While widely known as a baroque specialist conductor and virtuoso on the organ, harpsichord, and fortepiano, Anthony Newman is also a prodigious a composer whose works have been heard in Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw, London, New
York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and across the United States. His output includes 4 symphonies, 4 concerti, 4 large choral
works, 2 operas, 3 CDs of piano music, and a large assortment of chamber, organ, and guitar works. His works are published by
T.D. Ellis Music Publishing (www.tdellismusic.com) and recorded on 903 Records and other labels, available on CD or download from CD Baby. Newman has received 33 consecutive annual composer's awards as a member of ASCAP.

Dates of Composition
Requiem - 1997
Psalm 27 - 2017
Te Deum - 2006
Angel Oratorio - 1996

Requiem
Orchestra and Chorus of BachWorks, Anthony Newman, conductor
Soprano: Susan Lewis, Elizabeth Weigle, Jennifer White, Michele Eaton, Margery Daley, Ruth Cunningham
Alto: Amy Butler, Hai-Ting Chin, Margaret Bragle, Debra Walden-Oliveira
Tenor: Jonathan Goodman, Steven Isaac Vaughn, David Ossenfort, Ben Sosland, Marc Heller
Bass: Jeffrey Johnson, Jon Szabo, Rick Hoffenberg, Mark Wagstrom, Raymond Diaz
Organ soloist on tracks 10 and 14: Anthony Newman, Trumpet Soloist on track 14: Graham Ashton

Psalm 27
Bedford Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, Anthony Newman, conductor
Soprano: Julie Dolphin, Cate Webber
Alto: Sara Bleasdale, Angela Leson
Tenor: Ryan Brideau, Chance O’Toole
Bass: Ben Niemczyk, Thomas West

Te Deum
Bedford Chamber Orchestra and Chorus Anthony Newman, conductor
Soprano: Joan Krause, Susan Lewis, Jeanne Marie Lally
Alto: Wendy Fahrstull, Trisha Hussey
Tenor: Matthew Garrett, David Ossenfort
Bass: Raymond Diaz, Thomas West

Angel Oratorio
Bedford Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, Mary Jane Newman, conductor
Soprano: Joan Krause, Allesandria Visconti,
Cate Webber
Alto: Amy Butler,
Tenor: Michael Steinberger, James Worthy
Bass: Russ Ashley

Requiem
“This is gorgeous music, expertly performed with both reverence and passion.”
Billy Joel
"A huge, incredible piece! So effective and so well written."
Lucas Foss
Requiem, composed in 1997 with a premiere in 2000, is one of a very few settings by a living American composer. It includes all parts of the Latin text and adds a poem of Shelley called Ozymandias. The work, in honor of the commissioner's mother, was commissioned by Frederick Sibley, a patron of contemporary music arts, and scored for chorus, soloists, big orchestra and organ. Requiem Aeternam, the work’s largest movement is somber, sad, complex contrapuntally, imitating the grand contrapuntal tradition of Bach and Handel. The next movement is a Kyrie Eleison, manifesting as a modern fugal structure. It is
brilliant and active throughout, quiet only once, when retreating into the Christe. At the end, the main tune is played in augmentation against the much shorter original theme. The final section of Kyrie is a subtle harmonic reflection on Bach's
famous chorale Come Sweet Death. The Dies Irae starts with the famous opening chant, accompanied by powerful
chords. We are reminded of the opening of Oedipus Rex of Stravinsky. The chorus spits out the text in this athletic and demanding movement. In the next section, Rex Tremendae, the magnificent text is set with big chords and shouts from the
chorus. Mozart also sets his Rex Tremendae with big chords but with dotted rhythms. Confutatis is another furious text and it set as a double fugue with a middle section, albeit much quieter, which asks God for help. After this introspective section the opening returns but at a faster tempo. Lacrimosa is set as a duet for soprano and alto with the emphasis on melodic content. It is followed by a faster contrapuntal setting of "amen." This amen is one of the few settings of this word that appears in requiems. Mozart was unable to finish his Requiem before his death in 1791, however there are sketches which look like his Lacrimosa might have ended with an Amen double fugue. The famous poem Ozymandias is now sung. It is proud and powerful: a reflection on the vanishing quality of all human things. The name Ozymandias is always accompanied by a brass fanfare. It is an intensely dramatic tour de force for tenor solo, with occasional shouts from the basses. The next text is Domino Jesu Christe, a kind of crescendo piece, ending with a triumphant setting of the text “semini ejus.” I have inserted an Organ Toccata to set up the grand statement of Sanctus and Hosanna. It is rare that this text has been conceived as a kind of triumph over death. Cherubini's is set more gently. The next movement, Benedictus, is set quietly for four vocal soloists followed by a completely different treatment of
the Hosanna text from the proceeding Sanctus. Usually composers use the same hosanna for both these sections. Gentle and plaintive is the Pie Jesu. It is a duet for soprano and alto with the two voices soaring over a quiet string pizzicato background. The musical contrast to the following Libera Me could not be greater: a dramatic movement for baritone, solo trumpet, and organ, it starts with fierce dotted rhythms against an impassioned and declamatory melodic line, then is followed by a gentle section, finally returning to the dramatic opening statement. It can be used in place of Ozymandias, but I have included both movements in this recording. By the time the Agnus Dei text arrives, most composers are exhausted, both musically and physically. I took a break here and returned a bit later to set this text. It is one of my largest and most e m o t i o n a l movements, and is in three distinct sections: an opening pleading one, followed by a reprise of the opening of the thematic material, with the end of this section also containing a blessing for the Sibley family, in Latin, and in the soprano part. The second section is a celestial contrapuntal setting of the text “Et Lux perpetua Luceat eis.” The final section is a triumphal ending of crushing spiritual intensity called In Paradisum. It appears in English translation, rather than in Latin and in 8 parts,
ending with a resplendent fortissimo. This is a live recording.

