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Vocal Works
News Archive
Added 3/26/24: Sondra Elkins' Solo Performed at TMC on 3/24/24 |
Sondra Elkins, C.S. is a practitioner who lives in Cincinnati, OH.
And as those of you know who heard Sunday's solo performed at The Mother
Church, she is also a talented composer. Having known her for many
years, I contacted her about Sunday's solo, and I asked if she might
like to have it available in the Solo Bank to go along with the other
two of her solos that are in this website. She agreed and sent me
a recording made at her own church.You can find "All Things Are
Possible" in the "Latest Solos" page and in the Title and Composer
pages. Also, the lyrics are available
here. Until she arranges a
regular distributor, you can request sheet music from her by e-mail,
rselkins@fuse.net.
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Added 2/10/24: New Availability of the Music of Patricia Siler |
Patricia Siler first contributed her music to the Solo Bank many years
ago, and those interested in sheet music have been directed to contact
her by e-mail. Recently, she decided to make her music easier to
acquire by allowing me to distribute it for her. As she said, "My
wish is to bless our church community with the musical inspiration and
collaboration with others that have unfolded." For the Solo Bank
recordings, Ms. Siler has not sung the music herself, but has enlisted
the services of several professional-quality soloists.
Her latest composition is new words to Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's
Desiring" that should work better than traditional lyrics in the
Christian Science church setting. To encourage Solo Bank users to
familiarize themselves with Ms. Siler's work, I will send, on
request, PDFs of all 6 of her titles without charge through April 30 of
this year.
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Added 2/2/24: New Availability of the Music of William E. Graham |
William E. Graham (1923-1999) had a varied musical career, and in his
later years was a church organist. At mid-career, he composed for
choruses, but between 1982 and 1990 he composed 12 solos, mostly based
on the poems of Mary Baker Eddy and hymns from the 1932 Christian
Science Hymnal. Of his solos, he once told Louise (Maynard) Cleveland
that each solo was based on a healing.
The music was only published in manuscript form and was copyrighted
by Mr. Graham personally. He sold the music until his passing, and his
wife, Jean, continued the sales briefly thereafter. For the past 20
years, there has been no way to purchase his music, except the few extra
originals that I have acquired and have been able to send by postal
mail. The copyright has kept me from offering this music as PDFs via
e-mail.
Over the years I have expended a lot of effort to track down
composers or their heirs in order to request permission to distribute
their music. Fortunately, there have been perhaps a dozen cases where
this permission was granted. There have also been cases where my
research has led me to believe that a copyright has been abandoned by
disinterested heirs. Now, I have decided that this is the case for the
music of William E. Graham, which has been largely withheld from use by
Christian Science churches for the 20+ years since his passing and that
of his wife. Accordingly, the 9 compositions by Mr. Graham in the Solo
Bank will now be available as PDFs via e-mail. My plan is to add the
remaining 3 pieces in the coming months.
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Added 12/26/23: Collister and Ragsdale on Sheet Music Plus |
Besides being available from Watchfire Music, the sacred solos of Robert
Collister and Elizabeth Ragsdale are available from Sheet Music Plus.
Advantages provided by the latter, besides digital download, are
presentation of 2 or more pages of a score, plus an audio sample.
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Added 10/23/23: Elizabeth Barber Music Now Available |
It was several years ago that I somehow I acquired a collection titled
Sacred Classics: 19 Solos for Voice and Keyboard.
Experienced soloist Elizabeth Barber had adapted the music of 19 classic
composers for use as solos in Christian Science churches. She had
self-published the collection in 2007, and over the past few years I
sang 6 selections in church and added recordings of my performances to
the Solo Bank.It wasn't until a Solo Bank user reported difficulty in
contacting Ms. Barber that I realized she had disappeared from all
traces on the Internet. I sent many letters and made many phone
calls until I was finally able to locate her daughter, who was unaware
that her mother (now in an assisted living facility) had ever published
music. The happy ending is that mother and daughter have granted
me permission to distribute music from Sacred Classics: 19 Solos for
Voice and Keyboard. Another mystery solved!
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Added 7/13/23: Encourage a Composer You Never Heard of (UPDATE) |
I don't know how I got it, but last week I recorded a truly lovely
setting of "In Heavenly Love Abiding." It
was copyrighted 1982 by Paraclete Press. Trying to find how one
might obtain a copy, I searched their website (and the rest of the
Internet), but got nowhere. Then I decided to try to track down
the composer, Alan MacMillan. From his website, I found that he
composes mostly for organ and choruses. And although there was no
contact information in his website, I did some sleuthing and found his
e-mail address.In his response to my e-mail, he was amazed that his
setting of "In Heavenly Love Abiding" had turned up because he had
forgotten about it. He didn't know how to get a copy (legally),
suggesting that I write to Paraclete Press. I just heard from
them.
