Purchase
If you are interested in any of our featured works, please send an email to the following address and tell us what pieces you would like to order. The music will be sent to you electronically in PDF format along with an invoice.
FEATURED WORKS
SONG CYCLES from FEARFUL SYMMETRY (CENTAUR CRC 3644)
Fearful Symmetry (Voice and Piano): $20.00, single songs $5.00 each.
The eponymous cycle from my recent recording consists of settings of eight poems from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience by the British poet, William Blake. The cycle was composed for soprano, Lynda Poston-Smith and pianist, Robert Smith, who recorded it on the album listed above.
Songs of Circles and The Wheel (Voice and Piano): $10.00, single songs $5.00 each.
This three-song cycle includes settings of poems by Wendell Berry, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Hildegarde von Bingen and presents musical and technical challenges for both singer and pianist.
Hymns for the Amusement of Children (Voice and Piano): $15.00, single songs $5.00.
In the early 1980’s Lynda Poston-Smith suggested I look into the poetry of Christopher Smart for possible poems to set. These six poems, written while the poet was in debtor’s prison, sparked my musical imagination and led to the composition of my first song cycle. Though these songs were written almost forty years ago, they still retain a freshness and vitality when I hear them today.
Five Elizabethan Lyrics (Voice and Piano): $15.00, single songs $5.00.
Composed in 1984-86, this grouping of familiar texts by William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and an anonymous poet provides a glimpse of the future development of my musical language that culminated in the composition of the Fearful Symmetry cycle.
The Falcon (Voice and Piano): $7.50
This dramatic setting of an anonymous 15th century English poem won the 1985 Delius Festival Vocal Category Award and was pivotal in my selection as a composition fellow in the 1984 Petit Jean Art Song Festival. It was there that I met and had the opportunity to study with Ned Rorem, who greatly influenced my later works for voice.
SONGS
At the River (Voice and Piano): $5.00
My latest composition, this haunting, lyrical setting of the familiar Robert Lowry hymn text was written after learning of the deaths of two friends and former colleagues.
The Lord Bless You and Keep You (Voice and Piano): $5.00
Originally composed for my sister’s wedding, this brief benediction has been performed in weddings, funerals, church services, and recitals from the Amazon Rain Forest in Brazil to the Tuscan hills of Italy.
CHORAL MUSIC
The Lamb (SSAATTBB a cappella) $1.25 per copy
Winner of the 1980 Ithaca College Choral Composition Contest, this dramatic setting of the familiar William Blake poem was originally published by Theodore Presser and has received performances around the world.
PIANO MUSIC
Fifth Street Preludes (Piano solo): $10.00
This set of four preludes, each based on a familiar hymn tune, was commissioned by Sara Davis, a pianist and longtime member of FUMC Fort Worth, for her to play as preludes for various services at the church. The four pieces may be played individually for service use or as a set for recitals. The title comes from the address of the church which is located on 5th Street in Fort Worth.
MUSIC FOR BRASS
Foofaraw (Brass Quintet): $10.00
Foofaraw is a brief, showy little piece that is excellent for a concert closer, opener, or encore, and sounds more difficult to play than it really is. The title is a word coined in the American West in the 1850’s that means a great deal of fuss or attention given to a minor matter. My wife and I came across this word one morning in early 2020 while completing a New York Times crossword puzzle.
Clowder Suite (Euphonium and Piano): $20.00
This five-movement suite for euphonium and piano was composed for and dedicated to Donald Palmire, former euphonium soloist with the US Marine Band and the US Army Band. Each of the movements is based on the personality and actions of present and former feline members of the composer’s family.
Nightscape (Trombone and Piano): $15.00
Nightscape received its first performance by world renowned trombonist, Tony Baker, at the University of North Texas. The work demands a high degree of technical facility, musicianship and endurance from trombonist and pianist alike.
Roaring Fork Trilogy (Brass Quintet or Trombone Sextet): $25.00
This three movement suite was written for the US Army Brass Quintet and presents a musical portrait of the breathtaking mountain vistas near Aspen, Colorado. The trombone choir version of the work was written for the University of North Texas Trombone Consortium directed by Tony Baker and was given its first performance by that group in 2014. Both versions are challenging, but rewarding to play.
Darwall Fanfare (Brass Choir): $17.50
Joyful Noise (Double Brass Quintet): $17.50
These two brief fanfares were premiered by the brass section of the Whites Chapel UMC Orchestra and are well-suited to service and concert performance.
Divertimento (Tuba/Euphonium Quartet): $25.00
Divertimento was my first work for Tuba/Euphonium Quartet and was commissioned by the Colonial Tuba Quartet. It has been one of my most frequently performed works with performances by college and university quartets around the country.
Brasscapade Suite (Tuba/Euphonium Quartet): $25.00
Meditation (Tuba/Euphonium Quartet): $17.50
Brasscapade Suite and Meditation were written for and premiered by the TCU Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble directed by Richard Murrow. Both are challenging, but within the reach of college and even advanced high school ensembles.
Be Thou My Vision (Tuba/Euphonium or Trombone Quartet): $10.00
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (Tuba/Euphonium Quartet or Trombone Quartet): $10.00
These two settings of familiar hymn tunes are easily accessible to players ranging from high school to adult amateur and are suitable for church or concert performance.
BAND/WIND ENSEMBLE
Symphonic Variants on a Southern Hymn Tune: Score – $25.00; Score and Parts – $150.00
One of my most widely performed works, this set of variations on the hymn tune, Arise, has received performances across the country by ensembles ranging from the All-State high school bands of Missouri, Indiana, and North Dakota to college and university ensembles as well as community organizations such as the Tidewater Winds. This work was selected by the Virginia CBDNA chapter as one of the featured works for the 1995 New Band Music Festival.
Apotheosis: Score – $25.00; Score and Parts – $125.00
Commissioned for and premiered by the University of Mississippi Wind Ensemble conducted by David Willson, this stylistically diverse work begins quietly and eventually ascends to a thunderous climax. It features very active and demanding brass and percussion writing throughout and combines fugal passages with jazz harmonies and a flowing folksong-like melody.
Abiquiu: Score – $25.00; Score and Parts – $125.00
The village of Abiquiu is located in northern New Mexico not far from the famous Ghost Ranch where the artist Georgia O’Keefe lived for most of her long life. The work uses exotic percussion effects and driving ostinato rhythms to evoke an aural image of the austere, but beautiful New Mexico landscape.
ORCHESTRA
Excursion: Score – $25.00; Parts rental and performance license – $250.00 for one performance. Each additional performance – $150.00
A dynamic concert opener, Excursion was commissioned by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a performance in Avery Fisher Hall in New York City by the New England Symphonic Ensemble on May 8, 2011.
Golden Jubilee Overture: Score – $25.00; Parts rental and performance license – $250.00 for one performance. Each additional performance – $150.00
Golden Jubilee Overture was commissioned by the Houston Civic Symphony to commemorate its 50th anniversary. Brian Runnels conducted the premiere performance of this vibrant, celebratory work in Houston on January 20th, 2017.
William Mac Davis 