Items by James Johnson

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Title	Author	Date
Comment: Re: Chocolate	James Johnson	May 12, 2013
Good Morning, I have in progress an amusing "pop" song titled "Hey, Chocoholic" which could easily be arranged in a choral version. It's nearly finished, come to think of it. Let me know if this floats your boat. And please have a look at my choral works on my ChoralNet page. Regards, James...
Comment: Re: Your favorite funny/amusing choral pieces for HS and adult voices?	James Johnson	May 12, 2013
Good Morning, I have composed a setting of The Walrus and the Carpenter, the darkly humorous poem which appears in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. It's a long poem so it's a rather extended piece, about 13:00 SATB and piano, a kind of cantata in one movement. It's only of medium dif...
Comment: Re: Sacred Harp Repertoire	James Johnson	March 12, 2013
Many of the original publications are still available in reprints, such as "ORIGINAL SACRED HARP' (Denison Revision) 1971 Edition (the one I own), Published by Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc. Cullman, Alabama. This edition is perfectly legible to modern singers. If you want to rewrite the m...
Announcement: "I think continually of those who were truly great" SATB 5:05	James Johnson	March 9, 2013
This is perhaps the greatest poem by Stephen Spender (1909-1995). Permission to use the text was kindly granted by the Estate of Stephen Spender. The music is challenging, but firmly tonal and hardly intimidating to any auditioned and well rehearsed chorus. All my works are written in Sibelius,...
Announcement: The Chambered Nautilus (1858) SSAATTBB 7:45	James Johnson	March 9, 2013
Here is an eight part setting, challenging but hardly insurmountable, of the famously magnificent poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894). This is not the first setting, and the final stanza, beginning "Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul," has also been set separately. All my works a...
Comment: Re: CJ Replay: Stravinsky's Choral Style	James Johnson	February 21, 2013
Recently I acquired a Sony album containing 22 (!) CDs, including just about all of Stravinsky's compositions, many of them conducted by the composer himself, and the rest by his close associates over the years. This album is the ultimate testament to Stravinsky's place among the greatest mu...
Comment: Re: New Music for TTBB	James Johnson	January 5, 2013
I have three male choir pieces, all of them rather distinctive. 1) "Because I liked you better," TTBB a cappella, 3:00, a setting of A. E. Housman's late biographical poem, sung twice in 2012 by the men of the Loud and Proud Chorus (G&L) of Edinburgh directed ...
Comment: Re: Looking for SATB. SSA. or TTBB German choral literature by current composers	James Johnson	December 13, 2012
Look into Enjott Schneider's works, those published by Schott, and also many unpubllshed works. He has written profusely, from film music to organ symphonies. Very interesting music. You could probably contact him directly if you researched him thoroughly enough. James Johnson on Choral...
Comment: Re: Major works for Community Chorus	James Johnson	November 30, 2012
Fauré Requiem for starters.
Comment: Re: Secular work for high school that is still spiritual	James Johnson	November 26, 2012
Hello Ms. Moore, Several of my SATB works should fit your needs, none of them yet performed: Trees (3:11) a setting of Joyce Kilmer's famous poem; To a Waterfowl (4:30) to W. C. Bryant's poem (once described by Richard Wilbur as "America's first perfect poem"); The Death of Lincoln ...
Comment: Re: Searching for new unpublished Christmas music	James Johnson	October 3, 2012
Mr. Sandvik, I have composed an SATB setting of Richard Wilbur's famous poem A Christmas Hymn, about 3:30, not too difficult. The author is a personal friend and I obtained his permission directly. (Also a setting of his recent Psalm, SATB about 2:30, medium difficulty ("Give thanks f...
Comment: Re: Barber's "God's Grandeur" - typos?	James Johnson	September 9, 2012
Is this a setting of the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins? Thanks, James Johnson
Announcement: Ozymandias, poem by Shelley, for six part male chorus a cappella, 7:00	James Johnson	September 6, 2012
To my knowledge this is the first musical setting of Shelley's famous poem, Ozymandias. All my works are written into Sibelius, so professionally published scores are available. Please have a look at my other choral works on my ChoralNet page, and also view my broader musical...
