Last summer, I spent 10 hours driving from St. Louis to Chicago and back. To pass the time, I skimmed through a stack of CDs from E. C. Schirmer, ECS Publishing Group, and Morningstar. Whenever something caught my ear, I wrote down the track number.
And now, a year later, here’s the list! Sixteen choral pieces, all chosen by ear without knowing anything about the piece or composer:
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- A Carol Suite – Hal H. Hopson
- ¡Aleluya! Cristo resucitó – Luis Bojos, arr. Nathan Zullinger
- Be Thou My Vision – Gwyneth Walker (I starred this one)
- How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place – Daniel Kallman
- Isaiah the Prophet – Daniel C. Nelson
- King of Glory, King of Peace – Alfred V. Fedak
- Lenten Meditation – Craig Carnahan
- Moonlight Sound Design – Raimonds Tiguls (secular)
- My Very Own – Susan LaBarr
- O Clap Your Hands – Stephen Chatman (I starred this one)
- O Jesus, My Savior – David W. Music
- On Christmas Night All Christians Sing – William Averitt
- The Garden Hymn – David W. Music
- The Heavens Delight – Gwyneth Walker
- Trinity – Fred Gramann
- We Three Kings – Jeremy J. Bankson and Tom Trenney
Bonus: Two Christmas Settings for Violin and Organ
The CDs included some instrumental music, and I particularly liked these two:
- Christmas Fantasy for Violin and Organ – Sigurd M. Ogaard
- Noël, Nowell: Eight Traditional French and English Carols for Violin and Organ – Daniel Burton
Are you interested in choral and organ repertoire? Check out my top favorites here.
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