Paraclete Press has authorized me to make 5 copies of this piece
without charge. Furthermore, I have discovered that I can get
permission from other publishers to make small numbers of copies for a
modest price. The limitation is that I can't sell these to users
of the Solo Bank. Accordingly, I will note that they are "free
solos." I will print the authorized number of copies and mail them
to requestors in the least expensive way possible. And requestors
should not pay me for the service. It's a clumsy way of
distribution in this electronic age, but I'm just glad that many pieces
of music, hitherto completely unavailable, can be supplied to those who
will appreciate them.
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Added 6/20/23: Michael Head's "Beloved, Let Us Love One Another" |
For years, I have felt that this beautiful piece, copyrighted in 1964,
was out of print and unavailable. In my files, I had only one
copy. Then an inquiry from a Solo Bank user prompted me to do a
little extra Internet research, and I found the music in an obscure
corner of the Boosey & Hawkes website. Best yet, it is available
for instant download. So, if you want to add this to your library,
here is the link:
https://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Head-Michael-Beloved-Let-Us-Love-One-Another-Vocal-Piano-in-F-Digital-Sheet-Music/2406201.
With this, another blank in the Solo Bank's source column is filled in.
If you make similar discoveries, please let me know, and I'll pass the
information along.
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Added 5/20/23: The Music of Glenn Heck |
I've communicated with the family of Glenn Heck, and to the best of my
understanding, they have abandoned their claim to the copyrights on his
music. That means I can send PDFs of the 4 of his compositions
currently in the Solo Bank. I need some help from Solo Bank users,
though.I don't have a copy of his "The Christ Is Here," and I need
better copies (original or PDF) of "Our Purpose," "The Promised
Comforter Is Come," and his setting of MBE's "Love." Please check
your church music library, and if you can, please consider sending me
these items.
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Added 5/5/23: More of John Jones Music Added to the Solo Bank |
Until today, you could only listen to 8 of John Jones' solos through the
Solo Bank. Now you can listen to 8 more, all of which are
available from Watchfire Music,
www.watchfiremusic.com. You'll find that these compositions are all
extraordinarily diverse, nearly all scriptural, and professionally
produced.
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Added 2/11/23: Secular Music from Carolyn Kardinal |
“Oregon Glory” is the name of an album of Carolyn Kardinal’s music that
was published in 1995 in cassette and CD formats. I believe this was
before she began publishing her sacred sheet music and albums. Recently,
I was able to buy the cassette on eBay (no longer available there), and
Amazon has what appears to be a single copy of the CD offered at $99.99.
I was completely unaware of this album until I got the cassette. I’ve
listened to it at least a half-dozen times in the past week, and to me,
it’s delightful. Carolyn wrote the music, with titles like “Old Growth
Forest” and “Backroads of Oregon.” She and her brother Roger Kardinal
did the vocals, with help from children family members, plus light
instrumentation and even sound effects ─ all professionally produced, to
my mind. I’d describe the style as folk music, with memorable,
frequently toe-tapping melodies. Overall, the songs glorify nature,
conservation, and Oregon heritage.
Although the physical media may be hard to acquire, all 12 tracks of
the album are on YouTube. You can search for “Carolyn Kardinal” to find
them interspersed with recordings of Carolyn’s sacred music. They were
posted by someone named Armitage Soulshroude, so the easiest way to
access all the tracks is to subscribe to his channel.
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Added 2/8/23: Discovery of the Music of Julie C. Foskett |
In 2002, I bought 2 songs from Julie Foskett, then of Edmonds, WA.
The following year, I sang her setting of "Feed My Sheep," and it has
since been one of my favorite settings of that poem. Late last
year, I realized I'd never sung her setting of "Love," and I was curious
whether she had written any other music. Since she also lived in
Washington, I asked Carole Baldwin whether she knew anything about Ms.
Foskett. Carole made many inquiries, including finding that
Ms. Foskett had passed on, and eventually she connected with Alan Venner,
who was close enough to Ms. Foskett to know how to contact her daughter,
Laura Ely.Initially, Laura told me that as far as she knew, those
were the only two songs her mother had written. Then, a week
later, she wrote to say that she had found 3 more settings of MBE poems,
copyrighted, but in manuscript form. She sent them to me, and I
was delighted to find that they were as appealing as the two songs I had
bought 20 years earlier.
Laura also gave me permission to distribute this music, and now all 5
of her mother's compositions are available and recorded in the Solo
Bank. I'm thrilled that all the work of this inspired and talented
composer is now available.
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Added 1/24/23: New Music from Peter B. Allen |
I think I know what Peter B. Allen was doing during the pandemic:
he was compiling a new collection of vocal solos titled Sixteen
Sacred Solos. I'm guessing the part about the pandemic because
his introduction to this collection is dated November, 2020. These
solos are slowly being added to the Solo Bank.The full list of these new songs is in Peter's website at
www.pbamusic.com.
Using PayPal, you can purchase the songs individually or the whole
collection at once ─ for instant download. You can also listen to
Peter's albums published between 1994 and 2007, and see videos of
performances of a number of songs, including a few from this new
collection. And of course you can purchase his earlier vocal
works.
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Added 1/13/23: Carolyn Kardinal: An Appreciation |
I just learned of the passing of Carolyn Kardinal last October.
