Table of Contents
Arranger Biography
Carol Worthey
In Who's Who In The World as a composer, Carol Worthey gives a high rating to the art and science of being an Arranger.
"Ironically, It's how I really learned to compose, because I had to learn professional chops and how to deliver the goods on time and to spec."
As a Music Major at Columbia University , where she won First Prize in Composition, Carol had had works played in Carnegie Hall , Aspen Music Festival and the like. But it was as the second woman graduate of the grueling Contemporary Composing and Arranging Program at Grove School of Music that she learned to orchestrate, conduct, copy, film score and deliver the goods. Immediately upon graduation, Carol did the arrangements for a full album.
Since then, Carol's arrangements have been at the Shrine Auditorium , Universal Amphitheatre , Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and various clubs and showcases throughout Southern California as well as on four CDs to date.
"I consider myself primarily a composer and enjoy creating original works plus my own lyrics, but I take the viewpoint of a skilled arranger when I want to realize my musical visions."
It is her creativity as a composer, indeed, that makes her arrangements so far beyond hack work. Carol can arrange in more than twenty-five styles of music, from Swing to Rock, Country to Gospel, Vegas show to Hip Hop. Her arranging chops were on display in a recent filmscore done in THX Surround Sound.
Carol Worthey the Composer and Carol Worthey the Arranger join hands well.
"Hymn of Asia"
© 1974, 2000 L. Ron Hubbard, All Rights Reserved
Music composed & performed by The Golden Era Musicians.
With Lead Vocals by Sherwood Ball and Marji Nelson
© 2000 Golden Era Productions
Carol was one of the Vocal Arrangers/Orchestrators. This CD went Gold.
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Carol Worthey has been Vocal Arranger for the following CDs:
David Arkenstone (Emmy-nominated New Age Singer-Songwriter)
Three Arkenstone CDs:
- The Celtic Book of Days
- Return of the Guardian
- Caravan of Light
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Big Band Arrangements
There are about 30-plus Big Band arrangements by Carol Worthey fully completed, in full score and done while at the Grove School of Music of songs by others. Most are in Swing style and include such classics as "Fly Me to the Moon" , "Time After Time" and the like. Other styles done for Big Band are Gospel, Country, Rock, Pop Ballad.
Aside from original works for full orchestra by Carol Worthey, there are about four or five arrangements by her of songs by other songwriters. Most of these were done while at the Grove School of Music . These range in style greatly from Dramatic Ballads to Broadway show style to Gospel. A few of them are individually listed under this section.
(See here Arrangements of Songs by Others).
(Also see here under Solo Song and Jazz Arrangements, for examples of Big Band arrangements.)
"Evening in December"
For Soprano Soloist, S-A-T-B Choir and Piano Accompaniment
Words & Music by Tricia Walker & David Maddox
Arrangement: ©1997 Carol Worthey
World-Premiered at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Soloist Sisu Raiken simulcast on KCET-TV and KUSC-FM Radio.
Pop Arrangement with Classical Feel of a Christmas song
"It's In Every One Of Us"
For Tenor Soloist & S-A-T-B Choir with Piano Accompaniment
(or can be done a cappella)
Words & Music by David Pomeranz
© 1975, 1980 Warner-Tamerlane Publications & Upward Spiral
Arrangement: ©1988 Carol Worthey
Gospel Ballad Style (There are two versions of the opening of this.)
"On A Clear Day"
For Unaccompanied Jazz Vocal Quintet
(Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass-Baritone)
© 1965 Alan Jay Lerner & Burton Lane
Performance Rights Authorized by Chappall Music for Church Choir Performance
Arrangement: ©1985 Carol Worthey
Manhattan Transfer-type Jazz Arrangement World-Premiered at Shrine Auditorium in 1985.
"That Very Old Merry Old Christmas"
For S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Ron Ross
© 1992 Ron Ross
Arrangement: ©1992 Carol Worthey
A jolly Christmas arrangement World-Premiered in 1992 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on KCET-TV and KUSC-FM Radio.
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"When You Wish Upon A Star"
For Barbershop Quartet (Tenor, Lead, Bari, Bass)
Dedicated to "The Chairmen of the Chord"
Words by Ned Washington & Music by Leigh Harline
© 1940 Irving Berlin Inc., now Bourne Co. Copyright Renewed
Used with Permission of Publisher
Arrangement: ©2001 Carol Worthey
(From Walt Disney's "Pinocchio")
"White Christmas"
For A Cappella S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Irving Berlin
© 1939 Irving Berlin
Permission granted by Publisher to perform for church and charity purposes
Arrangement: ©1978 Carol Worthey
Performed at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion numerous times and at a wide variety of venues.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
for Solo Piano (concert encore)
Words & Music: Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong
©1966 Jobete Music Co.,Inc. (Renewed 1994)
Arrangement: ©2005 Carol Worthey
Commissioned by concert pianist and recording artist Ruth Ann Galatas as a concert encore piece. Here's what Dr. Galatas has to say about the work:
"Carol Worthey's dazzling transcription of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' conjures up a smile but requires a challenging listen. Carol deftly compliments the Motown hit by embellishing its famous theme with enriched harmonies and surprising textures. She's taken a popular melody and put it in concert attire--a jewel of an encore!"
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"Witchhaunts of Scotland"
Approximately 4,000 words, suitable for "National Geographic"
or for a book of historical essays.
© 1993 Carol Worthey
A searching look at the true and grisly tale of witches, both falsely accused and those who were truly practicing, in the lands of moors, highlands and legends. Some of these were good hearted mid-wives and healers (retainers of the ancient wisdoms), others were on the Dark Side. Exhaustively researched and vividly written.
Lyrics
(See under Poetry, The Lonely Wanderer Comes Home and under various categories of Songs, i.e. Folk, Pop, Art Song, etc.)
Note: Carol Worthey has worked both as "writer" (music writer) and lyricist on numerous songs, some of which are co-written by a variety of writers and songwriters. Most of the time Carol Worthey writes music and lyrics simultaneously. Songs with lyrics and music by Carol form the bulk of her song "library." As an example of Carol's lyric-writing skill and poetic style, here are the lyrics for a so-called "Pop Art" * song:
The River
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1985 Carol Worthey
Oh, The River flows so quickly
from the mountain to the sea,
Yet The River moves too slowly
to the place where it should be.
And the Lifetimes melt like ice dreams
as they float out to the shore.
And one lifetime's not enough time -- I want more!
So The River sings a promise
that it's never gonna end.
And the stepping stones we pause on
say we'll pass this way again.
And we'll never greet the rainbow
'til the coming of the rain,
When The River meets the mountaintop again.
* "Pop Art" songs combine elements of "classical" art songs with the relative simplicity of pop songs and so Carol has coined her own term for a large body of songs, spanning a wide range stylistically and emotionally. Her Art Songs are listed in a separate category.
"How To Get... And Keep The Man of Your Dreams -"
A Thinking Woman's Guide
by Carol Worthey
© 1994 Carol Worthey Illustrated by the Author
Work-in-progress, unpublished to date, projected length 350 pages
Forward by renowned Relationship Seminar Lecturer Doug Williams
Written for the "thinking woman with heart" who really seeks a creative, stable relationship for life. (Bimbos looking only at a man's bulging wallet or pants are advised to go elsewhere.) The author has conducted successful Relationship Seminars in the Los Angeles area and has been happily married for twenty-four years. Admittedly, these facts do not automatically guarantee that her advice is "worth its salt" -- but Carol has a unique approach that will intrigue anyone frustrated, lonely or skeptical. This book just might WORK!
What is different about this book? It is an active workbook designed to be co-created by the Reader herself. There are special sections for her to fill out and make her own. ( How To Get And Keep The Man of Your Dreams is written primarily for women readers, but can be effective in helping men to find their Ideal Mates or at the very least to examine what "a thinking woman with heart" wants and needs. This has eternally been a puzzle to the male of the species.)
After introducing Carol's general approach to finding the Ideal Mate, the author walks the reader through something she calls Lifestyle Profile. Lifestyle Profile is an extensive set of pertinent questions to be filled out by the Reader (questions designed to enlighten the woman on her own unique character, her habits, desires, strengths, weak points and the like). Knowing oneself is the starting point for any great relationship. Filling this out honestly is a must. After this, the Reader fills out an Ideal Mate Write-up, Now she gets a chance to pinpoint the specific qualities of Mr. Really -- it is Carol's basic premise that (if the Reader does her job thoroughly in envisioning and writing it down) such a person actually exists. A real fella! Of course, "how to keep" the marriage alive is the ultimate aim. Carol offers some very practical tips from her experience on how to create mutual joy, trust, devotion and FUN on a daily basis!
"Stretch Your Ears"
Music You Thought You'd Never Like But DO!
by Carol Worthey
© 1998 Carol Worthey
Do you "hate" Classical Music? Think it's for sissies or snobs? Were you forced to sit still at concerts as a child? Or are you on the opposite side of the hall: Do you only listen to Classical Music? Would you rather go to the Dentist than hear a country song? Well, OPEN YOUR EARS, YOUR HEART, YOUR MIND! Get ready for some pleasant surprises: Renowned composer and songsmith Carol Worthey has compiled twenty-nine different lists of recommended music to help make it easy for you to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your listening habits. Explore brand new worlds of sound from the comfort of your armchair. Take this book to the library for a refreshing trip into new terrain.
If you like Doo Wop 50's and R & B, listen to George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Or (more surprisingly) choose a specially selected work by Bach, Handel and Beethoven from that very same list. Got that radio dial glued to your favorite Country station? Try out Rodeo by Aaron Copland or the works by Vivaldi, Dvorak or Mozart that are on the "I Like Country Music" List. If Ragtime is your favorite, give Bach's Goldberg Variations a try or sample works by Scarlatti, Chopin, Ravel and Stravinsky. There are classical music selections here to please anyone from Rock 'n Rollers to New Age'rs. Now, conversely, if you ONLY listen to Classical Music and have closed your ears to a world out there that is full of valid musical expressions, find a Classical work you absolutely adore (there are tons to choose from), and go and explore! If you love Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, give Mainstream Jazz a try. Go ahead -- it won't hurt -- S-T-R-E-T-C-H your ears!
"The Secret Simplicity of Music"
by Carol Worthey
© 1992, 1994 Carol Worthey
Work-in-progress. Projected length 600-700 pages
(including an extensive Glossary and a Companion CD)
The sheer simplicity of music is part of its very power -- this has been kept secret too long. Welcome to the Great Experience!
Here is a book designed to teach anyone what music is, without the usual complexities and false data that keep so many people at a distance from the subject. The truth is that music -- the experience of music -- is simple . What we hear is what we get. But in today's world, we have not been taught how to name what we hear. As toddlers we were taught to tell the difference between colors and to name them. In early school we learned the alphabet and how to put sentences together. But noone (well, hardly anyone) taught us to recognize and name what we perceive when we listen. Complicating all this is the simple fact that music floats in the air and can't be touched (although it touches our hearts). All this has made the teaching of basics, how to read music, how to write it down, seem unnecessarily complex. If well-taught, it's easier to read music than it is to read words! But here's the sad truth: Most people, even though they essentially perceive music correctly, are music illiterates. They do not know what they are hearing, they simply hear it. It is as if someone were enjoying a painting without knowing the names of any colors or shapes. He would see it, but be cut off from much of the experience. To name is to distinguish.
