Haydn’s Lost Chorale is a revised version of The Abbey, inspired by Haydn’s St. Anthony’s Chorale. It’s scored for string orchestra with optional piano, including violin 3 (treble viola) and violin parts. It features a dotted rhythm, quasi-classical textures and singing themes.
Keith Sharp earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1984. He's been a string educator in Brisbane since then, creating award-winning programs and compositions. His works are popular in Australia and internationally. Keith is also a clinician, guest conductor, and guest lecturer.
Haydn’s Lost Chorale is a musical piece written for a string orchestra that includes violin 3 (treble viola), violin, and an optional piano accompaniment. Haydn’s St. Anthony’s Chorale inspires this composition and features a revised version of The Abbey. It consists of a dotted rhythm and quasi-classical textures and includes singing themes.
Here is the composer’s introduction to the title:
“At last, the end of my quest was near! Surely the hidden crypt was within metres? Crawling through a slimy, cobwebbed, rat-infested tunnel, the growing sense of anticipation was overwhelming. An intriguing mystery was about to be solved. Would the infamous parchment still remain within the monk’s, by now skeletal, grasp? Its discovery would confirm my suspicion - Brother Festus was guilty of stealing the coveted choral extract from the great master Haydn, nearly 200 years ago! There was a chance that Haydn’s “lost chorale” may finally be heard…..” (Diary extract - Summer holiday adventures, 1994).
Keith Sharp earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1984. He's been a string educator in Brisbane since then, creating award-winning programs and compositions. His works are popular in Australia and internationally. Keith is also a clinician, guest conductor, and guest lecturer.
Through the jungles of southern Mexico, the Aztec Warrior's journey is full of adventure and danger. This is a fun work for grade 1 groups in B minor which uses only D and A string notes. Duration 1:30.
“La Llorona” is a 6-minute programmatic piece for a high school string orchestra with optional percussion. It tells a story based on a Spanish/Mexican legend of La Malinche, a noble Aztec girl sold into slavery to Mayan merchants. The music starts with an Entrada, signalling the arrival of the Spanish fleet led by Cortés, who colonized Mexico.
La Malinche was a translator and mistress to the conqueror Cortés. She had twin boys with him, but when he was convinced to return to Spain with a Spanish aristocrat, La Malinche realized the hopelessness of her situation and drowned herself and her children in a nearby river.
Chicken Licken by Chirs Allen for grades 4-6. Pub. Spartan Press.
