Celebrating the Musical Heritage of John Ness Beck

Choral composer and arranger John Ness Beck was born on November 11, 1930 in Warren, Ohio.  After graduating from Warren High School in 1948, he enrolled at The Ohio State University.  In 1952 he graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English.  After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the U.S. Army.  During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups.  After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major.

John was a faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory.  He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus.  In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising.  As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press.  His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various music clinics and festivals throughout the country.  John has left a wonderful legacy of music to be enjoyed by all.

The musical heritage of John Ness Beck is well-known here in the central Ohio area, but those of you in other areas around the country may not be as familiar with his vast catalogue of work.  If you’re still looking for pieces for December concerts, check out his Lullaby or Where is the Child?  Some other long-time favorites are Canticle of Praise, Benediction, and Consecration.  Solo singers will find many options in the collections Sacred Songs of John Ness Beck and Hymn Settings of John Ness Beck.

Contact us for more information.

“Al Shlosha D’varim” for SATB

“The world is sustained by three things: by truth, by justice, and by peace.”

These wise words have probably been sung millions of times over in Al Shlosha D’varim, a long-time standard in 2-part choral repertoire.  With the recent publication of a brand-new SATB voicing, mixed choirs can now experience this masterpiece.  Using the universal language of music, Al Shlosha D’varim conveys an important and universal theme through its beautiful simplicity.  Appropriate for a many performance occasions, it could be particularly effective on a winter/holiday concert – and it’s straight-forward enough to be learned quickly!  Click here to hear a sample recording of the wonderful new voicing, or contact us for more information.

Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir

Want to be a part of something new and exciting?  Composer Eric Whitacre is in the process of compiling his second Virtual Choir on YouTube.  Begun as an experiment on Eric’s blog in May, the final product (a massed “virtual choir” performance of Sleep) was posted to YouTube in July.  Singers from around the world recorded themselves performing their individual part of the work and posted it, and Eric compiled all the individual recordings into an amazingly musical mass performance!

Now the internet community is preparing the perform Lux Aurumque.  The deadline to submit YOUR performance is December 1st, 2009.  Eric has posted a conductor track with some performance suggestions and tips on his blog. 

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be a part of this amazing undertaking, and please let us know if you decide to participate!  To quote Eric, “Our goal this time is to take the whole thing to the next level and try to create a truly musical experience, a graceful and delicate performance full of passion and life and light.  Share your voices and your souls with the world!”

Italian Songs & Arias for Choir

The vocal collection 24 Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th & 18th Centuries has been a staple in the voice teacher’s library for many, many years, and generations of solo singers will recognize the familiar yellow book.  Expose your young choral singers to the depth of musical beauty in these classic pieces with one of these arrangements:

Danza Danza has been carefully arranged for 2-part treble choir by Audrey Snyder.  Both parts are expressive and fun to sing, making this rhythmical waltz ideal for concert, contest or festival performances.

The buoyant Gia il sole dal Gange will be enjoyed by treble choirs of all ages.  Evoking the imagery of a rollicking brook, it’s a great piece for working on vocal flexibility and agility with your group.

Earlene Rentz’s arrangement of Caro mio ben is perfect for younger SSA choirs.  Art song phrases inspire expressive “bel canto” singing, and the limited voice ranges are just right for developing singers.  Also available for 3-part mixed voices.

For SAB groups, try Christopher Matthews’ set of three Italian songs, Nel cor piu non mi sento, Alma del core, and Nina.  Thoughtful ranges and supportive piano accompaniments make this set a good fit for junior high or young high school ensembles.

Singing these songs with your choir is a great opportunity to introduce young musicians to art song literature and the wonderful marriage of music and text contained therein.  For more concert suggestions for your choir, please contact us.

Online Resources for Public Domain Materials

Are you aware that there are a number of online libraries for sheet music in the public domain? While not an authoritative resource, these sites can be very useful for research, educational exercises and, in some cases, even performance.

The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) is a large archive of free choral music. Anyone may contribute, so selections range from early music to the unpublished work of current composers.

