TortoiseClimbing™: Home

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Updated 11-28-2023

Online Stores

-- Status --

Audio Store is Online at (Bandcamp). Click on Online Store Access page in above menu.

• First product is free - Historic, first ever mastered (and restored) 1959 amateur, monophonic recording of The Crucifixion by Annapolis High School choirs containing earliest examples of David solos. (Now available, because score became public domain beginning of 2023.)

Shortly we will be adding:

• The song "And So It Goes" by Billy Joel,
• The song "God Is My Shepherd" by Antonín Dvořák, and
• This fall:
  • Now available. Draft finals of several tracks from the 76 min (26 numbers), Hymns and Songs of My Mother are available for streaming on the annotated playlist of this album. See Annotated Playlist. (If you just want to know numbers included, see Simple Playlist.)
  
  
  • Late this Fall. Finals of select hymns will be made available from The Online Store at Bandcamp, and you will then be able to place advance orders for the digital download of this album. Click on Online Store Access link in the above menu for an easy access link to the Online Store. Pre-orders will receive an email notifying you when this album becomes available shortly thereafter for download. Plus, we will announce availability on this page as well.]
  
  
  • Early this winter. A CD of this album will be added as an order option, for delivery by mail.

Details of Products

Recordings

The Crucifixion - by John Stainer

(For anyone interested, this recording contains first recording of David as a very young soloist.)

Because the score became public domain the beginning of 2023, it is now possible to make this recording available for Free download. (This historic, amateur recording is provided Free, both from this website at TortoiseClimbing™ website, and from Tortoise Climbing™'s Online Audio Store at Bandcamp.)

The original 1959 vintage, historic, monophonic record was made by editing together amateur raw tapes of the two 1959 live performances of the unique arrangement (womens choirs singing most the recitatives and arias) of John Stainer's The Crucifixion. Performces were by the 3 Annapolis High School choirs in spring of 1959. (About 41 minutes in length.)

The monophonic record was digitized the end of 2022, enabling mastering and restoration, including:

• Removal of lots of audience noises;
• Soloists volumes are boosted to better match volume of choruses;
• Volume differences between the 2 tapes edited together are eliminated; and
• On passages where bass hammond organ notes were too loud for the soloists, volume of the bass hammond organ notes are reduced.

What is provided free from this website are both:

• The digitally mastered and restored audio file from the 1959 performance by AHS choirs of this unique, nostalgic, historic, vintage arrangement of this amateur monophonic recording; plus
• The lyrics, and/or score you can use to follow along.

Note. The Online Audio Store includes a download copy of the lyrics, but it does Not include a copy of the score. The score is available from this website.

For more details, click on The Crucifixion.

"And So It Goes" - by Billy Joel

Prior to recording the Hymns and Songs of My Mother album, David recorded a multi-part trio harmony version of this song with friends Terry (see Duets with Terry) and the Phase I Producer of Hymns and Songs of My Mother, Ms. Heidi Gerber-Salins (see Heidi Gerber-Salins - Producer, Phase I). This song will be offered, both as:

• A bonus along with the album, Hymns and Songs of My Mother; and as
• An individual download.

This lovely multi-part trio harmony version of this song was initially published as a solo by Billy Joel in ©1989 (about 3:40 in length). This song illustrates another dimension of TortoiseClimbing™'s repertoire.

"God Is My Shepherd" - by Antonín Dvořák

Like the song "And So It Goes" above, this song was also recorded before beginning the Hymns and Songs of My Mother project. This song will be offered, both as:

• A bonus along with the album, Hymns and Songs of My Mother; and as
• An individual download.

This is a lovely solo with simple piano accompaniment (about 2:15 in length). It is the 4^th song in the 1895 10 Biblical Songs collection by Antonín Dvořák. Unlike the songs "Be Thou with Them" and "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring", included as part of Hymns and Songs of My Mother, this song is perhaps more in the category of an art song, which TortoiseClimbing™ is also comfortable with.

Hymns and Songs of My Mother

This is an expansive (76+ minutes in length), high quality, extended collection of 26 classic, traditional, nostalgic, congregational hymns and songs. David is the lead on all but one hymn, and is accompanied by a number of other trained singers in various combinations and accompaniments.

Except for lyrics to 1 hymn, all are not out-of-copyright (public domain), and no longer included in many church hymnals, this album gives you the opportunity to re-live your memory of these. That memory is fostered by singing them as they were printed in the hymnals, but employing a variety of combinations and accompaniments:

• Solo;
• Duet;
• Multi-part harmony (a number including descants), and
• A cappella,


• They include a variety of accompaniments:
  • Orchestral ensemble;
  • Piano;
  • Pipe organ;
  • Celtic harp;
  • Shuttle pipe (baby bagpipe);
  • Acoustic guitar;
  • String bass;
  • Handbells;
  • Various percussion:
    • Glockenspeil
    • Tubular bells
    • Electronic Timpini
    • Cymbals
  • etc.

The collection is composed of 21 traditional, congregational hymns, and 5 religious songs. The songs are drawn from a variety of sources, from church service songs to baroque settings, plus a folk-Contemporary Christian song.

-- Status --

• Final notes being incorporated in master to facilitate good listening flow of album.
• For final order of hymns and songs on album (See simple playlist or annotated playlist).

-- Projected Schedule --

Target for release of completed 1) select hymns is late fall; 2) complete digital files is early winter; and 3) CD is later winter.

Note. When select tracks are made available in online store, they will be accompanied by a pre-order capability for the complete digital album.

Lyrics are available on this website for all hymns and songs. They will become available in the online store for download later.

Additional companion products:

1. Winter, a CD version will be made available for order thru the online store for delivery via mail,
2. The companion history eBook, History Through 26 Hymns and Songs, will be released and added as part of an optional downloadable bundle. for details see Companion History Book.
3. Advanced podcasts of chapters from the companion history book will begin being made available shortly after the eBook becomes available, and
4. A complete audiobook of the companion history will become available later next year.

Companion History Book

History Through 26 Hymns and Songs

Draft of companion history book being reviewed by editor. Comments will facilate creation of revised version(s) for review by editor.

When released, if you buy the album and the forthcomming companion history eBook together, the bundle will be discounted from the total for purchasing separately. (Note. To sell eBook separately we may have to establish a separate Publications online store. If so, that site will be accessible from this Store's Access page.)