Music for Voice (including narrator)

Voice and one other instrument
Voice in chamber music
Vocal CDs

   THE FROG, HE FLY...ALMOST (2000) by Roger C. Vogel is an entertaining and humorous look at the amazing amphibian. The vocal range is c# (below the treble staff) to Bb above the staff. A great addition to any recital. (5’) Grade V.
Text: The Frog, He Fly...Almost (Anonymous)
What a wonderful bird the frog are--
When he stand he sit almost;
When he hop, he fly almost.
He ain’t got no sense hardly;
He ain’t got no tail hardly either.
When he sit, he sit on what he ain’t got almost.
version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and alto flute B914  $8.95  To order
version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and clarinet B915  $8.95  To order
version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and C trumpet B916  $8.95 To order
 Sound Sample.mp3 (900K)

    REMEMBERING RIVERS (1995) for narrator and flute by Randall Snyder is a setting of Esther McCloud’s poignant tribute to Douglas Dyer, who died of AIDS , and is intended as a memorial to all of the victims of the disease. The poem’s principle riverine metaphor is mirrored by the flute’s constant serpentine line that ebbs and flows with the intensity of the words. (5’)  Grade V.  B813  $10.00  To order
Remembering Rivers Sound Sample: Excerpt.mp3 (999KB)

   LAND OF THE FARTHER SUNS (1992) by David Alpher. The text in this significant concert piece is from the poetry of Stephen Crane. The work is constructed in the manner of a song cycle, only with narration rather than singing. The music is modern, yet accessible, and contains sections in a jazzy vein. Finalist in the 1996 Newly-Published Music Competition of the National Flute Association. ( 20’) Grade V.
- version for narrator and piano  B106  $16.50  To order

New! LOVE LETTERS (2002) by Roger C. Vogel is an entertaining and memorable song cycle based on texts selected to represent the many different aspects of the universal emotion of love: from longing, exuberance, excitement, and playfulness to sorrow and despair. The individual songs may be performed individually. The work is published in two versions, each with a different instrumentation and number of songs.
Version for high voice (soprano or tenor), violin, and piano (45’) Grade IV-V. B925 $48.50:
1. Your Letter Moved Me 2:29
2. I Lie Awake 3:52
3. Dear Miss West Forty-seventh Street 1:49
4. My Dearest Nell (voice and piano) 7:45
5. The French Ladies 3:39
6. My Darling Dear, Delightful Ringo 2:57
7. Have You Heard That I Love You (voice and violin) 3:07
8. Alas! I have Suffered Your Scorn! 11:36
9. Everything Measurable Passes 1:45
10. Interlude (violin and piano) 2:59
11. Adieu, I Seal My Letter 4:36 To order
- Version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and piano (23’) Grade IV-V. B926 $22.00:
1. Your Letter Moved Me 2:29
2. I Lie Awake 3:52
3. Dear Miss West Forty-seventh Street 1:49
4. My Dearest Nell (voice and piano) 7:45
5. My Darling Dear, Delightful Ringo 2:57
6. Adieu, I Seal My Letter 4:36 To order
- The version for high voice, violin, and piano is recorded on the OASIS CD Love Letters (ORCV4000), available from Brixton Publications CD-109.

    OBOE (1996) for oboe and medium voice by Roger C. Vogel was written for oboist Dwight Manning. It is a humorous setting of Laurence McKinney’s poem Oboe. The comical effect of the music and text is enhanced by theatrical gestures by the performers. These are suggested in the score at the appropriate time. For example, before the music commences, the performers are given the following direction: "Enter with great dignity. The oboist should try several reeds before choosing one while the singer becomes somewhat impatient." From that point on there is an amusing tension created between the performers with directions such as (to the singer), "glare at oboist." Or (to the oboist), "Lip down as much as possible, shrug shoulders and begin next phrase." This entertaining composition is a hit with all types of audiences. It is certainly a piece that should be in the repertoire of every oboist. The vocal range is from D below the treble staff, to Gb above the staff. (The Gb is used only one time.) (5’30”)  Grade IV-V. B910  $6.95  To order
Oboe Sound Samples: Excerpt 1.mp3 (1MB); Excerpt 2.mp3 (1.1MB)

