Paul Somers

Commissioned by violist Brett Deubner, Somers compiled a set of three songs to be used as short program fillers for an upcoming recital of Deubner's. 'Song' is from a previously composed set of art so...

“Sonatina for Unaccompanied Flute was composed for Janet Carol Schlein in 1968. We had become engaged, though she was still working at Cornell’s Olin Library and I had moved back to my childhood home...

The first and fifth movements use the same melodic material using very different speeds and rhythms. The second and fourth movements also use their own set of like material, first appearing as a horiz...

The Cello Sonata was written at the request of the superb cellist Ellen Zoe Hassman for a recital in 2008, and has subsequently been adopted by other cellists. Knowing Hassman's style and overwhelming...

On a mission to develop an example of minimalism, Somers found himself wandering into an imagining of a particular Biblical scene, that of Jacob wrestling with a stranger. This brought to mind a hymn...

Written originally for the violin and piano duo of siblings Gil and Orli Shaham, the Yiddish Suite has been arranged for the trio of clarinet, viola, and piano on the joyful occasion of a wedding. The...

Only rarely have I been moved to, or been asked to compose vocal solos. Choral music for concert or church use I have composed. But only rarely have I read poems which I felt would be enhanced by musi...

A slow, a cappella meditation from text from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This choral arrangement for unison voices with mixed split at the end is a very dramatic and rhythmic setting of an apocalyptic text, Luke XXI: 25-26 and 33.

A setting of the well-known Psalm 121, which is over 7 minutes long and includes a solo part, first sung by a tenor. A worthwhile challenge for a choir!

Using text from the book of Jeremiah, both choir and accompaniment imitate turning wheels.

Set to the famous 9th century prayer in Latin, this arrangement is calming and folk-tune like. A version in English is also included.

Using text from Philippians, this piece features echo effects with a big key change climax, followed by a calm conclusion.

James Hewitt (1770-1827) wrote the original piano sonata that this arrangement comes from. Hewitt, a great admirer of George Washington, wrote this piece to tell the story of the pivotal Battle of Tre...

This unique setting of a Richard G. Jones poem sounds exactly as the title appears - Somers calls for the percussion section to be made up of "found" instruments: anything from old car parts to old co...

Written for intermediate pianists, these four solos by Paul Somers feature challenging and exciting rhythms and notes as well as right hand versus left hand work. Perfect additions to the repertoire o...

In a new setting of Bouzignac's Noe! Pastores, composer Paul Mack Somers drew up inspiration from composition styles of Bach and attention to venue from Gabrieli to pen this three part antiphonal mote...

Somers describes Down Jersey as that part of Southern New Jersey in which the watershed drains into Delaware Bay, not Delaware River or the Atlantic Ocean. Vast marshes, meandering rivers, and small t...