The Secret Simplicity of Music is designed to fill that gap, to walk anyone through the basics, so that they can enter into the experience and participate knowingly in the curative and creative power of music. What is sound? What is music? What is noise? Find out. How does melody convey emotion? What exactly is "harmony"? How do rhythm and structure function? What are some of the "secrets" of the great composers? Why do those funny symbols and dots look the way they do? There is an extensive Glossary, some of which will be intriguingly controversial to academics, there are easy exercises designed to boost musical competence, a companion CD and even a compendium of songs which have stood the test of time.
"Treasury of Holiday Magic"
by Carol Worthey
© 1992 Carol Worthey
384 pages Illustrated by the Author
Includes selections from Carol Worthey's Songs and other music
Limited First Edition self-published in 1992 by Worthgold Publications
Holidays are times where work is set aside to nurture family and celebrate the spiritual aspects of life. Still, holidays today are usually pressure-packed with stress. How does one survive the stress and yet keep the magic alive all year?
This book by composer Carol Worthey is designed to be a Holiday Survival Kit. From its gorgeous gold cover to its full color artwork, Treasury is a one-stop safety valve for stress relief and a catalyst for joy. Designed to release the creative juices of the reader, it is chockfull of wisdom and how-to's, recipes and crafts, artwork, poems, romantic ideas and most especially, festive music for Christmas, Chanukah and holidays throughout the year. Treasury of Holiday Magic also has over 350 fun party ideas from Birthday Parties to Community Get-togethers, advice on how to survive Potlucks and how to keep music alive in the home all year, including a guide to buying a piano.
Just the music alone, by a Who's Who In The World composer, makes this book an heirloom to pass on from generation to generation. Christmas Songs are just the start -- there are easy pieces for piano, flute and strings to play with friends and family. The Limited First Edition (autographed by the author) sold out in less than three weeks.
"Turning Life into Art: How A Composer Works"
by Carol Worthey
© 1999 Carol Worthey
A work-in-progress existing solely as a video of a lecture given at Borders Classical Music Society in Thousand Oaks, California in 1999 with illustration boards created by Carol for this lecture. Planned book is to be written and illustrated by Carol and aims to clarify how a composer creates, targeted for bright preteens and adults.
"Creative Conspiracy"
by Carol Worthey
© 2006 Carol Worthey
I awoke on Independence Day, the Fourth of July, having dreamt the entire first stanza of this poem. It describes the world of today on the verge of a new Tomorrow. Today people are bored in their office cubicles and long to create art, so they go online and start home businesses, knowing that Social Security is an endangered species. In a world of anonymity where Celebrities are the New Gods, where wars are fought over greed, where children reach for the golden ring but soon want off the carousel, Artists dream of a new world where they can create their art and get paid for it.
Read the full text here .
"The Lonely Wanderer Comes Home"
A Lyrical Anthology
by Carol Worthey
© 1992 Carol Worthey 131 pages Illustrated by the Author
Self-published Limited First Edition Coffee Table Book 18" by 24"
The Lonely Wanderer Comes Home takes the reader on a life-voyage of transformation. The starting point is intense loneliness, but at the end we have journeyed back Home to a renewed sense of love and possibility. A compilation of ninety of this award-winning poet's best poems and song lyrics, written from the age of seventeen on to the present, Wanderer is lavishly illustrated with drawings, paintings and woodcuts by the author, many in radiant color.
This anthology contains the following poems, arranged here in alphabetical order:
- Apparition
- A Town Called Faraway
- Beauty Keep Me Company
- blue dew
- Bubble
- Chanty
- Christmas Glow
- Cinderella Song
- Continental
- Breakfast
- Crack (in the skin of time)
- death is the sill
- Dirge
- Do not ask
- Everythin'-at-once / Nothin'-in-particular Blues
- Far over the dim rooftops (of remember me)
- Gentle Valley
- Haiku (Porcelain petal holds the sun)
- Have You Ever Wondered
- Horizon
- How Could the Lighthouse Look the Other Way
- I Am the Song (the morning dew would sing...)
- I Love Thee
- I Peer into Your Space
- I would fold myself into your life
- Lady of Cornwall
- Let my windows be large
- Life (A Rhapsody)
- Lullaby to a Newborn Baby
- The Master
- Melody
- Music Alone
- My Long Lost and Found Friend
- Neighborhood of the Heart
- New England Shore: Impressions
- Notes on a Hopeless Infatuation
- now i rest on a windy balcony
- Now Is Always
- oh the heavy lightness
- On My Nineteenth Birthday
- Peaceful Bay
- Peace Is Possible
- Portrait
- Prisms I - IV
- Proverb
- Rags White Rags
- rain oh music reign
- Riddle (Haiku)
- Riddle Song
- The River
- Sex Symbol
- Show Me A Universe
- Snips and Snatches
- The Snowflake Tree I, II & III
- Star Traveler
- Still Life [Nature Morte]
- Summer Tree
- Tears on Velvet
- Technology's taking
- threads of I am
- Twelve Poems to an Unworthy Lover
- The Unanswered
- wafting butterflies of forever
- Waking: Childhood
- Wallflower
- we must be stronger than ancient tears
- What Is A Life
- Your eyes are slow candlelight
- Your Love Made Me Believe in Love
- You're the Present
(New poems will be added as is merited.)
Short Stories
Note: Carol dubs her short story approach "Spiritual Realism", preferring that to the title "Fantasy". This is because she believes her stories are based in actualities or true capabilities we all have (at least potentially) as spiritual beings. This runs against the grain in the materialistic society of today, where life-after-death, out-of-body experiences and esp are regarded as curiosities. But in mankind's history of beliefs and certainties, perhaps Carol's approach belongs to a longer tradition. It is up to the Reader to decide.
"A Clear Stand"
A Short Story by Carol Worthey
© 1993 Carol Worthey
A meek, self-deprecating wife and mother has kept her husband's brutality (both physical and mental) a secret from her grown kids and from the small town where Fire and Brimstone meets gossip on a daily basis. The pride and joy of the church she attends is a brand new crystal clear podium the congregation has just secured from which their minister can spout his warnings. What happens to her secret when she dies? Can she finally speak out? Are there other secrets she's never even guessed at? Find out by reading "A Clear Stand" .
"The Assumption"
A Short Story by Carol Worthey
© 1992 Carol Worthey
Completed, 12 pages, approximately 3000 words.
A compelling first-person account of an ordinary joe's death and rebirth wherein he realizes that he is more than flesh and blood. He had always assumed it was Only One Time Around. So you see, the title has a double meaning. Will reading "The Assumption" prepare you for your own passing? Read it and find out for yourself.
"Turning Life into Art: How A Composer Works"
VHS Video;
© 1999 Carol Worthey
An illustrated lecture given at
Borders Classical Music Society in Thousand Oaks, California.
Carol first explains her background and what inspired her to compose as a toddler, tracing the legacy which was passed on to her from such composers and mentors as Leonard Bernstein and Darius Milhaud . Her intention is to foster early music and art education and exposure for very young children. The greater portion of this lecture addresses the philosopical and technical (practical) aspects of how a composer takes the activities, memories, emotions and passage of time and transforms them into music. By walking the viewer through her creation of a string quintet Invocation, Blessing & Vows and showing us how the motifs (patterns and themes) are evolved, stretched, condensed and transformed, Carol shows us the evolution of a particular work. We find out how this particular composer works to create music that sounds inevitable, but not too predictable nor too full of surprises. Why is composing a process of choices and why does it resemble Alice in Wonderland? Can a composer conquer the pressures and inequities of time itself by creating music?
Please Note: Omitted by accident from this video but only partially told is the fact that Carol, after being admitted to the rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood when she was three (because her Dad was good friends with Lenny, who was studying under Serge Koussevitsky ), Three-year-old Carol was so quiet and enthralled that she impressed the musicians greatly and was unwittingly able to inspire the Board of Directors of that orchestra to open their doors to children. Henceforth they were allowed to attend concerts at the Berkshire Music Festival , to sit on the lawn with their parents and bathe in the music. Carol is proud of that help to children!
"Fanfare for Joy" / "Wedding March"
For String Quartet
© 1999 Carol Worthey
The Wedding March (with its Fanfare ) in a lively String Quartet version. Since Pre-wedding music was composed by Carol for String Quintet ( Invocation, Blessing & Vows -- See: here ), Carol plans to add a Contrabass part at some future date, to facilitate the hiring of the same players for both works.
"Invocation, Blessing & Vows"
For String Quintet (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass)
© 1999 Carol Worthey
This stirring ensemble work was created for the wedding of Sherry Hackney Cade and was World-premiered aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor, California. It is designed for listening before the traditional Fanfare for Joy/Wedding March . There are words that could be sung for the Blessing and for the Vows sections. This work is analyzed in depth in Carol Worthey's Video Lecture, Turning Life into Art: How A Composer Works .
(Note: Lyrics exist for the Blessing and for the Vows sections of this work. They were written by Carol and, so a version including either a Soprano or Tenor Soloist is also possible to be performed.)
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"Movement for String Quartet"
© 1965 Carol Worthey
A virtuosic ten-minute work which is dissonant and shows the influence of Bela Bartok, "Movement for String Quartet" was composed at Columbia University where it was used as a ballet in addition to being performed simply instrumentally. Third stream composer/pianist Ran Blake "ran" up to Carol at the World Premiere to share his enthusiasm for the work, which has Bartokian influences and expresses the emotional journey from anguish to yearning.
(See under Dance Theatre, "The Barren" here )
"Christmas Glow"
For String Quartet
© 1992 Carol Worthey
This Intermediate Level piece has been recreated for the capacities and special qualitities of the strings and is not just a "recap" of the vocal work. Designed to be played by skilled amateurs for home entertainment, as well as professional groups during the holiday season. Would also make a nice Prelude piece before a Christmas season wedding.
"Bittersweet Songs"
Two Solo Songs & Duet for Two Flutes
© 1985 Carol Worthey
Based on Carol's impression of Israeli folktunes, these are not themselves actual folk songs. Two different songs for solo flute can be played one after the other. When both songs are played simultaneously, they form a contrapuntal Flute Duet. This piece is suitable for fun playing at home or for Recitals. For Intermediate players or skilled beginners.
"Cadence for Olivia" ("Carefree Bird")
For Flute or Alto Saxophone &
Jazz Quartet (Piano, Lead Guitar, Bass & Drums)
© 2001 Carol Worthey
Lighthearted Jazz Instrumental version of the bossa nova song "Carefree Bird", with the song expanded and becoming a Perpetuum Mobile (can be repeated at any point) although the piece contains an Intro and Coda to give it "form."
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"Voices Golden on The Silver Wind"
For Flute, Cello & Harp
© 2003 Carol Worthey
While essentially a vocal (S-A-T-B Choir or Solo Soprano) work, Voices Golden on The Silver Wind can be performed without the voice or lyrics, as a strictly instrumental work for Flute, Harp, Cello. (This Trio is preferred by the composer over the one above which adds the Optional Piano part.) Carol Worthey requests that, for performances of this instrumental version, the lyrics (on the inside-front cover of the Trio score) be included in any performance program or program notes, so that the mood of the work can be conveyed by that means as well. These lyrics must also be printed with Carol's name and copyright data.
"Valentine Sampler"
© 1986, 1990 2004 Carol Worthey
A Medium-Advanced piece of about six minutes in length designed either to be played independently of the one-act play of the same name, or (in snippets) as incidental music for that play.
(See "Valentine Sampler" here under Theatre Works, Incidental Music)
"Elegy"
A One-Movement Cello Concerto
© 2003 Carol Worthey
This work (depicting the events of 9-11 from sunrise to sunrise of the following day) was World-premiered at St. Martin-in-The-Fields on March 18th, 2003, performed by Cellist Joyce Geeting and Pianist Robert Sage . There will be several versions of this work:
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For Solo Cello & Piano
(See here.)
