SKU: AP.48873

UPC: 038081561974. English. Ben Cohn.

A Renaissance-era carol brought up to date in a fresh contemporary setting. Veteran Broadway music director and conductor Ben Cohn brings a modern musical theatre sound to this traditional English song. A serenely sparse piano part (during two opening alto solos) gradually grows to a full and glorious accompaniment as more voices join. Listen closely for the juxtaposed stillness/motion and minor/major that symbolize the cold of winter versus the warmth of the season. The entire piece garners edge-of-your-seat wonder, but the greatest chills will come when brief strains from four additional carols trickle in. Simply stunning.

About Alfred Choral Designs

The Alfred Choral Designs Series provides student and adult choirs with a variety of secular choral music that is useful, practical, educationally appropriate, and a pleasure to sing. To that end, the Choral Designs series features original works, folk song settings, spiritual arrangements, choral masterworks, and holiday selections suitable for use in concerts, festivals, and contests.

SKU: GI.WW1846

UPC: 785147030065. Latin. Text Source: Traditional Latin.

A late 16th-century motet by Raffaella Aleotti, a composer believed to be the first woman to have sacred music appear in print. Using text from Song of Solomon, Aleotti employs elements of both Renaissance and Baroque styles to convey the poetic idea of Arise, my love. Score with optional continuo is available separately.

SKU: PR.312419150

ISBN 9781491136027. UPC: 680160688173.

Choral literature played a major role in Adolphus Hailstork’s early inspirations, as he grew up singing in choirs. While in college, he created this beautifully plaintive madrigal, setting the words of Orlando Gibbons’ familiar “The Silver Swan.” The result is a strikingly powerful new setting, a perfect partner to the iconic work from the Renaissance, and an early glimpse of Hailstork’s magnificent career filled with choral and vocal music. THE SILVER SWAN is in a traditional tonal language and scored for a cappella S.A.T.B. chorus without divisi, making it easily within reach of choirs of all levels.

SKU: CA.966300

ISBN 9790007167684. Language: Latin.

Matsushita has conceived his setting of the Pentecost sequence entirely in the Renaissance polychoral tradition. He employs the full choir (within individual choirs divisi passages also occasionally occur) solely for magnificent sounding climaxes at conclusions, prior to these occurrences he repeatedly combines groups of voices or he allows individual choirs to sing, effectively, in alternation. This type of reduction is even carried over to quasi Gregorian passages sung by one voice in unison. The piece is tonal throughout, with occasional diatonic seasoning. The consistently homophonic setting is oriented towards the declamation of the Latin text. Melodically it is in the style of modal, Gregorian structures, without quoting the well-known sequence. A fast, rhythmically syncopated declamatory section introduces, the dramaturgically appropriate climax to the solemn conclusion, which, molto legato, returns once again with large upward swings to the text of the first strophe. Matsushita writes in a comfortable vocal range so that the work can be sung, at the same time, in both a relaxed and grandiose manner. For large choirs, even for oratorio choirs with only limited experience in a cappella singing, this piece is aptly suited for performance and the music is both grateful and brings much joy for singers.