music for voice

As of February 2024, Shards, Odonata, Tell Me Again How the New Comes Into the World, Satilla Shores, Walking Kiawah, Pisgah Songs,

and Voices from the Village can be obtained through North Star Music, an excellent source of 21st Century music for singers:

To view the master list of vocal music in the Store, go here. Any piano parts ordered from this section can be provided in plastic comb binding or in 3-hole punched pages for use in a 3-ring binder. Also, .pdf’s for reading on an iPad can be provided on request for any score or part in addition to the hard copy at no additional cost. If you would like to hear a complete recording to help consider a piece, write to me at newertunes@hotmail.com.

Outside of a few jazz & rock things - some of which are pretty cool, I still think - I had never written a formal song for solo voice before 2005. With Waka Songs and Voices from the Village, I discovered that the medium embodies a number of strong enticements.  For one, the inclusion of a text makes it possible for me to be very clear about my intentions and sentiments. Thus it is a powerful tool for expressing my anger, amusement, or joy about the goings-on of our world, things to which I find myself increasingly eager to respond.  Also, a good text, read carefully (which, for me, is many times over), will tell you what to do... I seldom get stuck wondering what to write next.  A wise friend - Michael Rice - once explained to me that in great vocal music there is an intimate relationship between the text and its music.  I do my best to approach that standard in hopes of creating an organic new thing, and not just an arbitrary conglomeration of two independent expressions.  And in so doing, song composition poses a relentlessly interesting musical puzzle: how to squeeze variety and contrast from the limited resources of one voice and one piano.

But the greatest reward in writing and performing songs has been the opportunity to work one-on-one with some truly wonderful singers - Mimi Wyche, Mary Freeman, April Martin, Brittnee Siemon, Susan Lyle, Christian Elser, Jenna Tamisiea, Diana Thompson-Brewer, many FAC voice students, and especially their teacher, Danielle Knox.  Without these fine musician/interpreters, none of these efforts would have come to meaningful fruition.

A note on voice ranges: if a song sits in a range that it seems to me would work for soprano, mezzo, or alto, I just describe it as “female.” In describing ranges I use the USA Standards Association system in which middle C is C4. If you are interested in a particular song, but would ideally have it transposed, please ask… it is not usually too difficult to accomplish. Though many of these songs were conceived for female voices, most would work with male voices as well - again, please ask. For many things I can offer a MIDI-generated demo of the piano alone for practice without a live accompanist.

songs with piano song cycles with piano solo voice with other instruments choral music

He Loved His Red Fusquinha (2022)

For baritone (contact me for transcription to female voice range) and optional ‘cello part; total performance time about 5 minutes, range B2 -A4. This song is the culmination of my participation in Sing Out Strong: Remembered Voices, an online concert staged by the Boston-based activist opera organization White Snake Projects. On a poem by the daughter of Celio Salgueiro, a hard-working immigrant who succumbed to Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. Titled “He Loved His Red Fusquinha,” the “fusquinha” – which means “beetle” in Portuguese – refers to Celio’s beloved Volkswagen Beetle that he managed to keep on the road for 45 years. The setting is for baritone, piano, and optional ‘cello $7 for two copies of score, ‘cello part, and demo recording. More details and excerpts here.

Penelope (2020)

For female voice, about 2:20, range A3-F5. On a poem by Jaquelyne Weddington concerned with the relentless erosion of a woman’s sanity in the working conditions of a South Carolina textile mill. The vocal line suggests a profound monotony and suppression of spirit, while the piano provides a mechanical backdrop suggesting textile machinery. More details and excerpt here.

Odonata (2019, rev. 2020)

For female voice, about 3:10, range E4-A5. On a poem by the composer celebrating the gaudy variety of the order Odonata, the dragonflies and damselflies. It concludes with a plea that such small wonders be noticed so they will then be valued. Mostly light and bright, with rhythm in the twilight between 3/4 and 6/8. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here; available from North Star Music.

Phoebe (2019)

For female voice, about 3:40, range C4-A5. On a poem by the composer recounting a remarkable experience with an Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) in December of 2019. The piano opens with a gesture mimicking the Phoebe’s call, which recurs through the song. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here.

Reckoning (2019)

For female voice, about 3:10, range E4-A5. On a poem by the composer lamenting the decay of common understanding - especially of science - in the post-truth era. Generally quiet, turbulent, and ominous. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here.

Sweet Betsy from Pike (2019)

For soprano, about 3:00, range F4-F5. Of the many lyrics known to exist for this famous folk song, I cherry-picked five that make for a happy and slightly humorous ending. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here.

