Edgar Colón-Hernández

MP3s & PDFs of Sample Scores

 

(THIS SECTION IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION) (Firefox Users: Please refer to the "Samples" page under "More")

 

This section contains MP3 files of several of my compositions and arrangements.  With the exception of ¡Alegría!, all the mp3s are computerized renditions.  Some of these pieces have not been performed, and while most of the others have received performances, I have not been able to obtain recordings from the choruses involved.

 

Each MP3 is followed by a PDF of its sample score.  For obvious reasons, these files contain only several pages, including the first and last pages - and in some cases, several pages from the middle section.  By clicking on the pdf icon you can follow the score as you listen to the MP3.  Wherever there are gaps in the sample score, I indicate at which point you may continue following the score.

 

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¡Alegría! - Traditional Puertorican Carol

I chose to start with this sample because this is a carol that holds a very special place in my heart.  In fact, after the usual nursery rhymes, this was the first song I learned all the words to as a very young child.  The arrangement is also quite special for me as it was premiered at Carnegie Hall by the New York City Gay Men's Chorus on the occasion of the first concert of their 25th Anniversary Season, under the baton of Artistic Director Jeffrey Maynard.

 

A note to Music Directors: Yes, it is all in Spanish.  While you might think that there are too many words in a "foreign" language for your chorus to learn, I should point out that each section is responsible for the lyrics of only two out of the four verses.

 

The score, published by Yelton Rhodes, is for chorus and piano.  The MP3 below is of a performance with chamber orchestra.  The orchestra parts are available upon request from Edgar.

 

MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available as SSAA; or SATB

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Gloria, Alleluia!: Passacaglia on a Theme of J.S. Bach (2014)

This piece is based on the main theme of one of Bach's most famous works for organ, the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582. In writing this choral work I've taken Bach's theme and created my own passacaglia consisting of 12 episodes, several of which are based on some of the variations from the Passacaglia section of Bach's work.  At first glance a few of those episodes might appear to be merely transcriptions and revoicings of some of Bach's original variations, but these episodes employ only his rhythmic architecture, while most of the melodic contours are different to varying degrees. Some other episodes - still using Bach's theme - are entirely of my own creation. The last episode is closely based on the final variation from the Fugue section of Bach's original work.

 

If the chorus director wishes to avoid any liturgical references, the text may be omitted and replaced by syllables such as "doo" or "dah, and the piece may be programmed by its subtitle, Passacaglia on a Theme of J.S. Bach.

 

This is by no means an easy piece, and its performing length clocks at about 6 minutes.  For this reason, I have specified at the end of the score that "If this length is problematic, or if any particular episode proves to be too difficult, the music director may pick one to three episodes to be left out."  However, I believe that the complexity of the score will prove rewarding to choral singers and audiences alike.  I further believe this would be an excellent and unusual piece for a choral festival, Christmas concert or any performance of a celebratory nature.

 

MP3 & PDF: SAATB (version B, with select SSAA and TTBB sections) - Also available as SAATB (version A); SSAAA; or TTTBB.

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Variants on Old American Carols (2012-13) - Traditional Texts

This work consists of three movements, each one dealing with carols found in The Southern Harmony (first published in 1835) and The Sacred Harp (originally published in 1844).  Each movement takes the original material through variants of texture and harmony.

 

If so desired, any of the movements may be performed individually.  If performed as a set, the following order is suggested:

          Star in the East

         Babe of Bethlehem

         Watchman! Tell Us of the Night!

 

When the whole set is performed by a large enough mixed chorus, for added interest the first movement may be performed by the men alone and the second by the women, ending with the entire chorus singing the third movement (as in the samples below).

 

Star in the East - MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available as SATB; or SSAA

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Babe of Bethlehem - MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available as SATB; or TTBB

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Watchman! Tell Us of the Night - MP3 & PDF: SATB - Also available as SSAA; or TTBB

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The Solstice Heart (2014)

This work marks my first collaboration with composer, lyricist and pianist James E. Horan, who provided the evocative, sometimes erotic, wonderful lyrics for this piece.  It is truly great to work with such an intuitive and congenial collaborator as my dear friend Jimmy.

 

MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available as SATB; or TTBB

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The Star-Spangled Banner

This arrangement of the American National Anthem was commissioned by the New York City Gay Men's Chorus under the direction of Dr. Charles Beale.  Although NYCGMC has performed this arrangement twice in concert, unfortunately neither performance was recorded.