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is a WIKI site offering scanned-in public domain scores which can be browsed by composer, time period or instrument.

Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA) contains an EXTENSIVE list of links to other online public domain libraries.

Paul Manz – 1919-2009

Beloved composer, organist and church musician Dr. Paul Manz passed away in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday evening, October 28.  He was 90 years old.  He died surrounded by his family while they sang his famous motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

Manz long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship.  He was Cantor Emeritus at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, Illinois; as well as Cantor Emeritus of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals.  Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a “festival” of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question.  The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment.  Sometimes he would play an improvisation between each sung stanza, as with his well-known variations on the tune, ST. ANNE, sung to the Isaac Watts text “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past” with which he would traditionally end each festival.  Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world.

Click here for Manz’s full obituary, and here for a beautiful recording of his choral motet, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

On the Road: New York, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky!

Stanton’s Sheet Music is coming to YOU! Stanton’s will be on the road this winter attending several conventions outside the state of Ohio.

Our first stop will be in Rochester, New York, December 3-5th for the NYSSMA Convention. We are extremely excited about going back to this show for the 5th time! We are eager to see some of our favorite customers and, of course, meet new educators who we’ll be able to help. We are bringing a full selection of sheet music for Solo & Ensemble, Choral, Elementary Music, Concert Band, Jazz and Orchestra, along with some of the newest publications for music educators and college music majors. You shouldn’t have trouble finding us–we’ll be under the big blue Stanton’s balloon flying in the exhibition hall. If you are already familiar with Stanton’s, or have been reading our blog regularly, you may have learned that the Stanton’s staff loves traditions. We can’t visit Rochester without having our traditional night out at the Dinosaur—a well-known restaurant with a reputation for excellent barbecue. The Dinosaur’s bar-like interior will be crowded with everyone from musicians/educators from the convention to urban professionals and leathered bikers—all mingling in waiting for a table. It’s always worth the wait because the food is fantastic and the portions are huge. We’re hoping that all of our NYSSMA crew—new and returning—will love the Dinosaur and have a great time in Rochester!

After hosting our annual January Church Choral Reading Session on Saturday, January 9th, the next stop on the winter tour will be our inaugural trip to Grand Rapids for the Michigan Music Conference, January 21st-23rd. We are thrilled to finally be adding Michigan to our roster; we have talked about attending this convention ever since this event moved from a college campus to a convention center. We have been so pleased to be of help to music educators in the state of Michigan, and we look forward to seeing those customers face-to-face. Once again, we’ll be bringing a wide variety of music publications and resources for music educators and college majors. Since this convention is a new experience for the Stanton’s crew this year, we are open to suggestions as to what to do and where to eat. We’re sure that the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel has a nice restaurant or two, but are there other fun and exciting places to dine out in the downtown Grand Rapids area?

We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping for good traveling weather. We know the trip back from Rochester can be a little nerve racking with all of the lake effect snow hitting us on route 90 (we’ve “white-knuckled” our way back home at 2:30 in the morning more than once), but we are also hoping for good weather going to and from Grand Rapids with the snow off Lake Michigan in January. Wish us luck!

Of course, Stanton’s busy schedule doesn’t stop there. After we attend the Michigan Music Conference, Stanton’s travels to Cincinnati the very next week for OMEA, then on to Louisville, Kentucky for the KMEA convention the week after that. That’s three in a row—back to back to back! Then we still have a few small February run-outs to the Morehead Band Clinic and the ACDA Central Division Conference in Cincinnati before we can settle back into our normal routine. Keeping busy on the road is not only a fun way for the staff to get out and meet new people, but also makes the dark, chilly months seem to speed by more quickly. Come out and see us sometime this winter, and if you’d like Stanton’s to come to YOUR state convention next year, let us hear about it!

