes Christmas Anthems, Audience Carols, and Seasonal Readings. The “Christmas Instrumental Concert” will present such pieces as Christmastime Around the World by Robert W. Smith, Shepherds’ Farewell by Hector Berlioz, and Irving Berlin Christmas arranged by Warren Barker.

The Silver Lake College Choral Organizations are under the direction of Damon Carlson and Dr. Perry D. White, the Handbell Ensemble is lead by Sandra Eithun and the Campus Ministries Program is lead by Deacon Paul Gleichner. The Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble are under the direction of Kelly Meyer.

Congratulations and thank you to these fine teachers and directors from the Columbus Community! They will each share the baton with Maestro Timothy Russell on Friday, December 11 at the Southern Theatre for Messiah and More! a community sing-along.

If you’re a music teacher on a tight budget it can be difficult to find the money to purchase sheet music for the myriad of music ensembles, instrumental and vocal students you may have at your school.  It’s good to know that these days there are literally hundreds of websites that offer free sheet music and a large percent of the titles are also copyright-free so you can arrange, transpose or transform the original to your heart’s content.  I’ve listed a few sites below, but if you’d like to find more, just search Google for “free sheet music”.

1. International Music Score Library Project A collection of public domain scores and scores from modern/current composers who are willing to share their work.

2. Mutopia A collection of public domain classical sheet music.  Their collection of modern editions is also growing.

3. The Gutenberg Sheet Music Project A sister project of the electronic book-sharing site Project Gutenberg

4. Choral Music Public Domain Started in 1998, this site is devoted to choral music

5. Band Music PDF Library They describe their collection as “music from the Golden Age of the American town band”.

6. Sheet Music Fox has public domain music as well as links to other sites containing copyrighted music.

7. Free Scores like some of the other sites, this one contains a variety of public domain scores and scores from current composers.  Check the licence page for details of how each piece can be used.

8. EZ Folk Folk songbooks from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s printed in their entirety.

9. Sibelius Music A place for Sibelius users to share their compositions and arrangements.  Not all are free, but you can include the word “free” in your search terms to narrow the choices.  There are more than 92,600 scores on this site.

10. Mus Open A collection of sheet music and mp3s.  Mus Open are even starting a collaborative text book project.

11. Public Domain Sherpa Although the sites above offer free sheet music it’s wise to be aware that not all titles are completely copyright-free.  Public Domain Sherpa offers a run-down of many sheet music sites (including ones not listed here) and lets you know whether the music may be subject to copyright restrictions.

Image courtesy t8contempo on Flickr

It’s been a while ! Il faut dire que mon nouveau téléphone occupe l’essentiel de mon temps libre désormais

Quoi de neuf ? Qu’est-ce que j’aime pas cette phrase … les gens sont tellement pas intéressés par la réponse de leur interlocuteur quand ils tapent ça. Enfin ça peut pas être pire que “Qu’est-ce que tu racontes de beau ?”, et ça t’a pas traversé l’esprit que la vie était pas toujours rose et qu’il pouvait m’arriver des merdes ?

Enfin bon, je sais pas trop pourquoi j’ai tapé ça, mais jvais le laisser quand même. Ça sert à ça aussi, un blaugue.

.

Demain soir, premier concert de l’année, préparé en 5 répètes … c’est très court. Surtout quand tu vois la gueule des oeuvres. Magnifiques, certes ; mais monstrueux, pour un novice comme moi entre autres.

Les dates sont toujours dans la page Agenda, et sont régulièrement mises à jour. D’ailleurs, on a ajouté 2 dates de concerts pour Bruckner et Beethoven en 2010, ça marche super bien cette année. Ça va avoir de la gueule !

Bonne nouvelle sinon, je suis une nouvelle fois tonton … éloigné certes, mais tonton quand même !

Et puis, c’est tout pour ce soir.

Choral composer and arranger John Ness Beck was born on November 11, 1930 in Warren, Ohio.  After graduating from Warren High School in 1948, he enrolled at The Ohio State University.  In 1952 he graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English.  After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the U.S. Army.  During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups.  After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major.

John was a faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory.  He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus.  In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising.  As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press.  His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various music clinics and festivals throughout the country.  John has left a wonderful legacy of music to be enjoyed by all.

The musical heritage of John Ness Beck is well-known here in the central Ohio area, but those of you in other areas around the country may not be as familiar with his vast catalogue of work.  If you’re still looking for pieces for December concerts, check out his Lullaby or Where is the Child?  Some other long-time favorites are Canticle of Praise, Benediction, and Consecration.  Solo singers will find many options in the collections Sacred Songs of John Ness Beck and Hymn Settings of John Ness Beck.