 

MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available as SATB; or SSAA

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Christ is Now Born (2014), extract from Nowel (1993/rev. 2009) - Traditional 14th Century Text

This piece is derived from the central portion of a larger work, Nowell, which I was commissioned to compose by the Cincinnati Men's Chorus.  The original work is scored for brass, percussion, and optional handbell choir.  In recreating Christ Is Now Born as its own piece, I dropped the brass and percussion and retained the handbell choir.  However, as it requires a rather large handbell choir, I recomposed the accompaniment and wrote it for a harp (which may be substituted by a piano or a celesta).  The MP3 and PDF included here correspond to the chorus and harp version.  The version with handbells is still available.

 

MP3 & PDF: TTBB & Harp - Also available for SATB & Harp; or SSAA and Harp -

     (Handbell accompaniment is available for all three voicings.)

 

 

 

 

 

Alleluia: Cantate Domino canticum novum (Jacob "Gallus" Händl/ arr. E. Colón-Hernández)

Aside from Christmas and other festive occasions, this splendid antiphonal piece is well suited for joint concerts of three or more choruses.  In addition to the versions for either men's or women's voices, the piece is also available for performances combining women's chorus, men's chorus and mixed chorus.

 

Available for Three Antiphonal Women's Choruses; or Three Antiphonal Men's Choruses; or

MP3 & PDF: Antiphonal Women's Chorus, Men's Chorus & Mixed Chorus

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Four Villancicos from Puerto Rico - Traditional Puertorican Carols

Here are three other tuneful and spirited villancicos I used to sing as a child.

 

En el portal de Belén ("In Bethlehem's Manger) - Traditional Puertorican Carol

The ox and the donkey attend to Mary, Joseph and the Child, while a tiny spider watches, hanging from the cobwebs on the stable's rafters.

 

MP3 & PDF: SATB - Also available for SSAA; or TTBB

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Arbolito ("Little Christmas Tree") - Traditional Puertorican Carol

On a serene Christmas Eve night, two siblings go to the forest in search of a beautiful tree to adorn as an offering to the new born Child.

 

MP# & PDF: TTBB - Also available for SATB; or SSAA

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Tres Estrellitas ("Three Little Stars") - Traditional Puertorican Carol

In this lilting villancico, usually sung during the Feast of the Epiphany, the Magi descend from Heaven in the guise of three little stars to the bless the Holy Child and offer him their protection, as at the same time they announce his birth.  This is another favorite of mine as it was the first piece I learned in children's choir as a boy-soprano eons ago.

 

MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available for SSAA

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MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available for SSAA

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¡Venid Pastores, a Belén! ("Come Shepherds, to Bethlehem!") - Traditional Puertorican Carol

When I called this section "Four Villancicos from Puerto Rico" I really should have called it "Five Villancicos from Puerto Rico."  This arrangement combines two separate carols: ¡Venid, Pastores! and Pastores a Belén.  In both carols the shepherds are exhorted to go to the manger in Bethlehem where a Child has been born.

 

MP3 & PDF: SSAA -m Also available for SATB; or TTBB

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Aria, from Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 (Heitor Villa-Lobos / arr. E. Colón-Hernández)

And now, something completely different.  Villa-Lobos composed the wonderful Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 in 1938 and revised it in 1945.  The work calls for soprano solo and eight cellos, and the "Aria" is the composer's best-known and most popular work. 

 

Ever since I first heard it, I thought that it would make for a great piece for men's chorus, given that the register of the cello basically encompasses the male vocal range from tenor to bass.  I devised this arrangement interchanging a few notes here and there in the accompanimental figures to make some of the intervals easier and "more logical" for a singer to perform, and reducing the texture from eight cellos to 4 male voice parts (with divisi at various points).  I also added two optional cellos, of which the lower cello holds the most importance.

 

This is a somewhat challenging piece that - with the right singers under the right conductor - would be an ideal highlight for a concert with a guest soprano.  It would also make for a great entry in a choral festival.

 

MP3 & PDF: Soprano solo, TTBB & 2 Optional Cellos

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A la ru - Traditional Hispanic Carol

The country of origin for this carol is uncertain.  However, it is most certain that, if you want a beautiful hushed a cappella moment in your program, this gentle carol will definitely provide that.  A few years ago I came across a review of a concert of lullabies performed by the excellent women's ensemble from Denver, Safonia.  Speaking of the lullabies in the program, the reviewer referred to a "more modern interpretation by Edgar Colón-Hernández."  I would hardly refer o this piee as modern, but I guess he was probably thinking of the lilting quasi-minimalist "a la ru, a  la me" refrains that I incorporated between each verse and as a coda. 

