ME = Moderately Easy
M = Medium
MD = Moderately Difficult
D = Difficult
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (Howard Thurman)
SATB a cappella - SEA-062-00 - $2.00/copySSAA a cappella - SEA-062-04 - $2.00/copy
TTBB a cappella (arr. Willi Zwozdesky, with Elizabeth Alexander) - SEA-062-02 - $2.00/copy
3 minutes - M
SATB, flute - SEA-062-05 (Replaces SEA-062-01) - $2.50/copy
4 minutes - M (Note: This version includes short choral introduction not included in a cappella versions.)
Flute Part (pdf download)
One of Creator Magazine's Annual "Honored 10" Choral Pieces "Here's a lovely, homophonic anthem...and what a text! Very well done." - Creator Magazine "Woo hoo! Well done. I love the new ending -- just the ecstatic and hopeful feeling I was hoping for. Thank you." - Jonathan Miller, Artistic Director, Chicago A Cappella (Chicago, IL) "Thank you for this beautiful piece. The choir loves it and it makes me cry." - Beth Norton, Director of Music, First Parish in Concord (Concord, MA) "I want you to know that When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled was my "WOW" moment for this Christmas season. What a beautiful poem by Howard Thurman and what a wonderful piece of music... and fantastically performed by Chicago A Cappella!!! Thank you for your Christmas gift!" - Linda McConnell, Audience Member (Geneva, IL)
A poetic and energetic setting of Howard Thurman's famous poem about the true "work of Christmas," informed by the rhythmic vitality of gospel and the harmonic immediacy of African vocal music. Its timeless words of religious and social justice make this piece appropriate not only during Advent, but continuing through Epiphany.
Well on its way to becoming a holiday concert standard, this song lends itself quite naturally to different interpretations regarding tempo, tone quality, and dynamic nuances. (The recorded excerpts below offer some interesting examples of this.)
View the score (excerpt):When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SATB) - score
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SATB, flute) - score
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (TTBB) - score
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SSAA) - score
Listen to a recording (excerpt):
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SATB) - recording
(Concordia University Choir; David Mennicke, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SSAA) - recording
(Vox Femina Los Angeles; Concordia University Choir; Iris Levine, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (TTBB) - recording
(San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus; Kathleen McGuire, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SATB) - recording
(Concordia University Choir; David Mennicke, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (SSAA) - recording
(Vox Femina Los Angeles; Concordia University Choir; Iris Levine, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (TTBB) - recording
(San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus; Kathleen McGuire, conductor)
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
From The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations by Howard Thurman.
Friends United Press, 2001 edition. Used by permission.
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled - SATB a cappella SATB with flute accompaniment TTBB a cappella SSAA a cappella
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled - SATB with flute accompaniment SATB a cappella TTBB a cappella SSAA a cappella
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled - TTBB a cappella SATB a cappella SATB with flute accompaniment SSAA a cappella
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled - SSAA a cappella SATB a cappella SATB with flute accompaniment TTBB a cappella
Scorch was designed by the folks who built Sibelius notation software, as a simple way to allow Sibelius scores to become webpages. Despite its slightly ominous name, Scorch is free, is not excessively large (approx. 1 MB), and does not do anything demonic like put you on a mailing list or affect other computer programs. - E.A.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.
If you can't see the score after the file finishes loading, click here to download the Scorch plug-in.