In early 2023 I started arranging the folk songs I have always loved, just for fun and because using Musescore was fun! I quickly became absorbed in arranging more and more, with different instrument configurations.
​
I love sharing these pieces with my students, for something different, outside of the Suzuki canon. I hope you enjoy them. IIf you are interested in purchasing a piece, with score, parts, and audio of the complete ensemble and indivicual parts, email me at lisa from jackson at yahoo dot com.
01
Darlin' Corey
This is one of my favorites. I have always loved Darlin' Corey, and had a lot of fun adding harmonies. It's a fun arrangement, and in the middle I have an interlude where I try to recreate the gourd banjo and singing of Cedric Watson. Take a look for him on YouTube.
​
Some double-stop pizzicato and tricky counting challenges.
​
$4.99
02
Shenandoah
Shenandoah is surely one of the most lovely songs ever written. Very old, it apparently dates to the early 1800s. I tried to honor the beauty of the song, interlacing three violins.
03
Wade in the Water
One of my all-time favorite folk songs, with almost endless harmony potential. One story about this song tells of Harriet Tubman singing it when the dogs were coming, telling her passengers to go into the stream or river to throw them off the scent. I tried, in this arrangement, to illustrate the hope and elation combined with darkness and fear.
​
So many of these harmonies date back to my childhood, especially from memories of my father. I hope you like it.
​
$4.99
04
All Through the Night
The most beautiful lullaby.
05
We Shall Overcome
Sometime in the 1960s, We Shall Overcome was subject to copyright, and this song, the anthem of the civil rights movement and created through the "folk process" became someone's property. I discovered this when researching copyright for this site; I also found out that in 2018, a court returned it to the public domain, where it belongs.
​
The beauty, simplicity and endless harmony possibilities of We Shall Overcome are peerless. I realize this is in 6/8 time, which is unusual, but honestly I just like it better that way.
​
I am offering the score, accompanying parts and audio files for free.​
​
$0