The
Music of |
ALLAN BEVAN |
Music for Choirs and Orchestras
CANADIAN
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC
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| CANADIAN
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC 380-550 Century Street Winnepeg, Manitoba R3H 0Y1 Call Toll Free: 1-800-665-8995 |
Gentle
Mary Laid Her Child |
CANTATE
MUSIC PRESS
www.cantatemusicpress.com
| CANTATE
MUSIC PRESS P.O. Box 560 Denville, New Jersey 07834-0560 USA Tel. (973) 627-8881 Fax (973) 627-7135 |
Love Came Down at Christmas CAN1060 |
CLASSICA
Music Publishers
www.classica.ca
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classica
Music Publishers |
Full
Fathom Five Harp
of Wild
EVW-004 Hide Thy Face (SATB a cappella) The
Souls of the Righteous EVW-007 There in that other world (SSAA and piano) Three Motets on Texts of Henry Vaughan (SATB a cappella)
Nou
Goth Sonne Under Wode
(for actor, soprano
solo, mixed chorus, organ and chamber orchestra) |
COLLA
VOCE MUSIC INC.
www.collavoce.com
| COLLA
VOCE MUSIC INC. 4600 Sunset Avenue, #83 Indianapolis, IN 46208 PHONE NUMBER: (317) 466-0624 FAX NUMBER: (317) 466-0638 |
Ave Verum Corpus 20-96560 Deep River (arr.) 20-96570 |
CYPRESS CHORAL MUSICwww.cypresschoral.com
In
the USA, Cypress is represented by:
MUSICAL
RESOURCES OF TOLEDO LTD.
www.musical-resources.com
CYRESS
CHORAL MUSIC Musical
Resources of Toledo Ltd.
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An End CP 1090 Ave Maria CP1049 Echo CCM 1083 Mirage CP 1089 The Souls of the Righteous CCM 1075 To Morning CCM 1076 |
EUROPEAN CHORAL CLUB
www.europeanchoralclub.com
UNISONG
MUSIC PUBLISHERS |
Gentle
Mary Laid Her Child |
GMC CHORAL MUSIC
www.mannenkoren.net
UNISONG
MUSIC PUBLISHERS |
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RANDALL EGAN PUBLISHER OF MUSIC
| RANDALL
M. EGAN PUBLISHER OF MUSIC Kenwood Abbey 2024 Kenwood Pkwy., Minneapolis, MN 55405-2303 Call Toll Free in the US: 1-800-269-EGAN Phone/Fax: 1-612-377-4450 |
Away
in a Manger (arr.) EC-361 O
Lord, Increase My Faith EC-363 The
Souls of the Righteous EC-362 |
AN END by Christina Rossetti Love, strong as Death, is dead. To few chords and sad and low |
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| Voicing:
SSAA and piano Text: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) Ordering info: Cypress Choral Music CP 1090 (distributed in the USA by Musical Resources Inc.) Level of Difficulty: moderate Duration: 3’30” 
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Voicing:
2 Soprano soloists, SA and piano |
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Recorded
on: |
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Garden
of Delights |
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Review: "If your choir can't sing it you should hire two good sopranos to perform it just so your congregation can hear something as beautiful as this...This is beyond recommended."--Rollin Smith, The American Organist, JAN 2005. |
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Joy
shall be yours
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Ave Maria was a first prize winner in the first Biennial Composition Competition sponsored by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and their Associated Publisher, Cypress Choral Music. The work was premiered by the National Youth Choir, Leonard Ratzlaff, conductor, at Podium 2000 in Edmonton, Alberta. It has also received performances by such groups as Ariose Women's Choir, Cantare Children's Choir, Elektra Women's choir, and Concerto della Donna. A string quartet accompaniment is available and can be used in lieu of the piano, available through the Canadian Music Centre.
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| Voicing:
SA and piano Text: Trad. Ordering info: Colla Voce #20-96560 Level of Difficulty: easy Duration: 2’ Review "If this were by Gabriel Faure, it would be a classic. Fortunately, it probably will be. Talk about easy and effective!"---Rollin Smith, The American Organist, JAN 2005. |
| Voicing:
SATB a cappella Text: Ordering info: Randall Egan EC-361 Level of Difficulty: easy Duration: 2’ |
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A straight-forward arrangement of the beloved Kirkpatrick tune, suitable for church, school, and community choirs; also works well as a quartet. |
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Voicing: SA
and piano
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on: |
Let the
Music Begin
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I
am a Star |
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America
Sings! |
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| Review |
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| "A simple setting of this famous spiritual, some nice counterpoint and lyrical phrases add to the piece's effectiveness."--The Choral Room (Spring 2003) |
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ECHO by Christina Rossetti Come to me in the silence of the night; Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live |
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| Voicing:
SSAA and piano
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Composed 2001, published 2002. Echo was first-prize winner in the second biennial ACCC Composition Competition. The work was premiered in Toronto at Podium 2002, by the National Youth Choir, under the direction of Lydia Adams. Echo is the final movement of the choral song cycle entitled For a Dream's Sake. This 12 minute cycle features three love poems by Christina Rossetti (An End, Mirage, and Echo). Each are published separately by Cypress Choral Music. |
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Voicing:
TTBB and piano or SATB and piano; |
Text from William Shakespeare's The Tempest Full fadom five
thy father lies; |
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TTBB Version |
SATB Version
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| Commissioned
by Da Camera Singers, Edmonton in 2004, and first performed by them on March
13, 2005. Other choirs that have performed Fathom are Chor Leoni
and the University of Guelph Chamber Singers. The SATB arrangement was completed
in June 2007.
