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Our releases are available from an online marketplace. You can access released recordings on our online audio marketplace via our Store Access. Our online marketplace enables you to stream/preview and/or purchase released recordings with credit card. They can be previewed/streamed Free several time before having to purchase.
Additional details (beyond those on this summary page) are found by clicking on the link to the category you are interested in:
On that category page, click on the dropdown submemu at top left and select the recording your want more details about.
Click on the recording category you want to know more about, and it will link you to the section of details for that category.
This year we are beginning releases of EPs in our series of Nostalgic Love Songs. Target release window for our 1st EP is summer 2026. For initial EP releases, the songs will be upgrades of recordings from our back master tapes. We are well along in upgrading and augmenting those recordings to be worthy of public release.
Five EPs are already planned.
For more details, including song titles planned for inclusion on each EP, and target timeframe windows for each EPs' release, click on this category of projects. That will link you to the Overview page for Nostalgic Love Songs.
Then on that project category's page, click on the EP title that interests you, and you will be linked to the detailed page for that EP.
"And So It Goes" by Billy Joel. (Multi-part harmony version of this haunting song.) ©1989
"I Am the Starlight", by Andrew Lloyd Weber (Pivotal Duet at end of Act 1 of Starlight Express about belief in yourself) ©1984
"The Rose", by Amanda McBroom, (Multi-part harmony version of this romantic love song.) © 1979
Our back catalogue contains a group of recordings of love duets from movies and Broadway, from the 80's and 90's.
That original group of Romantic Duets will be upgraded, including replacing the karaoke accompaniments used on those songs, as well as some of the female vocals. They will be released as part of future EPs in the Nostalgic Love Songs series. See "Mid-term Projects" on this category's details page for list of song titles.
Free ALBUM: The Crucifixion, by John Stainer. (1959 performance by combined AHS choirs.) (Version 1 released Jan 2023. Version 2, with upgraded mastering and separation into individual tracks, released Fall 2024.)
ALBUM: Hymns & Songs of My Mother - Vocal version (Digital download - released 6-20-2024; CD - 9-20-2024)
Future versions of album Hymns & Songs of My Mother
Mini-EP: Welcome Home, by Kathy Brigman Haupt. Folk style Contemporary Christian song. © 2026. (Released Spring 2026) Includes 2 different arrangements:
Advanced Narrations of chapters from eBook (Working title) History Through 27 Hymns and Songs (companion to album Hymns and Songs of My Mother) (Beginning as soon as completion of editing of eBook.)
AUDIOBOOK Following completion of the narration series of chapters, the completed Audiobook
To download your FREE copy, click on Store Access.
If you want ulimited streaming of the mp3 from our online Marketplace, Bandcamp charges $1.00. You must turn down the unlimited streaming to get the Free download.
Version 1 of the restored and mastered album was initially released 1/20/2023;
Version 2 was further mastered, and for easier reference seperated into the 15 numbers in Stainer's score (released 10/6/2024) - FREE for download to your computer.
For more details about this project, click on The Crucifixion.
To preview and/or order your FREE download or CD, click on Store Access.
The original vintage, historic, monaural, private LP of these performances was recorded and released in 1959. The LP was made by combining the best of from the two 1959 live spring performances by the 3 Annapolis High School choirs. Performances were given in the auditorium of the then AHS (now Maryland Hall), in the spring of 1959. Those performances used a magnificanlty unique more choral arrangement, created by the choir director, Mr. Robert Kunkle. Participating were the mixed chorus; two women's choruses; and a limited number of student soloists from the mixed chorus. Members of the choirs were in the graduating classes of 1959, 1960 and 1961.
The digitally restored and mastered file was developed in 2023 from the 1959 private, limited edition, monaural LP made and sold to choir members and families in 1959. (The LP was a raw, unmixed and unmastered version of the live taped performances.)
The arrangement for the 1959 performance was a unique, much more choral arrangement than contained in the score. (The score calls for soloists to sing perhaps half of the performance.) In the arrangement created by Mr. Kunkle, the 2 women's choirs are assigned almost all the numbers scored as recitatives and arias for soloists, creating a dramatically more choral performance. As a result, you are treated to the wonderful sound of womens' choirs on those recitatives and arias.
As indicated in the score, Mr. Kunkle included the short solos Stainer's score shows as coming from members of the choir, plus for several short recitatives. Those are sung by student members of the mixed choir. (David as one of those student soloists, sings the part of Christ, which includes one of the Recitiatves. FYI - This is the earliest recording of a young David.) (Hymns in Stainer's score are omitted. About 41 minutes in length.)
Note. The free download from the Online Marketplace includes a copy of the lyrics, but it does Not include a copy of the score. The score is available as as a free download from this website from PDF of The Crucifixion Score (58 pages).
