II. Oseh Shalom, from Two Prayers for Sabbath Evening (Transcontinental Music Publications Catalog No. 993489) by Joshua Fishbein. Winner of the Guild of Temple Musicians' Young Composers Award and the ACDA's Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition. Recorded live at the 2012 ACDA Western Division Conference by:

CSU Fullerton University Singers
Robert Istad, Conductor
Brandon Elliott, Soloist
Grant Rohr, Piano

Two Prayers for Sabbath Evening: II. Oseh Shalom (2011)

Psalms, Songs, and Blues by Joshua Fishbein
Performed by the combined Plymouth State University Chorale/Manchester Choral Society and Orchestra
Travis Palmer, cantor
Krystal Morin, soprano
Christine Charman, mezzo-soprano
Dan Perkins, conductor

These recordings were taken from the Dec. 6, 2015 performance at Plymouth State University and Dec. 5, 2015 performance at Brookside Congregational Church, Manchester (New Hampshire).

Text:

I.	Hear My Prayer / Sh’ma Koleinu / Exaudi Vocem Meam (English/Hebrew/Latin)

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto Thee.
Psalm 102, verse 1 (from Church of England 1662 Book of Common Prayer)

(Heb.)  Sh'ma koleinu, Adonai eloheinu
               Listen to our voices, Lord our G-d
	       Jewish Liturgy for Yom Kippur

(Lat.)    Exaudi orationem/vocem meam, Domine.
                Hear my prayer/voice, O Lord.
                Psalm 39, verse 12 / Psalm 130, verse 2

II.	S’lach Lanu Avinu (Hebrew)

(Hebrew) 
S'lach lanu avinu ki chatanu,
M'chal lanu malkeinu ki fashanu,
Ki mochel v'soleiach Atah.
Baruch Atah Adonai
Chanun hamarbeh lisloach.
Daily Jewish Liturgy
(Amidah, blessing six)

Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned;
Pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed;
For pardoner and forgiver are you.
Blessed are You, Lord,
Gracious one, who abundantly forgives.
Translation adapted by the composer from The Standard Prayer Book (1915), translation by Simeon Singer 

III.	Timor et Tremor (Latin)

(Latin)
Timor et tremor venerunt super me, 
Fear and trembling have come upon me,
								Psalm 55, verse 6, first half
et caligo cecidit super me:			
and darkness has fallen upon me:
								Psalm 55, verse 5, end
Miserere mei, Domine,			
Have mercy on me, Lord,
quoniam in te confidit anima mea.	
for my soul has trusted in you.
							        Psalm 57, verse 1, first half
      
IV.	Al Naharot Bavel / Super Flumina Babylonis (Hebrew/Latin)

(Heb.) Al naharot Bavel sham yashavnu gam bachinu b'zochrenu et Tsiyon.
(Lat.) Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus, cum recordaremur Sion.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

(Heb.) Al aravim b'tochah talinu kinoroteinu.
(Lat.)  In salicibus in medio ejus suspendimus organa nostra:
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

(Heb.) Ki sham she’elunu shoveinu divrei shir v'tolaleinu simcha 
[shiru lanu mishir Tsiyon.]
(Lat.) [Quia illic interrogaverunt nos, qui captivos dixerunt nos, verba cantionum; et qui abduxerunt nos:]  Hymnum cantate nobis de canticis Sion.
For they that carried us away required of us a song; and our tormentors for amusement, said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

(Heb.) Ech nashir et shir Adonai al admat nechar?
(Lat.)  [Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena?]
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
									Psalm 137, verse 1 - 4

V.	Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is (English/Hebrew/Latin)

Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is: *for brethren, to dwell together in unity!
(Heb.) Hineh mah tov, umah nayim, shevet achim gam yachad.
(Lat.)  Ecce quam bonum, et quam jucundum, habitare fratres in unum.
					            Psalm 133, verse 1
                                                    English from the Church of England 
                                                    1662 Book of Common Prayer

* The word “for” was inserted by the composer from the King James Bible translation of Psalm 133, verse 1.

