Description
After three years and sales of over 1,000 books, Peter and Mary Alice are release a 2nd edition of “Fifty-five Anthems for the Small Church Choir”. To make it a stronger collection the Amidons have swapped in fourteen new songs; the collection will now remain unchanged, with any future new arrangements finding their home in the Amidons’ Online Choral Store. Here, with more details about this upgraded edition, is the Introduction to the 2nd Edition.
NOTE:
There is NO new CD, but you can still do a bundle of the book and the 1st edition sampler CD. Then choose the additional tune bundles from the 2nd Edition Mp3 album options.
If you own the orginal Fifty-Five Anthems book, you can purchase for $8 a book with only the 14 new songs added to this 2nd edition. We’re calling this collection “Give Us a Song“.
Book $30, Quantity discounts: 10-19 copies: $25/each, 20 copies + up: $20/ each
CD $15, Book & CD $40.
Peter’s work is artistry at the highest level: not only a gift to singers in a wide variety of settings, but also a model worthy of study by songwriters and composers in any tradition.
–Mark Simos, Songwriter; Associate Professor, Songwriting, Berklee College of Music Author of Songwriting Strategies: A 360º Approach (Berklee Press, Hal Leonard, 2014).
*scroll down to hear the arrangements*
Peter and Mary Alice’s choral arrangements and compositions are being sung by community, church and hospice choirs throughout the U.S. and the UK. Now the Amidons have published two books and companion sampler CDs of collections of their most popular, musical and accessible arrangements.
This book “Fifty-Five Anthems for the Small Church Choir” is geared particularly to choirs in small, mainstream Protestant churches.
Many of these were originally arranged or composed for the Guilford (Vermont) Community Church Choir, UCC, which rehearses only for the 40-60 minutes before each Sunday service, so the anthems are accessible to the typical small church choir with a mix of music readers and non-readers.
A second book, “Twenty-Five Anthems for Interfaith & Community Choirs“, is geared particularly to UU church choirs. However, both collections are useful to any church, community, high school or hospice choir.
Here is a list of the choral arrangements/compositions in the “Fifty-Five Anthems” book. “Sweet is the Day” was composed/arranged by Mary Alice Amidon. All other arrangements by Peter Amidon. You can hear recordings of most of them by clicking on the titles. Songs with asteriks (“*”) are new to the Second Edition. View Alphabetical list of all songs.
*Magnificat – Luke 1: 46 – 55, music by P. Amidon
Watts Cradle Hymn – traditional
All Is Well– traditional
Jesus Gave Me Water – by L. Campbell (sung by Sam Cooke & Soul Stirrers)
*Be Thou My Vision – traditional Irish
*So Far From My Home piano/unison – Tom Mousin/P. Amidon
*So Far From My Home – piano/SATB – Tom Mousin/P. Amidon
Halleluia – Leonard Cohen
*Climbing High Mountains – African American spiritual
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace – Peter Amidon
*Devotion – Isaac Watts (1719)/Alexander Johnson (1818) – from the Sacred Harp
Thanksgiving Eve– Bob Franke
I Will Guide Thee – traditional
*Give Us a Song – Jonathan Edwards
*Take Me To the Water – African American Spiritual
*Good Samaritan – Luke 10: 25 – 35, music by P. Amidon
Born in the Night– Goeffrey Ainger
*Your Lone Journey – Doc & Rosa Lee Watson
Cool of the Day – Jean Ritchie
Shout for Joy – traditional
*I Will Arise – traditional melody, words Joseph Hart/Peter Amidon
*I Wonder As I Wander – John Jacob Niles
When Jesus Came Home – Peter Amidon
Amazing Grace – John Newton (1779)
Angel Rolled The Stone Away – traditional
Prodigal’s Return – traditional
*Eli, Eli – Hannah Szenes/David Zehavi
Turn Turn Turn – Pete Seeger
I Still Have Joy – Calvin Jackson
By the Waters of Babylon – Brent Dowe & Trevor McNaughton
Bid You Goodnight – traditional
Balm In Gilead – traditional
Psalm 126 – Mary Alice Amidon
Angel Band – Jefferson Haskell (1860)
Acres Grace – Peter Amidon
Here I Am Lord – Danielle L. Schutte
Sweet is the Day – Mary Alice Amidon
Blessed Quietness – Marnie Paine Ferguson
Through All the World Below – by Jeremiah Ingalls (1790), from Southern Harmony
Brightest and Best – Jean Ritchie
Noah, Heist the Window – traditional
To Bethlehem – Nym Cooke
Silver Rain – Alice Henderson & Marianne Zimmerman
All in the Morning – traditional
Christ Was Born In Bethlehem – traditional
Little Moses – A.P. Carter
Flower Carol – traditional
Angels Hovering Round – traditional
Joy Shall Come In the Morning – Mary Alice Amidon
Come O Thou Traveler – Charles Wesley 1792/Lucius Chapman 1813
*Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6: 9 – 13, music by P. Amidon. Not recorded yet; this is a playback of the Finale music writing software.
All Through the Night – Harold Bolton (1884)
NOTE:
There is NO new CD, but you can still do a bundle of the book and the 1st edition sampler CD. Then choose the additional tune bundles from the 2nd Edition Mp3 album options.
If you own the orginal Fifty-Five Anthems book, you can purchase for $8 a book with only the 14 new songs added to this 2nd edition. We’re calling this collection “Give Us a Song“.
