Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This wonderful song cycle "The Old Burying Ground" by Evan Chambers takes you through various epitaphs on tombstones he had gathered in Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire in 1998, and on a trip to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2003. Evan writes in the program notes:
"I love walking in cemeteries. They are an ideal place to meditate upon how lives appear and disappear in this world. Encounters with gravestones are an opportunity to confront both the inevitability and the simple fact of death, and to grow in under-standing of one of the central truths of our lives: We die. When I visited the cemetery in Jaffrey in 1998, I was floored by the power of the epitaphs. In order to read the stones one must sometimes lie flat on the graves. Stern exhortations about the brevity of our lives and tender statements of loss take on an urgent meaning when you encounter them face down on top of someone’s final resting place… Since I couldn’t imagine residents of eighteenth-century New England rising from the grave and singing in an operatic style, I decided to slant the songs toward musical languages I’ve come to love: Irish traditional music, American folk song, Sacred Harp singing, and Albanian Polyphony, in addition to European classical music. I had a teacher who insisted that to sing for someone didn't mean to sing while someone listened, but rather to sing for them, to take their place in song. It’s my hope we can do the same as listeners, and imagine ourselves standing for those whose who speak in these songs, since putting oneself in someone else's place is the essence of compassion."
COMPOSER: Evan Chambers
CONDUCTOR: Kenneth Kiesler
ORCHESTRA: University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra
POETRY READERS: Thomas Lync, Paula Meehan, Keith Taylor, Jane Hirshfield, and Richard Tillinghast
SOLO MUSICIANS:
Tim Eriksen, folksinger
Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Evan Premo, double bass
TRACKLIST:
————————————
BOOK 1:
0:00 - I. Introduction: All the Time You Want (poem)
2:22 - II. And Pass from Hence Away
5:56 - III. O Say Grim Death
11:39 - IV. O Say Grim Death (poem)
13:48 - V. A Bar So Pure
16:31 - VI. Uncut Grass (poem)
18:07 - VII. Oh Drop On My Grave
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BOOK 2:
22:23 - I. This Transitory Scene
31:35 - II. Her Void (poem)
32:55 - III. Nancy Eliza
37:02 - IV. Pompeii (poem)
38:53 - V. Emma
44:33 - VI. Relentless Death
47:50 - VII. Paths Of Peace (poem)
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
This wonderful song cycle "The Old Burying Ground" by Evan Chambers takes you through various epitaphs on tombstones he had gathered in Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire in 1998, and on a trip to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2003. Evan writes in the program notes:
"I love walking in cemeteries. They are an ideal place to meditate upon how lives appear and disappear in this world. Encounters with gravestones are an opportunity to confront both the inevitability and the simple fact of death, and to grow in under-standing of one of the central truths of our lives: We die. When I visited the cemetery in Jaffrey in 1998, I was floored by the power of the epitaphs. In order to read the stones one must sometimes lie flat on the graves. Stern exhortations about the brevity of our lives and tender statements of loss take on an urgent meaning when you encounter them face down on top of someone’s final resting place… Since I couldn’t imagine residents of eighteenth-century New England rising from the grave and singing in an operatic style, I decided to slant the songs toward musical languages I’ve come to love: Irish traditional music, American folk song, Sacred Harp singing, and Albanian Polyphony, in addition to European classical music. I had a teacher who insisted that to sing for someone didn't mean to sing while someone listened, but rather to sing for them, to take their place in song. It’s my hope we can do the same as listeners, and imagine ourselves standing for those whose who speak in these songs, since putting oneself in someone else's place is the essence of compassion."