Comment: Re: Designing a Concert Program	James Johnson	August 4, 2012
Browse the early American songbooks, several still in print, such as The Sacred Harp. "Wondrous Love" an obvious choice. Referring to your program title, you will want some secular works too, unlimited choices available. James Johnson www.jamesjohnsonmusic.net
Comment: Re: Seeking New Music Piece, American Composer w/ small ensemble	James Johnson	August 3, 2012
You might be interested in my recent setting of Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," SATB plus organ or piano; clarinet; and cello or bassoon. The clarinet part is very prominent and rather jaunty, with extended interludes between the choral sections. The opening and closing lines of the poem...
Comment: Re: Have you performed Noye's Fludde?	James Johnson	July 21, 2012
We presented five performances of Noye's Fludde at First Church in Cambridge UCC in November 1974 over two weekends, to rave reviews in three major Boston area papers. All in the cast were children or young people except Noye (Jack Langstaff) and Mrs. Noye (Susan Mansur). Jack Langstaff and ...
Comment: Re: Christmas Cantata for small choir with string quartet/quintet	James Johnson	July 17, 2012
Ooooops! The Schütz work is scored for SSATB, maybe too many vocal parts for you. Or maybe you can hustle up a few more singers for this remarkable piece. JJ
Comment: Re: Christmas Cantata for small choir with string quartet/quintet	James Johnson	July 17, 2012
I have made my own editions of both the Gibbons works mentioned above and will gladly share them. These are written into Sibelius, solve numerous voice leading problems in the instrumental parts, and are much easier to read than the present published editions. During my years at First Church...
Comment: Re: Christmas Cantata for small choir with string quartet/quintet	James Johnson	July 17, 2012
Among the best ever composed is the Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi by Schütz, available in modern editions (Barenreiter's by my side here). The work is extended in length, but requires only string quintet and a few winds, SATB and soloists. It is somewhat challenging, but can be well prepared ...
Comment: Re: CHARPENTIER TE DEUM H146	James Johnson	July 10, 2012
If you, or someone else, will write the entire piece into Sibelius in its original key, it is then possible to transpose it up or down, or wherever, almost instantly. Make each movement a separate file. By the way, my transcription for organ of the Prelude to a Te Deum (presumably from ...
Comment: Re: Easter Brass & Organ	James Johnson	July 3, 2012
Don't overlook the many Renaissance works for double choir, SATB & SATB, sometimes five parts, G. Gabrieli, Gallus, Schütz, and others. Many of them transcribe nicely for organ as one choir, and brass as the other. www.jamesjohnsonmusic.net
Comment: Re: SSA/ TTB Repertoire	James Johnson	July 1, 2012
You could have a look at my two-minute crowd-pleaser "How they brought the good news by sea," a setting of Norma Farber's (1909-1984) humorous poem describing how the ocean-bound creatures managed to crane their necks, etc, and peer from the shore towards Bethlemen to witness the Nativity. �...
Comment: Re: Americans can't sing because . . .	James Johnson	June 25, 2012
A fundamental reason here in the USA, and one much to be lamented, is the pervasive coarseness of pop culture, which poisons young people, especially males, with the notion that singing well is sissy-business. In European and Scandinavian cultures this is far less the situation. One has but ...
Announcement: First performance of "Because I Liked You Better," by James Johnson	James Johnson	May 31, 2012
In their May 12 concert, the men of Loud and Proud, the gay and lesbian chorus of Edinburgh directed by Karen Dietz, offered the first performance of James Johnson's setting of this late autobiographical poem of A. E. Housman, TTBB - 3:00. The piece will be repeated in their concert for the...
