Choral Music - Women's Voices
Vocal Solo | Instrumental | Choral Music - Men's Voices | Choral Music - Women's Voices
Choral Music - Treble Voices | Choral Music - Mixed Voices | Dare To Breathe Library
| Alphabetical List |  listen  sample page
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Anniewords and music by Fred Small A young woman's struggle to stay honest to herself while protecting her professional interests. |
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Coffee Callingwords by Mark Dietrich, music by David Moore An original doo-wop with lyrics by Mark Dietrich. Written as a promotion for Dunn Brothers Coffee Shops in the Twin Cities, but easily turned into a general paean to the loving cup with the substitution of a few words. My favorite line: "two hours work in ten seconds flat/Decaf drinkers can't do that." order from Fresh Ayre Music |
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Comin' Into My Yearswords and music by Betsy Rose A vocal big band treatment of this Betsy Rose song celebrating the power of the older woman. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Comin' Into Our Voice |
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Change Of Heartmusic by Holly Near, Jim Scott, and Derek Nakamoto; lyrics by Holly
Near The finale of Holly Near's autobiographical stage show "Fire In the Rain." available from Yelton Rhodes Music, $1.75 / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Emily Rememberswords and music by Shirley Eikhard This is a heart-breaking song about selfless love. The singer acts as a repository for the memories of her best friend, who suffers from Alzheimer's and no longer recognizes her. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Growing Into Our Roots |
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Emmawords and music by Therese Edell A song by Cincinnati singer-songwriter Therese Edell about healing from a history of domestic abuse. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Growing Into Our Roots |
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Everything Possiblewords and music by Fred Small Fred Small's lullaby of universal affirmation. Also available for mixed voices. order from Fresh Ayre Music / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Ezekiel Saw de Wheeltrad. spiritual The familiar spiritual in a bravado concert arrangement. available from Mark Foster Music Co., $1.75 / |
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Follow the Drinkin' Gourdtrad. spiritual A spiritual about the underground railroad that I first heard on a recording by the New Christy Minstrels in the sixties. This is a code song, a map for escaping slaves; the "Drinkin' Gourd" is the Big Dipper, which points toward the North Star and freedom. Also available for mixed voices. available from arranger |
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Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoeswords and music by Tom Paxton Ronnie Gilbert (of The Weavers) introduced MUSE to this Tom Paxton song; a musical giggle at the fitness craze of the 70's and 80's. available from arranger |
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I Wonder As I Wandertrad. Appalachian A traditional Appalachian Christmas carol accompanied by traditional Appalachian instruments. available from Yelton Rhodes Music, $1.35 |
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In the Sky of Wintertext by Tom Hennen One of two lovely poems by Minnesota poet Tom Hennen (the other being "The One and Only Day"). Written for Virgin Ground, a women's a cappella ensemble primarily interested in Renaissance and medieval music. Tom is a keen and sympathetic observer of the Minnesota woodlands, and his work has a gentle clarity that I find very moving. Here is an excerpt from this text:
order from Fresh Ayre Music |
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Listeningwords and music by Kate Long The message of this song is "because we are listening, we're part of the song." A wonderful concert opener, this starts in unison and gradually builds to a six-part closing cadence. Also available for mixed voices. available from arranger / original song available through www.fiddletunes.com |
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Love Will Guide Usmusic traditional Appalachian, words by Sally Rogers A piece arranged in traditional Sacred Harp or "shape note" style, including a first verse on fasola syllables. Also available for mixed voices. available from arranger |
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Malvina at the Music Hallwords and music by Malvina Reynolds This is a medley of songs by the late great folk artist Malvina Reynolds, sort of in the style of a music hall sing-along. Includes "If You Love Me," "No Hole in My Head," "The Faucets of New York," "We Don't Need the Men," and "Rosie Jane." available from arranger |
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Mariewords and music by Laura Berkson The wonderful true story of two young women who won a court case against their high school to allow them to accompany each other to the prom. available from arranger |
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Mountain Songs"Mountain Song" words and music by Holly Near; "Which
Side Are You On?" words and music by Florence Reese A combination of two union songs from Appalachia; "Mountain Song" by Holly Near, and "Which Side Are You On?" by Florence Reese. available from Yelton Rhodes Music, $1.50 / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Mountain Song / Kentucky Womanwords and music by Holly Near Another medley using Holly Near's "Mountain Song," this time pairing it with a song about the life of a coal mining woman trying to resist the mine bosses and keep her family fed. Much more lyrical than the previous pairing. available from Yelton Rhodes Music / recorded by MUSE: Live! |
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Music In My Mother's Housewords and music by Stuart Stotts One of my most popular arrangements. Stuart Stotts' reminiscence of his mother and the music with which she filled his life. available from Mark Foster / recorded by MUSE: Comin' Into Our Voice and The Women's Chorus of Dallas: Music In Our House |
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The New Underground Railroadwords and music by Holly Near A series of historical vignettes depicting the many unsung heroes who have quietly fought back against oppressive power structures by helping those most oppressed to escape. available from Yelton Rhodes Music / recorded by MUSE: Live! |
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Nicoliawords and music by Holly Near An early Holly Near song about a young woman's becoming a successful sea captain. The piano part is for big hands. available from Yelton Rhodes Music, $1.85 |
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Ohio River Blueswords and music by Katie Laur Cincinnati's bluegrass treasure Katie Laur's honky-tonk tribute to her adoptive home river. Needs a gravelly lead voice and an out-of-tune piano. available from arranger |
