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Coming soon!
There is currently a catalog of choral music written and arranged by Bobby McFerrin (and with Voicestra member Roger Treece).
Currently available at the Bobby Shop are seven titles:
23rd Psalm: A reverent and truly beautiful rendition of the widely known Psalm, frequently used in religious services. It's pace is slow and contemplative and the music enhances the beauty of the language. As recorded on Bobby's Medicine Music CD.
Come To Me: Rhythmic music full of life, freedom, and joy. An up-tempo piece to make everyone feel good, 'Come to Me', with text adapted from the Book of John, includes parts for vocal percussion, body percussion, and handclaps. As recorded on Bobby's Simple Pleasures.
The Garden: Co-written and arranged by Roger Treece, The Garden exemplifies a new approach in choral writing in which McFerrin's African-influenced nuances are given full body. 'The Garden' (originally recorded on the Medicine Music CD) will provide an exciting and gratifying challenge for choral singers and a rich experience for audiences.
Manna: With text adapted from the Book of Matthew, Manna provides a simple refrain with wonderfully textured variations that bring light to the thought “Whoever believes in Me will live forever.” 'Manna' includes a through-composed piano part as an additional color in the ensemble.
Grace: Alto, tenor, and bass voices suggest the chant-like song of a carillon while the sopranos create a rhapsodic melody. This meditative score is enhanced with rhythmic breathing and optional parts for two cellos or cello section. Beautifully transcribed from Hush, Bobby's duo album with Yo-Yo Ma.
Don't Worry Be Happy: Without a doubt one of the most popular songs of the 20th century, Don't Worry, Be Happy is re-created here in an exact transcription of the Bobby McFerrin's original hit recording from the album Simple Pleasures. 3 soprano parts, 2 alto parts, and a very hip bass line back up the soloist or soloists of your choice – a cappella.
KnickKnack: The music from the hilarious Pixar short film of the same name which preceded Disney's Finding Nemo in movie theaters and on DVD. Great fun to sing and not hard to learn, 'Knickknack' provides charming musical accompaniment to an animated love-story-with-a-sense-of-humor. Audiences will recognize it instantly (unless they were out on the popcorn line).
Other titles for Choir and Instrumental Accompaniment are also available:
Brief Eternity (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB plus strings (violin I&II, cello, bass) , flute, and harp.
He Rain to the Train (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece. Arranged for SATB plus full orchestra. Originally commissioned by the Chicago Childrens Choir and the Ravinia Festival.
To Catch a Ray of Sunshine (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB, full orchestra and improving soloist (vocal or instrumental). Commissioned in 2005 by the Danish Radio Orchestra in celebration of Hans Christian Anderson's 200th Birthday.
Messages (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB plus strings, flute and harp.
More a cappella arrangements for SATB, including those charts written for Bobby's upcoming Choral Album, will be available in the coming year.
For more information, please contact satb@originalartists.com
Currently available at the Bobby Shop are seven titles:
23rd Psalm: A reverent and truly beautiful rendition of the widely known Psalm, frequently used in religious services. It's pace is slow and contemplative and the music enhances the beauty of the language. As recorded on Bobby's Medicine Music CD.
Come To Me: Rhythmic music full of life, freedom, and joy. An up-tempo piece to make everyone feel good, 'Come to Me', with text adapted from the Book of John, includes parts for vocal percussion, body percussion, and handclaps. As recorded on Bobby's Simple Pleasures.
The Garden: Co-written and arranged by Roger Treece, The Garden exemplifies a new approach in choral writing in which McFerrin's African-influenced nuances are given full body. 'The Garden' (originally recorded on the Medicine Music CD) will provide an exciting and gratifying challenge for choral singers and a rich experience for audiences.
Manna: With text adapted from the Book of Matthew, Manna provides a simple refrain with wonderfully textured variations that bring light to the thought “Whoever believes in Me will live forever.” 'Manna' includes a through-composed piano part as an additional color in the ensemble.
Grace: Alto, tenor, and bass voices suggest the chant-like song of a carillon while the sopranos create a rhapsodic melody. This meditative score is enhanced with rhythmic breathing and optional parts for two cellos or cello section. Beautifully transcribed from Hush, Bobby's duo album with Yo-Yo Ma.
Don't Worry Be Happy: Without a doubt one of the most popular songs of the 20th century, Don't Worry, Be Happy is re-created here in an exact transcription of the Bobby McFerrin's original hit recording from the album Simple Pleasures. 3 soprano parts, 2 alto parts, and a very hip bass line back up the soloist or soloists of your choice – a cappella.
KnickKnack: The music from the hilarious Pixar short film of the same name which preceded Disney's Finding Nemo in movie theaters and on DVD. Great fun to sing and not hard to learn, 'Knickknack' provides charming musical accompaniment to an animated love-story-with-a-sense-of-humor. Audiences will recognize it instantly (unless they were out on the popcorn line).
Other titles for Choir and Instrumental Accompaniment are also available:
Brief Eternity (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB plus strings (violin I&II, cello, bass) , flute, and harp.
He Rain to the Train (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece. Arranged for SATB plus full orchestra. Originally commissioned by the Chicago Childrens Choir and the Ravinia Festival.
To Catch a Ray of Sunshine (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB, full orchestra and improving soloist (vocal or instrumental). Commissioned in 2005 by the Danish Radio Orchestra in celebration of Hans Christian Anderson's 200th Birthday.