Winter Concert Choices for SAB Choirs

Finding appropriate music for 8th, 9th and 10th grade singers can be a challenge – “3-part mixed” voicings often aren’t appropriate for the boys’ developing ranges, and much of the SAB literature out there sometimes seems like just “watered down SATB.”  It can be difficult to find repertoire with the right level of difficulty for the singers without it being too cheesy, too simplified or too complicated.  For your holiday concert this year, try one of these wonderful octavos with your choir; both are thoughtfully and skillfully crafted specifically for the SAB choir:

Willow Carol by Bruce Campbell takes it’s text from Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows,” in which the field mice rejoice that the miracle of the Christ Child was first witnessed by animals in the stable.  The joyful, singable melody will immediately capture your heart.

It’s Time for Caroling is a wonderfully sophisticated light-concert choice.  By creatively weaving familiar Christmas tunes through a charming narrative about caroling, Valerie Showers Crescenz has crafted a fresh and unique secular piece for the SAB choir.

If you’re looking for more winter and holiday concert recommendations for your SAB choir, please contact us!

Are budget cuts adding a hitch to your Holiday?

If you need to stretch your music budget this fall, but still want to get your elementary students up on the stage, Stanton’s Sheet Music recommends one of following titles. Each one includes the teacher edition/score, reproducible student parts and a performance/accompaniment CD—all for $50 or less!

Granny McBee’s Christmas Eve
Running about 15 minutes and appropriate for all elementary grades, Granny McBee’s bedtime story lures all the children off into dreamland.

Humbug
Based on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” this 30 minute musical sets the action in the present-day classroom of grumpy teacher Ms. Ebenezer. K-3

Is Santa Smarter?
This Christmas musical/revue features your school’s fifth graders on a game show with Santa as the celebrity contestant, but can include all grades.

It’s Christmas Everywhere
This multicultural delight is explores both familiar and lesser-known carols and traditions from Germany, Japan, Australia, Africa, Mexico, Canada, and Spain.

Mrs Claus and the Great Elf Rebellion
When the elves begin feeling overwhelmed and rebellious, Mrs. Claus must help them realize how special and important they are to children all over the world.

Pictures of December
These songs written in a variety of styles touch on all aspects of December: snow, Christmas trees, a Hanukkah dance, the tenants of Kwanzaa, caroling, bells, and more.

For other great ideas for your winter concert or program, contact Stanton’s general music specialists!

GLEE Update

Here in the choral department at Stanton’s Sheet Music, our phones are ringing off the hook with requests for choral music from the Fox hit show Glee!  So far (seven episodes into the season), the songs from the show available for choirs are: Don’t Stop Believin’ (originally recorded by Journey) and Rehab (by Amy Winehouse – while the message of the song is pretty inappropriate for high school singers, it sure is a catchy tune!).  And coming soon: Can’t Fight This Feeling (sung by Finn in the pilot) and I Say a Little Prayer (the Cheerio’s glee club audition song in episode 2).

Some other songs heard on the show are available in choral arrangements, though these are not the exact arrangements featured.  These include: Mister Cellophane, On My Own, Respect, Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat, Where Is Love?, Mercy, Taking Chances, Tonight, Cabaret, Walking on Sunshine, and from last night’s episode, Keep Holding On.

Songs offered for soloists are available from such diverse artists as Beyonce (Single Ladies, Halo), Usher (Confessions Part II), Katy Perry (I Kissed a Girl), Celine Dion (Taking Chances), Kanye West (Gold Digger), Carrie Underwood (Last Name), Salt-n-Pepa (Push It), Rihanna (Take a Bow), Jazmine Sullivan (Bust Your Windows), Heart (Alone), Bon Jovi (It’s My Life), and Queen (Somebody to Love).  In last night’s episode, we also heard No Air (by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown).

While not all of the music featured on the show is available for choirs, we’re hopeful that publishers will continue producing new arrangements (we’re especially hoping for an arrangement of Queen’s Somebody to Love or Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life!).  For more information, check out our previous blog about music from “Glee,” or contact us.

UPDATE (11/3/2009) – Somebody to Love, as performed on “Glee,” is now available for choirs!  Don’t miss it!