COMPOSER: Evan Chambers
CONDUCTOR: Kenneth Kiesler
ORCHESTRA: University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra
POETRY READERS: Thomas Lync, Paula Meehan, Keith Taylor, Jane Hirshfield, and Richard Tillinghast
SOLO MUSICIANS:
Tim Eriksen, folksinger
Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Evan Premo, double bass
TRACKLIST:
————————————
BOOK 1:
0:00 - I. Introduction: All the Time You Want (poem)
2:22 - II. And Pass from Hence Away
5:56 - III. O Say Grim Death
11:39 - IV. O Say Grim Death (poem)
13:48 - V. A Bar So Pure
16:31 - VI. Uncut Grass (poem)
18:07 - VII. Oh Drop On My Grave
————————————
BOOK 2:
22:23 - I. This Transitory Scene
31:35 - II. Her Void (poem)
32:55 - III. Nancy Eliza
37:02 - IV. Pompeii (poem)
38:53 - V. Emma
44:33 - VI. Relentless Death
47:50 - VII. Paths Of Peace (poem)
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
![Edie Hill — Spectral Spirits (2019) [w/ score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ETGDYyGMog/mqdefault.jpg "Edie Hill — Spectral Spirits (2019) [w/ score]
This is Edie Hills haunting choral masterpiece Spectral Spirits, performed by the absolutely brilliant chamber choir, The Crossing. Hill writes about this piece:
When Donald Nally asked are there any texts you’ve been dying to set? I immediately thought of Passings by Holly J. Hughes. Passings was out on a display table at a favorite local bookstore. I picked it up because there was a feather on the cover – and because of the title. I had a feeling I knew what the subject matter would be. When I read, I was drawn in by Holly’s masterful poetry. Each of the 15 poems in her book lovingly tell the story of birds who are highly endangered, extinct, or believed to be gone. This book sat on a table in my living room for a couple of years. I thought maybe, someday, the opportunity would come for me to set some of these gems, and it did in the form of a commission to compose a 30 minute work for The Crossing. Donald said I like long pieces and so, I chose four of Holly’s poems to set – Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Eskimo Curlew, and Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Each of these birds lived in or migrated through or to North America. In addition to her poems, I found treasures in the Forward of Passings (Take note. These birds are still singing to us. We must listen.) and in the books she references; such as Hope is the Thing With Feathers by Christopher Cokinos.
COMPOSER: Edie Hill
POET: Holly J. Hughes
CONDUCTOR: Donald Nally
CHOIR: The Crossing
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Introduction
0:19 - I. Prelude. These Birds
2:41 - II. Eyewitness. Henry David Thoreau and the Passenger Pigeon
4:21 - III. The Naming
4:35 - IV. Passenger Pigeon
11:16 - V. Eyewitness. Gert Goebel and the Paroquets
13:00 - VI. The Naming
13:16 - VII. Carolina Parakeet
16:43 - VIII. Eyewitness. Lucien M. Turner and the Migration of the Curlews
20:33 - IX. The Naming
20:54 - X. Eskimo Curlew
24:49 - XI. Eyewitness. Mr. Wilson and the Ivory-Bill
26:55 - XII. The Naming
27:14 - XIII. Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic")
![James M. David — Garden of the Gods (2012) [w/ score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5jg8GvCTrL8/mqdefault.jpg "James M. David — Garden of the Gods (2012) [w/ score]
This exhilarating piece for solo trombone and trombone choir, Garden of the Gods, was commissioned by Dr. Bradley Palmer and the outstanding Columbus State University Trombone Choir. The piece was dedicated to the brilliant, star of the show soloist in this recording, Joseph Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic since 1985.
The composer writes in the program notes:
Of all the beautiful places in Colorado, the one to which I most often return is the famous Garden of the Gods. While certainly not the most massive or dramatic vista in the state, it instead holds an elusive character that is intimate, mischievous, and foreboding all at once. The bizarre rock formations seem to take on their own distinct personalities, and this brief concerto for trombone and trombone choir depicts two of the most well known structures. The “Cathedral Spires” are an extraordinarily delicate group of sandstone columns rising toward the mountains in the distance. The first movement depicts them at dawn, just as the sun emerges from behind Pike’s Peak. “The Three Graces” are large angular shapes that are grouped together near the center of the park. During the day, they are surrounded by the hustle and bustle of visitors and almost seem to be having a busy conversation amongst themselves. The driving allegro of the second movement displays the vibrancy and energy of the park, particularly the daring cyclists racing up and down steep inclines. This piece is composed for and dedicated to Joe Alessi of the New York Philharmonic, and was commissioned by Dr. Brad Palmer and the Columbus State University Trombone Choir.
COMPOSER: James M. David
CONDUCTOR: Bradley Palmer
TROMBONE: Joseph Alessi
ENSEMBLE: Columbus State University Trombone Choir
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Introduction
0:11 - I. Cathedral Spires
4:39 - II. The Three Graces
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic")