Messages (by Bobby McFerrin/Roger Treece). Arranged for SATB plus strings, flute and harp.
More a cappella arrangements for SATB, including those charts written for Bobby's upcoming Choral Album, will be available in the coming year.
For more information, please contact satb@originalartists.com
Comprised of twelve uniquely gifted singers with broad stylistic experience ranging from jazz to R&B to Indian classical opera, Voicestra serves as a rich compositional palate for Bobby McFerrin's expeditions into the musical universe. Bobby founded Voicestra in 1986 to explore interactive group singing in his performances, and it has since evolved into a medium for deeply spiritual and powerful improvisations. Voicestra is not just a choir, but a flexible and richly textured instrument through which Bobby can experiment with and express his unique vocal style and musical stream of consciousness. The music is entirely improvised and captures everything in the performance: the day, the time, the theater, the audience. Melodies, rhythms and textures traverse from singer to singer, perpetually morphing in reaction to the moment and Bobby's instincts. For many audiences, a Voicestra performance is akin to a religious experience, providing them the rare opportunity to witness as well as participate in a musical celebration of spontaneity.
BOBBY TALKS ABOUT VOICESTRA:
"Voicestra has been a dream of mine for about seven years. Currently it is a ten member group of singers from classical, jazz and theatre backgrounds, who have come together to explore the dynamics of vocal ensemble performance. The spirit behind Voicestra is to produce new repertoire for vocal ensembles and eventually to commission other composers.
"My favorite, most inspiring times in concert have always been the impromptu moments on stage when the audience participates. At some point I began to realize that I wanted to work with other singers, and the idea for Voicestra seemed to be a natural development from these spontaneous group efforts in my performances.
"Voicestra encompasses all kinds of material from exploring world music, African chants and Indian ragas, to storytelling, new songs based on the alphabet and contemporary vocal compositions."
PRESS REVIEWS FOR CIRCLESONGS:
"In "CIRCLESONGS," mysterious syllables are set to lilting, cyclical rhythms and layered humming that suggest long evenings around the campfire... There are exotic echoes in these songs – of Sufi chants, Turkish folk songs and Zulu music – and the syllables have a vaguely African sound. If the world is a global village, then this is its local folk music." --NEWSDAY
"… for pure pleasure, head for Bobby McFerrin's Circlesongs… McFerrin's expressive and exciting a cappella songs weave a rich tapestry of many threads: jazz sonorities, blues and liturgical harmonies and hints of African chanting." --Top Magazine
"... This new and extraordinary album is a significant step forward for him... all (tracks) have a traditional circular structure that becomes hypnotically effective, and the best of them "Circlesong 8," is sensibly saved till last However you classify it, this is beautiful music…" --Hot Tickets
"McFerrin borrows from African, Caribbean, Persian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures, and he uses R&B and funk, too. The result is a set of soaring, spiritual performances that are exotic and hypnotic. In "Circlesongs" McFerrin has found a fresh way to strike a chord."
--The Associated Press
"Circlesongs," dedicated to the proposition that "sound is sacred," composed by Bobby McFerrin and sung in call-and-response style with a dozen other singers. Like everything else McFerrin does, this music is touched with magic." --The Washington Post
BOBBY TALKS ABOUT VOICESTRA:
"Voicestra has been a dream of mine for about seven years. Currently it is a ten member group of singers from classical, jazz and theatre backgrounds, who have come together to explore the dynamics of vocal ensemble performance. The spirit behind Voicestra is to produce new repertoire for vocal ensembles and eventually to commission other composers.
"My favorite, most inspiring times in concert have always been the impromptu moments on stage when the audience participates. At some point I began to realize that I wanted to work with other singers, and the idea for Voicestra seemed to be a natural development from these spontaneous group efforts in my performances.
"Voicestra encompasses all kinds of material from exploring world music, African chants and Indian ragas, to storytelling, new songs based on the alphabet and contemporary vocal compositions."
PRESS REVIEWS FOR CIRCLESONGS:
"In "CIRCLESONGS," mysterious syllables are set to lilting, cyclical rhythms and layered humming that suggest long evenings around the campfire... There are exotic echoes in these songs – of Sufi chants, Turkish folk songs and Zulu music – and the syllables have a vaguely African sound. If the world is a global village, then this is its local folk music." --NEWSDAY
"… for pure pleasure, head for Bobby McFerrin's Circlesongs… McFerrin's expressive and exciting a cappella songs weave a rich tapestry of many threads: jazz sonorities, blues and liturgical harmonies and hints of African chanting." --Top Magazine
"... This new and extraordinary album is a significant step forward for him... all (tracks) have a traditional circular structure that becomes hypnotically effective, and the best of them "Circlesong 8," is sensibly saved till last However you classify it, this is beautiful music…" --Hot Tickets
"McFerrin borrows from African, Caribbean, Persian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures, and he uses R&B and funk, too. The result is a set of soaring, spiritual performances that are exotic and hypnotic. In "Circlesongs" McFerrin has found a fresh way to strike a chord."
--The Associated Press
"Circlesongs," dedicated to the proposition that "sound is sacred," composed by Bobby McFerrin and sung in call-and-response style with a dozen other singers. Like everything else McFerrin does, this music is touched with magic." --The Washington Post