Winter 2005

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus and Keyboard

SECULAR (MAYBE SACRED) CHORAL — Mixed Chorus and Piano

SECULAR (MAYBE SACRED) CHORAL — Mixed Chorus unaccompanied

SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus unaccompanied

DAVID MOONEY IRISH CHORAL SERIES

This new issue brings another installment of the DAVID MOONEY IRISH CHORAL SERIES. Other installments of Mooney’s stunning arrangements of Irish traditional music were instant successes. As head of the keyboard department at the Conservatory of Music and Drama at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Mooney is well known throughout Ireland and the UK where his arrangements have appeared on record, TV, and radio. For those items which can be sung only in Irish Gaelic, we have provided an English transliteration underlaid to the music, and, in the front matter, a complete IPA pronunciation guide as well as an English translation. All items in this installment are appropriate for multicultural concert occasions.

SECULAR CHORAL — Treble Chorus unaccompanied

DAVID MOONEY IRISH CHORAL SERIES

SECULAR CHORAL — Children’s Chorus (SSA) & Piano

• Boston Tea Party
• Ride, Little Girl

Hillside and Seaside II was written for the Peterborough Children’s Choir, who gave the premiere performances in December, 2001. The conductor was Maria Belva and the accompanist was Mary Beth Hallinan. The words are by the composer.
This is the sister piece to Hillside and Seaside (Catalog No. 5853, Children’s Chorus [SSA] & Piano) that was released by the publisher in the winter of 2004.
USE: concerts • moderately difficult (for the harmonies) • accomplished children’s choruses

SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus unaccompanied

SECULAR CHORAL — Treble or Mixed Chorus and Piano

SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus and Piano

“During my research on the words of Sweet Betsy I found that there were many verses to this classic tune (based on the British song Villikins and His Dinah), some dating from its original appearance in the 1840’s and many others that were added over the years as the tune was passed along in the time-honored oral tradition of folk music. Some of the verses have a darkness that reflects the hardships and deprivations suffered by the Gold Rush pioneers on their journey to California and its promised riches. Other verses are light-hearted and humorous. I selected only those verses that tell the basic story of Betsy and Ike and their trek across the prairies, rivers and mountains. In keeping with the spirit of that story, the work should be performed with lively enthusiasm, good humor and playful abandon.”

“During my research on the words of Streets of Laredo I found that there were many verses to this classic tune, some associated with its original source, the Irish ballad A Handful of Laurel, and others that were added over the years as the song, also known as The Cowboy’s Lament, was passed along in the time-honored oral tradition of folk music. I selected only those verses that outline the poignant narrative of the dying cowboy: his realization of having “done wrong,” his acceptance of his tragic youthful death, and his plaintive appeal to his comrades for a final resting place. In keeping with the spirit of that story, the work should be performed with a quiet sustained nobility.” — John David Earnest

To avoid confusion, it should be noted the the publisher is releasing the two versions of these American folk song settings for SATB and Piano, but the recordings are of the two versions for SATB and Piano four-hands. The other American folk song setting mentioned by John David Earnest in the first quoted paragraph is available from the publisher: Clementine for SATB and piano (Catalog No. 5852) or SATB and piano four-hands (Catalog No. 5786). This setting, combined with the two new releases, would make a wonderful trio on a concert program. The composer prefers the three versions with piano four-hands.
USE: concerts
• Sweet Betsy • moderately difficult (for syncopated rhythms) • difficult piano part(s)
• Streets of Laredo • moderately easy • high school, college, community, professional choruses

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC — Piano Solo

DANIEL PINKHAM [b. 1923]: Preludes for Piano: Book II
• Piano Solo • #6236 • $20.00 • c. 18:00
“In 1995 I received a substantial commission from the Board of Trustees of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to honor Victor Rosenbaum on his tenth year as Director of the school. For this I produced six Preludes for Piano, which Sally Pinkas premiered on 8 September of that year. I subsequently composed six additional preludes and dedicated them to Sally. She performed the world premiere of the now dozen pieces on 30 January 1997 at the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. She later recorded them for the ARSIS Audio Label, ARSIS CD 125, Daniel Pinkham: Piano Music.”
“The present set, Book II, is similar to Preludes for Piano Book I in that the pieces range from extremely simple to virtuosic.”
“Sally Pinkas played the premiere on 25 May 2004, also at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth.” —Daniel Pinkham
USE: concerts • moderately difficult