I Thank You God was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and premiered at the National ACDA Convention in February, 1999. The text is adapted from the E.E. Cummings poem of the same name. Composer Gwyneth Walker writes: "Thi...  moreI Thank You God was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and premiered at the National ACDA Convention in February, 1999. The text is adapted from the E.E. Cummings poem of the same name. Composer Gwyneth Walker writes: "This is a poem of grandeur and of praise. Therefore it might be expected that this musical setting would aim at vastness, grandeur and awakening." Walker accomplishes this through a variety of means. First, the piano introduction includes slowly unfolding piano arpeggios which focus on open intervals of octaves, fifths and fourths, exploiting the full range of the piano keyboard. The composer also takes the singers on a harmonic journey which begins in a low register in C minor, and then travels through a number of other key areas until it reaches the distant key of G-flat. At this point, the voices are drawn closely together into a tone cluster containing the pitches G-flat, A-flat and B-flat, only to open apart into the glorious C major chords which conclude the ...    less

A tender pastoral part song (or "glee") by William Paxton based on the poem by Ambrose Philips.

for SATB Chorus unaccompanied Words by Mary Elizabeth Frye: Public Domain Music by Stanley M. Hoffman © Copyright 2018 by Stanley M. Hoffman. www.stanleymhoffman.com All rights reserved. The poem above is sometimes called “I Am” due to its repet...  morefor SATB Chorus unaccompanied Words by Mary Elizabeth Frye: Public Domain Music by Stanley M. Hoffman © Copyright 2018 by Stanley M. Hoffman. www.stanleymhoffman.com All rights reserved. The poem above is sometimes called “I Am” due to its repetition of the phrase. Was the poem inspired? The Hebrew name for God, YHWH, means “I am” or “I am that I am.” And there does seem to be something magical about the poem, as it was written by a woman who, to our knowledge, had never written a poem before. Mary Elizabeth Frye was an orphan with no formal education. In 1932 she and her husband hosted a young Jewish woman, Margaret Schwarzkopf, who was fleeing the Holocaust. When she received news that her mother had died in Germany, the heartbroken houseguest told Frye in despair that she had never had the chance to “stand by my mother’s grave and shed a tear.” Frye found herself composing the poem above on a ripped-off section of a brown paper shopping bag. She said the words “just came to her.”  less

For Zodiakos, the final concert of their 2002 season, The Esoterics commissioned twelve Washington State composers to create a suite of a cappella horoscopes from the ancient poem, Astronomica, by First Century B.C.E. poet Marcus Manilius. Each composer s...  moreFor Zodiakos, the final concert of their 2002 season, The Esoterics commissioned twelve Washington State composers to create a suite of a cappella horoscopes from the ancient poem, Astronomica, by First Century B.C.E. poet Marcus Manilius. Each composer set verses for his or her own star sign. Leo was premiered by The Esoterics on December 7, 8, 14 & 15, 2002, in concerts in Tacoma, Mercer Island and Seattle, Washington. The piece was named as a Finalist in 2007 Cincinnati Camerata Composition Competition, and is a Project Encore selection. For more information visit www.gregbartholomew.com/leoindex.html #choir #choralmusic #astrology  less

"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and men in Roman and Greek mythology.

Performed by Singing OUT at A Sky Full of Stars on December 2, 2017. Based on Walt Whitman's poem Leaves of Grass, Composer: Rich Campbell

Rossignol (Nightingale) poem by Ronsard music by Jean Chatillon performed by the dwsChorale

A setting of a short love poem by Gertrude Stein, this brief piece is built on a round - and so can be learned quickly. It was a winning selection in the inaugural Pioneering Voices composition competition held by Mount Holyoke College. "delightful and...  moreA setting of a short love poem by Gertrude Stein, this brief piece is built on a round - and so can be learned quickly. It was a winning selection in the inaugural Pioneering Voices composition competition held by Mount Holyoke College. "delightful and whimsical....  the singers are really having fun with it." - Colin Britt  

Completed last night: REFUGE for SATB Chorus (divisi) unaccompanied, a setting of the poem by Sara Teasdale, ca. 2:10. I am looking for a choir to premiere it. Please let me know if you would like to receive a watermarked perusal score. Thank you.

From William Wordsworth's famous poem Eric Thiman created this beautiful song, performed here by The Marlowe Singers at Otham. SA