-- Status --
Audio Store is Online at (Bandcamp). Click on Online Store Access page in above menu.
Shortly we will be adding:
You will be able to place advance orders for this album, to be released beginning of fall. For those who pre-order, you will receive an email notifying you when this album becomes available early this fall for download. Plus, we will announce availability on this page as well.
Free download of this album also available from this website. (This historic, amateur recording is made available Free, both from this website, and from the Tortoise Climbing™'s Online Audio Store at Bandcamp.)
The original 1959 vintage, historic record was made by editing together the amateur, monophonic raw tapes of two 1959 live performances of the unique arrangement (womens choirs singing most the recitatives and arias) from John Stainer's The Crucifixion. It was performed spring of 1959 by the 3 Annapolis High School choirs.
Issues fixed by this 1st ever mastering and restoration of the monophonic record include: removal of lots of audience noises, clicks and pops; the soloists volume is boosted to better match volume of the choruses; volume differences between the 2 tapes that were edited together are eliminated, and in passages where the low hammon organ was too loud for the soloists, the low hammond organ is reduced. (About 41 minutes in length.)
NOTE. This AHS recording of The Crucifixion could only be made available free now because the score only became Public Domain the beginning of January 2023. While this amateur, monaural recording has limited fidelity, it provides an unusual arrangement. Namely, it uses women's choirs instead of soloists for most of the recitatives and arias, creating a truly unique, much more choral version. (For anyone interested, it also contains the first available recording of David as a very young soloist.)
What is provided free from this website are both:
Note. While the Online Audio Store includes a download copy of the lyrics, it does Not include a copy of the score. However, that is available from this website.
For more details, click on The Crucifixion.
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.
This is a lovely solo with simple piano accompaniment (about 2:15 in length). It is the 4th song in the 1895 10 Biblical Songs collection by Antonín Dvořák. Like the songs included as part of Hymns and Songs of My Mother, "Be Thou with Them" and "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring", this song also is perhaps more in the category of an art song, which TortoiseClimbing™ is also comfortable with.
This expansive (76+ minutes in length) high quality, extended album presents 26 formerly popular, traditional, nostalgic, congregational hymns and songs. With only a couple exceptions for lyrics, all are now public domain and largely no longer included in very many church hymnals. They are presented in a variety of arrangements:
It also include 5 religious songs drawn from a variety of sources, from church service songs to baroque and a folk-Contemporary Christian song.
-- Status --
-- Projected Schedule --
Target for release of completed album for online digital downloads is early fall 2023.
Note, several initial tracks will be made available online by end of summer, as will a pre-order capability. Release of the full album online will be early fall. Lyrics are included for all hymns and songs.
Later this year:
Draft of companion history book being reviewed by editor. Comments promised imminently for me to respond to, to create revised version.
Welcome to TortoiseClimbing's™ entirely new website.
NOTE. The plan is to eventually migrate this new website to replace the original 2004 .com website, becomming TortoiseClimbing's™ new permanant website. During beta development, this new website is being hosted under the separate URL, TortiseClimbing.net. When migrated, the .net URL will be automatically redirect to the .com URL. So, any references you establish to this Beta version url will continue to have trouble free access to this information after the migration.
The Crucifixion. First ever mastered and restored audio file sourced from the amateur monophonic, vintage, nostalgic, historic LP of 1959 performances by the 3 Annapolis High School combined choirs using a unique arrangement, i.e., the womens choirs sang most of the recitatives and arias, instead of usual limited quality soloists. There are a few solos from members of the mixed choir. (Choir members were from the classes of 1959, 1960, and 1961.)
The mastered 41 minute recording of this album is available as a Free download from this website. It is found under Recordings, under Annapolis High School, including the supporting lyrics and score. (This is also available for Free from TortoiseClimbing™'s online Audio store.)
Note. The recording on Bandcamp is separated into 2 parts so it could be uploaded. (The file size for the total album is larger than the size limit allowed for upload.) The separation into 2 parts means the download from Bandcamp provides 2 files, one for each part, and the listener is responsible for reassembling them as a playlist to get back to a continuous album performance. The version downloadable from this site is a continuous album.
Hymns and Songs of My Mother. Online release date for selected numbers is targeted for late-summer/early fall 2023. The full 75 minute album of 26 hymns and songs is targeted for online release Fall, 2023. (When selected tracks are released they will include a preorder capability for the online album.)
Distribution plan - Album will be available for download via the online Audio store, hosted by Bandcamp by Fall 2023:
This website. Provides information about every artist involved in creation of both the Hymns and Songs of My Mother recording and the History Through 26 Hymns and Songs eBook.
(Note. There remain 3 vocalists who participated in recording Hymns and Songs of My Mother who have not provided bio materials. Additionally, the draft bio for the trumpeter is drawn from materials found on the internet, but are not yet commented on by the artist.)
"And So It Goes" ©1989 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). This song will be offered, both as:
(It may also be offered as part of a future album.)
"God Is My Shepherd" from the 1895 10 Biblical Songs 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:
Additional products will become available later in 2023 & 2024 as part of discounted bundles. Example: if you buy the album and the forthcomming companion history eBook together, the bundle will be discounted from the total for purchasing separately. (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.)
Check out considerable information about these projects, including detailed credits for each of the many persons involved in helping create each of the projects. The most expansive details are about making the album Hymns and Songs of My Mother recording.
Major categories are accessed by clicking the appropriate category in Top/master menu atop each webpage. Burrow deeper by clicking on dropdown submenu top left under master menu, then click on subtopic that interests you. Deepest details are under Recordings.
Many webpages under "Recordings," "Publications" and "About" contain more detailed Dropdown SubMenus at the top left under Master menu bar. Click on any Dropdown SubMenu and additional webpage choices related to the webpage category you are on will dropdown. Clicking on any link in dropdown menus will take you to those more detailed webpages, with return links.
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