Contact us for more information.

Ova kaseta predstavlja neku vrstu pobune protiv manijakalnog bombardovanja SRBIJE 1999. godine. Naravno varvarske snage svih europskih zemalja nisu imale nimalo skrupula i u toku bombardovanja nisu obraćali pažnju na pojedine verske praznike srpskog naroda i Pravoslavne crkve. Hor na ovoj kaseti peva uživo ali snimci su iz 1995. i 1997. godine. Kaseta je izašla 1999. u toku bombardovanja. Hor je kao što se vidi SV. STEFAN DEČANSKI.

This cassette reprpesents some kind of a fight agaisnt barbarian bombing of SERBIA by all countries of europe union. All recordings are LIVE from 1995. and 1997.

GREAT LENT AND EASTER

10 years had passed from this monstrous act of europe union. WE WILL NEVER FORGET. europe union will always be a war criminal for Serbia. This music will be the act of remembrance at that act.

“The world is sustained by three things: by truth, by justice, and by peace.”

These wise words have probably been sung millions of times over in Al Shlosha D’varim, a long-time standard in 2-part choral repertoire.  With the recent publication of a brand-new SATB voicing, mixed choirs can now experience this masterpiece.  Using the universal language of music, Al Shlosha D’varim conveys an important and universal theme through its beautiful simplicity.  Appropriate for a many performance occasions, it could be particularly effective on a winter/holiday concert – and it’s straight-forward enough to be learned quickly!  Click here to hear a sample recording of the wonderful new voicing, or contact us for more information.

We have finally selected the winner of the Breath of Christmas Design Contest. After lots of debating on how we would promote for our event we thought it would be best to use postcards and give them out when our choir goes out caroling.
So…

The winner of the Breath of Christmas Design contest is….

VampOut

Here is her beautiful design!

Thank you to everyone who submitted designs! It was great to see all the unique designs! Look for a possible Breath of Christmas 2 Contest next year!

We will be purchasing 260 postcards to pass out to the congregation as well as the people we carol to.

Want to be a part of something new and exciting?  Composer Eric Whitacre is in the process of compiling his second Virtual Choir on YouTube.  Begun as an experiment on Eric’s blog in May, the final product (a massed “virtual choir” performance of Sleep) was posted to YouTube in July.  Singers from around the world recorded themselves performing their individual part of the work and posted it, and Eric compiled all the individual recordings into an amazingly musical mass performance!

Now the internet community is preparing the perform Lux Aurumque.  The deadline to submit YOUR performance is December 1st, 2009.  Eric has posted a conductor track with some performance suggestions and tips on his blog. 

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be a part of this amazing undertaking, and please let us know if you decide to participate!  To quote Eric, “Our goal this time is to take the whole thing to the next level and try to create a truly musical experience, a graceful and delicate performance full of passion and life and light.  Share your voices and your souls with the world!”

The vocal collection 24 Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th & 18th Centuries has been a staple in the voice teacher’s library for many, many years, and generations of solo singers will recognize the familiar yellow book.  Expose your young choral singers to the depth of musical beauty in these classic pieces with one of these arrangements:

Danza Danza has been carefully arranged for 2-part treble choir by Audrey Snyder.  Both parts are expressive and fun to sing, making this rhythmical waltz ideal for concert, contest or festival performances.

The buoyant Gia il sole dal Gange will be enjoyed by treble choirs of all ages.  Evoking the imagery of a rollicking brook, it’s a great piece for working on vocal flexibility and agility with your group.

Earlene Rentz’s arrangement of Caro mio ben is perfect for younger SSA choirs.  Art song phrases inspire expressive “bel canto” singing, and the limited voice ranges are just right for developing singers.  Also available for 3-part mixed voices.

For SAB groups, try Christopher Matthews’ set of three Italian songs, Nel cor piu non mi sento, Alma del core, and Nina.  Thoughtful ranges and supportive piano accompaniments make this set a good fit for junior high or young high school ensembles.

Singing these songs with your choir is a great opportunity to introduce young musicians to art song literature and the wonderful marriage of music and text contained therein.  For more concert suggestions for your choir, please contact us.

Are you aware that there are a number of online libraries for sheet music in the public domain? While not an authoritative resource, these sites can be very useful for research, educational exercises and, in some cases, even performance.

The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) is a large archive of free choral music. Anyone may contribute, so selections range from early music to the unpublished work of current composers.

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is a WIKI site offering scanned-in public domain scores which can be browsed by composer, time period or instrument.

Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA) contains an EXTENSIVE list of links to other online public domain libraries.

Classic!

