Originally written for The Children's Aid Society Chorus of New York City, this e.e. cummings text lends itself so nicely to the pure sound of treble voices and explores the idea of transformative innocence - that no state of being is so dark or hopeless that it cannot be transformed into light and joy through innocence. Duration: ca. 4:00.

Poetry By: e.e. cummings

Dedicated to Robert Mondavi on his 90th birthday, this work features the poetry of Robert Burns in a spirited setting for men's voices. Long may we live! Long may we love! And long may we be happy! And may we never want a glass/Well charged with generous nappy! Duration: ca. 1:40.

Poetry By: Robert Burns

From the poetry of Yeats, this song tells the tale of a young boy who wonders if he is too young to love. When he consults a brown penny, it reveals to him that the time to love is always now.

Poetry By: William Butler Yeats

Based on a Carl Sandburg poem, this work tells the story of the mutual longing of mother and grown child for the time and place of childhood. From the larger work From the Heart. Duration: ca. 4:50.

Poetry By: Carl Sandburg

Based on the poem The People, Yes by Carl Sanburg, this work expresses the great love of a caring mother for her child. She sings of her understanding and acceptance of the child, the potential that the child embodies, her confidence in who the child is and who the child will become. From a larger work, From the Heart. Duration: 3:15.

This contemporary work from Daniel Brewbaker is a jubilant shout of joy at the miracle of being alive. Based on poems by St. Thomas Aquinas and Rabia, their ideas resonate with each other across the centuries, and extend to our own. The music alternates between exhilarating elation and quiet amazement, concluding with an exuberant affirmation of the self as the central expression of the divine choir of life. From his cantata Living the Divine. Duration: 2:30.

Based on poetry by e.e. cummings, this setting is dedicated to the composer's mother on the occasion of her 87th birthday. Masterful vocal writing and an engaging piano accompaniment evoke images both humble and grandiose, and allow choirs to showcase balance and blend through expansive homophonic passages. Duration: ca. 6:30.

Poetry By: e.e. cummings

i shall imagine exudes a joyous self-confidence in the miracle of being alive, unperturbed by the vagaries of human perception of what is beautiful. Poetry by e.e. cummings. (1:55)

Poetry By: e.e. cummings

Based on a Carl Sandburg text, this piece is a paean to love as the ultimate response to the relentless passage of time and the impermanence of human life. Its ABABAA' form alternates between love's tender assurances (A), and the driving inevitability of time's passing (B). From the larger work, From the Heart. Duration: 4:50.

Poetry By: Carl Sandburg

Listening exuberantly praises the music inherent and expressed by everything in nature, above all the myriad worlds of human nature. It sings of the great variety and contrast of the seasons of the earth and moods of the oceans, the single notes within a melody and the chords that comprise harmony. Music is viewed as the means through which the essence of life is made manifest, expressing the essential unity of all things, which underlies all the various forms that life assumes. Duration: ca. 3:15.

A delicate setting for three-part treble choir of an e.e. cummings text. With piano accompaniment that is supportive of the vocal lines, yet not overpowering, younger and more experienced choirs alike will enjoy the simplicity of this beautiful piece. Duration: ca. 2:00

Poetry By: e.e. cummings

little tree is a song of transformation. It is about darkness turning into light, appropriate both for the Christmas Season and for the winter solstice, which marks the end of the long dark days of winter and the coming of the days of longer daylight. Duration: 3:40.

A gentle, lilting waltz for unison choir, treble solo and piano. The angel being addressed is reassured that he/she has done well in her attempt to find the Beloved. Written for the Anima Young Singers, Emily Ellsworth, conductor, this is a wonderful piece for melodic independence for a young choir. From the cantata Living the Divine. Duration: ca.4:00.

Tender lyricism and spirited syncopations join together in a celebration of spring, life and love. From the cycle birdsong. With piano. Duration: ca. 3:00. Recorded by Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dianne Berkun, Director.

This is an uplifting affirmation of joy and beauty that the world affords every day to the eyes and heart that are opened to perceive and receive it. The Rumi text and Brewbaker music merge to describe the feeling of life as it flows effortlessly over the water as wind fills its sails. This is a truly uplifting and inspirational work.

With poetry by e.e. cummings, the text is a tender plea of a lover asking for acceptance of the gift of love with all its mysteries, fantasies, dreams and yearnings. The music reflects these offerings in a lilting waltz-like tempo that floats toward its conclusion with hints of promised fulfillment, expansiveness and peace. Duration: ca. 2:00.

Poetry By: e.e. cummings

Daniel Brewbaker's Irish Cantata is based on poems that express a search for ancient origins, for our most primal earthly and heavenly progenitors. All three movements are available here in one octavo.

Country: Ireland

This meditation on stillness begins with gentle guidance in quieting the mind, continuing to lead the soul toward serenity and light, with the assurance that true knowledge is not to be found in the external world but in one's own calmly abiding consciousness. This music offers many points of discussion for the young choir.

The German melody Create in me a clean heart, O God forms the music center of this work for mixed voices and organ. In the psalm, David asks God for mercy, forgiveness, cleansing of the heart and renewal of the spirit, that he might once again sing joyful praise. The music reflects David's passionate and contrite supplication and his assurance that his prayer will be heard and answered. With organ.

Offering guidance through stages of spiritual awakening from respect for and service to all, Daniel Brewbaker captures the inspiration of the Rumi text in ecstatic and energetic music for women's choir, piano and percussion.

Daniel Brewbaker's Irish Cantata is based on poems that express a search for ancient origins, for our most primal earthly and heavenly progenitors. This second movement, derived from a Wallace Stevens poem, describes worn cliffs towering up over the Atlantic and the spacious, solitary world in which we used to exist. Uilleann Pipes and String Orchestra parts for the full work available on rental from Boosey & Hawkes.

Country: Ireland

To Hold Beauty expresses an understanding that all desires of the heart are reflections of the soul's one essential desire: to embrace beauty. With piano and optional timpani.

Based on a Carl Sandburg poem, this piece is a meditation on solitude and how silence and music are interrelated. It evokes a state of stillness, bringing attention to the rise and fall of the breath and musical phrase, to discover that silence is the prerequisite to hearing music, and to feeling the pulse of life. From the larger work From the Heart. Duration: 3:50.

Poetry By: Carl Sandburg

This short and, at first glance flippant, glance at divinity is really a thoughtful assertion that definitions and concepts of divinity fall short of the reality, which is beyond human understanding. And although for unison singers, this is a challenge for any and all singers.

With a text by thirteenth century poet Meister Eckhart that speaks of the fall from and a return to grace, composer Brewbaker uses mostly homophonic writing with soft, contemporary harmonies to find the soul's rightful place in the universe. This emotional showstopper calls for the full range of a woman's voice and mature emotions. Duration: ca. 4:00. Performed by Somerset Festival Chorus at Wells Cathedral in England, Emily Ellsworth, conductor.

Excerpted from a larger work, this work represents the beautiful imagery of nature with a Celtic flavor. With Uilleann Pipes and String Orchestra (Piano Reduction). (5:00)