Barber's score incipits for all his earliest pieces. Samuel Barber: A Thematic Catalogue of the Complete Works by Barbara B. Heyman, published by Oxford University Press; in the volume, all excerpts from the published and unpublished works of Samuel Barber are reprinted by permission of G. Schirmer, Inc., and the Samuel Barber Trust. Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 1: Earliest Works, 1917-1923 (H-1 to H-19). This section includes the first compositions Samuel Barber (1910-1981) wrote as a child.

View and listen to the score incipits and relevant Sibelius SCORCH audio files of Samuel Barber’s Thematic Catalogue. The Table of Contents and the Index Numbers refer to Samuel Barber: A Thematic Catalogue of the Complete Works by Barbara B. Heyman (Oxford University Press, 2012). This online publication is an innovative ICAMus project carried out by special arrangement with Dr. Heyman and with the Publisher. Barbara Heyman is the author of Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music (Oxford University Press, 1992). 

* Note. If you are unable to view the Sibelius SCORCH files, please install the plug-in here. It is free and easy. The plug-in allows you to view and listen to the score incipits of Samuel Barber’s Thematic Catalogue, inclusive of all his early, rare, unpublished and incomplete compositions. The Sibelius score incipit for each work follows the title it refers to.

SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981)

REGISTER OF INCIPITS

PART 1   Earliest Works (1917-1923)   H-1 to H-19

H-1      Sadness,  Op. I, No. 1. For piano; 1917.

H-2     Sometime, Op. II, No. 1. Text by Eugene Field (1850-1895). For low voice and piano; 1917.

H-3      Melody in F, Op I, No. III. For piano; 1917.

H-4      Why Not? Text by Kitty Parsons (d. 1976). For low voice and piano; ca. 1917.

H-5      Largo, Op. I, No. IV. For piano; 1918.

H-6      War Song, Op. I, No. V. For piano; 1918

H-7      In the Firelight, Op. II, No. 3. Text by Eugene Field (1850-1895). For low voice and piano; 1918.

H-8      Isabel, Op. II, No. 4. Text by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). For voice and piano; 1919.

H-9      At Twilight, Op. III, No. I. For piano; 1919.

H-10    Lullaby, Op. III, No. II. For piano; 1919.

H-11a  Thy Will Be Done, A Sacred Solo, Op. V, No. 1. Text: Religious poem edited and published by Anson D.F. Randolph, 1883. For contralto and organ; 1920-1924.

H-11b  The Wanderer. Text: Religious poem edited and published by Anson D.F. Randolph, 1883. For contralto and organ; 1920.

H-12    Nursery Songs or, Mother Goose Rhymes Set to Music, Op. VII. For low voice and piano; ca. 1918-1922.

            a. Jack and Jill. Text: Nursery Rhyme, Traditional.

         b. God Bless You (Christmas is Coming). Text: Nursery Rhyme, Traditional.

            c. I Love Little Pussy. Text: Nursery Rhyme, Traditional.

         d. Old Man from Jamaica (Two Old Men). Text by Edward Lear (1812-1888).

            e. Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son. Text: Nursery Rhyme, Traditional.

            f.  Rockaby Lady. Text by Eugene Field (1850-1895).

            g.  I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell. Text: Nursery Rhyme, Traditional.

H-13    The Rose Tree, Opera (Incomplete). Libretto by Annie Brosius Sullivan Noble; ca. 1920.

            a. Overture

            b. Sc. 1, Gypsy Chorus

            c. Sc. 1, Gypsy Girl Solo (My Dream). For soprano.

            d. Sc. 2, Stranger’s Solo. For Baritone.

            e. Sc. 2, Old Man, No. 2. For Tenor

         f.  Sc. 2, Serenade (Alverado). Text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). For Contralto.

            g. Sc. 2, Duo

            h. Sc. 3, Landlord’s solo

            i.  Sc. 3, Ensemble, End of Act I

H-13misc., Miscellaneous Sketches, a.  Dancing

H-13misc., Miscellaneous Sketches, b.  Bluebird calls (Sara’s Song)

H-13misc., Miscellaneous Sketches, c. Melancolié (from Act II?)

H-13arr  Gypsy Dance, From The Rose Tree. For violin and piano.

H-14    Prayer. Text by Unknown, probably Barber. For voice and piano; 1921. 

H-15    An Old Song. Text by Charles Kingsley (1819-1875). For voice and piano; 1921.

H-16    Hunting Song. Text by John Bennett (1865-1956). For baritone, cornet (Hunting Bugle) and piano; ca. 1921.

H-17    Themes, Op. X, No. 2. For piano; 1923; Allegretto, 1920.

            a. Minuetto

            b. Andante Religioso

            c. Allegretto on C

H-17arr.  Minuet. Text by Unknown. For two voices (soprano and contralto) and piano; 1923.

H-18    Christmas Eve: A Trio with Solos, Op. XII. Biblical Text; Announcement of the Angel, from Luke 2:11. For chorus, solos (soprano, alto 1 and 2) and organ; ca. 1920.

            a. Prelude

            b. Chorus: On the Hills

            c. Announcement of the Angel

            d. Shepherd’s Solo

            e. March of the Wise Men

H-19    Petite Berceuse. For piano; ca. 1923.

SAMUEL BARBER - THEMATIC CATALOGUE INDEX:

PART 1

Samuel Barber Complete Thematic Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 1. Childhood.

Earliest Works, 1917-1923 (H-1 to H-19). This section includes the first compositions Samuel Barber wrote as a child.

PART 2

Samuel Barber Complete Thematic Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 2. Adolescence.

Works 1924-1929 (H-20 to H-58). This section includes the compositions Samuel Barber wrote as a teenager.

PART 3

Samuel Barber Complete Thematic Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 3. Young Composer in His Twenties.

Earliest Works, 1930-1939 (H-59 to H-94). This section includes the pieces Samuel Barber wrote in his youth.

PART 4

Samuel Barber Complete Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 4. Maturity, The War and Post-War Years.

Works 1940-1949 (H-95 to H-117). This section includes the pieces Samuel Barber wrote in his thirties, among which the Capricorn Concerto Op. 21, the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra Op. 22, and the Piano Sonata Op. 26.

PART 5

Samuel Barber Complete Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 5. The 1950s: Songs, Memories, and Opera.

Works 1950-1959 (H-118 to H-129). This section includes the pieces Samuel Barber wrote in his more mature years, among which Hermit Songs Op. 29, and the opera Vanessa, to a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti.

PART 6

Samuel Barber Complete Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 6. Antony and Cleopatra, and the 1960s.

Works 1960-1969 (H-130 to H-139). This section includes the pieces Samuel Barber wrote over a decade, among which the Piano Concerto Op. 38, and the opera Antony and Cleopatra, to a libretto adapted from Shakespeare by Franco Zeffirelli.

PART 7

Samuel Barber Complete Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 7. 1970-1981: The Last Years.

Works 1970-1981 (H-140 to H-146). This section includes the last pieces that Barber completed, among which the Ballade for piano and the Third Essay for Orchestra.

PART 8

Samuel Barber Complete Catalogue - Sibelius SCORCH files for Chapter 8. Unidentified Fragments.

Unidentified Manuscripts (H-U1 to H-U8). This section includes holograph sketches and fragments from different time periods of the composer's career.

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