NOTES
TortoiseClimbing Audio™ is pleased to make this truly unique, much more choral arrangement, created by the choral director, Robert Kunkle, publically avaliable for the first time as a digitized, restored and mastered audio file from the performances on the monaural, private LP record from the 1959 live performances.
This became possible when the score became Public Domain the beginning of 2023.
The recording fidelity is subject to limitations of late 1950's consumer quality audio equipment technology, plus placement of the microphone on the far side of the auditorium from the choirs.
TortoiseClimbing Audio™ is happy to made this restored version publically available for free download. For details about The Crucifixion see The Crucifixion.
To preview and/or order your copy, click on Store Access.
This is a premier, audiophile recording, both in interpretation and audio fidelity. Produced by professionals in professional sound studios, with multiple instrumental accompaniments. The results speak for themselves!
NOTE. Because work on creation of the Hymns and Songs of My Mother album took place over many years, credits for those involved in making of this recording are grouped by the 2 widely separated 2 Phases. To aid in you finding specific pages of interest, an Artists' Cross-reference is provided to facilitate easily locating information about specific artists or instruments.
This is a very extensive collection of 27 historic, nostalgic, traditional hymns and songs (almost 78 minutes in length). It provides truly great interpretations and sonic fidelity for these congregational hymns and songs, performed by professional vocalists and instrumental accompaniments. With the growth in popularity of newer Praise and Worship hymns, these traditional hymns largely disappeared from many hymnals, and from the regular liturgies of many churches.
The impetus for creation of this album of Hymns and Songs was David's father's death in late 1996. Subsequently, in Spring of 1998, (some months before his mother also would die that August) she requested TortoiseClimbing Audio™ create a quality recording for public release containing selections of their favorite hymns and religious songs. David and his mother selected the wide ranging list included on this album.
All the hymns came from hymnals David's parents had collected over the years. The religious songs are drawn from a variety of sources. This album is a homage to both of them.
A number of professional musicians were involved, both instrumental and vocal, bringing a wealth of experiences and skills to this magnificent recording. Credits for each participant musician and vocalist are included on individual webpages, grouped by the recording phase they participated in.
This magnificant interpretation of the old hymns is performed by a number of outstanding trained singers and instrumentalists in various vocal and instrumental arrangements. David sings lead on all but one hymn, where he provides accented harmony to an original arrangement of "Were You There" by the Phase I Producer, Ms. Heidi Gerber-Salins. The Congregational origin of these hymns is deliberatly honored by singing them as printed in the hymnals, but in a variety of vocal combinations and different accompaniment arrangements, including:
All 21 hymns, except lyrics for "Morning Has Broken" are now public domain. Lyrics for 1 song ("Be Thou with Them") are also still under copyright. Plus, there is the unpublished Contemporary Christian song ("Welcome Home"), written and composed by Ms. Kathy Haupt. (She gave TortoiseClimbing Audio™ permission to arrange and make this 1st recording of her song.)
Titles and timings of hymns and songs included are found at Simple Playlist. A more detailed version is available as an Annotated Playlist. Lyrics for all hymns and songs are available for all hymns and songs both from this website and our online audio marketplace. (See Lyrics.)
A limited number of streamings are provided for all tracks from the audio online marketplace product page (see Hymns and Songs of My Mother). At the online audio Marketplace you can also purchase and:
Except for lyrics to "Morning Has Broken," all hymns are now Public Domain, i.e., out-of-copyright. Lyrics to the wedding song "Be Thou with Them," are also still under copyright. We are copyrighting the original folk-Contemporary Christian song "Welcome Home" on behalf of the author/composer, Kathy Brigman Haupt.
Phase I of the recording began immediately after David's mother's request, in Spring 1998, to make the recording. Ms. Gerber-Salins was the producer, vocal arranger for several hymns, audio engineer, and a significant duet partner on many numbers. Her creativity as producer significantly shaped what became the final product. (Ms. Gerber-Salins sings lead and harmony parts on her original arrangement of "Were You There.") Vocals on this album are a mix of solo, duet, and multi-part harmonies, some a cappella.
After his mother's death, work on this recording slowed. Then in about 2004, because of other competing events in the lives of both David and Ms. Gerber-Salins, TortoiseClimbing Audio™ put this project on hold for a number of years.
Fortunately, during the long hiatus between Phases I and II, David and Ms. Gerber-Salins shared a number of brainstorming sessions analyzing needed future work, enabling development of extensive notes. Those notes assisted David when he took on the Producer's rule in Phase II directing implemention both their notes, and other improvements.
Beginning in 2019, David had time to devote to completing this project. So, TortoiseClimbing Audio™ began Phase II. At that time, Ms. Gerber-Salins' life was wrapped into other life endevors. So, someone else was needed as audio engineer and Associate Producer. That person is Mr. Bill McElroy, who contributed production ideas as the work progressed.