Mvt. 4 & Mvt. 5 - Al Naharot Bavel/Super Flumina Babylonis - Behold, how good and joyful

Mvt. 3 - Timor et Tremor

Mvt. 2 - S'lach Lanu Avinu

Mvt. 1 - Hear My Prayer / Sh’ma Koleinu / Exaudi Vocem Meam

Piping Down the Valleys Wild
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by William Blake

Performed by Chorus Austin
Ryan Heller, Artistic Director

Published by E.C. Schirmer Music Company
Catalog No. 7979

Piping Down The Valleys Wild

Composed by Joshua Fishbein.
Published by ECS Publishing: Catalog No. 8041.
Recorded by The Singers, under the direction of Matthew Culloton, Minneapolis, MN. Recording Engineer: David Trembley, Soundmaster Productions.
Unseen Secrets is dedicated to WomenSing, Martín Benvenuto, artistic director, and was commissioned through the Marcia Hodges New Music Fund as part of the Youth Inspiring Youth Project. The poem used in this setting was written by Quinn H. Whitlow of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, at age 7. This poem was the 2009 Grand Prize Winner for the Grades K-2 Poetry category in the 2009 River of Words® Environmental Poetry & Art International Competition. 
Duration: 3:00

Unseen Secrets

Of the Ages (2018)for SATB Chorus unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by Elizabeth Hart Pennell, Laurence Alma-Tadema, and William Butler Yeats
Commissioned by The Esoterics (Eric Banks, Founding Director), supported in part by funding from the Montgomery County government and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (Maryland)

Performed by The Esoterics
Eric Banks, conductor
June 9, 2018
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, West Seattle

I. Youth and Age
II. Playgrounds
III. The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water

I. "Youth and Age" (1921) by Elizabeth Hart Pennell

Youth has music on his lips
And in his hurrying feet,
Rhythm in his finger-tips
And in his laughter sweet.

Age has silence on his tongue-
Never a note or sound;
But his heart is often wrung
By music all around.

Youth has tongue, but lacks an ear-
He whistles, pipes and sings.
Age is still, but he can hear
Silence and growing things.

-From "Poetry: A Magazine of Verse" (1912-1922)

II. "Playgrounds" (1903) by Laurence Alma-Tadema

In summer I am very glad
We children are so small,
For we can see a thousand things
That men can't see at all.

They don't know much about the moss
And all the stones they pass:
They never lie and play among
The forests in the grass.

They walk about a long way off;
And, when we're at the sea,
Let father stoop as best he can
He can't find things like me.

But, when the snow is on the ground
And all the puddles freeze,
I wish that I were very tall,
High up above the trees.

-From "Songs of Womanhood" (1903)

III. "The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water" (1903) by William Butler Yeats

I heard the old, old men say,
'Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away.'
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn-trees
By the waters.
'All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'

-From "In the Seven Woods" (1903)

Of The Ages: III. The Old Men Admiring Themselves In The Water

Of The Ages: II. Playgrounds

Of The Ages: I. Youth And Age

Mi Shebeirach (A Prayer for Healing)
for SATB Chorus Unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words from Jewish Liturgy in Hebrew and Aramaic

Performed by Chicago a cappella
John William Trotter, music director
Recorded Live at West Suburban Temple Har Zion, River Forest, IL on October 15, 2017

Transliterated Hebrew:
Mi Shebeirach avoteinu v'imoteinu,
Avraham, Yitzchak v'Ya-akov, Sarah, Rivkah,
Rachel v'Lei-ah, hu y'vareich et hacholim.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu yimalei
rachamim aleihem, l'hachalimam ul'rapotam
ul'hachazikam, v'yishlach lahem m'heirah
r'fuah, r'fuah sh'leimah min hashamayim,
r'fuat hanefesh ur'fuat haguf, hashta
ba-agala uviz'man kariv. V'nomar: Amein.

Literal English Translation:
He who has blessed our forefathers and foremothers (ancestors),
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca,
Rachel, and Leah, may He bless the sick.
[May] The Holy Blessed One fill
them with compassion, for their health, for their recovery,
and for their strength; and He should send to them speedily
recovery, a complete recovery from the heavens,
healing of the spirit, and healing of the body, soon,
quickly, and without delay. And let us say: Amen.

