Each week we’ll share something new as you plan for your programs.
This week we are celebrating two series in the Graphite Marketplace: the Latin American music of Border CrosSing and the exciting and creative work of Paul John Rudoi.
Border CrosSing:
De Colores
arr. Natalia Romero Arbeláez
3-part mixed choir (opt. guitar)
Difficulty:
“De Colores” is a new, easy-to-teach SAB Spanish language piece with optional guitar accompaniment. The song has a rich history as the anthem of the United Farm Worker’s Movement, but it’s also a beloved folk song enjoyed by children and families throughout Latin America.
Yo ya me voy a morir a los desiertos
Traditional Cardenche Song
3-part mixed choir, SSA, or TBB
Difficulty:
“Yo ya me voy a morir a los desiertos,” a traditional Cardenche song, exemplifies the value of pursuing performing editions authentic to their original cultures. The extreme ranges and unusual performing style of “Yo ya” will challenge your singers and provide a valuable experience to learn and grow both as musicians and as people.
Amo
Nico Gutierrez
SATB div. a cappella
Difficulty:
“Amo,” for unaccompanied mixed choir, reminds us that Latin America is a fertile ground for “classical” art music. Also set in Spanish, this part song is heartbreakingly beautiful and intense.
The text of “Amo” was written by the composer’s great-grandfather, Mariano Melendro Serna, who was governor of Tolima in Colombia. Many of his poems are about missing home and his family because he often had to travel to the capital, Bogotá, for work. The composer’s voicings and harmonies highlight the ambiguous meaning of the original Spanish text: does it refer to being in love with the memories themselves or with the loved ones that are no longer there?
Paul John Rudoi’s catalog is as interesting as it is varied. Rudoi has simple works for two duetting voices, canons, and complex works of choral divisi. Some of his works are sweet and diatonic, while others find those lovely and expressive “crunches” so characteristic of modern choral music. The following are new to Marketplace:
The Wind’s True Song
Paul John Rudoi
SATB Choir and Piano
Difficulty:
Commissioned for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s 2019 season, “The Wind’s True Song” sets a scene in Francisco X. Alarcón’s visceral poem about immigration, shattered dreams, and the potential for change. A rewarding challenge for advanced choir, soloists, and piano.
Orbit Carol
Paul John Rudoi
SATB Choir and Violin
Difficulty:
Award-winning original “Orbit Carol” is filled with energy, rushing toward the promise of life with the fear of the world at its back. Audiences and choirs alike will enjoy the whirling of the violin around the choir’s story, all the while considering the danger inherent in the Christmas story’s time.
Oranges
Paul John Rudoi
SSA or TBarB Choir, Solo, and Piano
Difficulty:
Commissioned for the 2021-2022 TB Minnesota All-State Choir, Paul’s “Oranges” builds on the famous poem by Gary Soto in unique ways. Focused on a soloist who only speaks, with a choir that only sings when the emotion becomes too much to handle, and a piano part full of nostalgia, this work for TTB or SSA choir is a touching testament to young love.
It Will Be the Past
Paul John Rudoi
SATB Choir, a cappella
Difficulty:
Simple and poignant, “It Will Be the Past” was written as a response to the difficulties and isolation of Covid-19, with a nod to a more hopeful future.
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Our Contributing Editor
Jonathan Campbell, BA, MSM, DMA, currently serves as Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, MN., and is a Contributing Editor for Graphite Publishing. His music publishers include Augsburg Fortress, Concordia, Morningstar, GIA, Sacred Music Press, and Falls House. He won first prize in the Morningside Choral Composition Contest and was also awarded a Faith Partner’s Residency with the American Composer’s Forum. Jonathan has served many churches, conducted the Chorale of the Honors Choirs S.E. MN for eight years, and has served on the faculties of Winona State University, Augsburg University, and Pomona College.
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