Note. This is the same Mr. Bill McElroy, who engineered David's 1st Private recording, Solo Collection. In 1993 Bill left Bias Recording Studio and the recording industry. However, several years later he returned to the recording business, first running a mastering studio in Richmond,VA, and then in 2000 running his new recording studio in Ashland, VA. Thus, he was again available to replace Ms. Gerber-Salins. It was sort of a homecoming to be able to return to working with Bill to complete this project at his new recording studio, SlippedDisc™, with him as Associate Producer and audio recording engineer.
Phase II added various augmentations to the overall project, including:
In addition, other subsidiaries of TortoiseClimbing™ took on related efforts:
In 2022 & 24, Ms. Gerber-Salins again became available for limited advice in completing Phase II. That included:
-- End of Accordian Window on evolution of "Hymns and Songs of My Mother" --
Three (3) additional versions of the album Hymns and Songs of My Mother are planned. The first is intended for relaxing listening of just instrumentals of the hymns. The next 2 are intended for use as karaoke background accompaniments for singing in churches:
This Mini-EP is avalable on our online marketplace. To preview and/or purchase your digital download, click on Store Access.
This is a folk influenced Contemporary Christian song. Even though this is a very different style of song from the rest of the nostalgic, traditional hymns and songs on the album, Hymns and Songs of My Mother, mother loved this song, written for her sister's funeral by her sister's grandchild.
This song became a favorite of David's mother when Kathy wrote and performed this original Contemporary Christian song for the funeral of Kathy's grandmother. As a result, David's mother wanted this song included as part of the album Hymns and Songs of My Mother.
Because of its beauty and appeal as a CCM song, we decided the 2 very different arrangements should also be available separately as a Mini-EP. It is 6 minutes and 02 seconds long and includes:
Many thanks to Ms. Kathy Brigman Haupt, the composer and author of "Welcome Home" for granting TortoiseClimbing Audio™ permission to create an arrangement and make the 1st public recording of her song, "Welcome Home".
This is a series of EPs with songs from the early 20th century to the 1990's, about values that make life worth living. It includes songs about: love; loss; sorrow; bereavement, dedication; and needed social change. Working titles are presented in alphabetical order. Release schedules begin in 2026.
This is the 1st EP in the series of Nostalgic Love Songs. All songs on this EP are upgrades from our master tapes, and were originally included on the album titled Solo Collection, produced by TortoiseClimbing Audio™. It was Privately released on cassette for family and friends in 1993. The original accompaniments were piano only.
In keeping with the upgrade in quality specified in our current mission statement, these songs were converted to digital, vocally post production processed, augmented by adding string bass and drums, and are being remixed and remastered.
Target for release for digital downloads is Summer of 2026. Tentative titles, in alphabetical order include:
These spngs were also included in the private album produced by TortoiseClimbing Audio™ titled Solo Collection that was Privately released on cassette for family and friends in 1993. However, these songs used karaoke tracks as accompaniment. We have completed the post production work on all the vocals. We are recording new accompaniments at Slipped Disc to replace the karaoke tracks. Tentative titles, in alphabetical order include:
All but one of the songs on this planned EP were also included on the private album titled Solo Collection produced by TortoiseClimbing Audio™. It was Privately released on cassette for family and friends in 1993. They were originally recorded only with piano accompaniment.
In keeping with the upgrade of quality now specified in our current mission statement, these songs have been digitized, vocally post production processed, augmented by adding string bass and drums, and are being remixed and remastered.
Target for release as a digital download is by 2027. Tentative titles in alphabetical order include:
A couple of these songs are from our back catalogue, and several will be new recordings. Because of the Spanish flavor of this EP, we plan to replace the piano accompaniments on existing recordings with acoustic guitar, and similarly use qacoustic guitar for the new recordings. Tentative titles, in alphabetical order include:
The following songs were previously recorded with friends around 1991, before TortoiseClimbing™ was established in 1993, but never released. Upgrading and mixing of the 1st two are complete. We will record replacement accompaniment for the 3rd and remix. They are included in above lists for EPs to be publicly released in the Nostalgic Love Songs series.
This song was recorded at Bias studio during 1991-1992, prior to beginning work on Solo Collection, which preceded recording the Hymns and Songs of My Mother album. This is a multi-part harmony version of this haunting © 1989 song by Billy Joel. It's simple accompaniment emphasizes both the poignacy and the vocal harmonies. It was recorded with friends Terry (see Duets with Terry) and Heidi Gerber-Salins. (Ms. Gerber-Salins was subsequently the Phase I Producer of Hymns and Songs of My Mother (see Heidi Gerber-Salins - Producer, Phase I). This is a wonderful, introspective exploration of a lost love.
