No. 3 in the three movement work Nativity Suite (each movement published separately), in this setting of the traditional 16th century poem, the instruments express the sentiment that animates the choir's words in ways that voices are incapable of doing. The repeated alleluias at the close of each verse are resounding exclamations of joy, with harmonies made up of as many as eleven voice parts.

Composer: Dale Warland

Composer Dominick DiOrio has been called a forward-thinking young composer, ready to tackle anything and this exciting piece definitely falls under anything. Written for the virtuosic Houston Chamber Choir and their artistic director, Robert Simpson, this piece makes use of a virtuosic marimba player as well as choir. All musicians must be able to produce a stark pianissimo and a flexible and powerful fortissimo, all with exceptional tonal clarity and expressive declamation of the poerty. Duration ca: 15:00

Composer: Dominick DiOrio

A Lover's Journey is a set of four pieces which chronicle the extraordinarily commonplace yet supremely elegant story of love. Written as a Valentine to The King's Singers, the composer uses three texts by William Shakespeare and one by James Joyce. Movements include: 1) In the Still Garden; 2) St. Valentine's Day; 3) Will you, Nill you; 4) Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

Composer: Libby Larsen

The lovely English folk carol in a warm setting for mixed choir and harp. Includes Harp Part and alternate Guitar Part. Performance Time: Approx. 2:25

Arranger: Dale Warland

Commissioned to honor a marriage celebration, this text by the early 20th-century poet, Amy Lowell, speaks to love and commitment. But the title is enigmatic (no sprigs of resemary are mentioned in the poem itself) until one discovers that in addition to its well-known properties as a plant and herb, Rosemary is a traditional symbol of remembrance and constancy; so the author made a knowing and perfect choice for the title. In setting this text, the composer creates a harmonic richness which would complement and reflect the soft richness of Lowell's words of recalling and caring. Duration: ca. 2:40

Composer: Jeffrey Van

This sturdy arrangement is based on a spiritual folk song that appeared in a number of American hymnals beginning in the mid 19th century. Angels Hovering Round appears in The Revivalist hymnal of 1868 and in The Sacred Harp as Golden Streets. This setting combines the first verse of the revival song and the two verses of Golden Streets in homage to the revival and shape note traditions.

Composer: Kevin Siegfried

Written as a companion piece to the 40 voice Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis Spem in Alium, this music is spatial and conceived with reverberant acoustics in mind. Each of the three choirs is made up of different voicings including a women's choir, a men's choir and an SATB choir. The soprano solo is Hildegard the mystic praying.

Composer: Nancy Wertsch

Beginning with a sound-scape where the choir creates the sound of waves and wind, this is a piece for the most adventerous choirs. Once the mood is established, a single tenor voice begins the poem, followed by a few sopranos. This grows into a full eight part choir singing forte fades into dust. The texture quickly fades into a reprise of the opening sound-scape with the tenor soloist over the top.

Composer: Matthew Lyon Hazzard

The Ave Maria has been sung, chanted and prayed in churches, cathedrals and cloisters since before the Middle Ages. This setting, which includes quotations from the plainsong chant, depicts the voicing of individual intentions that echo through cathedrals, minds and hearts. Duration: Approx. 4:10. Recorded by the Dale Warland Singers, Concert recording (p) 2002 Minnesota Public Radio. Used with permission of Minnesota Public Radio and the University of Cincinnati.

Composer: Cary Boyce | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

This text by the Wedderburns is best known from Benjamin Britten's timeless A Ceremony of Carols. This setting serves as a manger lullaby, with the soprano soloist representing Mary.

Composer: Matthew Culloton

Hollywood composer, arranger and Raymond Brock-commissioned composer J.A.C. Redford has become known in all medium for his ability to convey strong emotions in his music. This is especially true in this new work. Wide dynamic contrasts, big ranges and a pulsating rhythm create a powerful new work for advanced choirs.