Chi ACAP 20171015 RF

Mi Shebeirach (2017)

A Prep-School Boy
for SATB chorus (divisi) unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by Benjamin Britten

Performed by Chicago a cappella
John William Trotter, music director
Recorded Live at West Suburban Temple Har Zion, River Forest, IL on October 15, 2017

Once upon a time there was a prep-school boy. He was called Britten mi[nor], his initials were E.B., his age was nine, and his locker was number seventeen... There was one curious thing about this boy: he wrote music.
-Benjamin Britten
from Simple Symphony, Op. 4 (1934), use by permission

A Prep School Boy (2013)

Sunset Symphony
for SATB Chorus (divisi) unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by Nathan Brown

Commissioned by Chorus Austin (Ryan Heller, Artistic Director) through the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award, presented by Chorus America and the American Composers Forum.

Performed by the Chorus Austin Chamber Ensemble, under the direction of Ryan Heller on May 6, 2018 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Austin, TX.

Recorded live by Thomas van der Brook.

Sunset Symphony* by Nathan Brown
*Used by Permission



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



. . . . . . . . .

the clouds are settling

into their places

the breeze is tuning

up   to middle sea

. . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

and the sun is dimming the lights

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

the curtain raises

and gilded rays

shoot across the sky

a path of golden light

leaps across the water

as sand and surf

roar with applause

. . . . . . . . .

. . .�

Sunset Symphony

The Unexpected
for SATB Chorus and Piano
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by Paulo
(Note: Paulo is one of several talented young poets served by Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop. Free Minds uses books, creative writing, and peer support to awaken DC youth incarcerated as adults to their own potential. Through creative expression, job readiness training, and violence prevention outreach, these young poets achieve their education and career goals, and become powerful voices for change in the community.)

Commissioned and Premiered by the Thomas Circle Singers with support from the Nora Roberts Foundation
James Kreger, Artistic Director
Aaron Goen, Piano
Recorded live at Church of the Epiphany, Washington, DC on May 18, 2019

The Unexpected
by Paulo

The doors open and I am escorted in
Wearing an oversized orange jumpsuit
I glance around and find myself being stared at
The air circulating the room 
Brings goose bumps to my skin
I just want to run away
I want to hide
And erase the moment
The judge calls out my name
Within minutes, my future is called out
I am left speechless
Escorted out, I struggle to move my legs
My knees want to give up on me
I cannot hold myself together
I am still adding the numbers 

From The Untold Story of the Real Me, 84. 
Washington, DC: Shout Mouse Press, 2015. 
Copyright © 2015 by Free Minds Book Club 
& Writing Workshop. Used by permission.  

The Unexpected (2019)

Al Hanisim (For the Miracles)
for SATB Chorus unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words in Hebrew from Jewish Liturgy for Chanukah and Purim

Performed by Chicago a cappella
Jonathan Miller, Artistic Director
Paul Nicholson, Guest Music Director
Recorded Live at Pilgrim Congregational Church, Oak Park, IL on December 15, 2019

Transliteration: 
Al hanisìm, v'al hapurkàn,
v'al hag'vuròt, v'al hat'shu-òt,
v'al hamilchamòt, she-asìta la-avotèinu v'imotèinu, bayamìm hahèm baz'màn hazèh. 

Translation: 
[We thank you] for the miracles, for the redemption,
for the victories, for the saving acts,
for the wars, which You waged for our forefathers and foremothers, in those days at this season.

Chi ACAP 20191215 OP

Al Hanisim (For the Miracles)

May the Words of My Mouth (2010) for A Cappella Choir with Optional Divisi. Winner of the National Lutheran Choir's 25th Anniversary Choral Composition Competition (2011). Performed by the National Lutheran Choir under the direction of artistic director, David Cherwien, featuring soloist, Rachel Schmidt.

May the Words of My Mouth (2010)

Afternoon on a Hill (2012) for SATB Chorus, Unaccompanied
Music by Joshua Fishbein
Words by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)

Performed by the Young New Yorkers' Chorus
Michael Kerschner, Artistic Director

Saturday, March 9, 2013
Irondale Center
Brooklyn, New York

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