Stanzas For Music

Howard Helvey is quite well known amongst choral musicians. This Palm Sunday anthem for mixed voices with organ has an optional congregational part that is printed in the back of the octavo. You are authorized to reprint it in your bulletin. (Do not feel it necessary to sing all four congregational stanzas)

Whereas ‘Auld Lang Syne’ may be considered the best-known Scottish song ever yet at the same time it is an obscure one for there are but few people who know the complete text by heart. After the familiar ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot .....‘ many people take their refuge to lyrics like ‘rum tee dum ta dee ..... lah lah lah ........... for auld lang syne’. Even in Scotland only a handful of persons know the entire text and are able to give a correct rendering of it. The current lyrics have been attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns however he did not write the whole poem : after he had heard an old man sing the centuries-old Scotchballad he wrote it down and added a number of stanzas (1788). Historical research teaches us that the ballad served many purposes both political and religious. Nowadays ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is sung as a Christmas Carol and it is also sung on New Year’s Eve at the turning of the year. Apart from that though the song is also sung on many other occasions – sometimes with different lyrics which usually have Love Friendship and/or Parting as their themes as these go well with the fascinating melody. In this arrangement a low-sounding solo instrument is central. The harmonization in the accompaniment fits in perfectly with the sentiments this song will evoke. Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquintance be forgot. And days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne my dear For auld lang syne We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For auld lang syne.

This arrangement by Erik Routley (1917-1982) is a half-step higher than the composer's original key and is designed for the stanzas to be sung a cappella with organ interludes in between. Routley has also suggested that the hymn can be equally effective as a short choral anthem if congregational a cappella singing is not possible.Particularly effective at the beginning of a worship service

Whereas ‘Auld Lang Syne’ may be considered the best-known Scottish song ever yet at the same time it is an obscure one for there are but few people who know the complete text by heart. After the familiar ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot .....‘ many people take their refuge to lyrics like ‘rum tee dum ta dee ..... lah lah lah ........... for auld lang syne’. Even in Scotland only a handful of persons know the entire text and are able to give a correct rendering of it. The current lyrics have been attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns however he did not write the whole poem : after he had heard an old man sing the centuries-old Scotchballad he wrote it down and added a number of stanzas (1788). Historical research teaches us that the ballad served many purposes both political and religious. Nowadays ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is sung as a Christmas Carol and it is also sung on New Year’s Eve at the turning of the year. Apart from that though the song is also sung on many other occasions – sometimes with different lyrics which usually have Love Friendship and/or Parting as their themes as these go well with the fascinating melody. In this arrangement a low-sounding solo instrument is central. The harmonization in the accompaniment fits in perfectly with the sentiments this song will evoke. Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquintance be forgot. And days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne my dear For auld lang syne We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For auld lang syne.

Whereas ???Auld Lang Syne??? may be considered the best-known Scottish song ever yet at the same time it is an obscure one for there are but few people who know the complete text by heart. After the familiar ???Should auld acquaintance be forgot .....??? many people take their refuge to lyrics like ???rum tee dum ta dee ..... lah lah lah ........... for auld lang syne???. Even in Scotland only a handful of persons know the entire text and are able to give a correct rendering of it. The current lyrics have been attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns however he did not write the whole poem : after he had heard an old man sing the centuries-old Scotchballad he wrote it down and added a number of stanzas (1788). Historical research teaches us that the ballad served many purposes both political and religious. Nowadays ???Auld Lang Syne??? is sung as a Christmas Carol and it is also sung on New Year???s Eve at the turning of the year. Apart from that though the song is also sung on many other occasions ??? sometimes with different lyrics which usually have Love Friendship and/or Parting as their themes as these go well with the fascinating melody. In this arrangement a low-sounding solo instrument is central. The harmonization in the accompaniment fits in perfectly with the sentiments this song will evoke. Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind' Should auld acquintance be forgot. And days of auld lang syne' For auld lang syne my dear For auld lang syne We???ll take a cup of kindness yet For auld lang syne.

Whereas ‘Auld Lang Syne’ may be considered the best-known Scottish song ever yet at the same time it is an obscure one for there are but few people who know the complete text by heart. After the familiar ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot .....‘ many people take their refuge to lyrics like ‘rum tee dum ta dee ..... lah lah lah ........... for auld lang syne’. Even in Scotland only a handful of persons know the entire text and are able to give a correct rendering of it. The current lyrics have been attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns however he did not write the whole poem : after he had heard an old man sing the centuries-old Scotchballad he wrote it down and added a number of stanzas (1788). Historical research teaches us that the ballad served many purposes both political and religious. Nowadays ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is sung as a Christmas Carol and it is also sung on New Year’s Eve at the turning of the year. Apart from that though the song is also sung on many other occasions – sometimes with different lyrics which usually have Love Friendship and/or Parting as their themes as these go well with the fascinating melody. In this arrangement a low-sounding solo instrument is central. The harmonization in the accompaniment fits in perfectly with the sentiments this song will evoke. Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquintance be forgot. And days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne my dear For auld lang syne We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For auld lang syne.

