New Music!

American Journey

Mixed Chorus & Full Symphony Orchestra

35', 100 pgs., $12.95 / Rental, SDG 05-101
Six of Berkey's mixed chorus original works and arrangements are expanded with full symphony orchestra in this glorious "Americana" statement of our history and heritage. The collection was prepared for a MidAmerica Productions Carnegie Hall concert in June 2005. The choral parts are neatly grouped in a separate publication available for purchase and can also be performed with only piano accompaniment (included in choral score). Conductor's score and orchestral parts are available on rental or for purchase. Contact Masters Music for complete information. Titles: Sacramento~Sis Joe; Black is the Colour; Tenting Tonight; Silent Tents; Amazing Grace; Hold On!

Atlantic Fantasy

Solo Piano

21', 28 pgs., $12.95, SDG 03-202
Five contrasting movements offer a fantastic solo piano voyage that explores the history, nature, animals, and people of Cape May, New Jersey. The work explores contemporary compositional techniques including pandiatonicism, simultaneity, polytonality, and duo-choromaticism. The edition also offeers a high degree of specificity in pedaling. Titles include: Jeffrey Piper; Gullfriend at the Beach; Shrimp in the Sink; SS Atlantus; Longings

Black is the Colour

Chorus, Electric Piano, Bass, & String Quartet

5', 30 pgs, $5.95
Mixed Chorus SDG 02-100
Treble Chorus SDG 05-301
Unexpected turns of mode and melody characterize this new setting of the familiar Appalachian folk song. Commissioned by the Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester, MN, Rick Kvam, Director.

Benjamin Franklin's 13

Mixed Chorus, Piano, Marimba, Vibraphone, Bass, Percussion

5,30', 32 pgs, $5.95, SDG 05-104
The text chosen for BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S 13 includes, with some exercise of poetic license, the 13 virtues and, as its opening and closing, the famous Franklin quote: "A good Conscience is a continual Christmas." It is my hope that this music setting of Franklin's words will aid in establishing a new dialog between Franklin and the populace of America. In the final edition of Poor Richard's Almanac, which Franklin published for 26 years, he ends with this advice: "Do not depend too much upon your own industry, and frugality and prudence, though excellent things, for they may all be blasted without the blessing of Heaven..."

Cape May Solitudes

Solo Piano

20', 20 pgs., $9.95, SDG 03-203
A collection of five pensive piano pieces dedicated to past friends, pets, and remembrances. titles include; Fire and Snow Jackson Cove Moonrise • Sweet Jaro • Sakura (with optional wind chimes) • The Last Goodbye

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Male Chorus & Harp

4,30', 12 pgs., $1.35
Male Chorus SDG 03-401
(Also available for Mixed Chorus SDG 98-101.)
The text was penned and first published by author Charles Wesley (1707-1788). The melody, Hyfrodol ("good cheer"), was composed around 1830 by Rowland H. Prichard. This arrangement was completely cathartic in relation to the composer's mother's death in 1994. The hymn's pleading for the coming of Christ paralleled her anxiousness to be released from suffering and into New Life.

Crux fidelis

Chorus & Handbells

3,30', 20 pgs., $4.95
Treble Chorus SDG 02-304
Mixed Chorus SDG 05-105
Contemporary setting of 6th C. Gallican Chant. Varied tempi and vocal color occur as the text is mixed throughout in Latin and English. Commissioned by the Seattle Girls' Choir, Dr. Jerome Wright, Founder and Artistic Director.

Cum Sancto Spiritu

Mixed Chorus, a cappella

8', 24 pgs., $3.10, SDG 03-101
from Mass Over a Period of Time
Mixed meters, facilitating the rapid text, help to ground the unleashing of praise and glory to the Father. Although this final text is set as an "allegro spiritoso" movement, an additional "Amen" brings the now-complete "Missa Brevis" to a pensive, quiet ending. Commissioned by Floyd Slotterback and the Marquette (MI) Choral Society, who commissioned the first notes of the Mass in 1993.