Composer: J.A.C. Redford

A setting of the Beatitudes text, this stately work may be performed by treble voices of all ages. May be performed with piano or organ. Performance Time: Approx. 4:00

Composer: Bern Herbolsheimer

These three choral vignettes are inspired by the whimsical poetry of Emily Dickinson. All three pieces require a free play of fancy and imagination. Using extended, aleatoric passages, non-metrical and free harmonic writing, directors and singers are given a pallet to create a piece that will be new every time it is performed.

Composer: Lee Kesselman

After an opening that evokes a confused and troubled world, this work bursts into a sweeping attempt to drive the world's coldness away in favor of love. Flute part included. Duration: Approx. 3:00 Concert recording (p) 2003 Minnesota Public Radio. Used with permission of Minnesota Public Radio and the University of Cincinnati.

Composer: Abbie Betinis

The atmospheric mood of this work set to a text by Robert Herrick is intended to suggest a brief moment between wakefulness and sleep as one drifts off to another realm. Without rushing or overstating, choirs will savor each progression toward the final lingering chords.

Composer: Robert Sieving

With a beautiful new piano accompaniment created for those without a classical guitar player, this original composition for the Dale Warland Singers is perfect for accomplished choirs. With sensitive determination, choirs will create a magical atmosphere with this choral gem.

Composer: Jeffrey Van | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

With homage to Bruckner and Messiaen, the gentle phrases and rich harmonies of this contemporary Latin setting will resonate throughout your performance space. Sleep, Jesus. Thy mother smiles when she sees such gentle slumber. Sleep Jesus, gently. Duration: ca. 4:40.

Composer: Abbie Betinis

An elegant setting of a poem by Robert Bly, this work evokes the image of water in all its forms through vocal word-painting. Recorded by the Dale Warland Singers, Dale Warland, Conductor, courtesy Minnesota Public Radio. Performance Time: Approx. 6:00

Composer: Steve Heitzeg | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

This beautiful piece by Tobin Stokes is loosely based on the five stages of grieving by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The first section of the music, set for 6-part treble choir on the text Hear my prayer, Oh Lord, is polyphonic at a subdued dynamic level. The second phrase of the verse, and let my crying come unto thee, is homophonic and builds to a full climax before diminishing to a very soft and passionate ending.

Composer: Tobin Stokes

Here is a text by contemporary American poet Jenna Lanzaro that sparkles with energy. It demands the same from the music and the music delivers. The opening motive is a cell that germinates into an overwhelming force. The haunting harmonies and melodies gradually unfold into a complex cacophonous climax and conclude with that opening material from which the piece is generated.

Composer: Matthew Recio

This musical setting of the famous Mary Elizabeth Frye poem Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep begins very placidly, and takes the refrain of I am as a mantra for existence. The use of a dramatic soprano solo is both a musical and theatrical choice, with the soloist communicating as if from beyond death to those still alive. The chorus is also a character interaction, at times reclusive or electric, but always with a steely presence.

Composer: Dominick DiOrio

California composer Dale Trumbore is quickly becoming one of America's leading young composers. Commissioned by Brandon Elliott and the Choral Arts Initiative, the music begins softly, with soft and energetic excitement and ends serenely following the powerful statement I am the instrument of God as the choir whispers I am music.

Composer: Dale Trumbore

This favorite Shaker song from the mid-1800s in an invigorating arrangement by Kevin Siegfried is a wonderful concert opener or sacred anthem with themes of love, peace and personal righteousness.

Composer: Kevin Siegfried

The sensation of a young child, laying on their back and watching the snow gently fall is captured beautifully in this new piece by Dale Trumbore. Commissioned by Robert Bode and Choral Arts Northwest, this is a wonderfully sensitive and delicate composition for advanced choir.

Composer: Dale Trumbore

With a text from the Celtic collection Carmina Gadelica these words speak directly from the heart, in simple and poignant language that is so often a creative departure from mainstream religious writings and liturgy. This thoughtful choral reflection, profound in its simplicity, conveys the intimacy and immediacy of faith in the daily workings of a strong people who lived close to the earth, their lives indelibly entwined with the divine.

