I asked Shawn to share some of his favorites with us for the month of March. It’s another list of great literature that includes both new and classic men’s literature. Thanks, Shawn! –Susan
Empty
Timothy C. Takach, text by Joyce Sutphen
TB (opt. div), piano and optional djembe
TimothyCTakach.com (self published)
Moderately Easy
I was so happy to have stumbled on to Tim’s website when searching for fresh music for my beginning HS male choir. What I found there will keep me busy for several years as Tim has set a number of pieces for male choirs that are both accessible and thought provoking. My guys are working on this piece right now and they love it. It is music that is sophisticated and moving while at the same time, not too overwhelming. The piano accompaniment is interesting and the optional djembe part is a must! Your guys will love this piece. Tim publishes his own music and he was great to work with as well.
http://www.timothyctakach.com/Works/Empty.html
Nine Hundred Miles
Traditional American Folk Song, Arr. Philip E. Silvey
T(T)BB, piano
Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc. www.sbmp.com, SBMP 439
Moderately Easy
My guys really enjoyed singing this haunting piece. Philip does a lovely job setting this text in that TBB format that seems difficult to find. He manages also to,“Capture the mood and spirit of life on the American railroad in the early twentieth century.” You can teach singing with passion when tackling this beautiful work—it’s gorgeous!
http://sbmp.com/SR2.php?CatalogNumber=439
Gaudete! from Piae Cantiones, 1582
Arr. Michael Engelhardt
TTBB divisi, percussion
Walton Music, www.waltonmusic.com, HL08501830, WLG143
Difficult
If you are looking for a real challenge for your guys and also need something exciting for the winter holiday season, take a good look at this piece. Splitting into as many as six parts and a cappella (with percussion), the piece is a challenge. The unusual percussion instruments (to include a car brake drum), creates a unique, raucous and powerfully sonorous texture that is sure to make your advanced men happy.
http://youtu.be/Uo66wEt87HY?list=PLBpHIq4BfOJzawPdSmtGOSeshoEA21xxj
Good Timber
Jeffrey Cobb, text by Douglas Malloch
TTB, piano
www.jeffreycobb.com-Mysterium Music-jeffrey@jeffreycobb.com (self published)
Easy
Michigan composer Jeff Cobb has done a fine job here creating a piece that is very accessible for beginning male choir, but with a text by Muskegon, Michigan poet Douglas Malloch (b. 1877), is very masculine in nature. Malloch became known as the “Lumberman’s Poet” and this text draws a parallel between a well-weathered tree and a hard working man…Guaranteed to put some hair on their chests! (A recording of this piece does not exist yet.)
Goodbye, Then
Timothy C. Takach, text by Doug Wilhide
TBB, piano, clarinet
TimothyCTakach.com (self published)
Moderately Difficult
As stated above, for me, Timothy Takach is one of the very best right now regarding writing for male choir in a way that today’s young man can relate. The poetry, written by Doug Wilhide, which speaks of saying goodbye, is simply breathtaking. Pair it with the soaring clarinet and Tim’s gift for creating choral music that grabs the heart and you have something very special here. Please listen to this piece…you won’t regret it! This piece was commissioned by ACDA Minnesota and the Minnesota Music Educators Association in 2012.
“…And that last hug—
How could I not hold you?
How could we separate our hearts
When we felt them beating together?
And how—God, how—could I let go? (excerpt)
http://www.timothyctakach.com/Samples/Goodbye%20Then.mp3
Tshotsholoza
Traditional South African, Arr. Jeffery L. Ames
TTBB, congas, djembe
Walton Music, www.waltonmusic.com, HL08501546, WLG114
Easy (for a four part male choir piece)
My guys never tire of singing this robust, soulful piece and although it is relatively simplistic in design, they just love it. The opportunity to showcase your best male soloists alongside African drumming are great features of this octavo by Jeffery Ames. Even though the writing is four-part (with some low bass divisi), the song can come together quickly.
http://www.giamusic.com/search_details.cfm?title_id=23665
The Awakening
Joseph M. Martin
TTBB, piano
Shawnee Press, Inc. C 0286
Difficult (due to its large scale)
ACDA members may know this piece well, but just in case someone has missed hearing this piece, I felt inclined to share it once again. You will need a competent pianist. The piece takes us on a musical journey. The ending is so powerful! “Let music never die in me. Forever let my spirit sing!” This piece is one slow rising crescendo that culminates in one of the more powerful endings to a piece ever. “Let music live!”
