Orchestral Release of Mary’s Gift

Feb 14, 2020 | Blog, Christopher J Music, Sheet Music

Hey guys. It’s Chris.

It’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been kind of busy running my full time, non-music, day-job business. I was also busy this past year doing something new: Composing and arranging a piece for full orchestra:  The orchestral release of Mary’s Gift Symphony

The project kicked off over a year ago.

I Decided to write a piece for full orchestra inspired by my song Mary’s Gift, which is a song about the miracle of the first Christmas.

I sketched out the structure and wrote the initial harmonic arrangement on the plane while flying to Europe and back and fleshed it out over several months afterwards.

Mary’s Gift begins with a timpani roll and cymbal crash symbolic of the arrival and appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary. But after this angelic entrance heralded by the timpani, the violins come in pianississimo and crescendo followed by a solo flute as Gabriel speaks gently to the virgin Mary.

Then the entire violin section plays and begins telling the story of the Holy Family and the Nativity. As the music continues the telling of the story rotates among each section of the orchestra.

Live Performance

To my delight and honor, Mary’s Gift was played live this past December by the Evergreen Community Orchestra!

Since then, I have been able to publish the conductor’s score and instrument parts with Sheet Music Plus. So….If you are interested in having an orchestra that you are involved with play Mary’s Gift, you may purchase the complete package over there at Sheet Music Plus. There is an MP3 plus a video of the music playing as it scrolls through the score.

Next, I will play for you a synthesized version of Mary’s Gift for orchestra. You can also catch this on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital music distributors.

Links to all of these places are in the show notes below.

Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you next time!

Show Note Links:

Sheet Music Plus: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/mary-s-gift-for-symphony-orchestra-full-score-and-parts-digital-sheet-music/21670018

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4sRa17dh7Zzq522rUUECmd?si=YWaiEhBITHGzL-vQEczO7g

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/marys-gift-symphony-single/1497937578

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Notating Scores and How to Download Sheet Music

Nov 18, 2018 | Blog, Christopher J Music, Sheet Music

I mentioned this a while ago that I decided, as they say, “to diversify”….. into providing sheet music.  I have been making notating scores, individual instrument parts and/or lead sheets and chord charts available for sale on my web site.  So, as of today, I have posted sheet music for the following compositions:

  • Trailer Park Santa
  • Hallelujah Chorus
  • All Things New
  • Mary’s Gift
  • Angeline the Baker
  • Bluesy Bach Opus 1

I hope to continue notating scores and I will be getting the rest of the Bluesy Bach pieces notated, hopefully sooner rather than later.

You can find them on the Sheet Music page.

Here is a preview of “Angeline the Baker”.  I found this tune in a book called “The Fiddler’s Fakebook” left over from my aborted attempt at learning to play the violin/fiddle. I never got rid of the book because I love a lot of the music in there and find it enjoyable to play on the guitar.

My recording of “Angeline the Baker” is an arrangement I created of an old time fiddle tune based on a song called “Angelina Baker” written by Stephen Foster for the Christy Minstrels, and published in 1850. The original laments the loss of a woman slave, sent away by her owner. The melody of the fiddle tune, Angeline the Baker differs from the Stephen Foster version.

In my arrangement and instrumentation in this recording I spiced it up and added a bit of country flavor! See my music page to buy a copy of Angeline the Baker.

Like this post?  Then check out Mozart!

Notating Scores - Angeline the Baker Sheet Music

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Bluesy Bach Opus 1 Full Score

Oct 24, 2018 | Blog, Christopher J Music, Sheet Music

As time allows I have been transcribing into notation some of my music and making that available on this site.  The full score for Opus 1 in my Bluesy Bach series of recordings, Bluesy Bach – Opus 1 (Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring), is now available for purchase.  This piece is scored for four electric guitars, violin 1, violin 2, viola and cello, contrabass, electric bass 1, electric bass 2, timpani and two drum kits.  The drum kit parts are only an approximation as notating drum parts is exceedingly difficult, at least for me!

This was my first venture into rearranging Bach to take on a blues groove and was with his, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. Per Wikipedia, it “is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from the 10th and last movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 (“Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life”), composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1716 and 1723.”

Bach scored this piece for choir, trumpet, violin, optionally oboe, viola, and basso continuo.  As I said, my arrangement is scored for scored for four electric guitars, violin 1, violin 2, viola and cello, contrabass, electric bass 1, electric bass 2, timpani and two drum kits.  The guitar plays the violin 1 melody and the double bass plays the choir lines.  A preview of the score and the full score are available for purchase in the sheet music store.

Bluesy Back Opus 1 Cover Art

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