THE COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS OF ALICE PARKER AND ...
THE COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS OF ALICE PARKER AND ... THE COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS OF ALICE PARKER AND ...
titles in each album, as well as publisher information so that conductors may locate them. Appendix II lists all Parker-Shaw arrangements and editions alphabetically, provides publisher and other information, and indicates which titles are permanently out of print. Warner Brothers acquired the Lawson-Gould catalogue in 2000, and Alfred Music Publishing Company subsequently bought it in 2005. Alice Parker laments the fact that Warner Brothers did a poor job of organizing the catalogue, and that Alfred has placed a significant amount of it on “Permanently Out-of-Print” status. 5 The catalogue assembled here is a starting point in the process of identifying and reissuing the repertoire as a whole. The author was able to examine 136 of the 233 Shaw-Parker arrangements, thanks in part to the kind gift of Alfred Music Publishers, and from Alice Parker herself. Though this may appear a small percentage, one can see from Appendices I and II that a number of titles were never published, and many are permanently out of print. Furthermore, a number of arrangements whose copyrights are held by the Alfred Music Publishing Company are missing. The Parker- Shaw copyrights that are held by Alfred should number 186, but on Alfred’s current list, only 94 are in print and 31 are out of print, a total of 125. Traditionally this body of music has been known as the “Shaw-Parker” catalogue, due to the more famous name of Robert Shaw. This research has brought to light, however, that the arrangements were really primarily the work of Alice Parker, with Shaw serving principally as a scrupulous editor. For this reason this paper will refer to them throughout as the “Parker-Shaw” arrangements. 5 Parker, email communication with author, 16 Feb. 2010. “[Walter Gould] transferred the whole thing to Warner when he retired—and they made a mess of it. They were supposed to keep everything up to date and immediately available—and I didn’t even get any royalty payment for three years! They never knew what they had that wasn't in print from LG at that point. I tried to get them to reprint one piece for a workshop, and they had no idea that it existed—but they own the copyright, and won’t release anything. Maddening!” 6
Biography of Robert Shaw CHAPTER 3 THE HISTORY OF THE COLLABORATION Seldom does one person stand out, far above all others, as the true master of a given field of endeavor. Seldom does one person consistently achieve unparalleled heights of quality, decade after decade. In the field of choral music, one conductor has produced performances in which the choral ensemble sound is always, and without exception, incredibly beautiful, stylistically appropriate, technically solid, musically expressive, and rhythmically alive. This conductor was a true pioneer: he attained it first – absolute choral excellence…This man is Robert Lawson Shaw… 6 With this sterling endorsement, Dr. Donald Neuen, himself one of the America’s finest conductors, summarized the sentiments of the choral community in the April 1996 issue of the Choral Journal, which was devoted exclusively to Shaw and his legacy on his eightieth birthday. Shaw was born in California in 1916, the son of a Disciples of Christ minister, attended Pomona College, and sang in its prize-winning Men’s Glee Club. As a freshman, he was elected by its members to substitute for the glee club’s ailing director, and two years later the college administration offered him a stipend to conduct the forty five-member group during its director’s sabbatical leave. The direction of Shaw’s life changed in 1937 when Fred Waring heard a concert that Shaw conducted. Waring “was impressed by Shaw’s compelling, clean-cut ‘collegiate’ manner, his contagious enthusiasm, and his spirited interpretation of the music,” and invited the young musician to become the choral conductor of his New York-based “Pennsylvanians.” 7 6 Donald Neuen, “Head and Shoulders above the Rest,” Choral Journal 36, no. 9 (April, 1996): 4, 5. 7 Mussulman, Dear People, 3. 7
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- Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Alice Parker
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- Page 49 and 50: In mm. 69-81, homorhythm is broken
- Page 54 and 55: Seeing Nellie Home 1954, TTBB, Tune
- Page 56: Excerpt 5: I’m Goin’ to Sing 46
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Biography of Robert Shaw<br />
CHAPTER 3<br />
<strong>THE</strong> HISTORY <strong>OF</strong> <strong>THE</strong> COLLABORATION<br />
Seldom does one person stand out, far above all others, as the true master of a given field of<br />
endeavor. Seldom does one person consistently achieve unparalleled heights of quality, decade<br />
after decade. In the field of choral music, one conductor has produced performances in which the<br />
choral ensemble sound is always, and without exception, incredibly beautiful, stylistically<br />
appropriate, technically solid, musically expressive, and rhythmically alive. This conductor was a<br />
true pioneer: he attained it first – absolute choral excellence…This man is Robert Lawson<br />
Shaw… 6<br />
With this sterling endorsement, Dr. Donald Neuen, himself one of the America’s finest<br />
conductors, summarized the sentiments of the choral community in the April 1996 issue of the<br />
Choral Journal, which was devoted exclusively to Shaw and his legacy on his eightieth birthday.<br />
Shaw was born in California in 1916, the son of a Disciples of Christ minister, attended Pomona<br />
College, and sang in its prize-winning Men’s Glee Club. As a freshman, he was elected by its<br />
members to substitute for the glee club’s ailing director, and two years later the college<br />
administration offered him a stipend to conduct the forty five-member group during its director’s<br />
sabbatical leave. The direction of Shaw’s life changed in 1937 when Fred Waring heard a<br />
concert that Shaw conducted. Waring “was impressed by Shaw’s compelling, clean-cut<br />
‘collegiate’ manner, his contagious enthusiasm, and his spirited interpretation of the music,” and<br />
invited the young musician to become the choral conductor of his New York-based<br />
“Pennsylvanians.” 7<br />
6 Donald Neuen, “Head and Shoulders above the Rest,” Choral Journal 36, no. 9 (April, 1996): 4, 5.<br />
7 Mussulman, Dear People, 3.<br />
7
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