- For Solo Cello & String Quartet
- For Solo Cello & String Quintet
- For Solo Cello & String Orchestra (or String Chamber Orchestra)
- For Solo Cello, Flute, Strings, Percussion & Harp
- For Solo Cello, Unison Choir & String Quartet
- For Full Orchestra (Cello Concerto)
"Jade Flute in Lo-Yang ? ? ? ?"
A Poetic Journey for Dizi, Erhu, Pipa & Symphony Orchestra
Duration: 12 minutes
© 2007 Carol Worthey ??
Program Notes:
After reading Li Po's poem "Spring Night in Lo-Yang--Hearing A Flute" , the composer dreamt the theme, as if transported back in time to the yearning sound of the jade flute. The listener shares in the poet's longing for home as the music unfolds and memories intensify. Remembrances of happy celebrations, painful parting, distant wars, tipsy reverie and tender romance flood through the poet's inner world. The piece begins and ends on B ("Be in unison"), bringing the work full circle, symbolic of Carol's mission to foster greater understanding between East and West.
Spring Night in Lo-Yang--Hearing A Flute
by Li Po (701 - 762)
Whose jade flute is sending its soft fleeting tones drifting
Through the spring breeze that fills Lo-Yang?
Upon hearing the Willow-breaking Song* amidst tonight's melodies
Who cannot help but yearn for the beautiful memories of home?
Translation by Mary Au
Jade Flute in Lo-Yang ?????? Is scored for the following instruments:
1 Dizi (Chinese flute) (Dizi)
1 Erhu (Erhu)
1 Pipa (Pipa)
1 Piccolo (Picc.)
2 Flutes (Fl.)
2 Oboes (Ob.)
1 English Horn (E. Hn.)
2 B-flat Clarinets (Cl.)
1 B-flat Bass Clarinet (B. Cl.)
2 Bassoons (Bsn.)
1 Contrabassoon (C. Bsn.)
4 French Horns (in F) (Hn.)
3 Trumpets (Tpt.)
3 Tenor Trombones (Tbn.)
1 Tuba (Tub.)
1 Timpani player (set of 4 timps.) (Timp.)
3 percussionists on
Bass Drum (B.D.)
Snare Drum (Snare)
Chinese gong (Gong)
Finger cymbals (Cym.)
Metal Wind chime
Chinese cymbals (large)
Hi-hat cymbal with whisk
Triangle
1 Harp (Harp)
1 Piano (Piano)
1 Celesta (or vibraphone, but celesta preferred)
First Violins (Vn.I)
Second Violins (Vn.II)
Violas I & II (Vla.I, Vla.II)
Cellos I & II (Vc.I, Vc.II)
Double-basses I & II (Bass.I, Bass.II)
"Elegy" (Cello-Piano Version)
Cello Concerto in One Movement / Cello-Piano Version
© 2003 Carol Worthey
World-premiered at St. Martin-in-The-Fields on March 18th, 2003 to acclaim, performed by Cellist Joyce Geeting and Concert Pianist Robert Sage . The work was commissioned by Ms. Geeting and inspired by 9-11 and depicts the events of that day from the sunrise of the 11th to the sunrise of the following day. It is both a tribute to those lost and a healing for those left behind. The fifth performance (by the same duo) was at the Seventh American Cello Congress in Tempe, Arizona, May 2003, by special invitation. At present, the piano version differs from the fully orchestrated work by not including a jazz- and blues-based cadenza * nor a lengthened portrayal of Manhattan ("Commerce Awakes" section) as well as various cello-line differences.
( * "Cadenza" is a virtuosic solo passage in concertos where the soloist either gets to "show off" technical wizardry or represents, by being heard alone, the contrast between an individual -- the soloist -- and a group -- the orchestra.)
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(Other Orchestrations are Works-in-Progress. See here under Orchestral Works for more data.)
"Terezin Tryptch" (Cello-Piano Version)
Cello Sonata in Three Movements / Cello-Piano Version
© 2004 Carol Worthey
For Solo Cello and Piano
Performance Time 22:20 (for 3 movements)
Skill Level: Advanced, Virtuoso
Terezin Triptych is a powerful tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish artists incarcerated by the Nazis in Theresienstadt (now Terezin). Over 80,000 people died there, the rest were shipped to nearby Auschwitz or Dachau--a few survived. Despite unimaginable suffering and demoralization, the artists and scholars there sought refuge in creativity and learning, delivering over 2,000 lectures on such subjects as "Shakespeare's Heroes" and "Is it ethical if I survive when others don't?" Miraculously, composers fashioned operas and other works which instrumentalists performed, often in bare feet. Regularly actors, directors and writers staged plays, and singers, comedians and dancers put on daring cabarets that satirized their captors right under their very noses. Painters, poets and children left drawings and bittersweet writings--all this, a testament to the power of art, culture and the human spirit to transcend abject cruelty.
What led Carol to create this work? One day a friend brought forth writings from Terezin that her cousin, a holocaust survivor, had collected, fishing them out of secret hiding places after he was liberated. Carol wept. She resolved to transform the anguish and tenderness in these writings into a testament to the strength of the human spirit, to create a signpost to future generations. It was time to turn pain into beauty. And so this three-movement cello-piano work was born, each movement inspired by an actual poem or letter written in Terezin.
In visual art, the term "triptych" is used for an artwork made up of three panels, the middle one usually being larger. These are normally religious works designed to be placed above altars. In similar mode, Terezin Triptych recognizes the power of the human spirit, so in a very real sense it is a religious work. Again, the middle movement is longer than either the first or last, so the term "triptych" fits well.
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"An Iridescent Splash In Liquid Time"
For Flute, Viola and Harp
© 2004 Carol Worthey
For Flute, Viola and Harp
Performance Time 04:33
Skill Level: Advanced, Virtuoso
This work was inspired by the rich, glowing sonorities inherent in the instrumental blend of the Debussy Trio .
The world renowned Debussy Trio , Marcia Dickstein harp, Angela Wiegand flute, and David Walther viola, world premiered this work in October, 2005 in two concerts presented in conjunction with NACUSA (National Association of Composers USA) and the Loyola Marymount University and California State University (CSULB) Music Departments.
Here is what the composer has to say about the work:
"I wanted splashes of color and free flowing rhythm to take the listener on a magical excursion."
You can find out more about the world-premiere event by clicking here .
"Trio"
For Violin, Clarinet and Cello
© 1956 Carol Lee Symonds
Written at age thirteen while studying Composition with Grant Beglarian (himself a student of Aaron Copland at Tanglewood) and performed at Merrywood School of Music in 1956.
The original manuscript has been lost, however, the theme (in mixolydian mode) has not been lost and is notated. A new composition based on this original theme can be created.
("mixolydian" is an ancient scale which is essentially a major scale with the seventh note lowered. You can think of it as going from G to G on the white notes of the piano.)
"Fanfare for Joy" & "Wedding March"
© 1980 Carol Worthey
This award-winning work (a blend of classical and pop elements) exists in several versions. It is a "working wedding march", made to be used, and can be walked to in either slow or medium paces depending on the length of the hall or the size of the wedding party. There is even a Bride's Cue composed into the piece for the Bride's entrance. Written for Carol Worthey's own wedding, it is not a Pomp and Circumstance march but a celebration of love.
For Violin & Piano
© 1980 Carol Worthey
The original version is perfectly suitable when music budget resources are limited. The Fanfare is played only by the Piano in this version and demands rhythmic facility on the part of the pianist. Both instruments play the March.
For Flute, Violin, Piano & Harp
© 1980, 1990 Carol Worthey
Winner, Second Prize, Inner City Cultural Center's "1st Bar" Composer & Songwriter Competition in 1990. Carol considers this version the definitive one. The addition of counter-melodies and richer harmonies, along with the glow of the instrumental colors, make this version highly desirable to "set the mood."
For String Quartet
(See here under String Quartets)
Note: Carol plans to create a Full Orchestra version in the future.
"Voices Golden on The Silver Wind"
For Flute, Cello & Harp (with Optional Piano)
© 2003 Carol Worthey
While essentially a vocal (S-A-T-B Choir or Solo Soprano) work, Voices Golden on The Silver Wind can be performed without the voice or lyrics. Also, the Piano part was originally meant to be optional, for rehearsal purposes. However, this work can be performed with Flute, Harp, Cello and Piano, if desired. (The Trio version of the instrumental form of this composition is preferred by the composer.)
"Bells" (A Suite)
© 2003 Carol Worthey
A series of short Intermediate level to Advanced pieces evoking different kinds of bell sounds and various "rites of passage" or moods connected with bells. The suite contains the following:
- Timely Bells #1 The Bell Tower chimes out the hours
- Timely Bells #2 A variation of the bell tower theme
- Ceremonial Bells Based on a seventh-grade graduation march Carol created in 1957, block chords have a resonant dignity and simplicity.
- Wedding Bells Joyous abandon of hope and a new day
- Warning Bells and Sirens
- Tolling Bells
- Music Box Bells
- Gamelan Bells Windchimes weave a spell with Balinese-inspired rhythms
- Christmas Bells Joyous counterpoint fills the holiday air!
"Continuum Suite"
© 1980, 1994 Carol Worthey
An Advanced Piano work featuring virtuosic passages and very expressive performance demands. The dramatic purpose of this suite takes us first to a very, very ancient "time before time", after which the music recreates the path of increasing complexity that beings got "into" (in their hunger to escape the boredom of "no games in a timeless universe"). Leaving their Home Universe, spiritual beings create Time and make decisions, meet each other, develop interrelationships, experience love and conflict ("evil"). The next-to-last piece represents the conquest of the physical universe and a victory of the spirit over conflict and evil. This suite will undoubtedly be experienced as a mystical and abstract work by some and by others as very accurate history. It is philosophy expressed as sound. The finale brings us full-circle back home to eternity.
The following pieces comprise this Suite:
- Prelude ("Before") As close to a watercolor as Carol Worthey has created in sound, Prelude depicts the "time before time began".
- Nocturne ("Decision") Note: This particular piece has been performed in six countries (USA, Canada, France, Italy, England and Germany) by Master Pianist Mario Feninger . It is about the "decision to be."
- Ballade ("Romance) Love enters the equation.
- Toccata ("Confrontation") Fast and furious fingerwork represents the introduction of conflict between individuals as the very concept of "evil" is born.
- Fugue ("Triumph")
- Epilogue ("Infinite Renewal")
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"Cowpoke Serenade"
A Western Romance Suite
© 2002 Carol Worthey
Based on Carol's music written for a "Pulp Fiction Adventure" Radio Show performed at Author Services , Hollywood, in 2002, inspired by the delightful story "Tinhorn's Daughter" by L. Ron Hubbard (a "tinhorn" is a swaggering braggart.) If the Western idiom is all too familiar, Carol plays with the familiarity as if she were sewing a quilt with a well-known fabric pattern. The graphic depiction and movie set feel is intended.
These short Intermediate-level pieces evoke the Old West and are designed to be an effective recital set.
- Waltz Fit fer Fallin' Turn-of-the-century decorative touches underscore sentiment
- Montana Sky You can "see" horses gallop across Big Sky Country!
- Sawdust Saloon Honky Tonk piano and swinging doors
- The Miss Misses Boston The heroine of our "tale" temporarily misses East Coast refinements.
- Cowpoke Serenade A simple song for around the campfire under the Montana moon
- Lonesome Pines Wind whistles through the trees and a cowboy gets lonesome.
- The Tipsy Sidekick There's one in every Western and "one too many" in him as he pulls his stubborn donkey to town.
