Aspen Grove Music


Secular Chorals




Our Secular Chorals are listed below.


They have a wide range of applications, from openers to closers to choral song cycles, using contemporary harmonies and vibrant rhythms.


To see a score sample of any title, tap on its Score Sample link. Samples can be downloaded and printed.


An * denotes a Print On Demand Title.





Invocation to Youth*



#2015 (Mixed Chorus A cappella, opt. Tambourine) $2.25


Score Sample


Commissioned for the 10th Anniversary of the Lebanon Valley College Chamber Choir. Written as a concert opener, this contemporary piece begins with a unison chant that quickly moves into a part song texture. The optional tambourine adds a festive and antique air to the bridge. Lush, close harmony.



The Music We Made



#2012 (Mixed Chorus and Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


The Music We Made, by Kathy Keatinge, is a gentle waltz, looking back on great times, and the great music we made. The text, with such phrases as, “the melody, the harmony, the rhythm and the rhyme, transcend the measure of time,” will evoke strong feelings in your singers, and everyone in your audience who has ever been part of a musical group. Excellent word painting throughout. Great as a concert closer and perfect for a choral camp or graduation.



Scarborough Fair*



#2014 (Choir, Mixed Chorus and Soloist, A cappella) $2.25


Score Sample


Scarborough Fair is a creative turning inside-out of this well-known folk song. Carrying the subtitle Decomposed and Canonized, it is arranged in Avant Garde style, utilizing aleatory and whispering as well as traditional singing in canons to great effect. An easy and effective introduction to the Avant Garde style.



A Child's Garden



A Child’s Garden is a six movement choral song cycle for SATB and Piano. Lyrically, it is based upon texts by Robert Louis Stevenson from his masterwork, A Child’s Garden of Verses. There is excellent word painting throughout. It is appropriate for your most important concerts. Published as separate octavos, the six movements of A Child’s Garden are listed below.



My Shadow



#2006 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


A touch of close jazz harmony in 6/8 time, this is a joyous setting of the text which begins, “I have a little shadow, that goes in and out with me.” Vibrant and alive, the rhythms push and pull at the text, with excellent word painting throughout.



The Land of Counterpane



#2007 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


Toy soldiers march across the bedspread in this happy song: “I was the giant great and still, That sits upon the pillow hill, And sees before him, dale and plain, The pleasant land of counterpane.” Delightful use of chromatic harmony.



The Wind



#2008 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


A cappella and accompanied sections alternate in this rhythmically and harmonically complex song. It suggests in music what one feels in the blustery wind. The rhythms suggest the ebb and flow of the wind as it gusts. The mild use of polytonality in the piano accompaniment suggests the whirl and swirl of the wind.



The Swing



#2009 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


In a vigorous 6/8, the exuberent question is asked, “How do you like to go up in a swing?” Wonderful use of jazz harmony and contrary motion in the bridge. Fun, vibrant . . . and a little bit breath-taking.



Picture-Books in Winter



#2010 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


Quiet and still as winter, yet warm as a cozy fireplace. With a verse that comes from the era when picture-books were water-colored by hand. A lovely ballad that is easy to perform.



Goodbye, Goodbye to Everything



#2011 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


Chromatic harmony and modality are defining features of this song. With a lively tempo, suggesting a carriage with a team of horses in a brisk canter, a joyful farewell to “house and garden, field and lawn,” and the work as a whole.



Songs of Innocence



Songs of Innocence is our first, and most successful choral suite. Published in 1987, it has been acclaimed wherever it has been performed. The music is rhythmic and fun, and strikingly sets the classic texts by William Blake. This is a piece for your most significant performances. Published as separate octavos, the five movements of Songs of Innocence are listed immediately below.



The Piper



#2001 (Mixed Chorus & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


With a text that begins, “Piping down the valleys wild, piping songs of pleasant glee,” The Piper is a vibrant work. In 6/8 time with an occasional 3/4 thrown in for a hemiola effect, it is rhythmic and dynamic. A fitting introduction to Songs of Innocence.



The Shepherd



#2002 (SATB & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


The Shepherd is our all-time, best selling choral. The text, of the joys of the shepherd, contains a deeper, allegorical meaning. The melody, built upon a graceful arc, is easy, and a delight to perform. A must for every choral library.



The Chimney Sweeper



#2003 (Mixed Chorus & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


With a text that begins, “when my mother died, I was very young, and my father sold me while yet my tongue could scarcely cry ’weep, ’weep, ’weep, ’weep ’weep, so your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep,” The Chimney Sweeper is an elegant and moving song. One of our most successful chorals.



Nurse’s Song



#2004 (Mixed Chorus & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


The text of this song illuminates its pastoral feel: “When the voices of children are heard on the green and laughing is heard on the hill, My heart is at rest within my breast And everything else is still.” A reviewer wrote of Nurse’s Song, “Unison sections alternate with five-part divisions in close harmony, often adding major sevenths and ninths to give the music a beautiful impressionistic flavor.”



Night



#2005 (SATB Chorus & Piano) $2.25


Score Sample


Night is a fitting close to Songs of Innocence. In close parallel harmony, the music paints a vivid picture of the text: “The sun descending in the west, the evening star does shine. The birds are silent in their nest, and I must seek for mine.” A cappella and accompanied sections alternate. Beautiful and warm.



Aspen Grove Music