Shards (2018)

For female voice, about 5:15, range C4-Ab5. On a poem by the composer written in the wake of the Parkland High School shootings on 14 February 2018; a bitter denunciation of the proliferation of guns. Sections modelled on a Baroque chaconne alternate with more lyrical sections in 6/8. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here; available from North Star Music.

For Nai’s Son on His Birthday (2016)

For female voice, about 6:45, range A3-Gb5. On a poem by North Carolina poet Ashley Lumpkin in which a woman speaks to her new-born nephew of the challenges he will face while growing up Black in America. The mood swings wildly and there is a good bit of blues influence. For this song to be presented appropriately, the singer should be African-American. $5 for score and demo. More details and excerpt here.

song cycles with piano

Satilla Shores (2022)

For tenor (contact me for transcription to female voice range); total performance time about 15 minutes, range C4 -A5 (ranges are as they appear in treble clef); all sections are performed without pauses between. On 23 February 2020, Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old black man, was pursued by three white men and fatally shot while jogging in Satilla Shores, near Brunswick in Glynn County in southeast Georgia. All three were given life sentences. Setting four poems by Greenville psychologist and poet Frank Alexander Clark, the piece is laid out in 6 sections:

I. Prelude, a piano solo that introduces some of the material to be heard later. About 1:30.

II. Runner’s Paradox, about the joy of running and fitness, only to be murdered for running while Black. About 3:10; range E4-F#5.

III. Agita, concerning the period of dread and apprehension during the trial of the three murderers. About 2:20; range C4-Eb5.

IV. Wake, concerning the complex emotions resulting from the guilty verdict. About 2:40; range E4-A5.

V. Interlude - a piano solo that recaps previous themes and transitions to the last song. About 1:00.

VI. Yearning, an expression of hope in the struggle against racism. About 4:10; range Db4-Ab5.

Satilla Shores was a finalist in the 2024 NATS Song Cycle Composition Competition. IMPORTANT: It is most appropriate that the singer be Black. More details and excerpts here; available from North Star Music.

Walking Kiawah (2020)

These vivid poems by Keller Cushing Freeman are taken from the 2004 publication Walking Kiawah (Cedar Mountain Books).  The poems reflect upon the speaker’s relationship with the seaside environment of the island through the seasons. Overall, there is a sense that although we inhabit this place, the indomitable Atlantic Ocean and its denizens are always close at hand – reminding us if our inseparable connection and provoking inner revelations that we might not have experienced elsewhere. Overall range G4-G5. Details and excerpts here; available from North Star Music.

I. Walking Kiawah - The speaker finds himself in the utterly unique environment of the seashore. About 2:18; range C4-G5.

II. Winter Solstice - The potent allure of this place, though mindless and unmoved by human concerns. About 1:42; range D4-E5.

III. Vernal Equinox - A sense of relief when the gray and rain of winter finally gives way to spring. About 1:44; range D4-E5.

IV. Summer Solstice - A turbulent song reflecting the relentlessness of the tides and the impermanence of all on the beach and in our selves. About 2:29; range C4-G5.

V. Autumnal Equinox - A relentlessly quiet song to mark the last days of summer, reflecting one last time upon the music and dance of the shorebirds. About 2:11; range E4-G5.

VI. Leaving Kiawah - A recognition that this place - indifferent to our existence - is nonetheless a beautiful sustaining part of us. About 2:05; range Eb4-F5.

Foster Songs - Classic Songs of Stephen Collins Foster arranged for Voice & Piano (2019)

Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) is widely regarded as the father of American popular song, and many of his more than 200 songs are still familiar today. Stephen Foster’s original melodies are rendered here with few variations or embellishments.  The accompaniment harmonies and rhythmic patterns are usually quite different from the originals and simply strive to amplify the spirit of each melody and its lyric. $25 for two copies of the score and demo recordings. Details and excerpts here. You can watch a live performance of the entire set here.

1. De Camptown Races (1850)  Camptown is an unincorporated village in the mountains of northeast Pennsylvania close to two other small towns where Foster lived with his brother and attended school; horse races staged there are thought by some to be the inspiration for the song.  About 2:05; range G4-G5.

2. Slumber My Darling/Beautiful Dreamer (1862)  These two songs, written in the same year, are here combined, taking the liberty of changing the word “queen” in Beautiful Dreamer to “child,” reinterpreting Dreamer and transforming the combination into one extended lullaby. About 5:15; range E4-F5. 

3. Some Folks Do (1855)  Published as #29 of Foster’s Melodies, this parlor song espouses a sort of live-for-today optimism over various pessimistic attitudes.  About 1:40; range C4-F5.