   WHERE NOW RUSTS THE IRON? (1994) by Howard J. Buss is a dramatic tribute to the composer’s grandfather who, like many ironworkers in his day, worked under brutal conditions with the dream of making life better for future generations. “A moving work touching our communal soul.” (8’) Grade IV- V. 
- Version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and piano  B346  $12.50  To order
Where Now Rusts the Iron? samples:
Score sample 1.pdf (2 pages, 204KB); Score sample 2.pdf (3 pages, 340KB)
Text:
“Where Now Rusts the Iron?”
Homes now stand where once the foundry coughed.
Countless tons of iron -
wheels and pans,
boilers and pipes,
latches and plates.
Countless train loads of hardware
shrieked from the pounding, grimy world within.

Iron converted from life itself,
energy given form.
Precious moments, days, and years
poured into molds and sealed
amid the ashes and dust,
always ashes and dust,
suspended in life-stealing air.

The graves of the workers overlook this place,
their fam’lies spread afar.
Season come and go, yet frozen in mem’ry
are the days of youth spent in toil, hope, and purpose.
Where now rusts the iron once cast by pounding hearts,
releasing the dreams, the souls,
invested in tough, cold metal?

The foundry still stands among the houses,
coughing on smoke-laden air.
Invisible as the iron once made,
its souls as mist remains. - Howard J. Buss
Copyright © 1994 by Brixton Publications

   THE DISTANCES THEY KEEP (2001) for two high voices (sopranos or tenors), flute, and piano by Roger Vogel is a beautiful, lyrical work about man’s relationship to nature, and wild birds specifically. It is based upon an enchanting poem of the same name by Howard Nemerov. Recorded on the OASIS CD Love Letters (ORCV4000), available from Brixton Publications CD-109. The vocal ranges required are d below the staff to A above the staff, and Db below the staff to A above the staff respectively. (12’30”) Grade V.  B920  $22.00 Questions? To order
The Distances They Keep Sound Sample: Excerpt.mp3 (1.2MB)

   EINE KLEINE SNAILMUSIK for high voice (soprano or tenor), trumpet, cello, and piano by Roger C. Vogel is a humorous setting of May Sarton’s poem of the same name. Theatrical gestures are used in this lighthearted and playful work. In the preface to the score thecomposer writes, "The humor in this work will be greatly enhanced by setting a lighthearted mood before beginning the work and by appropriate gestures throughout." The vocal range is from d below the treble staff to Ab above the staff. (8’) Grade V. B912 $18.50 To order
Eine Kleine Snailmusik Sound Sample: Excerpt.mp3 (1MB)

   IN DARKNESS (1989) for high voice (soprano or tenor), alto saxophone, and piano by Roger C. Vogel. In Sophocle’s tragedy Oidipous Tyrannos the protagonist was separated from his parents at birth. He unwittingly fulfilled a prophesy by killing his father in a quarrel and then marrying his mother when he became king of Thebes. In Darkness is a narrative of the events that took place after the incestuous marriage became known.The text for this musical work was translated and adapted by Timothy Gantz. Although the melodic and harmonic language of this composition is modern, it incorporates some of the flavor of the ancient Grecian melody by deriving important motivic material from the ancient Dorian scale as it was sung in the chromatic genus. Recorded on the OASIS CD Love Letters (ORCV4000), available from Brixton Publications CD-109. This powerful and engaging composition makes a memorable concert feature. (16’30”)  Grade V.  B902  $18.50  To order
In Darkness Sound Sample: Excerpt.mp3 (971KB)

   LAND OF THE FARTHER SUNS (1992) by David Alpher. The text in this significant concert piece is from the poetry of Stephen Crane. The work is constructed in the manner of a song cycle, only with narration rather than singing. The music is modern, yet accessible, and contains sections in a jazzy vein. Finalist in the 1996 Newly-Published Music Competition of the National Flute Association. Recorded by Flute Force with Garrison Keillor on the Innova CD “Eyewitness”, available from Brixton Publications, click on CDs)  (20’) Grade V.   version for narrator, four flutes (flute/piccolo, flute, flute/alto flute, and flute/bass flute), and piano  B107 $34.00 To order
Land of the Farther Suns (Ensemble Version) Sound Samples: Excerpt 1 (the opening).mp3 (1.1MB);
Excerpt 2.mp3 (1.1MB); Excerpt 3.mp3 (1.1MB)