- Varmints Showdown Justice is served.
- Reprise: Waltz Fit fer Fallin' Aw, shucks, let's dance. (A cowboy never admits he's in love.)
"Etude Fantastique"
© 1954 Carol Lee Symonds (Maiden name of Carol Worthey)
Written by Carol at the age of eleven. The 1955 World Premiere was at Carnegie Hall played by internationally known Concert Pianist Vivian Rivkin . (Original manuscript lost. Carol is adapting the theme of her original work to create a new work that combines the contrapuntal intricacies of the original with a new Cuban twist.)
"Impromptu"
© 1955 Carol Lee Symonds (Maiden name of Carol Worthey)
Written by Carol at the age of twelve. World-premiered at Hunter College Auditorium, New York City by Concert Pianist Vivian Rivkin in 1956. Written music has been lost, but main theme was used verbatim in creating the opening first few minutes of "Fantasia" .
(See Fantasia here).
"Kidstuff"
A Piano Suite for Children
© 1994 Carol Worthey
Pieces either to be played for children or by children, useful for Piano Recitals, and written in the spirit of play. As a Volunteer, Carol has performed these pieces at Childcare Centers from Watts to Hollywood.
Pieces in this suite are:
- The Happy Train © 1983 Carol Worthey - A jolly train begins slowly, chugs uphill and clangs to a smokey stop. You can hear the wheels and gears!
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The Broken Clock
© 1950 Carol Lee Symonds - A Perpetual Motion piece written
by Carol at age 7. Also included in
"Time Cycle"
.
(See here for "Time Cycle.")
- March of the Picnic Ants
- Hoedown Fanfare
- Mockery The familiar childhood taunt used playfully
- Leapfrog A fun technical exercise where the fingers of left and right hands leap over each other like the game.
"Lullaby" from "The Night Before Christmas"
© 1988 Carol Worthey
Lyrical Waltz Ballet from the musical. Also exists as a song, with a slightly different piano part. World-premiered at Barnsdall Theatre, Hollywood in 1988 by the Los Angeles Childrens Theatre , Patricia Gaul , Director/Producer.
"Pastorale"
© 1986 Carol Worthey
© 1986 Carol Worthey
An expressive showpiece for Advanced or skilled Intermediate-level pianists. Carol intends to orchestrate this neo-Impressionistic piece.
Pastorale evokes a Fragonard scene of countryside idylls and courtly elegance, the Europe that has now largely vanished after the devastation of World War II. If you have ever looked into those giant candy Easter eggs with fragile miniature scenes inside, you understand this work. Like the Beethoven Pastorale, a country dance revels in the middle of this work.
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"Suite" from the Movie "The Special Visitor"
© 1992 Carol Worthey
Even though this is called "Suite" and uses different musical themes from the filmscore, this piece is still unified into one non-stop composition. Useful for playing during the holiday season within the home and at concerts and designed to be relatively easy enough for a skilled youngster to play (after, say, three years of study).
"The Pixies"
© 2003 Carol Worthey (based on a work © 1947)
A five-finger-position beginner piece based on a mini- "opera" written when Carol was four and a half. A giant named Dicky Bundle has stolen the Pixies' scarf (spelled "skraf"). Has the original lyrics I wrote then and a "Victory Chorus"! Cute.
"Time Cycle" (A Piano Suite)
© 1983 Carol Worthey
Short evocative variations on a theme, "Time Cycle" is about the passage of time and seasons, about change and memory. These pieces are suitable for Etudes (exercise pieces) and Piano Recitals. Intermediate Level.
"Time Cycle" consists of the following pieces:
- Past The Main Theme of this entire suite signals the dignity and nostalgia of the Past: Ruins, History, Memories.
- Present To play this accurately and well, the pianist or piano student must stay "in Present Time", aware of each new moment. Not a difficult work, but that is the challenge.
- Future Hope and anticipation, surprise and prediction.
- The Broken Clock (Also included in "Kidstuff" ) A Perpetuum Mobile piece describing the breakdown of a clock (or watch). It can be started or ended anywhere. This piece was written when Carol was seven years old. © 1950 Carol Lee Symonds (Carol Worthey)
- Spring (The Flowering Tree) - A beautiful cherry tree opens its new buds to the blue sky. (Carol maintains she saw these colors when she composed the piece.)
- Winter (Snow Flurries) - The magic of snowfall glitters in waves of crisp counterpoint, evoking the icy magic of the season.
"Voices Golden on The Silver Wind"
© 2003 Carol Worthey
A version of the choral work with Flute, Harp & Cello Accompaniment which has elements of the vocal and instrumental harmonies and melodic lines transcribed for solo piano so it may be performed as its own entity. Its difficulty level is Intermediate with a few passages at a more Advanced level (someone who can play Fur Elise with fluency will be able to master this easily.)
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"Confucian Odes"
Song Cycle for Soprano, Flute, Percussion and Piano
from Confucian Odes, Ancient Poems translated by Ezra Pound
© 1954 by the President & Fellows of Harvard
Music by Carol Worthey © 1962 Carol Worthey Revised © 2003
World-premiered in the Aspen Music Festival Tent in 1962. In order:
- I can give praise to quietness
- Pluck the quince / To serve a prince
- Cold wind, and the rain
- Lily bud floating, yellow as sorrow / grief today, what of tomorrow?
- State / all a wobble
- The things they do and the things they say / In the harem
- Proud men ride high to watch the workers sweat
- Plucking the vine leaves hear my song:
- "A day without him is three months long."
- Liars by littles ply their trade
- Drunk with thy wine, but with thy candour filled
- Let doves eat no more mulberries / While yet the leaves be green
- RATS, / stone-head rats lay off our grain, / three years pain, / Enough, enough, plus enough again
- I take delight in one alone
- Sun's in the East, / Her loveliness / Comes here / To undress
- Magpies nest on the ground, / Sweet grass on higher ground
- Who has lured my love away? / My wound!
- Whenas my heart is filled with kings and deeds
- Only ancient wisdom is / solace to man's sorrow
- bang gong, bang drum / till the noon come, / feast
"Since Brass, Nor Stone"
[Sonnet LXV by William Shakespeare]
For Soprano with Piano Accompaniment
Words by William Shakespeare
Music by Carol Worthey
© 1962 Carol Lee Symonds
This compelling song demands a dramatic Soprano with fluency and richness in both lower and upper registers and expressive qualities.
(See also under Pop Art Songs, "Lady of Cornwall")
(See also under Pop Art Songs, "Melody")
(See also under Pop Art Songs, "The River")
(See also under Pop Art Songs, "Star Traveller" with lyrics by Carol Worthey)
"the petal of somewhere"
Song cycle based on poems by E. E. Cummings
for Soprano Soloist with Piano Accompaniment
Music by Carol Worthey
Copyright © 1963 Carol Lee Symonds,
Copyright © 1990, 1994, 2003 Carol Worthey
Lyrics From COMPLETE POEMS 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings,
Edited by George J. Firmage, Used with the permission of
Liveright Publishing Corporation.
Copyright © 1923, 1926, 1931, 1951, 1954, 1959, 1968, 1991 by
the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust.
Copyright © 1976, 1979, 1985 by George James Firmage.
Originally written under the tutelage of Vincent Persichetti at Dartmouth School of Performing Arts but without accompaniment, Carol has created piano accompaniments for these virtuosic, dramatic songs.
The following songs form this song cycle, in this order:
- Buffalo Bill's The vibrant cowboy is "defunct" -- "how do you like your blue-eyed boy Mister Death?"
- anyone lived in a pretty how town A powerful evocation of a town full of lives of "quiet desperation" where children forget to remember, this virtuosic song plays with variations and repetitive fragments in a sing-song manner, alternating monotony with surprise.
- a wind has blown the rain away and blown This stark, powerful picture of devastating loss was written the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination and is dedicated to his memory. The singer evokes the very wind. The "petal of somewhere" title comes from this poem.
- somewhere i have never traveled A lyrical love poem celebrating the intimacy and push-and-pull of control versus surrender in an intense relationship. This is one of the most beautiful of E. E. Cummings many love poems. The melody and harmonies are tender and expressive, a bit more tonal than the preceding song settings, misted with subtle dissonances and nuances. This is a pretty song, on purpose.
- my sweet old etcetera A humorous, bittersweet look at the willingness of patriotic families to send their sons off to war to sacrifice themselves.
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"the petal of somewhere"
Song cycle based on poems by E. E. Cummings
For Unaccompanied Soprano
Music by Carol Worthey
Copyright © 1963 Carol Lee Symonds,
Copyright © 1990, 1994, 2003 Carol Worthey
Lyrics From COMPLETE POEMS 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings,
Edited by George J. Firmage, Used with the permission of
Liveright Publishing Corporation.
Copyright © 1923, 1926, 1931, 1951, 1954, 1959, 1968, 1991 by
the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust.
Copyright © 1976, 1979, 1985 by George James Firmage.
(The same songs as above, but without piano or any other accompaniment) These were written under the tutelage of Vincent Persichetti at Dartmouth .
"I'm Lighting A Candle for Freedom"
For a cappella S-A-T-B Chorus
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1985 Carol Worthey
World-Premiere Performance on May 25th, 1985 by the Miracle Choir at a Multifaith Church Service in Portland, Oregon. Since then it has been sung in the United States, Germany and France for the cause of Human Rights.
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"J'allume un cierge a la Liberte"
French-language version of "I'm Lighting A Candle for Freedom" above
© 2000 Carol Worthey, Corinne Simon-Duneau
World-Premiere Performance in 2000 by an international choir In Paris at a concert sponsored by the United Nations on behalf of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Translation into French (from the English words by Carol Worthey) by Corinne Simon-Duneau. Some of the music had to be adapted by Carol Worthey to accommodate the language change.
Note: "I'm Lighting A Candle for Freedom" has been translated into Portuguese but music has not been adapted to fit that language.
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"The Unquenchable Light"
For a cappella S-A-T-B Chorus
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1992 Carol Worthey [Dedicated "To My Jewish Forbears"]
World-premiere Performance at Celebrity Centre, Hollywood in 1995.
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"Do Not Worry About Tomorrow"
A Hymn for S-A-T-B Chorus with Piano Accompaniment
Words Adapted by Carol Worthey from Matthew 6:33,34 & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1999 Carol Worthey
Dedicated to Eileen Korns [Carol Worthey's Mother-in-Law] After Fifty Years of Service". Appropriate for Sunday Service and Evensong. World-Premiere Performance at the Jubilee Celebration and Sunday Service in honor of their Organist Ms. Korns at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio.
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"Alleluia" (All the Happiness...)
For a cappella S-A-T-B Chorus
Words & Music by Carol Worthey based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
Used by permission of L. Ron Hubbard Library.
© 1989 Carol Worthey
World-premiere Performance at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 1989 and simulcast on KCET TV/KUSC-FM Radio to audience of millions.
"Christmas Glow"
For S-A-T-B Choir and Celesta
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 2007 Carol Worthey
This is the composer-lyricist's favorite holiday creation. Seventeen years earlier (1990) Carol was far away from home at Christmas time and too ill to travel and created the lyrics and a simple a cappella version to express her longing for home.
Carol has created this significantly enhanced new edition of "Christmas Glow" utilizing new voicings, the subtle but powerful harmonies she has become known for and the silvery bell-like tones of a Celesta accompaniment.
The result in essence is a radiant new work and a fitting tribute to the power of home, family and friends to draw us together.
"Christmas Glow"
For a cappella S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1990 Carol Worthey
The world-premiere performance of the original song took place in December, 1990 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion during a concert simulcast on KCET TV/KUSC-FM Radio to an audience of millions.