4. Comrades, Fill No Glass for Me (1860) A paean to temperance and sobriety, given here a jaunty setting that might question the speaker’s sincerity.  About 2:35; range E4-G5.

5. Merry Little Birds Are We (1862)  A silly parlor song originally published with a choral refrain in 4 vocal parts.  About 2:00.

6. There Are Plenty of Fish in the Sea (1863; lyrics by George Cooper)  One of several songs composed on texts of New York poet George Cooper in 1863-64.  About 1:45; range Eb4-G5.

7. Somebody’s Coming to See Me Tonight (1864)  Published posthumously.  About 2:30; range D4-F#5.

8. Willie Has Gone to the War (1863; lyrics by George Cooper)  Foster wrote a number of songs dealing with the Civil War. Here, an intro, interlude, and a coda have been fashioned from another song of immense popularity during the war years, The Battle Cry of Freedom.  About 3:35; the next song is begun attacca. Range F4-A5.

9. Hard Times Come Again No More (1854)  In this passionate expression of sympathy, Foster was making reference to a national wave of concern for the poor.  About 4:45; range E4-G5.

Imperiled Blaze (2015)

For tenor/baritone, transcription for soprano in progress. The “Imperiled Blaze” is the Monarch butterfly, in serious decline owing to a variety of pressures from humans. The poems also address issues aside from the Monarch itself. $20 for two copies of the score and demo recordings. More details & excerpts here. The songs:

I. Immigrant (Keller Cushing Freeman) - fast and somewhat turbulent. As the poet emphasizes the relentless, unstoppable drive of the Monarch to migrate, the piano similarly sounds a pulsing drone throughout.  About 2:30; range Bb2-F4.

II. What Place This (Jan Bailey) - moderate tempo, 5/4. Here the Monarch is just one of a legion of small natural miracles that unconsciously follow their annual rhythms. About 2:15; range B2-E4.

III. Clew (Marian Willard Blackwell) - slow, sparse, atmospheric. The music plumbs the mysteries of the insect’s instincts and the random beauties of the world she will inhabit. About 2:45; range A2-E4.

IV. Against the Odds (Sue Lile Inman) - fast, 6/8, mostly light with outbursts and a violent ending. The music juxtaposes sections of buoyant elegance with sections of menace and foreboding. About 2:30; range C3-Bb4.

V. Dream Migrations (Nancy Dew Taylor) - slow, lush, contemplative. This song looks in on a woman in the last year of her life as she fosters a Monarch chrysalis, fascinated by its metamorphosis into a state of hard-won freedom.  About 3:00; range C3-F4.

Tell Me Again How the New Comes Into the World (2014)

For medium female voice. These poems, written by poet Claire Bateman especially for these songs on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Fine Arts Center, are a practitioner’s rumination on the creative process itself.  More details & excerpts here; available from North Star Music. The songs:

I. Tell Me Again - set in an innocent waltz, begs to know how a new thing comes into being and why it is chosen from amongst the infinite possibilities.  About 2:35; range D4-E5.

II. It Begins - set in a mysterious, non-metrical mist of colorful harmonies, it offers vague clues to the answers sought by the first song in a musical netherworld – in the twilight between singing and speaking – as the proffered clues are elaborate and indirect.  About 2:40; range C4-E5.

III. This is How - this song is rollicking and assertive, declaring the artist’s resolve to command the stuff of his creation and his passion for the challenge. About 2:50; range C4-F5.

Pisgah Songs (2012)

For mezzo soprano. These poems – save the last – are taken from Climbing Pisgah, an album of poetry and photography of Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina, published in 2007 by Cedar Mountain Books.  It features poetry by the founding members of the Emrys Foundation. More details and excerpts here; available from North Star Music. The songs:

I. Looking Glass (Keller Cushing Freeman)  A warm vision of a cold landscape, this text could just as well have been about winter in the west Michigan woods where I spent my teens.  About 2:40; range D4-E5.

II. Black Mountain  (Marian Willard Blackwell)  Wintry sounds not unlike the first song, this time making a simple statement of concern for this delicate beauty. About 1:15; range D4-E5.

III. Long After Our Footprints (Jan Bailey)  A joyous walk in the woods with many fine sightings along the way, ending in a note of regret that such times are relegated to a secondary role in busy lives.  About 2:05; range E#4-F#5.

IV. No Straight Path / The Grammar of Spring / No Straight Path (reprise) (Marian Willard Blackwell)  This is set in quintuple meter, quirky harmony, and zig-zag melodies to suggest the uneven terrain. A second poem, The Grammar of Spring, is offered as the destination of the hike. About 3:45; range Bb3-A5.

