Gabriel Jackson

Eurydice is based on a work by the great Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay - a series of six large stones installed in a garden in Provence set in a sea of lavender (representing water) and inscribed with a simple poetic text each line of which begins with 'Eurydice' and is followed by a natural phenomenon 'the mountain-tops' 'the oaks' etc. The piece is in eleven sections. Each section begins with a refrain - 'Eurydice' - followed by differently characterized music for 'the woods' 'the clouds' etc.

for SATB unaccompanied O fear the Lord sets two verses from Psalm 34. A controlled organum-style opening gives way to a more fervent harmonic middle section. An approachable and beautiful piece.

Spring Rounds is a significant work that is rich in variety and orchestral colours. Jackson has selected texts by a multiplicity of authors from the seventeenth-century poet Thomas Carew to contemporary writer Billy Collins to create a profound and interesting reflection on the titular season.

This is a setting of the words used to conclude a communion service: 'The Mass is ended thanks be to God.' The tenor's heraldic opening leads into the highly rhythmic 'Deo Gratias' section. Ideal for the end of a festal or celebratory Mass.

For SSATB (with divisions) unaccompanied. This setting of a poem by William Blake is evocative and appealing. Jackson ingeniously offsets simple pure harmonies against moments of chromaticism to create beautiful fresh music which perfectly captures the essence of the words.New Horizons showcases the wealth of exciting innovative and occasionally challenging choral music being written today. It encompasses the whole gamut of small-scale choral genres both secular and sacred and includes pieces for upper-voice and mixed choirs. With titles by some of the most accomplished choral composers active in Great Britain and abroad the series introduces new repertoireand fresh talent to a broad spectrum of choirs.New Horizons features composers with growing reputations for quality composition reflecting a strong individual voice. The series is continually expanding and should be the first place to look for attractive and performable contemporary choral music.

Written in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Tallis Scholars this joyful and virtuosic antiphon captures a sense of both jubilation and devotion in keeping with the spirit of the anniversary.

The Coral Sea takes its title and structure from the prose poem of the same name that Patti Smith wrote as a memorial to the great photographer Robert Mapplethorpe who died in 1989.

Setting Joseph Addison's text Jackson explores the use of vivid imagery the poem provides through this dramatic medium. Rather than using the full forces of choir brass and organ throughout the piece proceeds through varied antiphonal groupings accompanying typically imaginative choral writing.

Gabriel Jackson's Creator Of The Stars Of Night for SATB and Organ.This mellifluous Advent setting opens in a still and contemplative mood reminiscent of plainsong before a thrilling section heralded by the first entry of the organ. The piece finishes as it began - a perfect Advent blend of meditation and drama.

This dramatic setting of a 5th-century Ambrosian hymn perfectly epitomises the jubilation of the text. Rhythmically complex and involving some tricky melismatic passages it is particularly suited to cathedral choirs and concert performance.

This major work by one of Britain's leading choral composers was commissioned by St Mary's Cathedral Edinburgh. Jackson's only mass to date the setting is terse and direct in the manner of the Poulenc Mass and the textures often unusually pared-down. By turns fiery and exuberant and inward and numinous the music includes a huge variety of textures and techniques including flower melismas luminous key changes and pure homophony. This is a work of great power that will appeal to committed concert and church choirs. The Edinburgh Mass is recorded by the Choir of St Mary's Cathedral on Delphian DCD34027.

O Virgo Virginum by Gabriel Jackson for solo Tenor and SSATB unaccompanied.Following on from the publication of Jackson's settings of the seven 'O' antiphons under the title Seven Advent Antiphons O Virgo virginum is a setting of the Latin text recognised as the eighth 'O' antiphon and performed as such in many Christian traditions. Jackson's imaginative setting features a melismatic line for tenor soloist and aleatoric writing.

This piece stems from an ongoing partnership between the composer and the writer Richard George Elliott. The profound sentiments expressed in Elliot's poem about the firmament are evoked by Jackson's use of colourful shimmering textures and an underlying sense of spaciousness. An impressive concert work this is complex but utterly compelling choral writing.

SATB with divisions. This important Requiem demonstrates the composer's gift for writing mesmerising large-scale choral music - a unique sublime work.