Comment: Re: Looking for a Round	James Johnson	May 31, 2012
No help here, but it you locate it please forward, as the text begins very interestingly. Thanks, James Johnson
Comment: Re: Need Repertoire Suggestions for HS Chamber Choir	James Johnson	May 26, 2012
Let me suggest my setting of Joyce Kilmer's Trees, SATB (3:15), not at all difficult and yet to be performed. I can send you a PDF of the Sibelius score. The author's courageous life and early death on the battlefields of France in WW I is a lesson to be remembered. Have a look at o...
Comment: Re: Seeking concert choral pieces that tell a story, SATB, TTBB and/or SA	James Johnson	May 24, 2012
I have several pieces that are narrative: "How they brought the good news by sea," SA divisi (2:00) on a poem of Norma Farber (1909-1984) tells how the creatures of the sea, unable to travel over dry land, were nevertheless able to get news of the nativity and spread it throughout all the...
Comment: Re: Death and Mortality	James Johnson	May 12, 2012
In the "Original Sacred Harp," Denison Revision, 1971 edition, on page 181 is a text ascribed to Issac Watts (somewhat derived from part of Psalm 90): "Death like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away, our life's a dream ......." containing four verses. The tune is titled Exit. In one or an...
Comment: Re: humorous choral music	James Johnson	May 2, 2012
Mr. Vick, you might take a look at my epic cantata in one movement, "The Walrus and the Carpenter," SATB & piano, 13:00, being a setting of the ironically amusing poem from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. To my knowledge it is the first musical setting of the poem. Humorous inde...
Announcement: "I hear America singing" SATB & clarinet, organ or piano, and/or instruments 5:00	James Johnson	May 1, 2012
A setting of Walt Whitman's famous poem, somewhat in the style of a verse anthem. The opening, and eventually closing, verses are sung by the full chorus or TB or SA in chordal style, while the other verses are each assigned to one part and set in a florid style. A solo clarinet part is pro...
Comment: Re: New Women's Group forming - REP?	James Johnson	April 27, 2012
Mr. McCafferty, I have several works for treble choirs, though originally imagined for boys (alumnus of the Columbus Boychoir in the mid 50s). 1) "How they brought the good news by sea," SA divisi about 2:00 on a delightful poem by Norma Farber (1909-1982) telling how the creatures of the s...
Comment: Re: Food Repertoire	James Johnson	April 27, 2012
Almost too obvious: "Food, Glorious Food" from the musical Oliver. Also: "Plant a radish, get a radish, not a Brussel sprout! That's why I love vegetables, you know what you're about!" etc. from The Fantastiks.
Comment: Re: new German repertoire	James Johnson	April 23, 2012
Google on Enjott Schneider (b 1950), an important and prolific composer who has written a number or organ symphonies, and, I am almost certain, sacred choral music as well, very sophisticated yet accessible in style.
Comment: Re: Your favorite funny/amusing choral pieces for HS and adult voices?	James Johnson	April 19, 2012
Please see my description of my short piece, "How they brought the good news by sea," under Michael Dell's search for Christmas works about animals. This piece has always been received with much audience approval.
Comment: Re: Repertoire Pertaining to Animals and the Winter Holidays?	James Johnson	April 19, 2012
Hi again, Well, I have a little creampuff for your program, my two minute setting of Norma Farber's (Google on her) delightfully whimsical poem, "How they brought the good news by sea," composed in Canberra in March 1982, first performed by the Radcliffe Choral Society that December, for a while...
Comment: Re: Choral Suggestions for Florida's 500th Anniversary?	James Johnson	April 17, 2012
In 1992, while living in Key West (that was fun), I wrote - four verses and music - a hymn titled Florida Keys to celebrate the recently installed Martin Pasi organ in Coral Isles Congregational Church (in 2003 the organ was relocated to Faith Lutheran Church in Redmond WA). It was performed once...
Comment: Re: 21st century Mag and Nunc settings	James Johnson	April 13, 2012
Mr. Toperzer: I have composed two settings of the Magnificat (but none of Nunc Dimittis). The first, in A, was begun in the mid 70s, but not finished until summer 2006 in Denmark (many revisions over the years), scored SATB divisi and organ and intended for special occasions, especially conc...