Deer's Cry

Chorus, Piano, Bells or Chimes

8', 28 pgs., $4.75, SDG 03-103
Mixed Chorus SDG 03-103
Treble Chorus SDG 03-304
Setting of text attributed to St. Patrick, specifically "St. Patrick's Shield" or "Breastplate," also known historically as "Deer's Cry." The text speaks to the continuing presence of Christ and His salvation throughout our modern world. Commissioned for Ed Brodnicki by his loving wife, Judith.

Facets

Solo Piano

4-6' ea., 60 pgs., $18.95, SDG 03-201
(Includes master class notes and glossary.)
A collection of piano classics edited by composer/pianist Jackson Berkey. His many years of study and teaching at the famed Juilliard School in New York combine with his vast concertizing experience to make this a valuable teaching tool for late intermediate and advanced pianists. Includes works by Debussy; Chopin; Liszt; Faure; Sibelius; Granados; Beethoven; Bach; Scarlatti.

First Noel

Mixed Chorus, Oboe, & Harp

6', 16 pgs., $2.10, SDG 05-102
A very melodic, slow setting of the traditional carol. Idiomatic and soloistic oboe and harp writing throughout. To the Master Singers -- Dr. Gary Schwartzhoff, Conductor.

Il est ne le divin enfant

Chorus, Harp, Tambour, & Bass

4', 20 pgs., $2.40
Treble Chorus SDG 03-302
Male Chorus SDG SDG 03-402
(Also available for Mixed Chorus SDG 95-101.)
Like many of Berkey's other Anniversary Carols, Il est ne is somewhat "macaronic," having both some of the original French and some English present iin the setting. Historically, this arrangement also compares nicely with the old Normandy hunting tune's original appearance in 6/8 meter, and the snare drum "bolero" figure seemed immediately appropriate.

INGs

Piano/Woodwind Quartet (Piano, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon)

17', 24 pgs., $20.00, SDG 05-201
A multi-movement "tour de force" for flute, oboe, bassoon, and piano, INGs is highly descriptive and expressionistic. The title is derived from the numerous shorter movements which make up the piece: "Reminiscing," "Counting and Dancing," "Mourning," "Building," "Morphing," "Caressing and Sighing," "Waiting," and "Dancing and Counting." Written with a full understanding of solo and ensemble players, INGs is replete with beautiful melody, exciting and driving rhythms, shifting dance meters, and intriguing harmonic structure.

Commissioned by the Great Falls (MT) Symphony principal winds, each of the 8 movements in this work ends in the suffix "ing."

Jackson Cove Moonrise

Solo Piano

4', 8 pgs., $6.95, SDG 02-201
Includes performance CD by the composer.
Strikingly similar to Chopin's Prelude in E minor (included in the publication), this work captures in music the quickly changing panorama of a moonrise over the Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Joy to the World

Male Chorus a cappella

2,30', 8 pgs., $1.35
Male Chorus SDG 03-403
(Also available for Mixed Chorus SDG 94-103.)
With importance of text constantly in mind, this setting makes use of Isaac Watts' words and the tune usually known as "Antioch." In this arrangement, the third verse words appear at the outset in a modal treatment which is fast overcome by 20th Century rhythms and a polymeteric combination of ostinato and hymn tune. Word painting occurs as we "repeat the sounding joy," bu tthe "wonders of His Love" eventually surface triumphant.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Male Chorus, a cappella / percussion

3', 8 pgs., $1.25
Male Chorus SDG 03-404
(Also available for Mixed Chorus SDG 91-102.)
Jackson Berkey's lively arrangement of this familiar carol, with his striking treatment of the refrain, is part of a collection of Christmas hymns and carols he prepared as an anniversary gift to his wife, The Anniversary Carols. This arrangement for male chorus was commissioned by the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Reuben M. Reynolds III, Director.

Open the Window, Aunt Minnie, Here She Comes!

