Aria

Acclamation For The Church Year

Using only four or five ringers, these eleven acclamations could be used as processionals (the first eight measures can be repeated ad lib,) or as interludes or responses. Often the briefest snippet of a seasonally-appropriate hymn tune is quoted:1. Advent2. Christmas3. Epiphany4. Lenten5. Easter6. Ascension7. Pentecost8. Trinity/General9. Reformation10. All Saints11. Thanksgiving

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Set in 6/8 with a sparkling organ accompaniment, the hymn tune MARION appears in a dance-like, sometimes ornamented fashion. Straightforward and exuberant, this anthem is easy to sing yet sounds more difficult. Duration: 3:00

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Written in a sparkly, joyous 6/8, this is brand new music set to the beloved traditional text. He has specified piano for the accompaniment, but one can hear it being done on organ just as well. Alternatively there are parts for flute, oboe, cello, and harp. This composer's previous settings of well-known Christmas texts with brand new tunes have been very popular. Duration 3:30 Chamber Ensemble: Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harp Written in a sparkly, joyous 6/8, this is brand new music set to the beloved traditional text. He has specified piano for the accompaniment, but one can hear it being done on organ just as well. Alternatively there are parts for flute, oboe, cello, and harp. This composer's previous settings of well-known Christmas texts with brand new tunes have been very popular. Duration 3:30 Chamber Ensemble: Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harp

Psalm 139

A mysterious introduction using keyboard, optional bells, and organ gives way to a slow, lyrical setting of the text in 6/8 meter. Almost like a courtly dance, the tempo follows the spirit of the text, now a little faster, now relaxing. Material from the intro returns, then the musical material is almost through-composed, reflecting the emotional arch of the words. Duration: 3:30

O Sons and Daughter Let Us Sing : 6 Festive Organ Hymn Settings for the Easter Season

Let All Creation Dance

A joyous text in which we are all called to dance with the energies found around us. The music matches this energy, with the piano accompaniment swirling through sixteenth note patterns within the 6/8 meter. The second stanza, "God's breath," is quieter. The piano calms a bit on the third stanza, "Our own amazing earth," and the fourth stanza echoes the exuberance of the first. Fun and different! Duration 3:30

Amazing Grace

Flute, oboe, and hand drum introduce and accompany this anthem, which uses the traditional text but the tune GREENVILLE, an early-American melody in a flowing 6/8 meter. The vocal parts are often spare and elegant to go with the lineage of the tune; the middle verse has the tenor/bass section functioning as a drone/ostinato. A key change leads to the final, almost rollicking verse "When we've been there ten thousand years." Fun and different.

Blest Morn : Three American Hymns

A collection of three American Christmas songs arranged for flute and organ (or piano). The first, Hail the Blest Morn, is a Kentucky folk song, featuring modal harmonies and a gentle, dancing quality. This is followed by the familiar spiritual, Mary Had a Baby, simply shaped and expressive. The third song is Ye Nations All, a modal shape note tune by William (“Singing Billy”) Walker, presented here as a lively culminating dance for the set. -William Averitt.Total Duration: 6:00Contents:Hail the Blest MornMary Had a BabyYe Nations All

Variations and Fugue On A Christmas Carol

This score is based on the old British Carol "I saw three ships." There are seven variations preceding the fugue. After the theme has been stated, the first two variations extend the theme: the third variation introduces the pedals. The next three variations are in the style of Baroque genres: the fourth variation is a noël written as an homage to Daquin: the fifth variation is a figured chorale, in which the chorale Von Himmel hoch, da komm ich her makes its first appearance: and the sixth is a Handelian rigaudon. The seventh variation is a “carillion” in which Von Himmel hoch reappears. After a dramatic, dissonant chord, the score concludes with a chorale fugue during whichVon Himmel hoch appears in the pedal. Composed for and dedicated to David Higgs, in celebration of his twenty-five years of teaching at the Eastman School of Music. Duration: 6:45.