The Cello Concerto is in four main sections that are played without a break. As with most of my work the music throughout is generated from the ideas presented in the fi rst few bars and these ideas and their variants appearfreely in the different sections. Recurring material and references to earlier sections are used deliberately to create not only a sense of unity but also an impression of familiarity that aspires to induce a dream-like perceptionof the passing music a kind of spiral. The piece opens with a slow introduction that gradually quickens into the first main section an allegro. The form of the second section which is in a lighter mood is based on anearly 13th century verse form the Sestina which consists of six stanzas of six lines each followed by an envoi. The words that end each line in the first stanza are rotated in a strictly prescribed pattern* to give theline-endings of the remaining stanzas; in this adaptation each “line” consists of four bars and the repetitions ensue according to the plan. The intricate repetition inherent in this form can also be seen as a formof spiral. The third section is an extended slow movement interrupted by a quicker episode that refers to the fi rst section. Generally lighter and in a similar vein to the second section the final section includes a reference tothe slow movement before returning to the lighter music that ends the piece. This work is dedicated to Natalie Clein.

Per Nørgård's 2 Nocturnes - for 12 voices (2003) 1. Summer's Sleep (text: Ole Sarvig) 2. Michael's Night (text: Ib Michael) English version. Programme note:These two choral pieces for 12 voices consists of radical recompositions on of earlier themes: in Summer's Sleep we hear new combinations of two 'Sarvig melodies' from the 1970s (one of which is now in the Danish Hymnbook under the title 'Året' The Year); Michael's Night is based on an earlier simple choral song (Star Mirror 1987) now for 12 voices and composed such that an originalidea of 'simultaneously displaced opposite motions' cf. the poem) comes out as desired. Of the Nocturnes Nørgård writes: 'Summer's Sleep was composed to stanzas of Ole Sarvig's poem The Year (from the collection Forstadsdigte ('Suburban Poems')) and forms the picture of 'the summer of life' which is asleep - while the 'heaven seed' waits for the summer wind ('invisible to every mind'). The many layers of text are expressed musically in a multilayered choral texture with 'looks' up and down through the various tempo and time-worlds: summer sleep summer dream. 'The second nocturne Michael's Night takes its name from the author Ib Michael whose poem Star Mirror (from the collection Himmelbegravelse ('Sky Funeral') (1986) I pushed/coaxed him to expand from one to nine stanzas. The four selected stanzas set in the nocturne focus on the pan-erotic elements of the moonlit starlit night. With the titles I have chosen I have stressed the mythic layer of the text the summer night not as a dream but as sensual reality. 'The two nocturnes are dedicated to Ivan Hansen on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday on 25th February 2003 out of gratitude for over a quarter of a century of inspiring collaboration'. Danish version available: KP01444

The composer was drawn to the beautiful stillness and sadness of the poem by Christina Rossetti which transcends its rigid sonnet structure and allude via the epigraph to the mysterious Willow-Wood cycle by Christina's brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The music suggests a division of the poem into three stanzas alternating with tranquil interludes (using the opening melody) representing the 'willow-wood' of the title so that the listener is constantly reminded of the gentle surroundings. As the intensity of the text increases so does the astringency of dissonance in the verses reaching its apogee just before consonance breaks through at the crucial phrase 'onemoment joined'. The simplicity of the Vocal writing conveys the serenity of the setting while simultaneously suggesting the austere melancholy of the lovers. An Echo From Willow-Wood was the winner of the Stainer & Bell Award for Choral Composition 2015.

Das Veilchen-The elegant playful endlessly creative pen of Mozart wrote this short song on 8 June 1785 in Vienna. The three-verse poem by Goethe had already been set to music by at least four composers before Mozart was inspired to write.While the poem has three equal stanzas the song has three distinct moods relating to the words. They tell the sad tale of a violet symbolizing a young man who loves a young shepherdess. The shepherdess carelessly tramplesthe violet who manages to die happily for love. Mozart himself added a final sympathetic line of text. The range is not demanding and there are useful notes in this edition on ornamentation making this a charming addition toa younger singer’s repertoire as well as to an experienced singer’s collection.

From Quatre Motets Sur Des Themes Gregoriens-Duruflé grew up in Louviers in the northern French region of Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) where as a boy he was a chorister and studied piano. At the age of 17 he moved to Paris to study organ with Charles Tournemire. A year later Duruflé wasadmitted to the Paris Conservatoire where he studied organ piano and composition and was awarded five first prizes in various subjects. Upon graduation Duruflé became musical assistant to Louis Vierne at Notre Dame but soon after this wasappointed organist at Saint Étienne-du-Mont in Paris where he would remain for the rest of his life. In 1943 he was appointed professor of harmony at the Conservatoire a position he maintained for 27 years. From 1926 until 1977 Duruflé published 14compositions including the Requiem Op. 9 (1947). Duruflé traveled extensively as a concert organist and was active as a recording artist. Later in life he and his second wife often performed as an organ duo. The composer suffered severe injuriesin an automobile accident in 1975 which left him nearly bed-ridden for the final decade of his life.Composed in 1960 Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens Op. 10 (Four Motets on Gregorian Themes) were dedicated to Auguste le Guennant director of the Gregorian Institute in Paris. Each of the four motets begins with an incipit of Gregorianchant which serves as melodic inspiration for the composition that follows. The four motets are (in order): ?Ubi caritas ? ?Tota pulchra es ? ?Tu es Petrus ? and ?Tantum ergo.? ?Ubi caritas? is an early Christian antiphon traditionally used in the Maundy Thursday service during the washing of the feet an act of Jesus from the Last Supper. The antiphon has become closely associated with the Eucharist and is sometimes alsoused at weddings. Duruflé sets only the first of the four stanzas of the text.