Treble Chorus & Piano

Treble Chorus 12', 34 pgs., $5.95, SDG 02-302
(Also avaiilable for Vocal Solo 12', 28 pgs., $20.00, SDGS 2000-1)
A 1999 commission from soprano Carol Eikum of Northwest College, St. Paul, MN, this song cycle is about baseball! Poetry from Elisavietta Ritchie, May Swenson, Isabel Joshlin Glaser, and the composer offers Sittin' on the Bench; Baseball Wrap-up; Substitute Blues; and Someday, Someday. The score includes suggested costume and stage directions and is guaranteed to successfully fill that "American composer" spot on a serious song recital.

Sakura (Rose Petal)

Solo Piano (optional wind chimes)

5', 8 pgs., $6.95 (includes CD), SDG 02-205
This setting of the famous Japanese folk song is characterized by a peaceful coexistence of two ideas: a straightforward setting of the folk song combined with a high treble 5/4 ostinato. A minimalist approach in the work also suggests the use of wind chimes, visibly cued in the score.

Silent Tents

Chorus, Piano, & Percussion

10' 24 pgs., $3.80
Mixed Chorus SDG 03-102
Treble Chorus SDG 02-305
Available for Mixed or Treble Chorus, Piano, and Percussion (Field Drum, Piccolo Snare, Triangle, Bass Drum)
A pensive choral setting of excerpts of Civil War poetry by Longfellow and O'Hara. The use of a color guard processional is encouraged during an extended instrumental introduction that includes the drum cadence from President John F. Kennedy's funeral cortege. Commissioned by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dianne Berkun, Artistic Director.

The Tie that Binds our Hearts (Bless'd be the Tie that Binds)

Mixed Chorus & Harp (Piano)

5', 16 pgs., $2.10, SDG 05-106
Familiar and new melodies and rich harmonies create a fresh song from the traditional hymn, "Bless'd be the Tie." Melodies soar to new heights and seem to take away one's breath by the length of singing and the lush sonorities. A beautiful solo gives weight to God's promise, while the purity in choral answer phrases captures the tenderness of the "Tie." the seamlessness of phrase upon phrase reminds one of sweet Eternity. Separate harp part available.

Weepe Not

Male Chorus, a cappella

7', 16 pgs., $2.10, SDG 04-401
This fourth commission from Gary Schwartzhoff and the Singing Statesmen is a setting of the poem Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep. Using extended divisi and falsetto, the work places the listener and singer on the same plane as the departed loved ones. Although written mostly in the Lydian mode having its final on f-natural, the harmonic structure of the work is often intentially ambiguous. Compositional techniques in the work include modal shifts (Ionian, Aeolian, Lydian), occasional pan diatonicism, diatonic saturations, double ostinati, one distant modulation, and, occasionally, original chant combined with a Greek ison, or pedal tone. The piece employs frequent word painting, textural repetition, and varied tempi.

The Wind

Mixed Chorus, Piano, & Flute

9', 16 pgs., $2.10, SDG 05-103
Christina Rossetti's famous poem is set with piano and flute -- soloistic and idiomatic writing throughout. Commissioned and performed in honor of the installation of Dr. Leslis Wong as President of Northern Michigan University, October 16, 2004.

Words My Mother Taught Me

Treble Chorus & Piano

7', 20 pgs., $3.80, SDG 03-303
A quirky set of three songs based on memories of the words and wit of the composer's mother. Each song is a "play on words," an English languange rule, or a strange witticism. At some point in each song, a solo reader sets forth the text. Titles include: Her has gone, Est ist Kalt, and Eye B4Eee. Commissioned by the Nebraska Children's Chorus, Z. Randall Stroope, Conductor.

A Year Ago Last Summer / Unending Joy!

Mixed Chorus & Piano

6', 16 pgs., $2.10, SDG 04-101
A gentle alto solo precedes a gospel style setting that builds, section by section, to a glorious and joyous finale!

I longed for something in my heart that my empty life just could not provide. He gives me life and joy without end, He is my King and Savior, Jesus. It was a year ago last summer, and ev'rything in my world was gray; when Jesus came into my life and brought me where I am today. Unending joy! Jesus is unending joy! Jesus is life!