Composer: Steve Sandberg

A setting of a sonnet by Amy Lowell commissioned by the Smith College Chorus explores conflicting emotions one finds in a relationship. The broad and lyrical music evokes the passion of new love and the fear that one day it may end. With piano, two violins and viola.

Composer: Dominick DiOrio

A warm reflection on the coming of light, peace, love and life into the world, this deeply meaningful selection is set for mixed voices with flute, cello and harp. Available separately: SSATBB, Parts for Flute, Cello and Harp. Duration: ca. 6:25.

Composer: Dale Warland

Poet and Iraqi war veteran Brian Turner writes moving accounts of the war that are vivid and powerful. Composer Shawn Crouch uses Turner's visceral images of the war but emphasizes the lyrical qualities and changing colors of the poem to create long musical lines. Here, in Lullaby, a father seeks ways to comfort his child and himself as the sounds of war ring out all around them.

Composer: Shawn Crouch

Belgian composer Rudi Tas has created this haunting setting of the ancient Miserere text. The solo cello rises out of the vocal cluster and the music gradually becomes more intense as the voices plead for mercy. Finally, it ends as it began, with a haunting vocal cluster giving way to the solo cello on a high E. With cello. Duration: Approx. 8:10. Recorded by the Dale Warland Singers. Concert recording (p) 2003 Minnesota Public Radio. Used with permission of Minnesota Public Radio and the University of Cincinnati.

Composer: Rudi Tas | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

Movement no. 2 from Nativity Suite, the opening sounds of the instruments and voices in this setting of one of the most widely known of the Latin texts appropriate for Christmas are meant to conjure an air of mystery. The initial tone clusters, approached by layering the voice parts, suggest intimacy and the veiled quality suited to this traditional liturgical text. Other movements include: Welcome All Wonders (50600071), A Boy Was Born (50600073). Flute and Harp Parts available separately for the full suite (50600165).

Composer: Dale Warland

This work is dedicated to the memory of the legendary choral director Paul Salamunovich and his favorite musical genre of Gregorian chant. The composer has written an original chant in the Gregorian style with undulating musical phrases shaped in the ancient style but with contemporary harmonic structures, creating both a familiar and yet unsettling new requiem.

Composer: Matthew Culloton

Eric William Barnum is a fresh voice among composers. This expressive and lightly dissonant work for mixed chorus and semi chorus takes its text from a poem by Oscar Wilde. Duration: Approx. 6:00

Composer: Eric William Barnum

One of the great treasures of American folk music, this Shaker melody receives a refreshing treatment in this Dale Warland setting. With harp. Includes parts for Flute, Harp and Guitar. Performance Time: Approx. 2:10

Arranger: Dale Warland

An elegant setting of the poem by Edward Carpenter, this work evokes the boundary between the living and those who have passed on. So thin a veil divides us from such joy... Performance Time: Approx. 4:40

Composer: Dale Warland

Stars and all things related to the night are prominent themes in much of Sara Teasdale's poetry. The composer captures this unending excitement and wonder that the poet holds for stars in this beautiful and lush composition.

Composer: Dale Warland

Winner of the 2007 VocalEssence Carol Competition, this flowing setting of a 16th century anonymous text features the shimmering sounds of a celesta as it echoes and comments upon the vocal phrases, creating a magical and mysterious atmosphere. It may also be performed with piano or other keyboard instrument. Duration: ca. 3:55.

Composer: Matthew Brown

Exploring the sound world of Northern India while setting the words of Bengali poet Tagore, here is a stylistic new work suitable for any community choir. The English translation is the poet's own and the musical characteristics are a combination of Eastern scales combined with Western harmonies.

