In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Sheet Music Series

Harold Rosenbaum Choral Series

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A Cappella Folios

Series Collections

Nancy Wertsch: Shakespeare Suite

Review: The music here is meant to evoke the amorous thoughts and feelings of young lovers in Shakespeare's England. "It Was A Lover and His Lass" is a musical picture of a pair of happy young lovers meandering through the lush green countryside and enjoying the warmth of a spring day. It is obvious that these tow are a part of the total flowering spring. "Oh Mistress Mine" is a tender appeal by the young lover imploring his beloved to roaming and come to him. He employs various arguments to convince her that love should happen now and not later. His ardent desire is reflected in the music. However, at the end of the piece his love remains unrequited. In "Daffodils" there is so much youthful energy that it almost gets out of control. The key here is "tumbling." The whole piece goes in spurts and stops, with duddilly dum dum's and oo's containing little naughty thoughts here and there which can't say in words. All the chaos seems to come under control for awhile until the pent up energy bursts forth in "tumbling, tumbling, tumbling" and gleefully ends "as we go tumbling in the hay."

Songlist: It Was A Lover and His Lass, Oh Mistress Mine, Daffodils

Individual Folios

Displaying 1-9 of 9 items.

Jeffrey Cobb : Absalom

This 8-minute work, set entirely in Latin, recounts King David's grief at the death of his son Absalom. Opening with a fiery piano introduction, a solo tenor emerges from the echoing keyboard clusters, followed by a mournful choral response. The music then moves into a molto agitato Dies irae, with angry dissonance and mixed meters, eventually resolving into a peaceful and tranquil Requiem aeternum. A powerful and dramatic work for advanced ensembles! Duration: ca. 8:20.

Composer: Jeffrey Cobb

Harold Rosenbaum/ Ron Erickson : It Was A Lover and His Lass

Three texts from Shakespeare combine in a creative and colorful suite for a cappella mixed chorus. Includes: It Was a Lover and His Lass, Oh Mistress Mine, Daffodils. Recorded by The New York Virtuoso Singers. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. From the Harold Rosenbaum Choral Series.

Arranger: Harold Rosenbaum/ Ron Erickson | Composer: Nancy Wertsch

Harold Rosenbaum : Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

Create a meditative moment in your concert with this reflective setting of the famous Praetorius chorale tune from Piae Cantiones. Performed by The Canticum Novum Singers - Harold Rosenbaum, conductor. Duration: ca. 4:30

Arranger: Harold Rosenbaum

Richard Rice : Salve Regina

One of the four Marian antiphons, this devotional text has been sung in monastic choirs for centuries. This setting features a homophonic texture and a simple ABA form. Duration: ca. 4:15.

Composer: Richard Rice

Nancy Wertsch : Sicut Cervus

This famous Latin text has been set by many composers over the ages: As the deer longs for running water, so longs my soul for you, O Lord. This setting evokes the settings of the past with a fresh perspective for contemporary choirs. Duration: ca. 4:20.

Composer: Nancy Wertsch

Tim Gregory : The Joy I Feel

The music of East Africa reflects the joyful spirit of the people as seen in these three selections from Tanzania and Kenya, collected and arranged by ethnomusicologist and educator Tim Gregory. These short songs are easily learned by young choirs and adaptable enough for more experienced ensembles. Field video, movement and other helpful online information are referenced within the publication. Songs include: Karibuni, Muyo, Liwaya. Duration: ca. 5:00

Arranger: Tim Gregory

Gerald Cohen : The Ocean of Peace Lies Ahead of Me

This final movement of a larger work An Undaunted Heart: Songs of Elders is a setting of a poem by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore and explores the last stage of life for a man and the ocean of peace that lies before him as he encounters the great unknown. Duration: ca. 5:20.

Composer: Gerald Cohen

Joelle Wallach : Therefore

This short unaccompanied work probes the puzzles of living with conscience in a profoundly flawed world. The text by poet William Dickey encourages engagement in the world, yet the piece ends in a wordless sigh, as if lamenting a lost ideal. Duration: ca. 4:00.

Composer: Joelle Wallach

Thomas LaVoy : White Stones

This unaccompanied choral work for mixed voices draws the audience into a world of deep emotion, rich harmony and vivid imagery. Drawing upon the subconscious bond between mother and child, the work explores the child's fears and the mother's attempt to soothe those fears. Duration: ca. 6:10.

Composer: Thomas LaVoy