Announcement: A BURNT SHIP by John Donne SSATBar 1:30	James Johnson	March 24, 2012
A sharply dissonant setting of John Donne's (1572-1631) terrifying six line poem, intended for all-male choir, difficult. Part of a series of war poems begun many years ago and recently resumed. While these pieces may be sung by mixed choirs, the effect of boys and men is preferred by th...
Forum message: Issac Watts poem: Against Idleness and Mischief	James Johnson	March 19, 2012
Does anyone know of any musical setting of this poem? if so, I do not wish to see it, as I am starting one of my own (but always curious). Thanks.
Announcement: PSALM by Richard Wilbur, SATB 2:10	James Johnson	March 16, 2012
From Richard Wilbur's recent book of poems, Anterooms, this brief fifteen line poem is memorable. Medium difficulty. Used by permission of the author, with whom I enjoy a personal acquaintance. All my works are written into Sibelius, so professional scores are available. Please hav...
Comment: Re: PDQ Bach or something similar	James Johnson	March 16, 2012
Might be something useful among Tom Lehrer's songs -- you can find a complete list on Google. Or find him and ask him to write one. He's still breathing somewhere (b 1928).
Comment: Re: Walt Whitman Roots and Leaves choral setting	James Johnson	March 13, 2012
Kindly inform me if you locate it. Thanks, James Johnson in Plattsburgh NY
Comment: Re: Humorous piece for Faculty Choir	James Johnson	March 12, 2012
You might take a look at my "Unicorns at Harvard" for solo voice or unison choir (treble or men, treble perhaps better) marked "Con fuoco risotto" 2:30, a facetious setting of Norma Farber's satirical poem.
Comment: Re: Renaissance music arranged for women	James Johnson	March 7, 2012
Jacob Handl Gallus - 1550-1591 - composed his beautiful setting of "Repleti sunt omnes" Acts II: 4, 11, for a double chorus of men -- TTBB. When I toured with the Columbus Boychoir in the mid-50s, it was part of our standard opening set of early pieces, simply transposed up an octave. I'll s...
Comment: Re: Repertoire for Choir and Tenor Soloist	James Johnson	March 7, 2012
A little more online research (always a bit suspect) has informed: The movement is from Messe solonelle in A, opus 12, composed 1860, for STB chorus, harp, organ, cello (and string bass ??) Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Panis angelicus Agnus Dei The entire mass is beautiful f...
Comment: Re: Repertoire for Choir and Tenor Soloist	James Johnson	March 7, 2012
Franck's famous "Panis angelicus" is always loved by audiences. The original key is A. If I recall correctly Franck's original texture is orchestra, of course, with the tenor solo singing the first half (more or less) of the piece, and SATB choir joining him towards the end as an echo I...
Comment: Re: Looking for short lively piece by Brahms	James Johnson	March 4, 2012
Mr. Arterton, You might program several of the seven Marienlieder that are up tempo, "The Hunter" being the most famous. Mary and May go together. If your performing space has an organ with romantic color (need not be large), Jongen's "Chant de Mai" would make a lovely prelude. Please hav...
Comment: Re: Choir and Organ repertoire	James Johnson	March 3, 2012
Mr. Eychaner, I have three works, all still unperformed, that would compliment those you have already selected: 1) Magnificat in A for SATB divisi and organ (10:00), very eclectic but primarily derived from Venetian polychoral music of the early 17th C. 2) The Sun on Easte...
Comment: Re: SSA challenging repertoire	James Johnson	February 29, 2012
You might be interested in my two-minute piece, SA but with divisi, "How they brought the good news by sea," on a delightful poem of Norma Farber, composed Canberra 1982. The work has been sung dozens of times over the years, chiefly in concerts directed by my close colleague Klaus Lyngbye, musi...
Comment: Re: Orlando Gibbons: "O Thou, the Central Orb"	James Johnson	February 29, 2012
Thanks very much for directing me to the original text. Now I would like to find the original anthem with the original text. From this one might revise the text to arrive at a result that praises God in general without reference to the King's toothache. Will see what I can accomplish. ...