I feel like I should like the violinist Beaker best of all, but it’s the one in the top left who steals the show for me. That is, until the violin catches on fire. I knew that could happen!

Also, I take this video as proof that Statler and Waldorf would like my blog.

Beloved composer, organist and church musician Dr. Paul Manz passed away in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday evening, October 28.  He was 90 years old.  He died surrounded by his family while they sang his famous motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

Manz long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship.  He was Cantor Emeritus at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, Illinois; as well as Cantor Emeritus of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals.  Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a “festival” of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question.  The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment.  Sometimes he would play an improvisation between each sung stanza, as with his well-known variations on the tune, ST. ANNE, sung to the Isaac Watts text “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past” with which he would traditionally end each festival.  Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world.

Click here for Manz’s full obituary, and here for a beautiful recording of his choral motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

Audio Stream: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Mass_in_G_1_Kyrie/11720

November 1st is “All Saints’ Day” (in the Roman Catholic Church at least). “All Saints’ Day” is also known as “All Hallows”. “Halloween” is named because it is “All Hallows’ Even – e’en is a shortening of even, which is the origin of the words ‘evening’ and ‘eve’.” The day after “All Saints’ Day” is “All Soul’s Day”. The three combined make up the “Festival of the Dead“. I have always marked them and celebrated them for I like the darkness and indulgence of Halloween, followed by the solemnity of “All Saints’ Day” and “All Soul’s Day”. They are very much the end of what was (summer) and the beginning of what will be (winter). All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are also frequently a time when I pause to remember those I knew who have passed “All Saints’ Day” and “All Soul’s Day”.

This is as “religious” in the traditional sense as I get I suppose (though there is a certain magic to Christmas). Musically I generally avoid many of the newer religious songs played in church, and “Christian Rock”. So many of them seem so hokey and contrived, like some sort of bad folk rock concert every Sunday. Blech! Even when I was young I wondered why they didn’t play more of the great mass compositions by the classical composers. There is no shortage of them. I suppose it might have required a good organist or even a multi piece orchestra and choir (likely unavailable at the church I grew up going to), but still it would’ve made the experience all the better. For my song for today, “All Saints’ Day”, here is one of pieces I am refering to, the “Kyrie” from Franz Schubert’s “Mass in G” (AKA “Mass No. 2 in G Major”). Listen to the rest of it if you like this part! It is also a piece I myself have performed with my college choir and a nice contrast to the Halloween songs though I am somewhat sad my Halloween song list will grow no more (until next year… *evil laugh in the distance*).

Enjoy!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bach
• Sarah Slean – “Pie Jesu”
• Vivaldi

I also suggest the music genre:

• Choral

Click here for more info on Schubert – Mass in G – “Kyrie”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Schubert - Mass in G

“O Fortuna” is the first part of the movement of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, though the bits of the rest of the “Carmina Burana” I have heard are hardly as intense. The lyrics are actually a medieval Latin poem and if you read the full translation to English, the song is actually quite profound in its review of “Fate”. Here is one part:

Fate
-monstrous and empty,
you whirling wheel,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing

With such weight and darkness I am adding it to my Halloween playlist.

Really the song is so powerful it is a pity it has been grossly overused and abused by commercial media and popular culture. Gatorade? Really? Boo! I say. Boo!!!

Now Carlton Draught beer … maybe I’ll cut you some slack. But only because the men are all in medieval style gowns in a giant valley, and it appears as though there might actually be a battle. However part of me is disappointed about the lyrics. It just cheapens the original, though I suppose it is funny. Ok, I forgive you, but only because I like beer!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bruno Coulais – “Coraline Soundtrack”
• Steve Sharples – “Bolero (Closing Credits to Moulin Rouge)”
• Leopold Stokowski – “Night on Bald Mountain”

I also suggest the music genre:

• Classical

Click here for more info on Carl Orff – Carmina Burana – Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi – “O Fortuna”.

The MP3 (of the version by Leonard Slatkin with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, which I believe is the same one as above) may be purchased here:

Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

Choirs and directors! Please remember that NOVEMBER 6 is the deadline to register your choir for participation in our annual Handel’s Messiah sing along at the Southern Theatre. The event will take place Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 pm with no prior rehearsals. Please email me soon to get your names in our program and on the conducting list.

One of the creepier (and best) movies I’ve watched this year is Coraline. I’ve been itching to watch it again because it is perfect for Halloween. The music also has an eerie tone, as large children’s choirs frequently do. Perhaps there is just something creepy about a large group of children all doing the same thing at the same time. Unnatural perhaps?