In 2007, the composer made significant changes to the score, updating it as a new work retiring the original version.
"Gloria in Excelsis Deo - I"
For A Cappella S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1991 Carol Worthey
World-premiere Performance in 1991 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and simulcast on KCET TV/KUSC-FM Radio to audience of millions. This work has been performed as an Concert Opener on many occasions throughout the LA area, including multi-faith celebrations.
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"Gloria in Excelsis Deo - II"
For A Cappella S-A-T-B Choir
© 2003 Carol Worthey
This is a longer and softer version of the Latin text than the first Gloria. The work uses "misted" chords (soft, with seconds and other intervals) to give an ancient mystical feel to the text. The remarkable Amen journeys from one tonal center to another until it comes to a simple but powerful close.
The World-premiere Performance did not occur until November 6, 2006 by "Cappella Gloriana" at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Encinitas, California. You can find out more about this performance and hear a soundbite by clicking here .
This work was a finalist in the 2003 American Choral Society competition.
"Peace on Earth"
Contemporary Cantata for Soprano & Mezzo Soprano Soloists, S-A-T-B Choir, and Full Orchestra
Words & Music by Carol Worthey based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
Used by permission of L. Ron Hubbard Library.
© 1986, 1988 Carol Worthey
World-premiere Performance in 1990 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and simulcast on KCET TV/KUSC-FM Radio to audience of millions.
Note: "Peace on Earth" also exists as a Shortened Version with Piano Accompaniment for Rehearsal Purposes or for Choirs without Orchestral Resources.
"Santa's Song"
For Bass Solo, S-A-T-B Choir with Piano Accompaniment
(from the Musical "The Night Before Christmas")
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1990 Carol Worthey
World-premiere Performance in l996 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and simulcast on KCET TV/KUSC-FM Radio to audience of millions.
(See here under Theatre Works, Musicals)
"That Very Old Merry Old Christmas"
For S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Ron Ross
© 1992 Ron Ross
Arrangement: ©1992 Carol Worthey
A jolly Christmas arrangement World-Premiered in 1992 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on KCET-TV and KUSC-FM Radio.
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"This Is A Merry Season" (Round No. 1)
An a cappella Four-Part Round for the Christmas Season
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1974, 1985 Carol Worthey
World-premiere Performance by Orange County Master Chorale in 1978 throughout the public schools of Orange County.
This cheerful round works for 2, 3 or 4 parts (2, 3 or 4 entrances). Using 4 parts creates the richest harmony. An excellent "entrance piece" for a choir, walking down the aisles of a concert hall or entering the stage, with or without candles. Round No. 2 Glowing Candles by the Fireside can follow, if desired.
(See: Round No. 2 here.)
"White Christmas"
For A Cappella S-A-T-B Choir
Words & Music by Irving Berlin
© 1939 Irving Berlin
Permission granted by Publisher to perform for church and charity purposes
Arrangement: ©1978 Carol Worthey
Performed at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion numerous times and at a wide variety of venues.
"The Creed of the Church of Scientology"
Contemporary Cantata for Soprano Soloist, S-A-T-B Choir, and
Full Orchestra (A rehearsal version with Piano Accompaniment also exists.)
Words L. Ron Hubbard Music by Carol Worthey.
© 1954 L. Ron Hubbard © 1986,1988 Carol Worthey
Used by permission of L. Ron Hubbard Library.
World-premiere Performance by the Church of Scientology Choir in 1994 at the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Founding of the First Church of Scientology, a celebration at Celebrity Centre, Hollywood, attended by dignitaries of many faiths and presided over by the International President of the Church of Scientology. There have been numerous performances since then.
"Peace Is Possible"
For Mezzo-Soprano Soloist,
S-A-T-B Choir & Children's Chorus with Piano Accompanist
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1988 Carol Worthey
World-Premiere Performance at a benefit for SANE at Wilshire Presbyterian Church with world-famous guest speakers Rev. William Sloan Coffin and Master of Ceremonies Casey Casem .
"Angel of Music"
For Soprano Soloist and Children's Chorus
with Violin, Flute, Cello, Harp and Piano Accompaniment
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 2001 Carol Worthey
This is the music that played at the press of a button from the base of the interactive angel statue "Angel of Music" painted by Carol Worthey as part of the 2001 Los Angeles citywide exhibit called "A Community of Angels." The statue was sponsored by Mu Phi Epsilon San Fernando Valley Alumni Chapter and was auctioned for children's charities and purchased for placement at Los Angeles Children's Hospital. The song celebrates the power of music. "Angel of Music" was voted Most Popular Angel in the Exhibit. A book featuring photos of the Angel statues became part of a Los Angeles Times Bestseller.
(See/hear Randy Tobin video here)
"Voices Golden on The Silver Wind"
For S-A-T-B Choir with Flute, Cello & Harp
(with Optional Piano Accompaniment for Rehearsal or Performance)
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 2003 Carol Worthey
A work in Dorian and Aeolian modes with an ancient Celtic feel and a poetic, magical quality. A version is planned with lyrics translated (by Ray Korns, husband of the composer) into Sindar , a language created by Tolkien for his Lord of The Rings cycle. Can be performed at any season.
Other versions of this are:
- Trio (Flute, Cello, Harp)
- Quartet (Flute, Cello, Harp, Piano)
- Solo Piano
- Solo Soprano with Flute, Cello & Harp (with Optional Piano)
- Solo Soprano with Piano Accompaniment.
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"Winning!"
For Soprano Soloist and Mixed Chorus with Chamber Orchestra Accompaniment
Words by Kenji Williams
Music by Carol Worthey (Arr. by Carol Worthey)
© 1995 Carol Worthey
© 1988, 1995 Kenji Williams
Carol Worthey composed the setting of Kenji's inspirational lyrics origianlly written for performance at an Olympics Opening Ceremony. This is on CD, but has never been performed live to date.
"Caption This!"
Music by Dwight MIkkelsen
Lyrics by Carol Worthey & Jo Ann Dean
© 1989 Carol Worthey, Dwight Mikkelsen
Theme Song for the cable TV show of the same name, an interview show for mostly a deaf audience (with captions -- that being the main purpose of the show, to promote the use of close captioned TV).
"The Special Visitor"
Music by Carol Worthey
Filmscore © 1992 Carol Worthey
Script © 1992 Kristine Finnstrom
Carol wrote the filmscore for this HBO Christmas Short, which was sponsored by George Lucas of Star Wars fame and recorded at Skywalker Sound in THX Surround Sound. "The Special Visitor" was scripted and directed by a writer on the TV show "The Wonder Years" who happens to be deaf since birth. Accordingly, the cast consisted of deaf actors with voiceovers; it was decided to have the film fully scored for a hearing audience.
Carol composed an orchestral score largely based on variations of her original song "Christmas Glow." The film tells the magical story of elves who help a lonely deaf girl get her fondest Christmas wish, an adopted baby sister.
What Is A "Pop Art" Song?
Pop Songs vs. "Pop Art" songs : I have written many songs which do not really fit into the "Pop Song" category, but which are not strictly speaking "classical" art songs (songs designed for Solo Performance in Concert Halls), nor were they written as part of Musical Theatre productions. For these I've coined the name "Pop Art" song. There is a huge variety within this moniker "Pop Art", everything from Folk Songs, Jazz Songs, etc.
Here follows a list of Carol's "Pop Art" songs:
"Bluegrass in Burbank Tonight"
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
For Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar & Bass.
© 2004 Carol Worthey
Composer and colleague Sherry Hackney Cade celebrated the 1st birthday of her second child (Harrison Hackney Cade) by again creating a CD containing compositions from her friends as well as her own compositions. Sherry selected 'bluegrass' as the style recalling her family's Kentucky roots. And Carol wrote this foot-stomping tune as her contribution.
"Happy Birthday, Sara Z!"
A 2-Part (or 3-Part) Round with Piano & Flute Accompaniment (Accomp. Opt.)
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 2003 Carol Worthey
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"Greek Games Ballet: Wisdom or Force?"
For Solo Piano
© 1961 Carol Lee Symonds (maiden name of Carol Worthey)
This was the Prize Winner of a Composition Contest at Columbia University, Barnard College in 1961. Notably, one of the Judges was Music Critic of the New York Times, Winthrop Sargeant . This fifteen minute Modern Ballet represented a contest between Reason and Brute Force represented by Athena and Poseidon.
"The Barren"
For String Quartet
"The Barren" was a Modern Ballet presented at the Minor Latham Theatre, Columbia University in 1965 using a priorly-composed Movement for String Quartet. This ballet depicted the anguish and longing of a childless woman.
(See here Contemporary Concert Works, String Quartet)
"Music Makes A Home For Love"
For Soulful Alto or Mezzo-Soprano with Piano Accompaniment
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1990 Carol Worthey
A song commissioned by playwright Sunja Swenson for her one-act play "White" , presented in the Inner City Cultural Center's competition "Act II, Short Play Competition" in 1990. Carol based the flavor and lyrics of this song on the play's theme, the prison of racial hatred, and emphasized the healing power of song.
"Valentine Sampler"
For Four-Hand Piano
© 1998 Carol Worthey
Piano music to accompany a one-act play written by Carol Worthey. Two informal but professional readings have been given of "Valentine Sampler" at Carol's home in Hollywood, during 1998 and 1999. The music is bittersweet and nostalgic like the play and illustrates the varying moods of romance and confrontation during the lifetime of a young woman.
"Morning Becomes Noone" (Def Opera)
Words & Music by Carol Worthey
© 1991 Carol Worthey
A "mini-comic opera" about a husband and wife waking up in the morning. "Morning Becomes Noone" was commissioned by two talented deaf comedians who wished to sing (!) The World Premiere took place on Carol's birthday, March 1st, 1991 at the Hollywood Club, Cafe Largo to great audience response and much hilarity.
Length of performance: Approximately 15 to twenty minutes. The word "def" used in the subtitle is not a misspelling--in the slang of the early '90s, "def" meant "cool" or "rad" and is used in that sense, as a playful pun.
"Pebble"
Words, Music & Book by Carol Worthey
© 1992 Carol Worthey
Work In Progress; A Children's Musical for Adults about the dehumanization of modern society, the quest for individuality and the power of song. This musical could be developed as an animated feature. "Melody" is a major song and can be extracted from the musical. It was composed while Carol was driving a car.
Songs (in order, to date):
- Rock Number
- Melody
"The Envelope, Please"
A Musical in Two Acts
Music, Lyrics & Book by Carol Worthey
© 1987, 1990 Carol Worthey
This musical was performed to acclaim in its original form as a twenty-minute "pop cantata" premiered at the Hollywood Club in 1981 (to a ten-minute standing ovation); The songs for Act One are on CD. As might be suggested from the title, this is a musical depiction of a famous Award Show, with the central theme "You may win a statue, but are you winning in life?" In 1992 Carol was nominated for a Legacy Award in the category of Public Spirit for the song "Hollywood's A State of Mind" (performed in Hollywood after the Los Angeles Riot to improve police-community relations.)
Act One songs (in order):
- Overture
- Look How Far I've Come
- Frame After Frame
- Myself With You
- Perfect Woman
- A Pass
- Inner Visions (Interviews with the Stars)
- Don't Get Me Wrong
- I'm So Nervous
- Snips and Snatches
- I'm Flying Solo
- Pass Again
- Or Else
Act Two songs (in order):
- Hollywood's A State of Mind
- The Thank You Chorus
- I'm So Nervous (Reprise)
- A Favor
- Pass Again (Reprise)
- Best Supporting
- Life Itself
- Favorite
- Buzz #1
- Best Actress (Musical snippets from The Show)
- Faded Rainbows (Reprise, Don't Get Me Wrong)
- Eden's Thank You
- Bigtime Loser
- Buzz #2
- No Thank You Chorus
- Rescue
- Retrospect
- What Is A Life?