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The One and Only Daytext by Tom Hennen One of two lovely poems by Minnesota poet Tom Hennen (the other being "In the Sky of Winter"). Written for Virgin Ground, a women's a cappella ensemble primarily interested in Renaissance and medieval music, this is a modern-day madrigal with imitation, shifting textures, and an unabashed delight in word painting. Here is a sample of the text:
order from Fresh Ayre Music |
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Peace Iswords and music by Fred Small Fred Small's "Give Peace A Chance." Also available for mixed voices. order from Fresh Ayre Music |
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Perfect Nightmusic by Jeff Langley and Holly Near, words by Holly Near Holly Near's honky-tonk song about the joys of women dating women. available from Yelton Rhodes Music, $1.75 / recorded by MUSE: Comin' Into Our Voice |
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Power and Glorywords and music by Phil Ochs A patriotic anthem for choruses that balk at patriotism. The piano part is a tribute to Sousa. available from arranger |
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Shir L'Shalommusic by Yair Rozenblum, words by Ya'akov Rotblit (Heb.) A popular Israeli peace song. Purportedly the song that Yitzakh Rabin was singing when he was assassinated. Also available for mixed and men's voices. order from Fresh Ayre Music / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Somos el Barcowords and music by Lorre Wyatt (Eng., Sp.) A simple bi-lingual song about interdependence. When Pete Seeger sang this song, he taught the chorus to the audience. Also available for mixed voices with piano accompaniment. available from arranger |
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Step By Stepmusic trad. Irish, words from the Preamble to the Constitution of
the United Mine Workers The text is from the preamble to the Constitution of the United Mine Workers: "Step by step the longest march can be won, can be won/Many stones to form an arch, singly none, singly none/and by Union, what we will can be accomplished still/Drops of water turn a mill, singly none, singly none." A personal note: if anyone comes up with the original source of the tune, I'd love to hear about it. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Growing Into Our Roots |
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Study War No Moretrad. spiritual An exuberant setting of one of the first spirituals that I ever learned. Also available for men's voices. available from Mark Foster Music Co., $2.25 / recorded by MUSE: Comin' Into Our Voice |
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Take Back the Gunswords and music by Therese Edell Therese Edell, a singer-songwriter from Cincinnati, wrote this song about gun control in the late 70's. This treatment is inspired by Kurt Weill, with tenor sax solo and percussion. Chilling, biting, urban anxiety. Also available for male voices. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Testimonywords and music by Ferron By Canadian singer-songwriter (is there a shorter word than that?) Ferron. A song of the recovery of self and the healing of buried injuries. The treatment is lush and haunting, with lots of divisi, especially in the altos. available from arranger |
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A Thousand Grandmotherswords and music by Holly Near Holly Near wrote this song in response to the NATO bombing in Bosnia; she felt that they hadn't exhausted all the possibilities. Her solution: "send in a thousand grandmothers/they will surely volunteer/with their ancient wisdom flowing/they will lend a loving ear." available from Yelton Rhodes Publishers |
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Three Womenwords and music by Carrie Newcomer Carrie Newcomer says of her song: "I have received great strength and comfort from the community of women...I believe in my heart that women are the cement that holds the world together." This is a gentle, affectionate waltz, embroidered with a flute obbligato based on the harp tune "The Southwind." available from arranger |
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To Be Strongwords and music by Laura Berkson A song about many things, but mostly about pride within a gay community. "We're gonna rise, rise, rise, rise, all hands together [a cue for the audience to clap, in my opinion] to be strong." The chorus builds with each repetition, adding voices and momentum. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Sing To the Universe Who We Are |
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Uh Huhwords and music by Holly Near A mantra to calm oneself in the face of everyday petty and not-so-petty frustrations "Breathe in/breathe out." available from Yelton Rhodes Publishers |
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Wanderlustwords and music by Connie Kaldor Connie Kaldor's song about itchy feet. With a bit of Dolly's "9 to 5" woven into the last chorus. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Comin' Into Our Voice |
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Waulking Songstrad. Scottish "Waulking songs" are work songs from the Hebridean Islands, off the coast of Scotland. Waulking is the process of fulling wool to make it waterproof, and is traditionally done by a group of women around a table. It is hard, gruelling work, involving lifting heavy, wet wool and slapping it back down on the table. The song, just like most other work songs, is in a call-and-response form and is used to keep a steady rhythm, develop a sense of comeraderie, and keep spirits up. I have five titles available, with minimal vocal harmony. available from arranger / recorded by MUSE: Growing Into Our Roots |
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We Belong To the Earthwords by Ted Perry, after a speech inspired by Chief Seattle A prayerful meditative piece based on the speech long thought to be the words of Chief Seattle: This we know/The earth does not belong to us/we belong to the earth/All things are connected like the blood that unites one family. My setting uses five groups of singers in a cumulative fashion, layering different parts and verses over a repeated rhythmic ostinato. If you are familiar with the prayer songs of the Taize Community, this is like that. order from Fresh Ayre Music |
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We All Sang Bread and Roseswords and music by Si Kahn MUSE learned this from Ronnie Gilbert, formerly of the Weavers. A nostalgic song about memories of the early days of the union movement. With a simple, union-hall style of piano accompaniment. available from arranger |
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Will the Circle Be Unbrokentraditional Appalachian The best-known bluegrass song, thanks to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This is an a cappella arrangement, unabashedly inspired in part by Dolly Parton's version of "Seven Bridges Road." The middle verses are in gospel quartet style. |
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