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Available for order from these fine
stores:
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This
is one of my more accessible choral works. The optional solo in all of
the versions is very ‘mid-range', and suitable for all types of
voices. In each of the four versions the second verse is harmonized and
intended to be sung unaccompanied. The last verse is for unison choir
and descant. The four published arrangements appear in three different
keys and can be interchanged if desired. The first version was the SATB
piece which was composed in 1994, followed by the SSA in 1995. Both of
these were part of the very first group of publications released by Canadian
International Music in 1996 (and Lorenz Corporation in the U.S.A.) The
SAB and TTBB versions of the work were completed in 2000 and published
in 2001. A complete recording (SATB) is available at J.W. Pepper, and
any of the four versions are obtainable through Sheetmusic.com and Music
44, among other well-known retailers. In 2005, Gentle Mary was
translated into both Dutch and German and is available through the European
Choral Club. |
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| view scores of the various voicings | |||||||||
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TTBB |
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Poem: Harp of Wild by Emily Bronté Harp of wild
and dream-like strain, |
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| Voicing:
SSA and piano
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Recorded
on: Elektra's
Garden |
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Harp
of Wild won the first prize in the SSA category of the ACCC Choral
Composition Competition 2003-2004. The work was premiered by the
National Youth Choir, Kathryn Laurin, conductor, Tim Shantz, associate
conductor, on May 20th, at Podium 2004 in Winnipeg. This sets a text by
Emily Bronte (1818-1848) concerning love and memory.
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Reviews |
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"Images of mist-covered,
wind-swept moors set the backdrop for Elektra Women’s Choir’s
romantic spring Notes from Elektra's "Thirty Top Picks" by Diane Loomer. "The text for this tender, endearing work is Emily Bronte's beautiful poem “Harp of Wild”. Written for SSAA and Piano accompaniment, Bevan sets the text above an imaginative piano accompaniment that allows the pianist to play well into the keys while at the same time convincingly evoking the sounds of a harp. This type of accompaniment gives the choir a secure and encouraging base from which to sing and yet never gets in the way of the music or the text. The harmonic language is adventurous but not dissonant. Bevan is explicit in his dynamics and precise in tempi. This provides the conductor, pianist and singers with an excellent road map from which to work, thereby allowing them to bring the primary emphasis to the text and its meaning. Excellent compositional craft is at work here with phrases, dynamics, and choices of keys all supporting and highlighting the glorious, poignant lines of Bronte's text. This piece won the 2004 Association of Canadian Choral Conductors Composition Competition. Once you sing it, you'll understand why." – DL |
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Hide Thy Face
Voicing: SATB a cappella
Text: Psalm 51
Ordering info: CLASSICA
Music Publishers
Level of Difficulty: moderately easy
Duration: 3' 00"
Voicing:
SATB and piano
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| This work has been beautifully sung by Da Camera Singers (a 1999 commission), Pro Coro Canada, and The University of Calgary Chamber Choir. |
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Mirage |
MIRAGE by Christina Rossetti The hope I dreamed of was a dream, I hang my harp upon a tree, Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart;
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Recorded on: Toi, moi, tout un monde, Dr. Laurier Fagnan, artistic
director,
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Voicing:
SATB and piano, with Mezzo-soprano solo
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| This piece combines the traditional French folk tune Mon Ami Pierrot with new material. The arrangement was commissioned by Chorale Saint-Jean, Edmonton for their tour of Quebec in July, 2005. Text is in French but is familiar enough to be picked up easily by non-francophone choral groups. The setting is accessible and fun to perform. You will need a solo voice that can project below middle C. | |
| Voicing:
SATB chorus, male narrator, soprano solo, and chamber orchestra (2ob.,
2hrn.,timp.,
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I. Why Have
Ye No Reuthe On My Child? |
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REVIEWS "It was Mozart's Requiem that
drew 1,700 people to Pro Coro's Good Friday concert, but it was the world
premier of Bevan's Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode that propelled them to their
feet at its conclusion, and for good reason. ******** The Composer's Guild's described Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode as, "A marvelous work...impressed by the intellectual and emotional breadth, [and] beautiful counterpoint." The "instrumental parts are haunting, the key relationships striking. What a piece!" ******** " The audience’s overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to Pro Coro Canada’s world-premiere performance of Allan Bevan’s ingenious composition certifies this work as a modern-day classic. You will not want to miss this performance!"--Pro Coro Canada. ********
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| This five-movement oratorio in a traditional
harmonic language combines Middle English (1100-1500) devotional texts with
Latin and Greek liturgical and biblical texts to produce a work that is
a "meditation on the Crucifixion". It is suitable for concert
performance on Good Friday, or during the Lenten season or Holy Week. The composition is based on medieval legend and theology, and is intended as a musical representation of the imago pietatis, a visual depiction of the crucified Christ that was commonly sketched into manuscripts of early English verse, particularly in the fifteenth century. Another unusual aspect of this work is the research that went into determining the possible sound of the poetry. A reconstruction of English speech from ca. 1400 (which is thought to have been noticeably different from modern English) was chosen as the norm for the work, and a complete transcription from the International Phonetic Alphabet is provided for each of the numbers in order to give conductor and singers an idea of where to begin. |
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O Canada, arr.