New! LOVE LETTERS (2002) by Roger C. Vogel is an entertaining and memorable song cycle based on texts selected to represent the many different aspects of the universal emotion of love: from longing, exuberance, excitement, and playfulness to sorrow and despair. The individual songs may be performed individually. The work is published in two versions, each with a different instrumentation and number of songs.
Version for high voice (soprano or tenor), violin, and piano (45’) Grade IV-V. B925 $48.50:
1. Your Letter Moved Me 2:29
2. I Lie Awake 3:52
3. Dear Miss West Forty-seventh Street 1:49
4. My Dearest Nell (voice and piano) 7:45
5. The French Ladies 3:39
6. My Darling Dear, Delightful Ringo 2:57
7. Have You Heard That I Love You (voice and violin) 3:07
8. Alas! I have Suffered Your Scorn! 11:36
9. Everything Measurable Passes 1:45
10. Interlude (violin and piano) 2:59
11. Adieu, I Seal My Letter 4:36 To order
Version for high voice (soprano or tenor) and piano (23’) Grade IV-V. B926 $22.00:
1. Your Letter Moved Me 2:29
2. I Lie Awake 3:52
3. Dear Miss West Forty-seventh Street 1:49
4. My Dearest Nell (voice and piano) 7:45
5. My Darling Dear, Delightful Ringo 2:57
6. Adieu, I Seal My Letter 4:36 To order
The version for high voice, violin, and piano is recorded on the OASIS CD Love Letters (ORCV4000), available from Brixton Publications CD-109.

   MODERN TIMES (1995) for narrator, flute, and four percussion (words and music by Howard J. Buss) is a powerful and dramatic depiction of life in our time. Provocative, at times mystical, and occasionally humorous, this work addresses an eclectic range of subjects such as taxes, neglected children, team mascots, and the information glut.
   “The tenor of Buss’ social commentary is somewhere between the witty jeering of Mark Twain and the pithy    insights of Sinclair Lewis. In his free verse one finds provocation without violence and intense anger    without profanity.” - The Tampa Tribune.
   The sophisticated music of MODERN TIMES transports the poetry into the dramatic and colorful sound world of the flute and percussion ensemble. The result is a unique and fresh view of the culture(s) in which we live.
   “The writing is mature and fresh, yet is within reach of a solid college ensemble.” - George Frock,    Percussive Notes Magazine
   “This work is well-paced, colorful and accessible to audiences not familiar with complex percussion    literature.This is truly one of the finest works in our idiom.” Robert McCormick, Florida Percussive News
The 8 movements of MODERN TIMES may be performed individually or in smaller groupings depending upon time limitations.
I. Info Glut (3:34) Sound Sample (996K)
II. Night Tide (2:49) Sound Sample (804K)
III. The Hunt (4:14) Sound Sample (872K)
IV. Five Question Interlude (3:01) Sound Sample (1MB)
V. The Asphalt Blanket (3:11) Sound Sample (1.1MB)
VI. To a Neglected Child (5:25) Sound Sample (1.1MB)
VII. Giggles!?! (1:57) Sound Sample (976K)
VIII. Modern Times (5:26) Sound Sample#1 (1000K) Sound Sample#2 (812K)
Percussion distribution: Percussion 1: Xylophone, lion roar, tam-tam, vibraslap, 2 suspended cymbals, Chinese bell tree, and bongos; Percussion 2: Marimba, snare drum, bass drum, 2 anvils (metal pipes may be substituted), glass jug or jars (to be broken for the sonic effect), conga drum, wind chimes, and triangle; Percussion 3: Vibraphone, roto toms, tambourine, tam-tam, police whistle, shaker, duck call; Percussion 4: Orchestra bells, timpani (4), agogo bells, 2 suspended cymbals, hi-hat, wind chimes, wood block, frog croak (may be imitated vocally), boing box effect (a flexitone may be substituted), triangle and guiro.This piece is a “must!” (30’)  Grade V.  B348  $48.50   Questions? To order   Recorded on the Capstone Records CD HOWARD J. BUSS:MODERN TIMES available from Brixton.

   THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER (1989) For narrator, flute, viola, and piano by David Alpher. Based upon Lewis Carroll’s well-known poem from Through the Looking Glass (1871) this entertaining composition transforms the familiar words from their Victorian and child-like context to a very different sound world primarily influenced by jazz. Finalist in the 1996 Newly-Published Music Competition of the National Flute Association.  (15’)  Grade V. B105  $28.50 To order
The Walrus and the Carpenter Sound Samples:
Excerpt 1.mp3 (993KB); Excerpt 2.mp3 (1MB); Excerpt 3.mp3 (858KB)

   WHERE NOW RUSTS THE IRON? (1994) by Howard J. Buss is a dramatic tribute to the composer’s grandfather who, like many ironworkers in his day, worked under brutal conditions with the dream of making life better for future generations. “A moving work touching our communal soul.” (8’) Grade IV-V. 
Version for high voice (soprano or tenor) & piano B346 $12.50  To order
Where Now Rusts the Iron? for voice and piano samples:
Score sample 1.pdf (2 pages, 204KB); Score sample 2.pdf (3 pages, 340KB)
Version for high voice (soprano or tenor), flute, cello, and six percussion B346E  $42.50  To order
Percussion distribution: Percussion 1: Timpani (4), orchestra bells, tubular bells (shared with perc. 2), and finger cymbals; Percussion 2: two anvils (metal pipes may be substituted), and tubular bells (shared with perc. 1: Percussion 3: Xylophone, and suspended cymbal; Percussion 4: Vibraphone and suspended cymbal; Percussion 5: marimba; Percussion 6: two suspended cymbals, tam-tam, wind chimes, and bell tree.
Percussion Set-up Chart .pdf file (will open with Acrobat Reader)
Text:
“Where Now Rusts the Iron?”
Homes now stand where once the foundry coughed.
Countless tons of iron -
wheels and pans,
boilers and pipes,
latches and plates.
Countless train loads of hardware
shrieked from the pounding, grimy world within.

Iron converted from life itself,
energy given form.
Precious moments, days, and years
poured into molds and sealed
amid the ashes and dust,
always ashes and dust,
suspended in life-stealing air.

The graves of the workers overlook this place,
their fam’lies spread afar.
Season come and go, yet frozen in mem’ry
are the days of youth spent in toil, hope, and purpose.
Where now rusts the iron once cast by pounding hearts,
releasing the dreams, the souls,
invested in tough, cold metal?

The foundry still stands among the houses,
coughing on smoke-laden air.
Invisible as the iron once made,
its souls as mist remains. - Howard J. Buss
Copyright © 1994 by Brixton Publications

Vocal CDs

New! LOVE LETTERS - This wonderful CD features three exquisite compositions by Roger C. Vogel: Love Letters for high voice, violin and piano; The Distances They Keep for 2 high voices, flute, and piano; and In Darkness for high voice, alto sax, and piano. All works are published by Brixton Publications.
Love Letters
1. Your Letter Moved Me 2:29
2. I Lie Awake 3:52
3. Dear Miss West Forty-seventh Street 1:49
4. My Dearest Nell (voice and piano) 7:45
5. The French Ladies 3:39
6. My Darling Dear, Delightful Ringo 2:57
7. Have You Heard That I Love You (voice and violin) 3:07
8. Alas! I have Suffered Your Scorn! 11:36
9. Everything Measurable Passes 1:45
10. Interlude (violin and piano) 2:59
11. Adieu, I Seal My Letter 4:36
Ellen Ritchey, soprano; Gregory Broughton, tenor; Levon Ambartsumian, violin; and Anatoly Sheludyakov, piano.
The Distances They Keep 13:13
Ellen Ritchey, Stephanie Pierce, sopranos, Lisa Bartholow, flute; and Andre Lash, piano.
In Darkness 17:30
Ellen Ritchey, soprano; Kenneth Fischer, alto sax; Anatoly Sheludyakov, piano.
Total playing time 77:20. Brixton CD-109 Our special price: $13.95 (Compare at $16.95) To order