- Pass Again #3
- Best Flick
- Let's Fly Together (I'm Flying Solo, Reprise)
- Finale
"The Night Before Christmas"
A Holiday Musical for Children's Theatre In One Act
Music & Lyrics by Carol Worthey
© 1988 Carol Worthey
Book by Patricia Gaul & Deanna McKinstry
(based on the Christmas Classic, poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by
Clement C. Moore, a Public Domain property)
Approximate running time: 35 to 40 minutes.
"The Night Before Christmas" was a successful, money-making musical which played for five holiday seasons in the Hollywood/Greater Los Angeles area. First staged at Barnsdall Theatre by the Los Angeles Children's Theatre and produced by Patricia Gaul, "The Night Before Christmas" also played at Los Angeles City College , was featured on Entertainment Tonight (TV) and at the Ovation Awards (Los Angeles' version of the Tony Awards. Performances featured hearing actors with Sign Language "signers" on the sidelines or were enacted by deaf actors (from Def Theatre ) with Narrators on the sidelines for hearing audiences.
Songs (in order):
- 'Twas!
- The Life of an Elf
- 'Twas The Night (Lullaby -- This is a Ballet Sequence)
- Brand New Wings (or from the 1990 production "One Wave of My Wand")
- Whirlwind
- The Moon
- Santa's Song
- Dance of the Sugar Plums
- Rap ("His eyes how they twinkled...")
- Up the Chimney
- Away They All Flew
- The Gift Of Santa
"The Night Before Christmas" (Delphi Version)
A Musical in Two Acts
Approximate Running Time: One Hour, 20 minutes
Music, Lyrics & Book by Carol Worthey
Piano Accompaniment
© 1990 Carol Worthey
An adaptation: Based on the Script by Patricia Gaul & Deanna McKinstry & adapted with their permission, this musical is intended not to be acted for children by adult actors but by children. Accordingly, the cast was expanded to accommodate the seventy-five to one hundred students at Delphi Academy Los Angeles in 1990, where it received a standing ovation. The message of the show was expanded to inspire the kids to learn.
Songs (in order):
- 'Twas!
- Tight Squeeze
- Getaway
- The Life Of A Kid
- What will Happen in the End
- 'Twas Lullaby
- Dictionary Blues
- The Life of an Elf
- Newsboys
- Brand New Wings
- Sugar Plums & Dancing Dreidles
- Santa's Song
- Rap ("His eyes how they twinkled")
- Wings (Reprise)
- Newsboys #2
- The Gift of Santa
- Epilogue (Lullaby)
Decoupage
"Decoupage" is a French word for the art of cutting paper. Unlike collage, the paper (from magazine photos or artwork or product labels or whatever) is cut at an angle so that there are no white edges. The object is to place the cuttings (with no telltale white edges) next to each other so that they blend into a whole. After gluing, a glaze is applied; the cut pieces cover the entire board or object completely. (In Collage the background paper on which the pieces are glued can show through.) Carol Worthey learned this artform in Mexico from an international artist in the field.
"Ingres and Solace in San Miguel"
© 1968-9, 1993 Carol Worthey
Collage constructed on February 15, 1993 from drawings made in the Mexican art colony San Miguel de Allende. Drawings vary form black and white pen & ink to colored pencils drawings. Unframed. Central figure is a rendition of a bather's back from a painting by Ingres (pronounced "anger", hence the pun in the title) surrounded by everyday objects of Mexican life and especially life drawings of an old man, his face, hands, and sandal'd feet.
"Snowflurries"
Mixed Media, Colored & Watercolor Pencils, Collage, Decoupage.
© 2004 Carol Worthey
Cover artwork for: Snow Flurries (for Solo Piano). A peaceful snowy scene similar to the scene evoked by the piece.
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"And Still the Flowers Grew"
Pen & Ink and Ink Wash. Framed, Matted.
© 1973 Carol Worthey
Banners on poles lifted high and fists growing out of the ground like skulls "people" an empty landscape and signal the warcries and assorted motivations of humankind, the dollarsign, etc. Even in war still there are flowers. This artwork is nearly a poem in itself and will illustrate Carol's poetry anthology, The Lonely Wanderer Comes Home .
"Cloud-Horse & Castle in Carlsbad"
Pencil drawing 18 by 24 inches, framed
© 1999 Carol Worthey
Life drawing done of a cloud shaped like a huge horse (or as some say, a dragon) which only lasted in the Carlsbad (California) sky for a mere eight minutes, during which Carol furiously drew and captured it before the winds blew it away. A construction site had the shape of a castle on an embankment. This is one of Carol's favorite live drawings.
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"Keep It So"
(title: © 1957 L. Ron Hubbard Library, All Rights Reserved)
© 2000 Carol Worthey
Cover created for the score of a choral setting by Carol Worthey of a text by L. Ron Hubbard. This original black and white drawing shows a woman's profile over a planet with suggestion of wind and stars, mimicing the mood and imagery of the text.
"Viewpoint of a Fly"
Pen & ink. Matted & Framed.
© 1969 Carol Worthey
Perspectives mix different angles on a room as a fly flies about, near a table (with fly-swatter helplessly lying akimbo on top), on a doorway, in a closet. Realistic life drawings but nearly cubist in perspective. [Has on the back side a life drawing in pen and ink called The Rocker.]
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"Abandoned Circus"
Mixed Media: Watercolor Pencils, Colored Marker Pens on Drawing Paper, Unframed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
A young girl is at an empty carnival at night, dancing into a tent in this somewhat surreal scene for the cover of Carol Worthey's "Fantasia" for Solo Piano. The passionate abandonment of the dancer, shown by her blowing hair and dizzying angle, mirrors the abandoned circus. The bright colors are set starkly against the night sky. This lonely carnival theme has fascinated Carol since she saw the dramatic Ballet from the movie classic, "The Red Shoes." Will this girl meet Romance? You create the rest of the scenario and decide for yourself!
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"Adonis" (Orchid Admiring Itself in A Mirror)
Colored pencil & Watercolor, Framed
© 2003 Carol Worthey
A fuschia orchid is intricately relflected in a mirror. Given to Pianist Ian Brooks on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. Narcissus Admiring Itself in A Mirror is planned.
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"And Still the Flowers Grew"
Pen & Ink and Ink Wash. Framed, Matted.
© 1973 Carol Worthey
Banners on poles lifted high and fists growing out of the ground like skulls "people" an empty landscape and signal the warcries and assorted motivations of humankind, the dollarsign, etc. Even in war still there are flowers. This artwork is nearly a poem in itself and will illustrate Carol's poetry anthology, The Lonely Wanderer Comes Home .
"Barbed Wire Heart"
Mixed Media: Watercolor Pencils, Black Marker, White Paint on Drawing Paper, Unframed
Copyright ©2004 Carol Worthey
A Reddish Heart framed in barbed wire hovers over a prophetic shadow of itself, expressing the pain and yet the resiliency of love experienced in Terezin Concentration Camp. It was there the Nazis sent the finest Jewish musicians, artists and writers before shipping them off to Auschwitz. Miraculously, the Jews continued to create music and art, as ways to survive the suffering and to keep their culture alive. Commissioned to compose a cello sonata called "Terezin Triptych" (a "triptych" is a painting divided into three panels, hence an appropriate title for a three-movement sonata), Carol envisioned the barbed-wire heart as an embodiment of the Terezin experience while composing the music.
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"Celebrate The Miracle"
Pen & Ink Drawing with Markers
© 1982 Carol Worthey
A person is suggested in the menorah-like shape, an ecstatic figure bearing candle flames some of them in the shape of the Hebrew letter "Yod", symbol of God. The rest of the quote shown is "... of life and light." An illustration created originally as a Chanukah Card and used in Carol's book Treasury of Holiday Magic for the Chanukah section.
"Chorus Angelicus"
© 2002 Carol Worthey
Drawing/mockup, front and back views, of a potential new angel statue for the second year of A Community of Angels exhibit in Los Angeles. No sponsor was obtained and only the drawing and the song called "Voices Golden on The Silver Wind" exist. Chorus Angelicus shows an angel in a blue choir robe with a halo composed of a circular music staff with notes. On the wings can be seen a multi-ethnic choir of men, women and children on an outdoor scene with trees and sunny skies and birds. The statue was planned to contain choral music in the same way as "Angel of Music" (in the statue base).
"Dying Tulips, Blue Tarp"
Watercolor Pencils, Oil Pastels on Drawing Paper
Copyright ©1998 Carol Worthey
A gift of tulips inspired the Artist to create this still life. As the tulips became limp, they took on a lovely translucence. Placing the tulips against a blue tarp in her garden, Carol worked to express the quality of light passing through the many beautiful colors of these flowers, perhaps made more beautiful in their last days.
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"Forest Cathedral"
Colored Pencil & Watercolor Pens, Unframed
© 2001 Carol Worthey
Cover artwork for a hymn composed by Carol Worthey "Do Not Worry about Tomorrow" in honor of her Mother-in-law Eileen Korns, organist at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio for over fifty years. This original hymn based on a Bible text is traditional in style so as to accommodate an average Church Choir's technical skills. The cover shows tall, dark green trees through which a stream of light appears, focussing down on a spectator, standing in awe.
"Fragile World"
Mixed Media: Watercolor Pencils, Oil Pastels, Colored Markers, Framed, Matted
Copyright ©2004 Carol Worthey
At first sight this candy Easter Egg with a Pastoral scene inside it (a Shepherdess swinging on a swing a la a Fragonard painting) seems pretty and innocent. But look closely. It's a "Fragile World." Just as pastoral romps by Marie Antoinette turned into the French Revolution, the egg is cracked. Plumes of fire emerge in the background and a bit of blood leaks from a crack--we need to ensure fairness to all to avoid revolution.
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"Listen to The Wind"
Colored pencil drawing
© 2003 Carol Worthey
Created as the cover for the music score of Voices Golden on The Silver Wind (for Choir or for the numerous other versions) which depicts a cherub (actually a portrait of baby Harrison Hackney Cade, son of composer Sherry Hackney Cade) playing a harp out of which emerges the opening melody and lyrics for this song. Listening under a shade tree during a picnic are his mother, father Alan and sister Olivia.
"Macramé Neckace Designed for Evan"
Colored pencils, unframed.
© 1970 Carol Worthey (Says June-July, 1970 on it)
Detailed design for an Egyptian-type jewelled collar handknotted for Carol's sister Evan as a gift. Neckpiece had amethysts and turquoise stones in Macramé Lace (tiny knots done in embroidery thread). Done to scale, unframed.
"Make Your Dreams Come True..."
(And Give Them to Your Friends as Presents)
Above quote is by Megan Worthey, age five
Pencil Drawing, Colored Pencils & Markers
© 1980 Megan Worthey
© 1985 Carol Worthey
A show of hearts stream from a downward-pouring rainbow with the words in calligraphy at the side. An illustration created originally as a Christmas Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic.
"Numbers"
© 2003 Carol Worthey
A colorful pencil drawing of lively numbers symmetrically arranged. This drawing was created for the cover of "Happy Birthday, Sara Z!" a two-part or three-part birthday round with Flute and Piano accompaniment which takes a child from his or her first birthday through his or her tenth and teaches the baby numbers. Created for the first Birthday of Sara Anne Zimmerman but designed for all kids. This is song is listed as "Happy Birthday, Sara Z!" under Songs for Children.
