Yo Vivo Cantando is written by Jay Althouse in an Afro-Latin-jazz style celebrating the rhythm of life. The Spanish words are translated as:
| Yo vivo cantando | I live [to be] singing |
| La música es mi vida | music is my life |
| Y mi voz se escucha | and my voice is heard |
There Is Sweet Music Here is a setting by Mary Lynn Lightfoot from “Choric Song” from Alfred Tennyson’s The Lotos-Eaters. Lotos eaters (Greek λωτοφαγοι = lōtophagoi) refers to a race of people on an island encountered by Odysseus who ate a food from the lotus flower, which was a narcotic, and induced them to live in a lackadaisical hedonistic stupor. Some of Odysseus’s men ate the lotus food, and he had to force them back to the ship. (In the Star Trek episode “This Side of Paradise” the crew land on a planet where the inhabitants, all Federation colonists, are infected with a spore that induces the same effect. Captain Kirk must assume the role of Odysseus and force them back to reality.)
Echo is a setting by David C. Dickau of a love poem by Christina Rossetti, written to someone no longer living, and published in 1862. Christina Rossetti is perhaps best known for her Christmas poem “In the bleak midwinter”, published posthumously in 1904. Miss Rossetti was born in England and fervently devoted to the Church of England, turning down at least two opportunities of marriage on religious grounds.
Get Happy (1930), with words by Ted Koehler and music by Harold Arlen, was originally from the musical show Nine-Fifteen Review (1930). It was later used in the musical films Summer Stock (1950) (with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly) and With a Song in my Heart (1952). This was Arlen’s first successful stage song. In Summer Stock, Judy Garland wore a top hat, tuxedo, and black stockings, which became an iconic symbol. This arrangement is by Mac Huff.
The Galway Piper is an alternate lyric set to the tune of “The Rakes of Mallow”, an Irish folk song first published in 1840. (Galway is in the west of Ireland, in Connacht; Mallow is in the southwest, north of Cork, in Munster.) This arrangement is by Joseph M. Martin.
Someone To Watch Over Me (1926) was originally from the show Oh, Kay!, with words and music by George and Ira Gershwin. This arrangement is by Jay Althouse. The story of Oh, Kay! is about a bootlegger in the era of prohibition. It was made into a silent film, but, interestingly, never a film with sound.
Dancing Through Life is from the 2003 Broadway musical show Wicked, which tells a story of the land of Oz before the events in the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is an adaptation of the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. (Is her web site to be found at www.www.oz?) The music and lyric are by Stephen Schwartz, and this arrangement is by Audrey Snyder.
Love Heals was written for the 1996 Broadway rock musical Rent, but wasn’t used. It was used as the end credits rolled in the 2005 motion picture of the same title, and it also appears as a bonus track on the soundtrack recording. The story is loosely based on Puccini’s La Bohème. The music and lyric are by Jonathan Larson, and this arrangement is by Mac Huff.
The Song That Goes Like This is from the Broadway musical show Monty Python’s Spamalot, with lyric by Eric Idle, music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and arrangement by Mac Huff. Spamalot was “lovingly ripped off” from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The playbill advertises that this show “sets musical theatre back a thousand years.”
The Bending Oak, with words and music by Mark Patterson, was commissioned by the TMEA Region III middle school/junior high school vocal division for the 2003-4 seventh grade/eighth grade all region mixed choir.
Grumble Too Much is a Jamaican folk song arranged for three-part men’s choir by Ruth Elaine Schram. The theme of nagging wives is fairly common in Caribbean songs.
Sigh No More, Ladies is a setting of a song (with slight alteration in the words) from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing by Linda Spevacek-Avery.
Jus’ Gimme Some Joe! was written by John Jacobson (words) and John Purifoy (music). For those of us who do not frequent coffee bars that sell highfalutin brews with a paper ring around the cup, the following glossary may be helpful.
Good Night (1968) was written by John Lennon as a lullaby for his son Julian. The original recording was sung by Ringo Starr, and appeared on The Beatles’ last and self-titled album, also known as “The White Album”. Lennon intentionally wanted the song to sound “real cheesy”. This arrangement is by Audrey Snyder.
Carnaval, with Portugese words by Abel Silva, music by Moraes Moreira, and English words by David Batteau and Mary Elker was arranged by Alan Billingsley. Carnival is the four or five days before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. It is a big deal in Brazil; some people save for a year for a few days’ celebration.
Festival Cantate was written, words and music, by Audrey Snyder, who is a choral composer, arranger, and editor for Hal Leonard. Ms Snyder earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Oregon, and taught school for many years. She began arranging music for her own students, and has become one of the leading arrangers for the school market. This piece has a Latin American flavor. Translation of the Latin words is below:
| Cantate Domino canticum novum | Sing to the Lord a new song |
| gaude | rejoice |
| jubilate | be joyful |