For almost 2 decades, she has been my favorite composer of music for
Christian Science services. Along with my gratitude for her
inspiring and beautiful compositions, I am deeply saddened that there
will be no new Sunday solos from her.Carolyn's legacy is her prolific
body of work over the past 2 decades: 81 wonderful songs.
Sheet music and accompaniment tracks for all are available from
Watchfire Music (www.watchfiremusic.com),
and recordings of 80 are available here in the Solo Bank. Also you
can hear Josh Henn sing 8 of her songs on his CD "Open Mine Eyes"
available at
this link. Or hear him sing 7 more in his "God So Loved the
World" CD, available at
this link.
Carolyn wrote so much music that I imagine that no one reading this
has heard each of her compositions, so I'm starting a special feature ─
"81 Days of Carolyn Kardinal" ─ one of her songs featured on this site
each day until April 3, 2023.
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Added 1/9/23: More Sheet Music from The Solo Committee |
After many years of unavailability, sheet music for 6 wonderful songs
from The Solo Committee can now be downloaded from its website.
From the "I Am Holding You Album," they are:
I Am Holding You, New Jerusalem, O Sing Unto the
Lord, Give Me O Lord, With Me, and
The Lord's Prayer (with the Spiritual Interpretation from
Science & Health).For the page with links to this sheet music,
click here. And if you download, please consider leaving a
donation in appreciation of The Solo Committee's work.
Finally, a special thanks to Cary Loomis for letting me know about
this long-awaited news.
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Added 12/26/22: New Composer: Peter B. Cornell |
Two months ago, I was leading an after-church hymn sing at First Church
of Christ, Scientist, Grass Valley (CA). We were exploring hymns
in the 2017 Christian Science Hymnal, and as I usually do, I was
trying to give some background on the composer and lyricist of each
hymn. For Hymn 470, I found that the composer, Peter B. Cornell
had a website:
www.peterbcornell.com. What I discovered there were a couple
of beautiful solo piano recordings and a list of his sheet music for
choir, solo piano ─ and solo voice.I contacted Peter right away and
ordered the 4 of his compositions that would work for Sunday morning
church. I sang his "How Silently" (a setting of "O Little Town of
Bethlehem") yesterday morning (click
here for the recording). Now I'm looking forward to
opportunities to use the remaining 3 pieces I bought and keep track of
his forthcoming compositions.
The opportunity came with the January 1 Lesson on "God."
Peter's "Give Thanks to the Lord" couldn't have been more perfect for
this Lesson.
Click here
for the recording.
You can reach Peter via e-mail at
info@peterbcornell.com.
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Added 12/8/22: Doris Day Sings Broones |
Many of us are aware that Doris Day was a student and friend of Martin
Broones, CSB. I was unaware that she had recorded any sacred
music, let alone that of Broones until Louise Cleveland (Maynard) sent
me a 7-inch, 33-1/3 record of her performance of two of Broones'
compositions: "David's Psalm" and "The Everlasting Arms."
I've converted the recordings so that you can listen to them on the
"Solo Bank - Classic Recordings" page
here.
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Denise Vignola |
After 15 years of searching, I've finally located
Denise Vignola, and she has given me permission to distribute her music.
She never wrote more music than the 7 pieces she composed in the early
2000s, and is unlikely to write more. With Denise's permission, I
can now distribute her music by e-mail for my usual charge of $6.50 for
each piece. Note, however, that I have promised to give Denise all
the proceeds from any sale of her music. There are several more
composers who I am trying to locate, and whose music is currently
copyrighted. Their work is rare enough that I don't have extra
originals, and PDFs by e-mail are impossible until I can secure
permission from them or their heirs or representatives.
Click here for the current list of "the
missing." (3/7/22) |
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"The Holy Word" |
I'm trying to find a copy of "The Holy Word," a
collection of 14 solos published by Boosey & Hawkes in the 1940s or
1950s. I've searched extensively online to no avail. Perhaps
you have a copy in your church library that you no longer need -- or
maybe even a duplicate copy? I believe it was published in high
and low versions, and I hoping to acquire both for my archive.
Thanks for any help you can give. (6/25/21) |
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Solo-Selection Service |
A couple of months ago, I was contacted by a non-CS
soloist who had been tasked by her church to choose her own solos.
She asked me to select music for her that would be appropriate to
upcoming Lessons ― and which I could supply as either PDFs or originals.
Let me know if you or your church needs this kind of help. (10/2/20) |
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Bob Moline's "Thank You, Father" |
This is my favorite Thanksgiving song. The sad
thing is that it is under copyright, and there is no person or
organization from which it may be legally purchased. When I bought
it (about 20 years ago), I did so from JIB Publishing of Costa Mesa, CA.
It was the marketing arm of Joan Iden Bowie, and the business
disappeared after her passing in 2012. Watchfire
Music distributes some of Moline's music, but not this piece.
Wordlight Publishing of Bakersfield, CA distributed some of the music of
Moline and his collaborator Richard G. Allen, but I'm not sure they're
still in business.
I would welcome hearing from anyone who knows who owns
the rights to this piece. That would be a first step toward once
again making it publicly available. (9/3/21) |
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