Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). The poignant words of The Last Rose Of Summer, by Thomas Moore, match this Irish song’s mournful, drooping melody. After a temporarily uplifting modulation for the third verse, where the men of the choir echo the melody two measures behind, the arrangement ends as it began – in a solitary mood, with an empty, bare fifth. This piece is part of the Faber Choral Sing…

Par KANDER JOHN / BEALE CHARLES (Arr.). This is a vibrant and accessible arrangement of All I care about, from the Broadway hit Chicago! With opportunities for whistling, staging and lyrics full of double meanings, this will add a bit of spice to your concert programme. This piece is part of the Faber Choral Singles series, offering a selection of beautifully crafted arrangements in a diversity o…

Par KHALIFA WIZ / PUTH CHARLIE / BERRY JOHN (Arr.). Recorded by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, and from the hit movie Furious 7, this rock ballad features memorable lines and dramatic builds, all beautifully captured in this easy arrangement by John Berry. The alto sax feature spots can be performed by a soloist or the entire sax section. Otherwise no solos are required; just a nice blend of textur…

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). Simple Gifts has been sung to numerous different lyrics (particularly Sydney Carter’s 1960s hymn Lord of the dance) and the tune is very well known, thanks to its use in Aaron Copland’s score for the ballet Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Elder Joseph Brackett – a shaker from Maine – originally wrote it as a ‘dancing song’ in 1848. This arrangement by …

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). Danny Boy (the melody of which is also known as Londonderry Air), is often assumed to be an old, traditional tune, however its structure and meter do not fit any of the known Irish folksong forms. As for the words most commonly associated with it for the last hundred years or so, they were written by an English lawyer who apparently never set foot in Ireland! Still…

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). Low-down on the Hoe-down is a rollicking romp through a selection of light-hearted line-dance tunes. It’s a tribute to Ward Swingle, founder and arranger of the legendary vocal group The Swingle Singers, whose idea it was to make a show-stopping concert-piece out of a number of barn-storming American square-dance songs, using a song called The Arkansas Traveler to …

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). Standing in the Need of Prayer is a simple, meditative melody with a pleasing, repetitive chord sequence. This arrangement gives you a chance to ‘crank it up a gear’ after the modulation; there is also an opportunity to thicken out the vocal harmonies towards the end with some optional alto notes. Once singers get more confident, you may wish to experiment with oth…

Par L'ESTRANGE ALEXANDER (Arr.). When Cecil Sharp transcribed O Waly Waly in 1908, it bore this title but did not contain the title words (beginning instead with ‘Down in the meadows’). It has been suggested since that the version we know now may be a composite of three songs: the Scottish ‘Waly waly’ (meaning ‘a cry of woe or grief’), the Cecil Sharp transcript and an American song, The water is …

Festival Solos premiers: 20 solos de violon faciles avec accompagnements au piano.Carl Fischer présente une nouvelle collection de pièces en solo avec accompagnement de piano pour une utilisation lors d'événements jugés festivals ou dans les considérants.Ces solos sont rédigés par deux des compositeurs les plus populaires de la musique pour les étudiants: Larry Clark et Sean O'Loughlin. Les solos …