"Prisms"
Watercolor Pencils on Drawing Paper
Copyright ©1974 Carol Worthey
An abstract drawing using linear sight-lines with just a few ovals to suggest sparkling gems. As the lines intersect each other and the oval gems, colors change and deepen, mimicking the fascinating interplay of light through a crystal prism. The title is ironic, a play on words... Is light imprisoned by the prism? The artist prefers to think of captured light being released as one holds the prism up to sunlight.
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"Reflections on Santa"
Pen & Ink Drawing with Colored Pencils & Markers, unframed.
© 1986 Carol Worthey
Santa peers into a big mirror, while his Ho Ho Ho's turn into Oh Oh Oh's in the mirror. An illustration created originally as a Christmas Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic .
"Stained Glass Vision"
Pen & Ink Drawing with Watercolor & Markers
© 1987 Carol Worthey
An illustration created originally as a Christmas Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic by Carol Worthey. The brilliant colors of an arched stained glass window burst like the star in the center as if in a spiritual blaze. Shown at the First International Art Exhibit, Pavilion, Celebrity Centre, 1992.
"Starry Night, Hearts in Flight"
Mixed Media, Colored & Watercolor Pencils, Collage, Decoupage.
Matted & Framed.
© 2002 Carol Worthey
Cover artwork for Wedding Suite: Invocation, Blessing & Vows (for String Quintet) Two winged hearts, one large, one smaller and more energized in its posture, both glow in shades of red, orange and rose, with iridescent and transparent wings touched with gold and turquoise. These hearts represent the wedding couple, poised for flight into a hoped-for bright future. These hearts were cut precisely to outline and pasted on a collage and decoupage background of starry evening sky, with twinkling stars and comets to suggest ecstasy of the wedding couple.
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"Study of a Skull"
Pen & Ink and Sepia-colored Pencil on paper, unframed.
© 1968 Carol Lee Symonds (Carol Worthey)
Two expressive and accurate views of a skull drawn from life exhibit Carol's skill as a draftsman.
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"Trudging through the Wintry Woods"
© 1992 Carol Worthey
Pen & Ink Drawing
An illustration created for Carol's book, Treasury of Holiday Magic . Footsteps crunched into the heavy snow lead the way back to candlelit cottages, back through the woods to... Home. An illustration for the song "Christmas Glow" which attempts to approximate the vision Carol saw at the same moment she created the song.
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"Wave of the Future"
Watercolor Pencils on Drawing Paper, Unframed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
A dragonlike wave-shape with mixed (iridescent-type) colors--This artwork was originally created to be the cover for "An Iridescent Splash in Liquid Time" for Flute, Viola & Harp, world-premiered by the renowned Debussy Trio in 2005. But the work stands on its own, or perhaps one should say it rears on its heels on its own.
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"When We Join Hands Together, Then We Dance!"
Pencil drawing, colored pencils
© 1992 Carol Worthey
An illustration created for Carol's book, Treasury of Holiday Magic . Shows a Christmas (five-pointed) star dancing and holding "hands" with a six-pointed Jewish star. Cheerful golds and blues, with the title (message) done in informal calligraphy on the drawing.
"Windchime Melody"
Matted, Framed
© 1999 Carol Worthey
A mix of figurative technique with fantasy touches. A landscape "Close-up" of the actual wind-chime in Carol Worthey's Canyon Drive garden, hanging from a bare tree branch, but out of which comes a curvilinear music staff with softly outlined music notes (and an actual "tune" she created to represent the chime sounds.) The colors are soft greens and browns.
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"Wish Upon A Star... For That Is What You Are"
Pencil drawing, colored pencils
© 1992 Carol Worthey
An illustration created originally as a Christmas Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic . A huge star seems to leap up in the sky with firework-like streamers of motion and exuberance.
"Young Petal, Old Leaf"
Colored & Watercolor Pencils
© 2001 Carol Worthey
Cover artwork especially created for an E. E. Cummings song cycle for Mezzo-Soprano or Soprano and Piano, "the petal of somewhere" , music by Carol Worthey, showing a translucent pink petal leaning on a wall with a wrinkled old leaf in autumnal colors. This work is meant to symbolize the cycle of youth and old age played upon by E. E. Cummings in his poem, "anyone lived in a pretty how town" which is part of this song cycle.
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"Zoe" [Subtitle: from the movie "New York Stories"]
Watercolor Pencils on Drawing Paper, Framed, Matted
Copyright ©2001 Carol Worthey
Inspired by an episode from the movie "New York Stories" (the exact plot of which eludes the Artist at present), Carol created this portrait of the character Zoe, a pert and charming young girl with brown braids, a lilac dress and a wide-brimmed hat. The hotel quoted on the drawing is the location for romantic schemes created by her, symbolized by the enormous candy Kiss in the foreground.
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Macramé Lace Jewelry
"Macramé Lace" is called that because, while it uses the same ancient knots which Phoenician sailors and Arabic travelers used, it is not done in large rope but in fine thread such as colorful embroidery thread or thin waxed cords. Therefore it is also a form of lace and takes infinite patience and intense hand and eye coordination. Macramé Lace Jewelry by Carol Worthey has been created in a variety of period styles, from Egyptian collars laden with jewels, to Art Deco and modern neckpieces, bracelets, earrings and rings featuring antique beads, feathers, and shells. Exhibited at the famed Folk & Craft Museum , Los Angeles (also known as The Egg & The Eye ), most of Carol's Macramé Lace Jewelry has been sold. However, photographs of her best pieces exist. Macramé Lace is very demanding on the eyes and very time-consuming, so Carol has not crafted any pieces for several years. However, for a retrospective art exhibit, some of this jewelry could be exhibited or the photos shown with one piece on display, plus there are sketches/plans for neckpieces which in some cases are art in themselves.
(See here under Colored Drawings, for a drawing entitled Macramé Necklace Created for Evan)
"Flying Heart"
© 2002 Carol Worthey
Wall Hanging of Cutout Heart with embossed heavy paper which has hearts in heavy bas-relief all over it. Wings made of rice paper are glued on both sides of the heart and a string attaches the wall-hanging to any spot on the wall with a thumbtack or other fastener.
Other Crafts
Another craft enjoyed by Carol is the creation of one-of-a-kind, old-fashioned Christmas Balls decorated with rare beads, ribbons and lace. Carol's book Treasury of Holiday Magic features many different crafts, as well as the art of cooking and baking. Carol believes living is an art.
"A Day in the Life of a Mermaid"
Acrylic on canvas board. Unframed.
© 2005 Carol Worthey
Mermaids have fascinated women and men for centuries. This lovely mermaid is contentedly contemplating her day, from sunny skies to sunset to night-time. A school of fish glides below her. Bubbles below the surface line up with footprints on a sandy beach. Her beautiful fishtail and peaceful smile bring the onlooker happiness.
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"Angel of Music"
Interactive Artwork © 2001 Carol Worthey Enamel Lacquer Paints over
Fiberglass; Polyurethane Sealant. Sculpture designed by Tony Sheets.
Words & Music © 2001 Carol Worthey
Angel of Music , an interactive statue, was part of the 2001 citywide art exhibit in Los Angeles called A Community of Angels , raising money for Volunteers of America and Big Brothers . This statue with its music were seen and heard at the Music Center by about 600,000 concert goers and tourists from around the world. Angel of Music was painted by Carol Worthey based on a concept and design by her and had music by Carol which sounded at the press of a button called the "Angel of Music" song.
The statue is designed to embody the healing and loving qualities inherent in music. Sponsor for this statue was the San Fernando Valley Alumni Chapter of the international music fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon . MP3.com donated the music equipment inside a special statue base designed and manufactured by firms in the entertainment business.
The music (arranged and orchestrated by Carol) features all the instruments painted on the statue: Harp, French Horn, Piano, Flute, Cello, Tambourine, as well as Violin and has Lead Vocal by Valerie Fahren and a Children's Chorus. There is also a saxophone painted on a thigh, representing Jazz and Blues and a panpipe representing ethnic music painted on a hand. The body of the Angel is basically a glowing rich gold, to suggest any and all ethnicities, in honor of the diversity of Los Angeles. The front, painted in bright rainbow hues, shows various musical instruments which mirror the shape of parts of the body (the torso is a cello, for instance; An eighth note forms the nose and eyebrow). The back wings are painted in pastel colors, with the names of 160 composers of the past painted in silver on the "feathers" -- Carol calls this "the feathers of the immortals.
Angel of Music was purchased by the Chase Foundation , raising money for children's charities. A music video produced by Randy Tobin shows Angel of Music by the fountains at the Music Center. Featured in the LA Times Bestseller, A Community of Angels .
(See/hear Randy Tobin video here)
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"Beyond the Storm"
Crayon-pastels, mixed media. Matted & framed.
© 1965 Carol Worthey
A naked woman walks in a blue-tinged storm away from a forest. Is she running away or going toward something? Passion stirs in her form, but are her arms tied?
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"Blue Guitar"
Pen & Ink with Blue Watercolor or Colored Pencil Wash. Original damaged
but pasted together nearly imperceptibly and mounted on heavy board.
© 1968 Carol Lee Symonds (Carol Worthey)
"Cracked" effect adds to the dimension of the piece. Realistic but moody portrait of Carol's first husband, Gene Worthey, playing a guitar.
"Duet"
Acrylic paint on canvas board, Framed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
This double portrait of two of my favorite people is meant to convey their closeness and affection for each other as well as their individual personalities. These are beautiful-looking people, but more important, they are beautiful people to know. I worked hard to create their likeness, but harder to express what makes them so special, as individuals and as a pair. There is a hint of mischeviousness in their faces and an easygoing quality, mingled with passion and caring. The heart shape that surrounds them underscores that these two are very much in love and very devoted to each other. I used their favorite colors throughout, rich browns and purples with touches of light aqua-blue, crimson, muted greens and gold. I hope the viewer can feel the love that permeates Duet.
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"Geometric Sunrise"
Colored Pencil. Matted & framed.
© 1976 Carol Worthey
Circular and rectangular forms point to a horizon glowing like a sunrise. Reproduced on the cover of "Elegy" for Cello & Orchestra.
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"Ingres and Solace in San Miguel"
© 1968-9, 1993 Carol Worthey
Collage constructed on February 15, 1993 from drawings made in the Mexican art colony San Miguel de Allende. Drawings vary form black and white pen & ink to colored pencils drawings. Unframed. Central figure is a rendition of a bather's back from a painting by Ingres (pronounced "anger", hence the pun in the title) surrounded by everyday objects of Mexican life and especially life drawings of an old man, his face, hands, and sandal'd feet.
"Morning Muse"
Watercolor, Framed in authentic California Craftsman frame, 24 x 30
© 1998 Carol Worthey
A gentle, meditative portrait (close to how Carol used to look in younger days) of a brown-haired, French-braided woman looking out of a bright morning window (presumably at her garden), dressed in a yellow morning gown. In the foreground two teacups balance precariously on a table, behind which is a bookshelf with a heart pillow (hearts being Carol Worthey's symbol of choice) and a flower pot. The outline of the face is barely visible but still "there" in the morning sunshine. There is a taste of Vermeer (Carol's second favorite artist, after Claude Monet) in the pose and positioning near a window. This watercolor was done while studying with well-known artist Susan Warshaw .
