"The Beatitudes"
• melody, lyrics, and SATB arrangement by Khrysso
• attributes: gender-inclusive, non-hierarchical language, easy parts, mixolydian mode, a capella
• performance history: written for and performed by East Shore UU Church choir, Mentor, Ohio, 1998, Marj Hill, director
"Gower Wassail"
• melody and lyrics traditional, adapted and arranged for SATB by Khrysso
• attributes: upbeat, folk/Pagan flavor for the winter holidays, equal time on lead lines for all four parts, a capella
• performance history: commissioned and performed by Harmony: A Colorado Chorale, December 2000, Lee Ann Bryce, Artistic Director
"Ancient Mother"
• melody and lyrics traditional Navajo, adapted and arranged from modern Neo-Pagan tradition for SATB by Khrysso
• attributes: easy, non-academic arrangement, very smooth, with descants for voices and woodwinds, equal time on lead lines for all four parts
• performance history: based on the three-part arrangement on my tape I'll Have My Chants This Time A Round, published 1996, now out of print
"In the Lonely Midnight" (Adoro Te Devote)
• melody: Solesmes version of a plainsong melody first published 1697 in the Paris Processional; lyrics from Theodore Chickering Williams (1855-1915), arranged for SATB by Khrysso
• attributes: solo, unison, and four-part lines in a sort of call-and-response format; easy parts; gender-inclusive, non-hierarchical language for the winter holidays, a capella
• performance history: written for and performed by the Sutter Parkway Irregulars at Dublin UU Church, Dublin, Ohio, December 1996, Khrysso, director; recorded on my tape I'll Have My Chants This Time A Round, published 1996, now out of print
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
• melody and lyrics traditional Negro Spiritual, arranged for SATB by Khrysso
• attributes: one verse in score, a capella, appropriate for high school students
• commissioned and performed by a high-school marching band (yes, band), 1996
Other Harmonies by Khrysso:
Khrysso led 6- and 10-hour beginning workshops in Improvising Vocal Harmony at the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute in Radford, VA (1995 and '96). Here is a synopsis of the full 10-hour workshop in 1996:
"Expanded from last year. Learn some strategies for recognizing and improvising standard harmony patterns by ear. Useful for parties, campfires, pick-up ensembles, Late Night, and the like. This is an EAR-BASED class! Written music will NOT be used (you usually can’t see sheet music around a campfire). No experience necessary--last year some people got through the course without ever knowing what their “part” was. We will wet our feet on some well-known childhood rounds, learn a smidge of theory, explore rhythmic textures (counterpoint), and improvise on the spot to some gorgeous melodies. Those who can will be asked to move around. Of course we will convene Father William’s Traveling Serpentine Liniment Choir once again, and if we can, we’ll take our act to the cabaret."
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