Composer: Carol Barnett

Most of us think that going viral is a 21st century phenomenon, made possible by the immediacy and ubiquity of the Internet. But Tenting on the Old Camp Ground, Walter Kittredge's haunting Civil War song of 1863, went viral in the age of the telegraph, and remains an enduring expression of the yearning for peace. Dale Warland sets this powerful text with a delicate touch including guitar accompaniment that calls for fingernail tapping on the body of the guitar. Duration: ca.4:30

Arranger: Dale Warland

As one of America's legendary conductors and important composers, we look for and expect the most creative and at the same time singable music from this choral giant. This new work does not disappoint. Scored for 5 sets of wind chimes, oboe (off stage) and cello along with SATB divisi choir, this is a work of delicate investigation into the birth of Jesus and the power of this event.

Composer: Dale Warland

This is the third work by DiOrio for chorus and marimba. Where A Dome of Many Coloured Glass (50498607) explores the virtuosic capabilities of this combination and Alleluia (50498734) is a work of extroverted exuberance, this work is concerned instead with the narrative demands of telling a story.

Composer: Dominick DiOrio

The Gift was created with the long, warm reverberation of a cathedral in mind. This requires the composer to create spaces within the music which leave room for echoing resonance. Dreamlike and impressionistic in character, the work features flowing lines and chords that roll in and out, rising and falling like waves. The text is anonymous 16th century Latin. Duration: ca. 5:15.

Composer: J.A.C. Redford

This beloved benediction from Numbers 6:24-26 is offered in an artful and accessible setting with expressive phrases and a fresh contemporary harmonization that will enhance the close of any concert or worship service. Duration: ca. 1:30.

Composer: Martha Sullivan

A very unique text for Christmas by Thomas Hardy. A gorgeous harp accompaniment supports the etherial choral writing.

An intimate Gaelic text about the blessing of Christ, who walks the earth in a stranger's guise. Well-suited for high school and beyond with a medium difficult guitar accompaniment. Available: SATB, Instrumental Part.

Composer: Alf Houkum

The poetry used in this setting of The Voices was presented to Dale Warland on the occasion of his final concert with the Dale Warland Singers by his friend, the poet Michael Dennis Browne. Dale writes, The art of choral singing has given my life great meaning and I hope to express that fulfillment through this music for mixed chorus and solo cello. The cello plays a leading role in the work, composed for a 2013 commission consortium of 23 choirs as a gift to Chorus America.

Composer: Dale Warland | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

The Whole Sea In Motion sets a prose text from Agnes Grey, a 1907 novel by British author Anne Bronte. In choosing this text to set, the composer was struck by the first sentence, which begins No language can describe (...) the sky and ocean and then proceeds to do just that, detailing the narrator's experience of the ocean in a vivid, keen language. Within the musical setting of the text, the ocean is represented alternately in the ebbing and flowing of the aleatoric piano accompaniment and in overlapping melodic lines in the chorus. Duration: ca. 5 min

Composer: Dale Trumbore

The last published poem of Sara Teasdale forms the lyric framework for this setting for mixed chorus, flute and harp. Rich harmonies and vocal textures create an atmosphere of rare beauty. Performance Time: Approx. 4:20

Composer: Dale Warland

Written for the Clarion Chamber Chorale of Omaha, Nebraska, this Gerard Manley Hopkins poem Spring and Fall is full of beautiful, figurative and profound language. It speaks to the human condition in a compact way. And although the subject is complex, the message is simple and requires similar simplicity in performance with freedom and rubato in this powerful and inspirational composition.

Composer: Dale Warland

Setting the Wendell Berry To My Mother but incorporating it for his parents, Joshua Shank portrays the sense of wandering and confusion in the early sections of his music but ultimately finds the revelation of true, unconditional love. Commissioned by Matthew Culloton and The Singers - Minnesota Choral Artists, and chosen by Dale Warland for his G.Schirmer series, this is a work worthy of the finest choirs.

Composer: Joshua Shank | Performed By: Dale Warland Singers

The spirit of exuberance should be the guiding inspiration for the choir and the instrumentalists when performing this excerpt from Whitman's famous A Song of Joys. Here the cello expresses Whitman's exuberant optimism in dialogue with the choir, while the piano highlights and enhances the entire mix with its sparkling octaves and spare, punctuating jabs.

Composer: Dale Warland