Currently available for previewing from Duets with Terry.
For more details about this song see "And So It Goes".
We plan to include as part of the 4th planned EP.
This was the first song recorded with Terry at Bias in 1990-1991, before undertaking the private album, Solo Collection.
This is a dramatic baritone and tenor duet in a Rock Broadway Musical style, with synthesized orchestra, bass guitar and piano accompaniment. It is the strong motivational number from the 2nd act of the musical, Starlight Express. This duet takes place between the protagonist, Rusty, and the mythical Starlight Express. In a dream sequence Starlight gives Rusty the advice that the Starlight Express is within Rusty. Just believe in yourself and you can do anything! For more details about this song see "I Am the Starlight."
Currently available for previewing from Duets with Terry.
We plan to include as part of the 4th planned EP.
This romantic song was also recorded in 1991-1992. It's accompaniment is mostly by my friend Terry on his guitars, with a touch of synthesizer. This song is about what is the meaning of love and its importance in life. It was used in the 1979 movie The Rose starring Bette Midler, and was a successful single release.
It begins with thoughts that some say about the difficulties of love, but ends with a pronouncement that love is what brings meaning into life, and that the seed for love can always spring forth anew. This song was a major hit from the "end credits" of the 1979 movie The Rose staring Bette Midler.
The choral arrangement used for making this recording included multiple parts throughout. As part of remixing and remastering, we substantially revised the mix interpretation, and modeled the revised mix largely after the the Bette Midler version, which begins and ends as a solo.
The Draft with the guitar accompaniment is available for previewing from Duets with Terry. We plan to replace the guitar accompaniment with piano, and make this publicaly available as part of the 4th planned EP for download from our online marketplace.
For more details about this song see "The Rose."
This love song was popularized as a duet between John Denver and Plácido Domingo, released in 1981. We envision this duet with a soprano.
Work on the draft Romantic Duets album began years ago after release of the private album Solo Collection, late in 1993, and after Mr. McElroy left Bias. It was not completed. Ms. Gerber-Salins had become TortoiseClimbing Audio™'s lead audio engineer and co-producer on that project.
For the next 4 years after completing Solo Collection, TortoiseClimbing Audio™ gradually recorded materials for the Romantic Duets project. Thus, production of that album was ongoing at the time David's mother requested TortoiseClimbing Audio™ record the album Hymns and Songs of My Mother. Romantic Duets was put on hold to produce Hymns and Songs of My Mother, and Ms Gerber-Salins became Producer, arranger, vocal partner and audio engineer on that project.
The analogue master tapes for the Romantic Duets album are decoded from Dolby A and converted to digital. We plan to replace all the karaoke accompaniments, and some of the female vocals.
These romantic duets were popular romantic songs, primarily from the 1970's through the early 1990's from movies and broadway, largely in the style of ballads. All accompaniments were prerecored Karaoke tracks:
We have begun planning for replacing the karaoke qaccompaniments with accompaniment recording we own. Song titles include:
Work on replacing accompaniments to songs in the romantic duets will be fitted in with ongoing work on:
Other Songs that interest us
"Perhaps Love" (duet) - by John Denver ©1981
Eres Tu (Like El Sol Que Tu Eres is entirely in Spanish) (needs to be recorded)
This will require getting an arrangement, (may have found original arrangement), which includes the chorus interacting with the lead. It would be me on lead. Need a group of singers (could conceivably be all women, like Jamie Flanagan’s friends that sang 4 part harmony. Are they still singing, or willing to sing? Do they read music like Jamie?)“Rainbow Connection” (as a duet) I’d prefer doing it with banjo as the lead instrument, rather than acoustic guitar or piano. An example is -
Another is “All I Know” by Jimmy Webb. He recorded a (duet) of it with Linda Ronstadt that is delightful. Only the solo version is available in sheet music. An example is - (FYI - Would need to be a lower key for me)
BACKGROUND: History Through 27 Hymns and Songs eBook (TBD): Plan is to publish as eBook
Note. The ebook publication, History Through 27 Hymns and Songs is planned as the companion to the album Hymns and Songs of My Mother. (See Publications for details about this eBook.) The plan is to make the publication available in 2 formats: 1) as (a) a digital eBook option bundled with its companion hymns' album recording, and (b) as a stand alone eBook, and 2) as audio narrations of the eBook. Links to both audio and publications online stores will be provided from this website's Store Access page.
Two audio recording products will be created from the companion ebook. The following audio recordings will become available:
When the publication History Through 27 Hymns and Songs is finalized, TortoiseCimbing Audio™ will begin recording a series of advance audio narrations of the chapters from that book. Those advance chapter narrations will be available as:
When the series of narrations are completed, the complete audiobook will be assembled and made available.
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