8 Ball

$24.99

in memoriam TEXAS DOUGLAS RYAN MYERS

For Clarinet Quartet

8 Ball is an exploration of the emotional swings of grief — shock and sorrow, emptiness and isolation, pain and finality — mixed with wistful, treasured memories recognizing the blessing of sharing life with a loved one, and added to this the hope of eternal reunion. It’s written in memory of my brother, Tex, who we lost to COVID in 2020. In homage to his passion, dirt track racing, there is a contrasting section of paint-swapping, fender-bending frenzy, which comes to an all too sudden end as did his life. The title has nothing to do with billiards but refers to his long-tenured racing number and logo. The music uses unconventional scales which are actually six-tone pitch sets treated as different key centers that produce a lush mixture of consonance and dissonance that at turns feel comforting and unsettling. Writing 8 Ball was a cathartic experience to explore my own emotions, cement my brother’s proper place in my memories, and produce a tangible expression of my love for him. It was written as an assignment in the 2023 summer composition workshop at Tarrant County College. I’m grateful to my instructor, Dr. Aaron Kline, the music department at TCC, and the musicians of our performing quartet for their part in bringing this music to life.

Robert Myers
S.D.G.

 

Duration: ~8’15”

 

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Crown Him

$75.00

 

DIAMDEM, CORONATION, and DIADEMATA

For Orchestra

“Crown Him” reinterprets the classic hymn tunes DIAMDEM and CORONATION (All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name) plus DIADEMATA (Crown Him with Many Crowns) as a unified grand anthem for orchestra. The music is celebratory and majestic offset with moments of intimacy appropriate for the coronation of our Eternal King. Sure to be thrilling for all listeners, it is suitable for use at Easter, Ascension Sunday, services in anticipation of Christ’s return or ultimate victory and, well, really any Sunday as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection every week. It is crafted for the variable instrumentation and skills of the typical church orchestra with frequent tuttis, exposed parts only where competent players are common, friendly keys and meters, liberal cues, no more than three musical lines at a time (usually just two), and musical figures well within the grasp of high school players. The one possible exception would be the timpani line where a fairly accomplished player is needed.

 

Robert Myers
S.D.G.

 

Duration: ~4’55”

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Andaluza

$75.00

 

For Concert Band

Andaluza, taken from Manuel de Falla’s piano suite Cuatro Piezas Españolas, is aimed at the mainstream high school band in the United States at the grade 4 level. Boisterous tuttis, intimate solos, and passionate melodies make for an engaging excursion into Spanish folk music that allows students to explore the adventurous harmonies of de Falla’s impressionistic vocabulary. The variety of colors and energy available in the modern concert band amplify the life, drama, and humanity de Falla poured into his piano version. Andaluza will thus prove a thrill for both performers and audience as it celebrates this life, drama, and humanity.

Soprano Sax is called for on an expressive solo but is fully cued in oboe. The absence of this instrument need not prevent an integral performance of the music.

Optional parts are provided for Eb Clarinet, Treble Clef Baritone, and Double Bass for those bands having these available.

Duration: ~4’15”

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SAGINA

$75.00

 

And Can It Be?

For Orchestra

OK, to answer your first question, call it “suh-JEE-nuh.” Rhymes with Regina. This arrangement is a colorful and moving setting of the Charles Wesley hymn, “And Can It Be,” for traditional orchestra. The beauty of the music, the prominence of the familiar tune, and the text painting of Wesley’s poignant lyrics will find immediate acceptance in the hearts of its hearers. Aside from frequently shifting asymmetrical meters the difficulty level is very basic yet your musicians should still find it interesting and fulfilling to play.

 

In 1825, Thomas Campbell published a collection of twenty-three tunes under the title of The Bouquet. Campbell gave each of these tunes the name of a botanical species. One, titled SAGINA, was named for the family of flowering plants that includes baby’s breath and carnations.

Almost a century ealier, in 1738, Charles Wesley wrote six stanzas for his hymn titled “And Can it Be” as a reflection on his conversion to Christianity. By the mid-twentieth century, Campbell’s tune had become irrevocably wedded to Wesley’s verse in Christian hymnody. Two of Wesley’s stanzas along with the refrain, shown below, were chosen as inspiration for the music in this arrangement of the classic hymn tune.

 

Three accommodations make the music more accessible to church and community orchestras. First, important passages are liberally cued to keep the music workable even without full instrumentation. Second, several optional parts for band instruments are provided to allow current and former band musicians take part beside your orchestra players. And third, the piano/synthesizer part doubles key passages from most of the less common instruments such as harp, vibraphone and chimes.

 

Robert Myers
S.D.G.

 

Duration: ~4’45”

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Thirteen

$55.00
An adaptation of Psalm 13

For SATB Chorus, Clarinet, Timpani, Percussion, Piano, Cello

There are 150 psalms in the Bible, each one originally meant to be sung; and so they were for most of the last 3,000 years, beginning at the Jerusalem Temple. They were adopted as the primary song text of the early church as evidenced by Col. 3:16 and maintained in the Western church throughout medieval times. Psalms were the featured texts of most of the Reformers and were the sole mode of sacred singing among the first American settlers. Of late, hymns and choruses and popular songs with human texts have almost entirely replaced the singing of God’s word in many churches. This scarcity of Psalms in the Church’s song is a great loss which frequently motivates me to promote their increase. Thus, THIRTEEN , one member of my first suite of new Psalm settings, is offered as a to help bring the Psalms back into modern worship.

 

The thirteenth Psalm holds a complaint, a petition, and a confession of faith and the music of THIRTEEN portrays each with text painting appropriate to the psalmist’s words. A staggering timpani ostinato buffets away beneath the choir’s tripartite “how long” complaint, followed by a dissonant recitative petition which transitions through shimmering tonal clusters into a joyful, major-key, confession of faith blended with a NT perspective from Eph. 3:20-21.

 

THIRTEEN is challenging music, both in music and message, but for the adventurous music department it provides the opportunity to plumb the depths of scripture with artistry worthy of the rich heritage of Psalmody to use music to express the full message of God’s revelation. THIRTEEN is fitting to program liturgically as a musical exposition of the Psalm or in a sacred or secular concert setting. The very light orchestration complements the vocal performance with rich instrumental color without overwhelming the voices.

 

Duration: ~6’00”

 

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