Early
one morning
|
words:
trad. music:
Oliver Barton |
An arrangement of the folksong, growing from a single voice up to
a rapturous moment when fleetingly the first sopranos touch a top
Bb. This note is borrowed from Percy Grainger’s setting (except
that his is up a tone I think and is therefore a C), but his version
breaks into about a million parts and is too tricky for a non-audition
choir. Hence this arrangement.
| Forces:
|
Unaccompanied
SATB with some splitting in the Soprano line. Bits of solo for
a bass and a soprano, but they could be taken by whole sections. |
| Duration: |
about
2'45" |
| Length:
|
6
pages |
Free
download of the entire piece: PDF,
Finale, MIDI
|
An
Old Violin
|
words:
Helen Taylor/OB music:
Howard Fisher, arr. OB |
Howard Fisher's song has a violin obligato (Up in the garret
away from the din/Someone is playing an old violin/Tenderly, pleadingly,
so the notes fall/Just for the love of the music that's all.)
This is taken by the top soprano line in this arrangement, with
appropriate words. Interspersed among the other voices are the names
of some 50 famous violinists and various other things. In all, the
song is a sentimental exercise in falling chromatic scales.
| Forces:
|
Unaccompanied
SMezzoATBarB |
| Duration: |
about
2'45" |
| Length:
|
6
pages |
Free
download of the entire piece: PDF,
Finale, MIDI
|
Sanctuary
of the Art
|
words:
OB music:
Albert W Ketèlby arr. OB |
Ketèlby's immortal Sanctuary of the Heart is here faithfully
rendered musically in a lush 6-part arrangement, but with new words.
These relate to a singing weekend I go on each year, where on the
Sunday, after a full Sunday lunch, we sing through the pieces we've
been working on over the weekend and are then presented with an
English cream tea (tea, scones, clotted cream, jam - if you've never
eaten one). People dive into it with astonishing appetites. I've
never been been able to manage more than a cup of tea! Anyway, the
words of Sanctuary of the Art deals with the extraordinary stamina
needed to sing and eat so much over a weekend. It does refer to
Halsway (the weekend is held at Halsway Manor, in Somerset, England)
at one point, but you could replace it with another name.
| Forces:
|
Unaccompanied
SMezzoATBarB |
| Duration: |
about
2'40" |
| Length:
|
6
pages |
Free
download of the entire piece: PDF,
Finale, MIDI
|
Treemonisha
Suite
|
words:
Scott Joplin music:
Scott Joplin, arr. OB |
Treemonisha is Scott Joplin's only opera, and this is an arrangement
of some of the choruses from it arranged as a little suite. I didn't
have access to a vocal score of the opera, so I had to recreate
the choral parts (adding a bit in the process!).
| Forces:
|
SATB
divisi + piano |
| Duration: |
about
7'00" |
| Length:
|
17
pages (piano score) 18 pages (chorus part) |
Free
download of the entire piece: Piano score:
PDF, Finale,
MIDI
Chorus
part:
PDF, Finale
|
|
|
