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CHORAL MUSIC BY FLAVIO GONTIJO
Edited by Wilbur Skeels
Portuguese pronunciation guides (.mp3 files) read by the composer himself.

  • CQ2113     Acalanto de Natal (A Christmas Lullaby),  SATB, $1.95       View Sample    
    For mixed choir unaccompanied. Original Portuguese text by the composer, with English sub-text by Wilbur Skeels. A Christmas lullaby about the Star of Bethlehem. 12 pp. Duration approx. 4'10". Click here for midi file. | Pronunciation guide.

  • CQ2421     Alleluia ma non troppo,  SATB a cappella, 7 pp., $1.65      
    At last, an alternative to Randall Thompson! Duration approx. 4'38". Difficulty level, 3.  
    Click here for midi file.       View Sample

  • CQ2214     Ave Maria in A Minor,  SATB, $0.95       View Sample
    Latin text, 3 pp., approx. 2'10" duration. A melodic a cappella setting accessible by most choirs that ends in a lilting dance-like sequence. Gontijo's most popular work in his native Brazil. Click here to play midi file.

  • CQ2112     Ave Verum,  SATB, $1.65      View Sample
    For mixed choir, unaccompanied. Some soprano and bass divisi. Unlike many slow and somber settings of this classic text, Gontijo's version has a brighter, more confident flavor, while yet being very expressive with some dissonant and chromatic harmonies. Latin text. 7 pp. Duration: 3'0" - 3'15". Click here to play 3-minute midi file.

  • CQ2614     Beatus Vir,  SATB, optional piano, 12 pp., $1.95 
    Text from Psalm 1, in Latin. See sample pages and listen to a midi rendition of this vigorous portrait of the destiny of a righteous man, as compared to the fate of the ungodly. Difficulty level 3+ but straightforward rhythms. Duration about 3'00".

  • CQ2302     Canção dos Pampas (Song of the Pampas),  SSA, TBB, and SSATBB, 8 pp., $1.65 
    A setting for men's or women's or mixed choir a cappella of Night Songs #4, see CQ2303 below.
    Pronunciation guide.

  • CQ2303     Canções da Noite (Night Songs),  SAB, 15 pp., $1.95      View Sample
    A metaphysical song cycle with original Portuguese texts by the composer, with English sub-texts by Wilbur Skeels, for three-part mixed choir. Approximate duration, 9:44. The expressive (and often enigmatic) lyrics are about the loss and recovery of hope, the bittersweet remembrance of lost love, the divine encouragement to a promised land, the dualities of good and evil (Earth/Sky, Day/Night), and the final compromises of mortality. The individual songs are not available separately, but No.4 (Night Winds) is published in a setting for three-part male or women's choir under the title  Song of the Pampas (Canção dos Pampas), see CQ2302. The five songs in the cycle are:
    1. The Sun goes to Bed (O Sól vai dormir). Click here for midi file.Click here for pronunciation guide. 2. Metamorphosis (Metamorfose). Click here for midi file.Click here for pronunciation guide. 3. Nightfall (A chegada da Noite). Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide. 4. Night Winds (Ventos da Noite). Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunication guide. 5. Twilight (Crepúsculo). Click here for midi file Click here for pronunciation guide.

  • CQ2616     Cristo Senhor, Tem Piedade,  SATB a cappella, 7 pp., $1.65.
    The Kyrie Eleison text in Portuguese. A flavor of Latin rhythms gives this setting of the traditional text an emotional charge. Approximate duration, 3'52", difficulty level 3.   Click here for midi file. Listen to pronunciation guide.      View Sample


  • CQ2420     Embalando (Song of Comfort),  SATB a cappella, 6 pp., $1.65      
    Dedicated to "the sick and hungry children throughout the Third World", with original Portuguese text by the composer, which draws on Eastern meditation ideas. English sub-text by Wilbur Skeels. Duration approx. 2'50". Difficulty level 3-4.  The music is a tender song in A minor that commends living in the moment in order to forget the past.    Click here for .mp3 recording (2.66 MB) by Madrigal de Brasilia [Canto Brasilis CB2] under the direction of Maestro Eder Camuzis. Click here for pronunciation guide.      View Sample

  • CQ2114     Não Quero Lero-Lero (Farewell to Indecision),  SATB, $2.50       View Sample
    For mixed choir, SATB, unaccompanied. Duration, approx. 7'20" with optional repeats up to 14'30". A very personal search for meaning in a world of "haves" and "have-nots" is mirrored in this powerful work of challenging difficulty. Original Portuguese text by the composer, with English sub-text by Wilbur Skeels. Oversize octavo (8½" x 11"), 21 pp. Click here to play 4-minute excerpt midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide..

  • CQ2418     O Vento (The Wind),  SATB with div., 17 pp., $2.50      
    Original Portuguese text by the composer, with English sub-text by Wilbur Skeels. The voices suggest the motions and emotions of wind and sea in the context of a somewhat cryptic poem about lost and found love. The musical material is vocally challenging with its chromaticism. Difficulty level 4+. Duration, 6'25".   Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide.       View Sample

  • CQ2703     O Vos Omnes ,  SATB, a cappella, 18 pp., $2.50      
    Latin text from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. A lament in B minor suitable for Good Friday liturgy, for war/peace themes, or for general use. Difficulty level 3-4. Duration, ± 7'20".   Click here for audio file excerpt.       View sample pages.

  • CQ2419     Pai Nosso (Our Father),  SATB, a cappella, 5 pp., $1.65      
    Portuguese text with English underlay. Approx. duration, 3'40". Difficulty level, 3. An appealing setting of the Biblical text.
    Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide.       View Sample

  • CQ2209     Réquiem Para um Boi (Requiem For a Bull),  SATB, $1.65       View Sample
    For mixed choir, SATB, unaccompanied, 8 pp. Duration, approx. 2'45". Not about bullfighting, this unusual text uses the emasculated bull (ox) of the stockyard as a metaphor for opinion-less modern man following the crowd towards his death. Perhaps death will result in a restoration of individuality? Original Portuguese text by the composer, with English sub-text by Wilbur Skeels. Click here to listen to an exciting recording by Madrigal de Brasilia [Canto Brasilis MB119702A]. It may take up to 6 minutes to load at 50 Kbps, but it is worth the wait. Click here for a pronunciation guide.

  • CQ2617     Tema do Amor (Love Theme),  SATB with piano, 9 pp., $1.95.
    Original text in Portuguese with English adaptation. Melodious vocal writing, with a somewhat challenging accompaniment. A world peace theme. Approximate duration, 3'30", difficulty level 3.   Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide.      View Sample


  • CQ2618     Tema do Perdão (Forgive, my Dearest Love),  SATB a cappella, 6 pp., $1.65.
    Original text in Portuguese by Valdemar Gontijo with English adaptation. A subtle and delicate love song. Approximate duration, 3'20", difficulty level 3.   Click here for midi file. Click here for pronunciation guide.      View Sample

  • CQ2619     Zum, zum, zum,  SATB a cappella, 6 pp., $1.65.     
    Original text in Portuguese with English adaptation. Approximate duration, 2'25", difficulty level 3.   Click here for midi file.       View Sample
    A deceptively simple ballad with interesting ties to modern Brazilian history (it is dedicated to President Juscelino Kubitschek). But it also is the story of Everyman's journey to find a destination of personal peace and fulfilment, a "place" symbolized by the Sargasso Sea.
    Click here for pronunciation guide.




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