New! Capstone Records CD HOWARD J. BUSS: MODERN TIMES
Music for flute, percussion, and narrator
“Outstanding, brilliant...These works demonstrate that Buss is one of our more outstanding composers for percussion. The performances are of the highest quality.” - George Frock, Percussive Notes Magazine, October 2004. In its April 2005 issue, The Gramophone, a leading audiophile magazine based in England, selected the CD Howard J. Buss: Modern Times to be included among “The best new recordings from North America.”
“Composer Howard J. Buss has won a number of awards, and this varied survey offers a worthy overview of his music.” - The Gramophone, April 2005. And specifically about Scenes from the Holy Land:
“The opening section, ‘Masada’ presents angular solos against percussion accents, with ascending legato passages for the flute. The music turns more florid and Middle-Eastern in style before a peaceful coda. ‘Storm on Mount Sinai’ offers sharply rhythmic music accented with tambourine and a more febrile bazaar-like flute writing. ‘The Flock by the Sea of Galilee’ contains an oddly memorable five-note percussion motif under a lovely bucolic flute theme. ‘The Road to Jerusalem’ makes a haunting finale with elaborate passages against pulsating percussion. Scenes from the Holy Land is an effective and colorful work with deftly varied music and tackled by the musicians with skill and understated virtuosity Buss’ intimate style requires. It makes its effects with point and economy and would be a boon to flute and percussion duos searching for program material.” - The Gramophone, April 2005
Overture for Percussion for 4 percussion (6:00) Howard J. Buss
Scenes from the Holy Land for flute and percussion (15:30) Howard J. Buss
I. Masada (3:50)
II. Storm on Mount Sinai (3:06)
III. The Flock By the Sea of Galilee (2:24)
IV. Jordan Valley Enchantment (2:29)
V. The Road to Jerusalem (4:26)
Currents for four percussion (14:34) Howard J. Buss
Modern Times for narrator, flute and four percussion (29:30) Howard J. Buss
I. Info Glut (3:34) Sound Sample (996K)
II. Night Tide (2:49) Sound Sample (804K)
III. The Hunt (4:14) Sound Sample (872K)
IV. Five Question Interlude (3:01) Sound Sample (1MB)
V. The Asphalt Blanket (3:11) Sound Sample (1.1MB)
VI. To a Neglected Child (5:25) Sound Sample (1.1MB)
VII. Giggles!?! (1:57) Sound Sample (976K)
VIII. Modern Times (5:26) Sound Sample#1 (1000K) Sound Sample#2 (812K)

Total Playing Time: (66:45) Brixton CD-107 Our special price: $13.95 (Compare at $16.95) To order
All works published by Brixton Publications (ASCAP) - www.brixtonpublications.com/
Performers: Overture for Percussion: T. Hampton Dohrman, Emory Blake, Grant M. Beiner, Lee W. Hinkle and Robert McCormick, conductor. Scenes from the Holy Land: The McCormick Duo - Kim S. McCormick, flute; Robert McCormick, percussion. Performers for Currents: T. Hampton Dohrman, Emory Blake, Grant M. Beiner, Robert McCormick. Modern Times: Jerald Reynolds, narrator; Kim McCormick, flute; percussion: Greg Graves, Cara Ready, Brad Sharo, Ryan Thomas. Overture, Scenes and Currents recorded at the Springs Theatre, Tampa FL. Modern Times recorded at the Music Recital Hall at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Engineer John Stephan of the Springs Theatre (www.springstheatre.com). Cover art by Judy E. Buss

   EYE WITNESS Innova Records CD -featuring Flute Force, Garrison Keillor, and the Meridian String Quartet performing Land of the Farther Suns for narrator, flute quartet and piano by David Alpher, Elizabeth Brown's Travelogue for flute quartet, Robert Dick's Eyewitness for flute quartet, Gary Schocker's Nymphs for flute quartet, and Eric Stokes' Tantamounts for flute quartet and string quartet. CD-104  Our special price: $13.95 (Compare at $16.95) To order

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