 

The first verse is in Spanish and the next two are in English.  This piece is published by Yelton Rhodes Music.

 

MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available SATB; oor TTBB

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No other period in history saw such a resurgence in the arts as did the Renaissance.  In the field  of music, choral music came into its own, as thousands of works were created by Josquin des Pres, Nicolas Gombert, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Johannes Ockeghen, Tomás Luis de Victoria, John Dowland, Heinrich Isaac, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelink, Cristobal de Morales, Thomas Tallis, Guillaume Dufay, William Byrd and Carlo Gesualdo, among the most famous.  These and other composers of their time wrote an incredible treasure trove of choral music.  With scant exceptions, all this music was composed for mixed voices, a boon for SATB choruses around the world; unfortunately, our SSAA and TTBB choruses gain little benefit from this tradition.  With this in mind, I have endeavored to edit and arrange works by Byrd, Jacob (Gallus) Händl, Morales and Victoria.  Here are three such pieces, all of them by one of my favorite composers of that era, Michael Praetorius.  These settings by Praetorius are examples of a type of Renaissance motet called a macaronic carol, in which the text occurs in two different languages. These were not uncommon, and usually included both Latin and a vernacular language. In this case, Praetorius used both Latin and German.  One of these is a freebie - the PDF contains the entire score - for any SSAA or TTBB choruses who wish to avail themselves of a delightful, peppy gem for Christmas, Psallite!

 

Puer natus in Bethlehem - MP3 & PDF: SSSAA - Also available for TTTBB. (Both available from Yelton Rhodes Muisc.)

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In dulci jubilo - MP3 & PDF: TTB - Also available for SSA.

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Psallite! - MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available for TTBB

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Psallite! - MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available for SSAA

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Classic Latin American Love Songs

This small collection started after I wrote my arrangement of Tú y Yo, a danza * by Angel Mislán; while written towards the end of the 19th Century, it is still among the most beautiful love songs written by a Puertorican composer.   A few years after creating this arrangement I came up with the idea of using it as the starting point for this collection.**  These are songs that I remember listening to on the radio and LPs (as performed by singers of the time) while I was still a child in the 1960s, even though the "newest" of them, Perfidia, had been written about three decades earlier.  Until close to the end of the 20th Century, these songs were still considered classics.  I hope the last few recent generations will one day decide to explore the classic songs of their countries of origin or provenance.

 

* For more information on Puertorican danzas please refer to the article in the "MORE" section of this website.

** If anyone can suggest a classic Argentinian love tango from the early to mid-20th century I would be most grateful.

 

Roig, Gonzalo: Quiéreme Mucho - A Cuban Bolero (1911)

MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available for SATB; or TTBB

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Domínguez, Alberto: Perfidia ("Perfidy") - A Mexican Torch Song (1939)

MP3 & PDF: SATB - Also available for SSAA; or TTBB

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 Pérez-Freire, Osmán: ¡Ay, ay, ay! - A Chilean Serenade (c. 1915)

MP3 & PDF: SSAA - Also available for SATB; or TTBB

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Angel Mislán: Tú y Yo ("You and I") - A Puertorican Danza (c. 1886)

This is the latest arrangement of mine to be published by Yelton Rhodes.  A few months ago, in preparation for promoting the publication of Tú y Yo, the staff at Yelton Rhodes Music asked me to jot down a few sentences for their blog about why I chose to write this arrangement.  I'm afraid I went a bit overboard and wrote far many more sentences than they could use.  So, I suppose this is the perfect forum for my mini-essay.

MP3 & PDF: TTBB - Also available for SATB; or SSAA

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MP3 & PDF: SATB - Also available for SSAA; or TTBB

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As Lately We Watched - Austrian Carol  

This beautiful lilting carol from Austria takes the form of a Landler, a folk dance considered the precursor of the Vienesse waltz.  From Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to Mahler and Berg, many Austrian and German composers composed in this style and some even incorporated actual Landlers in their works.  In this spirit, I've  devised a somewhat Haydnesque accompaniment which closely resembles an eighteenth century Landler.

MP3 & PDF: SATB - Also available for SSAA or TTBB

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Mary's Slumber Song  

 

 

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