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"Musical Mermaid"
Acrylic paint on canvas board mounted on wood, Unframed
Copyright ©2006 Carol Worthey
This painting has been directly inspired by a piece of music composed by Carol Worthey, An Iridescent Splash in Liquid Time for Flute, Viola and Harp, premiered by The Debussy Trio in October 2005. The melodic theme of the piece actually is painted to the right of the mermaid, as if the magical creature were stroking her shell harp and the melody were floating out into the surrounding waters. Iridescent touches of silver, copper and gold on the mermaid's tail and hair were actually painted live on stage while Carol was being video'd. This daring new performance art (painters have often painted while music played, but never live before an audience to their own created music) was world-premiered by Carol on January 11th, 2006 at the Off The Cuff show put on by Renaissance Speakers Toastmasters Club at Celebrity Centre International's Garden Pavilion in Hollywood.
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"NatureScape" (The Eyes of the Butterfly)
Crayon-pastels, colored pencils, pen & ink. Framed.
© 1968 Carol Lee Symonds (Carol Worthey)
A huge birdlike butterfly with watchful eyes takes wing in front of a giant honeysuckle. Both shapes complement each other. Nature and fantasy blend, while the cloud echoes the shape of butterfly and flower. Does it matter if it's nature (actual) or escape (illusion)?
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"Portrait of A Ghost I Actually Saw"
Decoupage, Crayon-pastels, colored pencils, watercolor, pen & ink.
Matted & framed.
© 1978 Carol Worthey
A turn-of-the-century ghostgirl hovers in mid-air. Her body floats semi- transparent with trees showing through her from the window behind. Her striped red and white stockings, pigtails, and picnic pinafore belie the tear trailing down one cheek. This is fairly close to what I saw in © 1973 in an old house in the Alvarado section of LA, now skid row, but home to the wealthy in the 1910's. When the ghost saw that Carol had spotted her, she disappeared. After that Carol never doubted the existence of ghosts ever again.
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"Proudly We Hail"
Acrylic paint on canvas board, Framed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
How our hearts leap when we see the Stars & Stripes! It's a sense of pride that often brings tears to our eyes when we think of the sacrifices men and women have made to keep our dream of freedom alive. To give expression to this surge of emotion, the artist has chosen (as the title of this stirring painting) a line from our national anthem, "Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hail..." Here is the symbol of a nation that gave birth to a dream that still fires the hopes and longings of people everywhere on Earth.
A huge American flag hangs from the vaulted ceiling of a lofty glass pavilion. The rafters are hung with festoons of red and purple streamers, and light and shadow play on the flag, making it glow as if from within. Through the glass one can see the balconies and tall windows of an adjoining building profiled against a sunny sky. Celebration is in the air!
The artist has contrasted primary colors (the bright red stripes and blue star-field of the flag and the yellow-tinged stucco exterior of the outside building) with the more subtle and muted mixed colors of the interior with its coral red and purple streamers and a special secret blend of colors Carol uses to create authentic, vibrant shadowplay. Carol has consciously used four different blues to accentuate different elements in the painting, and to allow the viewer to focus on the flag as the Main Attraction: The steel construction of the glass pavilion features a deep turquoise-tinged blue mixed with a dab of black. The windows of the outside building are painted in a cool gray-blue, which itself contrasts with the warm blue of the sky. The complex structure of the pavilion and the counterpoint of shadows and light converge on the central figure in this drama: the noble banner of our Nation!
Long may it wave!
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"Remembrance Rising"
Colored pencil and Watercolor Wash. Matted & framed.
© 1969 Carol Worthey
Surreal female faces and bodies intermingle with aqueducts, steeples and mountains in an evocative fiery-colored work, redolent with the dark charms of Mexico.
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"Summer Breeze"
Watercolor. Matted, framed with antique frame. 24 x 30 inches
© 1999 Carol Worthey
Two young girls (sisters or best friends?) look out over a halcyon sea in the distance with a sailboat far away and seagulls, while standing on a windy wooden porch. To the left on a cliff is a typical New England lighthouse. This is one of Carol Worthey's most popularly received artworks, and she intends to create a full-color gyclee print edition of it, but to keep the original. This was painted while studying watercolor technique with renowned watercolorist Pomm Olsen Hepner .
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"The Face of Creation"
Crayon-pastels, colored pencils. Matted & framed.
© 1972 Carol Worthey
Out of many shapes and objects, a mushroom, a butterfly, leaves, flowers and cobwebs, a face emerges -- her haunting look has joy and nostalgia mixed. All these objects seem to have just been thrown in the air and to have formed the face all of an instant. So it has been named "the face of creation". This is one of Carol Worthey's personal favorites and is on the cover of her poetry book.
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"Tuscany: Flowershop Reflections"
Acrylic paint on canvas board, Framed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
A beautiful young woman returning from shopping has stopped before a flowershop window, transfixed by the brilliant color and exuberance of its bouquets and has left her satchel with its wine and bread to the side, in absolute wonder. The lifelike, bright yellow lilies and hot pink and white carnations contrast with the cobalt blue glass vase and form the central focus of the painting, creating a certain primary-color electricity. Surrounding the flowers are overlays of reflections, muted colors and complex shadows, which allow us to see both outside the shop and inside at one and the same time. Carol loves to create scenes so real you could touch, smell and hold the flowers yet infused with a magical ambiance and mystery embodied in the inside-outside view. Reflected in the window, we can see what is behind the girl across the street from the flower shop. As she stands on the cobblestone street so typical of Tuscany towns, we see reflected in the window a bench in front of three darkened windows. The cobblestone street has formed criss-cross patterns that reflect in the window over the white pedestals and blue vase inside the shop, and across the girl's skirt, legs and shoes. Overlaying the girl's expression of wonder and delight is another layer of reflections: The ornate yet subtle pattern of a brocade fabric placed behind the flowers as a backdrop for the window display. In the title, the use of the word "Reflections" has a double meaning, hinting at the internal thoughts of the young woman. She seems to be looking at the nearly-hidden bouquet to the right, on the higher pedestal. She is romantically dressed in a fetching blue outfit. Is she thinking of someone special? You are free to make up your own story.... Such is the magic of Tuscany!
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"Tuscany: Laundry Day"
Acrylic paint on canvas board, Framed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
It's laundry day in Tuscany! The freshness of newly washed laundry contrasts with the old wall behind. You can practically feel the breeze as it makes the wash billow on the clothesline. The socks are brilliantly white in the late morning sun, while intriguing shadows (typical of the Tuscany region) reveal the outline of three poplars and cast a fascinating interplay of light and shade on the laundry and the old bricks and stone of the wall. Remnants of an ancient arch still remain on the wall as witnesses to earlier times. Lace curtains in the window shimmer crisply in the mix of sunlight and shade while the shutters of the opposite window are almost closed. Two hanging plants with hot pink flowers lend contrast to the scene and cast variegated plays of light and shade on the wall. A mysterious old doorway below is open and dark, both beckoning and forbidding at the same time. (Perhaps the two windows and the door suggest a face with one eye open, the other shut and a mouth below ready to speak of times long gone and fresh new days.) Carol has sought to bring this vivid scene to life with attention to each and every detail, with many overlays of varied color washes and with a passionate interest in creating texture, design and movement. The wash has been done early--now it's time to enjoy some wine and pasta in the garden! Ah, life in Tuscany!
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"Tuscany: Old Doors, New Bicycle"
Acrylic paint on canvas board, Framed
Copyright ©2005 Carol Worthey
Like ancient friends, two imposing doors sit side by side on an old street in Florence. They are ceremonial and majestic and yet ragged, surrounded by granite and marble, worn and scratched with the passage of many years and many entrances and departures. A shiny new bicycle leans against one door, promising youth and adventure, with a basket to fill, with wheels and corners to turn, in contrast to the wizened experiences and venerable wisdom of the old doors. A mysterious darkened window sits between the doors and if you look closely, you can see in the shadows just behind the wrought iron grid... well, take a look for yourself! The artist has used vibrant earth tones, color washes and textural effects to create the walls with their cracks, the wood of the doors, the worn out paint and wear-marks. Simultaneously contrasting colors vibrate one with the other, the dark orange wood doors with the blue metal of the bike, the purpled-gray stones and pavers of the old street with the gold and russet of the walls. Oh the stories these doors could tell....
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"Candle In The Night"
Woodcut Limited Edition of 50
Printed on gold paper with black ink. Matted & Framed.
© 1972 Carol Worthey
An illustration created originally as a Chanukah Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic for the Chanukah section. A candle's glow emanates around it in a huge sphere like the power of the spirit emerging from darkness. Shown at the First International Art Exhibit, Pavilion, Celebrity Centre, 1992.
"Hands"
Woodcut Limited Edition of 50
Printed on white linen paper with black ink.
© 1971 Carol Worthey
An illustration created originally as a Christmas Card and used in the book Treasury of Holiday Magic by Carol Worthey for the song "Peace Is Possible." Two hands reach toward each other in understanding.
Visual Art
Why include this here?
Perhaps the most striking hallmark of Carol Worthey's lifetime output as an artist is her versatility in mood, style and artform. She believes all of life is creative. Whatever expression she feels at the moment, the result can take the form of a song, a painting, a poem, a work for orchestra, a delicious meal, a piano performance, a play or (best of all) the smile on a child's face. In a world that loves to pigeonhole artists, this can sometimes be a promotional problem. But it is her nature and her truth. Carol Worthey is an accomplished Composer, Visual Artist and Writer -- a Renaissance Woman in touch with today but perhaps ahead of her time.
Primarily known internationally as a Contemporary Concert Composer, Carol Worthey is also a Visual Artist in a variety of media with art shows to her credit, including two museum exhibits. With all this going on, she is especially proud to be a Wife and Mother.
Why include a list of Carol's artwork in a compilation of primarily her Music Works? Carol believes strongly that all the various art forms stem from a common need to communicate the human condition, to transcend the ordinary and give meaning to life. This is why a compilation of her music needs to include a list of her visual works.
Carol Worthey began composing at three and writing it down a year later. She drew incessantly. At five (after being officially tested) she was admitted to the adult art classes at world-famous Rhode Island School of Design , where she studied life drawing, still life, oil painting, watercolor, anatomy, design and color theory for seven years. During this time her work went on display at RISD Museum. Carol also loved studying how to do woodcuts from a well-known Native American artist, Mr. Conti.
Carol chose to concentrate on music, but fortunately never stopped painting or drawing. Even while she was developing her composer skills (studying with world-famous composers such as Darius Milhaud, Vincent Persichetti and Walter Piston), she continued to study and DO art.
At Columbia University (where she won First Prize in Composition) Carol studied calligraphy and art history. In the beautiful mountain scenery of Aspen Colorado, she practiced landscape painting at an art barn. In a Mexican art colony (San Miguel de Allende) Carol learned to do decoupage, macramé, papier-mache and jewelry. In 1975 her macramé lace jewelry was displayed at the Museum of Folk Art in Los Angeles. In 2000 after studying with well-known watercolorists Pomm Olsen Hepner and Susan Warshaw, Carol displayed her paintings in the International Art Exhibit put on by Artists for A Better World at Celebrity Center International, Hollywood.
Currently, Carol teaches music theory, sightsinging, and piano in her Hollywood Hills home, incorporating principles of visual art such as color and design into her teaching vocabulary. Although music remains her primary language, Carol recognizes that there are emotions and realities which are communicated perhaps best by putting paint to canvas. She wants to encourage all people to tap into their huge stores of creative power and live life to the fullest!
A tradition has been created, fostered by Carol's husband Ray Korns, of creating new colored drawings for each new composition, to be put on the cover page of the score. When an "old" artwork has the theme or mood of the music, it can also be used. Carol finds this an enjoyable way to combine art and music and a way to make her music scores appealing.
