You’ve heard me mention the Hal Leonard website, ArrangeMe.com. I’ve been looking at my sales over the past 3 years and most of my sales have been my piano arrangements of folk music. These two arrangements are part of an desire to expand my trend into choral music. It’s the first time I’ve ever take advantage of the 6+million tunes Hal Leonard owns the rights to.
I picked these two tunes because their folk flavor, but mainly because Pete Seeger is an important part of the social justice conscience of America and America needs that message more than ever.
Both these tunes are arranged for SAB which makes them suitable for a public school choir. Even though Turn, Turn, Turn is based on Ecclesiastes, it’s still appropriate for a secular context. I’m fortunate that the church where I’m music director (Lakewood UCC) appreciates the spiritual messages reflected in many secular songs. The Lakewood choir has sung both these arrangements in services.
The sheet music for these two arrangements are available at…
Turn, Turn, Turn
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1967706/Product.aspx or
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/turn-turn-turn-to-everything-there-is-a-season-23686290.html
Oh, Had I a Golden Thread
https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1967717/Product.aspx or
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/oh-had-i-a-golden-thread-23686233.html
I’m You can listen to demos of the songs at all those links as well as peruse the scores, entirely free. And if you want to perform them with your choir, you can download them right there!
These folk tunes will resonate with most people, Hilton. I think everyone loves singing the songs their ancestors sang – their history, their simplicity, their honesty about life.