V. Laurel Creek (Sue Lile Inman)   Low, dark, quiet and turgid to evoke one of those beautiful, rocky mountain streams shaded with hemlocks and laurels.  About 2:50; range A3-D5.

VI. At the Cabin, One Last Time (Sue Lile Inman)  A day-dreamy meditation on a cherished place, ending in night sounds of the forest. About 2:55; range A3-Eb5.

VII. Blue Mountain Breakdown (Keller Cushing Freeman)  A tense and brutal series of dark images ends eventually in a quiet nightmare. About 4:35; range C4-Gb5.

Voices from the Village (2006/2011)

These texts are paraphrases of anonymous personal ads appearing in the Village Voice (II, III, IV, and V) and the New York Times (I, IV & VI) in 2006.  All titles are the authors’ originals. The settings, it is hoped, are as sympathetic and sensitive as possible to the shifting moods of the texts. More details and excerpts here; available from North Star Music.

I. Adorable Cutie with Brain - quirky, eccentric, and flighty until the end, where the speaker confides her deep longing. About 2:40; range A3-E5.

II. Fantasy Dancer - in a waltzing rhythm compares herself to a rare flower. About 2:55; range D4-Eb5.

III. Elegance Seeks Upscale Quality (2011) - a matronly sort, in tango rhythm, asserts that she’s still got it and is worth a partner with class. About 2:50; range B3-G5.

IV. Redhead, Petite & Beautiful - a swinging, confident, finger-snapping redhead is looking for a fellow artist. About 2:15; range Bb3-F5.

V. Endangered Species - the speaker compares herself - perhaps a bit over the top - to a lithe, rare, and possibly dangerous feline. About 2:25; range D4-E5.

VI.  Please Have All Your Marbles - in a 3/2 funk groove, the speaker wants a man real bad, but not one who can’t get his stuff together. About 3:20; range G3-E5.

VII. Starlight Princess - in a drifting, dream-like mood, the speaker longs for a companion who is - at present - only imaginary. About 3:20; range B3-E5.

music for solo voice and other instruments

Save It in My Jewelry Box (2019)

Scored for soprano and string quartet, on a text by New York City homeless shelter patron “M. M.” About 4:00; range E4-A5. This was composed as part of the “Forgotten Voices” project, in which 15 composers wrote songs to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Music Kitchen, an organization led by NYC violinist (and FAC grad! We are so proud of her!) Kelly Hall Tompkins. This will not be made available until after its performance by Music Kitchen musicians on the culminating Carnegie Hall concert which has been delayed by the shutdown for Covid-19… more developments later. Details & excerpts here.

Une Petite Plaisance (2018)

Scored for soprano and flute, on an epithalamium by Keller Cushing Freeman. About 3:55; range D4-A5. $10 for score, flute part, & demo. Taking a cue from the many figures from Greek mythology included in Edmund Spenser’s Epithalamion, a public ode to his bride written for their wedding in 1594, this poem is musically rendered in modes that would have been familiar to the ancient Greeks.  The tone overall is one of lightheartedness and joy in the little things. Details & excerpt here.

Whatever Was (2016)

Scored for brass quintet and baritone voice, with 1st trumpet playing trumpet in D. About 5:00, professional level; vocal range A2-G4. This poem, by Keller Cushing Freeman, and its musical setting were written in memory of a beloved husband, father, attorney and philanthropist.  The music is of a generally exultant, fanfare-like character, as befits a joyous occasion, and the words emphasize the permanence of all the good that came before. I will without this piece until the premiere has been performed under the auspices of the commissioner. Details and excerpts here.

The Trouble with the Text (2015)

Scored for soprano, mezzo, baritone, strings, and continuo. $35 for score, parts, demos. This is my comic cantata on an amusing prose poem by my friend Claire Bateman, in which 24 students in a creative writing class make various excuses – all of them lame – for why they didn’t do the assigned reading.  It’s an acute study in verbose teenage rationalization. More or less following the conventions of an early 18th-century chamber cantata, the music resembles the style of George Frideric Handel - on a bad day.  If you like P.D.Q. Bach you will probably like this. Details & excerpts here.

 I. Overture

II. Recitative: The Pages Kept Changing Places

III. Aria: The Book Was Too Faddish

IV. Recitative: The Key Didn’t Fit the Lock

V. Ground Bass: The Spine Had Been Punctured

VI. Chorus: Esperanto

VII. Recitative: The Book Was So Heavy

VIII. Aria: The Book Was So Light

IX. Arioso: The Book Was Too Amnesiac

X. Chorus: Nothing More To Be Said!

Voices from the Village (2006/2011, transcribed 2012)

Exactly as the cycle for voice and piano above, but scored for female voice and piano trio; the piano part is quite similar and the voice part is identical. $35 for score, parts, & demo; order here.