Voicing: SATB
Ordering info: CCP CS-61
Level of Difficulty: easy
Duration: 1’ 30"
Voicing: SATB a cappella Text: Wisdom 3: 1-3 (Apocrypha) Ordering info: Randall Egan EC-362 Level of Difficulty: Easy-medium Duration: 2’ |
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This piece was composed in 1985 (published 2002) as a memorial for my father. |
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| THE SOULS OF
THE RIGHTEOUS
TTBB
a cappella Now available from Classica
Music Publishers.
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REVIEW from "The Choral Room" (Spring 2005) It is so appropriate that this piece dedicated to the memory of the
composer’s father and set to a text from |
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Publisher:
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Recorded
on: My
Soul, There is a Country... www.ualberta.ca/~mads
available through
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Recorded
on: Songs of the Soul I
Coristi Chamber Choir, Three
Motets on Texts of Henry Vaughan |
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 listen
to the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers |
listen
to the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers |
listen
to the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers |
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These motets were composed between 1999 and 2001. The Revival and The Eclipse were completed first with Peace being added later. Unlike For A Dream's Sake, which was composed from the very beginning as a cycle, these motets only became a group about a year and a half after work first began. For this reason, performances of the work as separate pieces is certainly possible, but listen to the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers sing the complete cycle. They make a strong case for doing them as a group. The three poetic texts come from different times in Vaughan's life but they share his faith, and powerful Christian vision. By assembling the three previously unrelated poetic texts in the way that I have, a 'life of Christ' from the Crucifixion to the Ascension is suggested. Number one, The Eclipse, refers to the events of Good Friday, while The Revival describes the Resurrection, bearing reference to the famous passage in the Song of Solomon that Healey Willan set so brilliantly in Rise Up My Love. The final number, Peace, has nothing to do with peace on earth, but rather, refers to the peace of heaven, and to the Ascension of Christ. |
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Recorded
on: 
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| Voicing: SSAA and piano Text: Mary Coleridge Ordering info: classica Music Publishers Level of Difficulty: Moderately difficult Duration: 6’ |
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| This commission from Ariose Women's Choir of Edmonton, Dr. Marilyn Kerley, conductor was premiered on April 17, 2005. In November 2005, the choir released a recording of the work (order). It sets a haunting poem by Mary Coleridge. Scored for SSAA and piano it is 5 minutes in duration and is moderately difficult. |
There
in That Other World
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| Voicing:
SSA and piano |
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Text
of
To Morning O holy virgin!
Clad in purest white, Awake the
dawn that sleeps in heav'n: let light O radiant
morning, salute the sun, |
RECORDED ON: |
I began work on the choral composition as early as 1981, when I was an undergraduate studying composition with Paul McIntyre at The University of Windsor. Unfortunately, we ran out of time in the term and I didn’t finish it. I promptly forgot about it, until I found the original sketch again fourteen years later! I went on to finish the piece in 1995, and it remains one of my own personal favourites. It was published by Cypress Choral Music in 2002 and was chosen as one of Elektra Women's Choir "Top Thirty" picks for treble voices (see below). In 2006 the work was scored for string orchestra to enter into the "Mozart 250 Composition Competition" sponsored by Chamber Orchestra Kremlin. It was selected as the winner of the orchestra's member choice award, and has been performed by them numerous times in Europe and the U.S. | |
Cantaré
Children's Choir
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Recorded
on: Elektra's
Garden |
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Review Notes from Elektra's "Thirty Top Picks" by Morna Edmundson. "After a somber and mysterious introduction by the piano, the opening vocal line of this setting of William Blake's poem sounds and feels like a sacred work, but the line “O holy virgin” refers not to the Virgin Mary but to “morning” herself, “clad in purest white”. Scored for piano and voices in three parts, the emphasis is definitely on the text, creating lots of opportunity for your choir to sing expressively and with good diction. In spite of a harmonic language that is quite adventurous, this piece sings beautifully and the lines are well crafted for voices. Clear dynamic contrasts and frequent unisons in a fairly low range contribute to this piece's beautiful unfolding, mirroring the sunrise it describes. The climax comes in the last chords by the choir, at which point you need a few first sopranos who can sing one high Bb with poise. We never hesitate to use just a few voices in spots like this." – ME |
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Recorded on: Toi, moi, tout un monde, Dr. Laurier Fagnan, artistic
director,
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Voicing: SATB and
piano
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