Psalm 27
Psalm 27 is a passionate and vital demand for God's help in dealing with the often very difficult problems of life. I have taken the 18 verses of the 27th Psalm and combined them into 8 movements based on the similarity of musical characteristics.
I
After the opening Trumpet Fanfare in the Baroque Manner I, the first four verses of the psalm are combined in the first two choruses, the first of which, The Lord is My Light, expresses the joy of the text.
II
In Though an Army, the second chorus, is heard the railing against one's enemies and asking for God's help.
III
One Thing I Ask is a gentle but demanding cry for help.
IV
To Behold the Beauty of the Lord, the first of the duets (tenor and soprano), is
lyrical and traditionally tonal throughout.
V
Trumpet Fanfare in the Baroque Manner II is followed by Even Now, a complex instrumental fugue with an obbligato choral halo. In Dominus est Luminatio Meo, a soprano solo takes the opening text but in Latin and expands it with quiet rhapsody.
VI
Hearken to My Voice is unusual in that it is built on the harmonic bass that Bach used for his famous Goldberg Variations. It is quiet and rather simple in the beginning but becomes stormy.
VII
You Have Been My Helper, the only movement in a minor key, is a duet for bass and tenor. It is a plea to God for salvation. And Though War Should Rise Against Me is a brief, slow and solemn interlude based on an adagio of Bach from his Toccata in C Major for organ.
VIII
A very large scale chorus at the end, Wait for the Lord, is a brilliant and demanding chorus includes the opening of the psalm spoken in four languages, – German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Psalm 27 was commissioned by The Vestry of St. Matthew’s Church, Bedford, New York, to celebrate the service to the church of Reverend Terry Elsberry. This is a live recording.

Te Deum
The text of the Te Deum is traditionally ascribed to both St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. It is in six large sections with many examples from the classical literature of which those of Purcell, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, and Bruckner are amongst the most important. In my setting, the opening text We Praise You, is followed by an optional B section for solo singers, interrupted by shouts from the chorus. The next section, entitled The Glorious Choirs, is a large scale solo for high soprano within a big A-B-A section and is of martial quality until interrupted by a more restful section which starts with the text "The church of God". The return to the opening is now accompanied by the choir. The next movement is for tenor solo, with the text being The King of Glory. It is slow in tempo, but high in tessitura, featuring a cello obbligato. A transition section with the text The Right Hand of God, leads us to Glorious Choirs, a fugue for the choir on the same text followed immediately by Thou Wilt Come to Judge, a solo for male alto on the text "We believe that you will come." The choir repeats the text fugally after the exposition by the solo singer. In the final section, Vouchsafe O Lord, the prayer is for the Lord to "Keep us this day without sin." It is a Handelian fugue with the words sung in a block texture. The scoring is for choir, soloists, two oboes, one bassoon, two trumpets, and strings and was commissioned by Saint Matthew’s Church, Bedford, New York.

Angel Oratorio
“I have no doubt this will become part of our timeless musical treasure”
Lloyd Moss, WQXR
This work, written in 1996, features the words of angels set to music. After the opening Overture, the second movement for chorus, On the First Day God, is the creation story set with big chords and dotted rhythms. It is triumphant throughout, with plenty of invertible counterpoint. In the third movement called The Hymn, I use verse 11 of Milton's great poem of the same title. The tune of The Hymn, although you may not believe me, was channeled from an angel guide. The next movement for chorus, Radiant and Glorious, was inspired by Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and is all about praise and shouts of joy. The fifth movement, about 10 minutes in length, The Angel Appeared to Moses, is about Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush. The story is
complete including not only his encounter of a burning bush, but also God's command to take off his shoes, together with "I am the God of your fathers." Moses descends from the mountain and his face shines radiantly. A great celebration ensues. How Sweet the Moonlight is one of the most popular pieces I have composed. It is followed by Little Cherubs, a piece for children adapted from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Holy is God is simply a praise of the Lord and is the end of the first section. The next section begins with the turbulent Rage followed by a hymn in three verses, Thou Fair-haired Angel. The first verse is taken from the English poet Blake, the second from an anonymous text in old English, and the third from Gerard Manley Hopkins. A Sanctus and Hosanna follow, filled with triumph and glory. Ave Maria is a more unusual setting of this famous text - more impassioned and modern in sound. I imagined that it could be even sung as part of a Broadway show. Hail So Highly Favored is a text about the birth of Jesus and the surrounding events that forced his parents to flee to Egypt to escape persecution and possible death by Herod. Blow Your Trumpets Angels is the most brilliant of these three pieces, and echos such virtuosic works as Cantata 51 of J.S. Bach, and the aria 'Rejoice' from the Messiah of Handel. Worthy is the Lamb is the final large chorus and mimics the famous Handel chorus from the Messiah with the same initial text. It is in three distinct sections: The opening, long declamatory contrapuntal section, a hymn-like section, and finally a brilliant amen section which ends the work. Included in this set are three sacred songs, part of a commission by Fredrick Sibley. O Father (Raymond Diaz, bass) are the words of the Christ to his ‘Father’ asking to be spared the suffering he is about to endure. To Spring (Susan Lewis, soparano) is a beautiful poem by Blake about the emergence of what is most peoples favorite season: spring. Mary Magdalene is a magnificent vision of Mary’s first seeing Jesus after his ressurection. (Susan Lewis, soprano, David Ossenfort, tenor) with Jesus.
-Anthony Newman