Betelehemu
Nigerian Christmas Song, Via Olatunji Arr. Wendell Whalum
TTBB, percussion
Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., LG52647
Moderately Difficult
I rarely repeat literature, but I have come back to this piece at least three times during my tenure at Mona Shores. The boys really enjoy singing this piece and it works very well at Christmas time while adding a unique and multicultural flavor to a holiday program. I never tire of the way the piece begins so peacefully in 4/4 then quickly transitions into an exciting uptempo 6/8 feel as drums enter the scene. There are several spots where soloists can sing over the choir. This piece sounds wonderful in an SATB arrangement as well. The Morehouse College Glee Club originally introduced me to this piece and they continue to be my inspiration. Follow the video link below and see for yourself.
http://youtu.be/mFrqj6-GaPE
Prayer of the Children
Words and Music by Kurt Bestor, Arr. Andrea S. Klouse
TTBB, Acappella
Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.
Moderately Difficult to Difficult (when done well!)
This piece is a deeply moving tribute to the children of Bosnia is continually a favorite of both singers and audience members alike and is just a beautiful piece of music to sing. Here you can listen to the great Concordia Choir in performance:
Barb’ra Allen
American Folk Song, Arr. Randall Gill
TTBB, piano
Santa Barbara Music Publishing, SBMP 37
Difficult
This piece is a challenge on many levels (range, four part texture, use of head voice, long sustained lines, slow, often quiet and gentle) but it is stunning when done well! The Bowling Green University Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Richard D. Mathey, does a fine job in this recording.
http://sbmp.com/SR2.php?CatalogNumber=37
Walk in Jerusalem
Spiritual, Arr. Paul Rardin
TTBB, piano
Santa Barbara Music Publishing, SBMP 348
Difficult
If you are looking for a real showstopper and have a phenomenal group of men, this piece is perfect. It is a blast to put together and perform and will really stretch a good male choir. Set in a gospel style, the piece also includes big solo moments! It seems to demand a large group, but we performed it with a group of eight terrific high school aged singers with great success. The U of M Men’s Glee Club, Jerry Blackstone, made me a believer many years ago. Here they are in an acappella treatment of the work. I also enjoy it with the optional piano accompaniment.
http://www.sbmp.com/SR2.php?CatalogNumber=348
Shawn Lawton, Vocal Music Teacher, is enjoying his 25th year teaching music and has spent the past twenty-two years at Mona Shores High School where nearly 300 students sing in his four choirs every day. Shawn earned both his Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Music from Western Michigan University. In 2000, he received the Mona Shores Education Foundation’s Teacher Excellence Award. In the fall of 2013, the Singing Christmas Tree project he directs received the Michigan Association of School Board’s Michigan’s Best Award. The Singing Christmas Tree has also recently been featured on The Travel Channel (2013), NPR (2013) and The Learning Channel (2011). Check the Tree out here at: www.monashoressingingchristmastree.com
His ensembles have been selected for a number of prestigious honors in Michigan, including his choirs being selected to give performances at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival and at the Michigan Music Conference on multiple occasions. He was also selected by his peers to conduct the Michigan Regional and State TTBB Honors Choir in 2000. He is the former conductor of the Muskegon Community College choir as well. 100 members of the high school choir travel internationally every 3-4 years and will visit Barcelona, Spain and then travel through Southern France, ending in Paris, on a 12 day tour in the summer of 2016.
Shawn studied under both Nancy Bray and Brad Moffatt (Jenison High School), Duane Davis (GRCC), and both Mel Ivey and Dr. Joe Miller (WMU).
Shawn is married to Molly, the director and choreographer for the musicals at Mona Shores and a WMU graduate as well (BFA in Musical Theater) .They have three amazing children, Jonny age 19, Meghan age 16 and Jessica age 11 who also enjoy music, theater dance and art.
