Choral directors, instrumentalists pianists
and descant voices. Except for the need to work out a few harmonies, descant, and echo parts, this is an ideal straightforward vocal and instrumental contribution to Palm Sunday, Easter or Eastertide. ED
Celebrate the Day, Pepper
Choplin, Beckenhorst Press BP2087, 2016, SATB with piano. Optional brass quintet and timpani (BP2087A) parts available. Th e infectious work of Pepper
Choplin has recently entered the rep- ertoire of many choirs in sacred and secular settings. While useful for Eas- ter, this original composition will work at any celebratory time – including all during Eastertide and beyond. I would personally “up” the tempo a bit as a director or pianist, keeping that under control so that the brass parts speak clearly would be a factor. Repeated vo- cal and piano rhythmic fi gures increase the triumphant forward movement of the anthem, though the piano part does not exactly double voices rhythmically. Th e texture is generally a triumphant homophonic sound with moments of interplay between treble and bass voices. Th e text is important here, ex- tending the usefulness: a celebration of “the day ... the life ... the joy of faith ... remembrance of blessings, goodness, mercy, fi lling the morning with sounds
Reviewers
Robert P. Anderson is Music Director/ Organist, Jamesville Community Church (United Methodist and
Presbyterian U.S.A.), Jamesville, NY.
Laura Jaquith Bartlett is an ordained Deacon in the Oregon-Idaho Conference and past
president of The Fellowship.
of praise and joy” and helping future generations “declare Your mighty works … goodness … righteousness.” A fi nal key change from C to D brings a con- clusion: “celebrate the joy of our life in Christ!” ED
Hail the Day that Sees Him
Rise!, Dan Forrest, Beckenhorst Press BP2039, 2014, SATB with or- gan or piano. Optional reproducible congregational handout (BP2039B) and horn, trumpet and percussion (BP2039A) parts available. Th is Easter arrangement of
Llanfair starts with Romans 8 (“If God be for us …) before moving through several keys to Wesley’s text. Aft er a fi rst verse in unison for choir and congregation, the sopranos des- cant while altos and men join their congregational counterparts on sec- tions of the hymn. Th e third verse returns the sopranos to the opening Romans melody, as the congregation and rest of the choir sing the melody with slight variations. Th e choir fi n- ishes with a fl ourish: “Shall He not with Him freely give us all things? Al- leluia!” Again, there’s nothing overly diffi cult here that a few minutes of work will not solve: horn and trumpet must be comfortable in sharp keys and the musical “roadmap” must be clear to all. Th is is a chance to use a slightly less-familiar hymn on Eas- ter combined with Paul’s reassuring words to the Romans. ED
Ed Duling is organist at First Presbyterian Church, Bowling Green, OH. He is also a trombonist and tubist.
Melissa Emerson is Director of Music Ministries at Calvary United Methodist in Nashville, TN.
Roger G. Miller is a retired director of music ministries, Springfi eld, VA.
Interested in reviewing new materials? Contact Sara Collins,
ssjcollins24@aol.com.
Piano Celtic Creations: Piano
Settings, arr. Larry Shackley, Hope Publishing Company 8861, 2017. Shackley’s well-proven cre-
ativity, his ear for lyricism, and his expertise for designing engaging yet accessible settings are once again on display in this collection of 10 hymn tunes. Th is is Shackley’s fourth piano book with the word “celtic” in the title, but – just to be clear – that ap- parently is not meant to imply that the tunes themselves are Celtic! Re- gardless, the tunes do largely refl ect a group of congregational songs that are not frequently set for piano (includ- ing David Haas’ We Are Called, Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend’s In Christ Alone, and Stuart Garrard’s Awaken the Dawn, which is delightfully paired with Laudes Domini). Along with these contemporary tunes, Shackley has also set Lord of the Dance and Great Is Th y Faithfulness, making a highly useful and enjoyable collection. LJB
Sacramental Celebrations for
Piano, Mark Knickelbein, Concordia Publishing House 97-7726, 2016. Th is slim collection contains six
traditional chorale tunes plus ... The Ash Grove! Th ese Lutheran stan- dards may not be familiar to United Methodists, with the exception of Schmücke Dich and the Welsh tune that ends the book. Th e settings are both simple and, for the most part, simplistic. Non-adventurous harmo- nies (there is just one key change in the entire collection, and accidentals are rare), and staid rhythmic pat- terns – with a few somewhat jarring exceptions – make the settings easily sight-readable, but most are also good candidates for a student looking for some experience playing during com- munion. Sent Forth by God’s Blessing (The Ash Grove) is the outlier in the collection, with good harmonic and rhythmic interest; the sending forth/ benediction is also not, of course, a “sacramental celebration,” but that does not detract from its potential usefulness as a postlude. LJB
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January-February 2018 • WorshipArts •
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