Museum Pieces (2012)

Scored for female voice, alto saxophone or clarinet, and string quartet; vocal range C4-E5. Challenging; about 20 minutes to perform the set. These youth-friendly songs grew out of the larger initiative to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Emrys Foundation, a support group launched in 1982 by writers, for writers, in Greenville, South Carolina. Each of these six songs is inspired by a painting by Helen Dupré Moseley (1887-1984). $40; in addition to the score and parts, a CD for projection of the images is provided. More details and excerpts are here. A live performance in which the paintings are shown as backdrops can be viewed here. Complete program notes are here.

I. No Point to Miss (poem by Bill Rogers) - As the title suggests, this off-kilter waltz celebrates the joys of both creativity and silliness. About 2:15; range D4-Eb5.

II. Mrs. Snoot’s Composure (poem by Marian Willard Blackwell) - This song in frenetic 6/8 imagine mrs. Snoot as an uptight, demanding English nanny. About 1:15; range C4-Eb5.

III. The Magic Serpent (poem by Jan Bailey) - In a moderate reggae beat, this song emphasizes the benevolence and mystery of the serpent. About 3:15; range C4-D5.

IV. Quiver & Cringe (poem by Philip Whitley) - Totally unhinged mock-horror music. Some modest improvisation required. About 3:00; range C4-Db5.

V. Who Did This to My Hair??? (poem by Gil Allen) - Frantic 1960’s TV pop-rock, á la Batman, with several interruptions. About 1:55; range D4-E5.

VI. Where the Wondering Grows (poem by Claire Bateman) - This concludes the set with a quiet meditation on the wonder of creativity. About 3:30; range C4-D5.

Imprint (2011)

Scored for female voice, piano, and string quintet (2 violins, viola, ‘cello, bass); about 6:00. $20 for score, parts, and demo. The text, by the composer, is an open-ended lamentation on the death of a colleague - which could be construed as just about anyone who is missed and left a positive mark. Details & excerpt here.

Four Are in the River (2011)

Scored for female voice and string quartet. Professional level; 4 songs and an instrumental postlude totalling about 25 minutes. $25 for score, parts, demo. In these settings of Sarah Blackman's poems I have made a straightforward attempt to underscore the character of each organism of the title and its relationship with her/his/its environment. The River binds them all together dramatically and musically. More details and excerpts here.

I. The Woman Says II. The Man Says III. The Animal Says IV. The Plant Says V. The River

Waka Songs (2005)

A waka is a traditional 31-syllable Japanese poem, the precursor of the haiku. As befits the concise character of the poems, these songs are brief; modes and pentatonic scales are used extensively as modest references to traditional sounds. Performances of Waka Songs will be most effective in intimate venues.  $10, including score, viola part with cue line, demo. More details & excerpts here; detailed program notes are here.

I. Meeting on the Path (about 1:35) II. Like a Mariner (about 1:55) III. Though We Are Parted (about 1:30) IV. It Is For Your Sake (about 1:35) V. For Your Precious Sake (about 2:10)

music for choral groups

This Old World (anon., arr. 2020) 

A fairly simple, practical arrangement of this folksong/hymn first published in The Southern Harmony of 1835. The text here is the one found in the Unitarian-Universalist hymnal Singing the Living Tradition, #315. $2/copy, minimum 8 copies (6 pages each). More detail and excerpt here.

A Wisdom Sung (2019)

SATB a cappella, with piano for rehearsal only. An alma mater for the Fine Arts Center, in a style typical of the genre. Free to anyone in the FAC community who wants a copy - go here.

A Welcome to the World (2019)

Scored for SSATB Choir, Piano (required), and Congas, on a poem of Keller Cushing Freeman; about 5 minutes. $5 per copy, minimum 12 copies (42 pages each). This is also available in a SSAATTBB version; please specify which you’d like. Keller Freeman's text focuses on the essential truth that we truly are a nation of immigrants. More detail and excerpt here. A video of the premiere is here.

Shenandoah (1999)

A relatively simple, practical, strophic setting of this classic sea shanty, setting 3 verses. $1/copy, minimum 8 copies (2 pages each). Details & excerpt here.

A Child I Was (1989, rev. 1999)

An SATB madrigal, full or soli. Details & excerpt here. Commercially available here.