Written by French composer Bruno Coulais, the song is sung by “The Children’s Choir of Nice”. Can you hear the French? I was straining to understand the lyrics until I learned all the lyrics were intentionally gibberish, some actual words mixed in but no meaning behind the phrases:

Creaking Van Iddli Fla Lu Va
Pretty Sah Lu Feh Iddli Twu Ki Padi
Trelly Goilly Doilly Seli Pretty Chedi
Emi Swalin Gwoh
Seri Ferin Dorin Greh
Fairy Seiry Don
Sweedes Machin Twinky Doo
Fweeden Soreti

Oosi An Tweeban Retiso
Neh-Neh Fehreeden
Sindwee Bin Doh
Swin Ting Lan Twenty Some Dring Doli
Sweet Lan Bih City Tran Dolinda
Pretty Leheleni Switi Kull
Meli Swimmin So

In my search for the lyrics, I found someone has made up a fake translation. I believe it is LIES! As evidence (other than the wiki page that says it is gibberish), here is a quotation from a site that interviewed the director, Henry Selick:

Capone: So what language are they singing in. To me it doesn’t sound like a language I know. It sounds made up even.
HS: [smiles big] It is! It’s all nonsense words. You might hear a little accent, and you’re not sure, but that’s something Bruno likes to do. He uses sounds. It’s all sung nonsense.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Serguéi Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”
• Sarah Slean

I also suggest the music genre:

• Songs For Halloween

Click here for more info on Bruno Coulais – Coraline Soundtrack – “End Credits”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Bruno Coulais - Coraline Soundtrack

Magic Songs finally reached my house a few days ago and I’m now currently hunting for the recording of it.

Anyone can help?

Stanton’s Sheet Music is coming to YOU! Stanton’s will be on the road this winter attending several conventions outside the state of Ohio.

Our first stop will be in Rochester, New York, December 3-5th for the NYSSMA Convention. We are extremely excited about going back to this show for the 5th time! We are eager to see some of our favorite customers and, of course, meet new educators who we’ll be able to help. We are bringing a full selection of sheet music for Solo & Ensemble, Choral, Elementary Music, Concert Band, Jazz and Orchestra, along with some of the newest publications for music educators and college music majors. You shouldn’t have trouble finding us–we’ll be under the big blue Stanton’s balloon flying in the exhibition hall. If you are already familiar with Stanton’s, or have been reading our blog regularly, you may have learned that the Stanton’s staff loves traditions. We can’t visit Rochester without having our traditional night out at the Dinosaur—a well-known restaurant with a reputation for excellent barbecue. The Dinosaur’s bar-like interior will be crowded with everyone from musicians/educators from the convention to urban professionals and leathered bikers—all mingling in waiting for a table. It’s always worth the wait because the food is fantastic and the portions are huge. We’re hoping that all of our NYSSMA crew—new and returning—will love the Dinosaur and have a great time in Rochester!

After hosting our annual January Church Choral Reading Session on Saturday, January 9th, the next stop on the winter tour will be our inaugural trip to Grand Rapids for the Michigan Music Conference, January 21st-23rd. We are thrilled to finally be adding Michigan to our roster; we have talked about attending this convention ever since this event moved from a college campus to a convention center. We have been so pleased to be of help to music educators in the state of Michigan, and we look forward to seeing those customers face-to-face. Once again, we’ll be bringing a wide variety of music publications and resources for music educators and college majors. Since this convention is a new experience for the Stanton’s crew this year, we are open to suggestions as to what to do and where to eat. We’re sure that the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel has a nice restaurant or two, but are there other fun and exciting places to dine out in the downtown Grand Rapids area?

We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping for good traveling weather. We know the trip back from Rochester can be a little nerve racking with all of the lake effect snow hitting us on route 90 (we’ve “white-knuckled” our way back home at 2:30 in the morning more than once), but we are also hoping for good weather going to and from Grand Rapids with the snow off Lake Michigan in January. Wish us luck!

Of course, Stanton’s busy schedule doesn’t stop there. After we attend the Michigan Music Conference, Stanton’s travels to Cincinnati the very next week for OMEA, then on to Louisville, Kentucky for the KMEA convention the week after that. That’s three in a row—back to back to back! Then we still have a few small February run-outs to the Morehead Band Clinic and the ACDA Central Division Conference in Cincinnati before we can settle back into our normal routine. Keeping busy on the road is not only a fun way for the staff to get out and meet new people, but also makes the dark, chilly months seem to speed by more quickly. Come out and see us sometime this winter, and if you’d like Stanton’s to come to YOUR state convention next year, let us hear about it!

flotation walls – sperm & egg.mp3

(might want to keep this one around for when you’ve got to talk to the kids about…)