Mourning Hymn: Choral Instrumental Pak
Arranged by Heather Sorenson
Item: 35-PK00512765
$15.00
Pickup currently not available
Buy Extra Parts (Digital PDF Download)
| Product | Price | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mourning Hymn - Full Score: Choral Instrumental Pak | $7.00 | |
| Mourning Hymn - Violin: Choral Instrumental Pak | $7.00 | |
| Mourning Hymn - Cello: Choral Instrumental Pak | $7.00 |
Parts Added to Cart!
Description
Many texts have been set to the well-known folk tune O WALY WALY, but it seems at home in this moving testimony of Calvary's love. A tasteful piano part moves in and out of the choral textures with sensitive understanding. The vocal ranges explore lower tessituras and thus grant a deep richness to the anthem's timbre. This octavo immerses the listener in the story and looks without flinching at the cross and its ministry of grace. Breathtaking! Score and Parts (vn, vc) available as a digital download.
Mourning Hymn: Choral Instrumental Pak isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.
Request This Title
Tell us you want it.
Start Your Free Trial
Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00512765
More about this title
About the Arranger: Heather Sorenson
Heather Sorenson is a Dallas-based composer and arranger whose music appears regularly in churches, concert halls, universities, and competition festivals worldwide. Her reputation rests on an unusual fluency across both traditional and contemporary Christian music idioms; she has developed a distinctive voice by weaving these worlds together rather than choosing between them. Her commissions span institutions like Texas A&M University, the Kennedy Foundation, and Carnegie Hall, where her oratorio EXODUS premiered. Beyond the page, Sorenson has taught elementary music at Grace Academy of Dallas, served as adjunct faculty at Baylor University, and leads workshops constantly at worship conferences and universities across the country.
Pedagogy and mentorship run deep in her work. She regularly conducts master classes in piano and songwriting, guest conducts at churches nationwide, and dedicates her free time to benefit concerts supporting nonprofits she cares about. This commitment to developing other musicians shapes how she writes; her pieces are crafted with both artistic depth and practical classroom life in mind.
Why we love this
Sorenson's treatment of O WALY WALY strips away sentimentality and builds something austere and honest instead. The lower vocal ranges she employs create a somber, grounded sound that feels earned rather than imposed; paired with a piano part that knows when to step back, the arrangement respects both the text and the singers' musicianship.
What to expect
Austere and reflective, grounded in a folk tune's ancient simplicity but shadowed by questions about suffering and grace. The piano moves through the texture like candlelight, sometimes illuminating the singers, sometimes receding to let silence breathe. The overall effect is contemplative rather than celebratory; it sits with the cross without flinching.
Who it's for
Choirs ready to sit with difficult theological territory and the musical restraint it requires. This arrangement suits groups comfortable with lower ranges, deliberate pacing, and the kind of rehearsal work that builds interpretive depth rather than technical flash.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the piano entrance carefully. Since it moves in and out of the choral texture, clarify the boundary between sections where the keyboard drops away; this prevents the accompaniment from ever sounding like wallpaper.
- Attend to the lower tessituras with care. These registers demand slightly more space and air in the phrasing; rushing through lower passages flattens the richness the arrangement aims for.
- Balance the vulnerability of the text against any impulse to oversell the emotion. Let the folk tune's inherent simplicity do the work; your singers will find the power if you resist pushing.
How to use it
Reserve this for a service or concert centered on Passion theology, where it can anchor a longer arc of thinking about redemptive suffering. It also serves as a striking palate cleanser late in a concert program; its quiet intensity will reset the room and hold attention without needing volume.
Skills your students will build
- Sustaining lower vocal registers with resonance and control
- Responding to accompaniment that enters and withdraws strategically
- Phrasing with restraint, resisting over-interpretation of sacred texts
- Reading and performing with string parts (violin and cello available separately)