English Secular Music I

Judith BlezzardThis book looks at English church music from a new standpoint. It examines the relationship between English church music and the various types of other music that have influenced its development revealing a vigorous tradition of interplay with extraneous musical material that is seldom apparent from the ways in which music is presented for church use. The borrowing of music from churches outside England is explored and a large section is devoted to the often surprisingly ingenious ways in which secular music has since the beginnings of the English church been appropriated as music for worship - often with controversial results. From madrigal tomusic-hall from plainsong to popular styles: these and many other kinds of music have lent both styles and material to sacred music with English texts. By examining these musical transformations this book demonstrates that English church music is far from being an exclusively insular and retrospective repertory as is often presumed to be the case. Although the book with its use of musical examples is designed primarily for the general musical reader - both amateur and professional its broadly historical approach will appeal to those interested in English cultural heritage the church and its worship.ISBN 0 85249 784 9

This treasury of part songs and sacred music for one to six voices will delight all lovers of medieval and Renaissance music. Containing a wealth of both religious and secular music from the 12th to the 17th centuries the collection covers a broad range of moods. Approximately half the songs are secular some from the popular tradition and others from the courtly poets and musicians surrounding such musically inclined monarchs. Some of the music contained is printed for the first time. Edited by Noah Greenberg

Humphrey Clucas is known for a wide range of choral and vocal music alongside a growing body of instrumental music and this beautiful and evocative song is set to words by A.E. Housman. Originally for voice and lute Evenfall also works well with piano accompaniment and the edition includes versions for high voice (A minor) and low voice (E minor). The accompaniment is simple and supportive allowing the flowing melody to soar above with a tonal and accessible style which should appeal to singers of all ages and abilities.Humphrey Clucas was born in 1941 and read English at King's College Cambridge where he was also a Choral Scholar. Having taught Englishfor twenty-seven years he subsequently became a Lay Vicar at Westminster Abbey but is now retired. As a composer he is self taught and although he is well-known for a set of Anglican Responses written as an undergraduate almost all his serious music has been written over the last twenty-five years. He has a growing reputation as a choral composer and has produced an impressive and steady stream of choral works both sacred and secular alongside much instrumental music. He has written works for Cathedrals in Chichester Guildford Salisbury and Winchester as well as for King's College Cambridge Southwell Minster and Westminster Abbey.

The ?VOCES8 singles? series includes songs for which the group is particularly well known in choral arrangements produced specifically for VOCES8. The composer?s poem is based on the early 15th Century Middle English carol ?This Endris Night? that is cast as a discourse between Mary and the infant Jesus where her lament alternates with his responses on what the future holds. In the arrangement the sacred meaning is combined with the secular tradition of Ember Days so that it is not clear whether the poem is religious or secular nor ifthe poet is expressing personal belief or musing on the passing of the year. The composition workedso wonderfully with the themes of the VOCES8 album ?Equinox?.

Invocation was written for the Choir of The Queen’s College Oxford and represents the culmination of the composer’s time as a research fellow at the college when he worked closely with the choir. Phillip had long been a devotee of Edward Thomas’s evocative poem Adlestrop with its dreamy pastoral feel invoking the very essence of a sultry English country afternoon. It seemed a natural choice to set not least because it mentions the two counties in which he has spent the last seven years Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Phillip wanted the workfurther to emphasise the link with everything we might class as a stereotypical English countryafternoon cricket on the green church bells birdsong and warm beer the mythical ‘middle-England’. His work in no way tries to depict this rather to distil the feeling it is a rhapsody on a theme of English country life that men went to war to preserve something very different from the more rugged landscape he grew up with in the Lake District. The work is called Invocation because it is precisely that a spell or charm something that bewitches the listener and that the composer hopes stays long in the mind rather like Adlestrop or indeed Adlestrop itself.The Novello New Choral Series is an inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers offering pieces for all types of choirs including sacred and secular works from simple four-part settings to more expansive yet accessible repertoire in an exciting variety of styles. This collection is perfect for choirs looking to broaden their repertoire and explore some of the best new music around.Phillip Cooke was born in Cumbria in 1980 spending his formative years there. He has had works played across the country by many of the country’s top choirs and ensembles. New works in 2011 were featured in the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music John Armitage Memorial Concert Series Choir

Now Is The Month Of Maying is one of the most famous of the English balletts a light part song similar to a madrigal frequently with a fa-la-la chorus common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissancecomposers. The fun piece was written by the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School Thomas Morley and published in 1595. The song delightsin bawdy double-entendre it is apparently about spring dancing but this is a metaphor for sex. Its imagery and puns are characteristic of the Renaissance. Now Is The Month Of Maying is arranged here for SATBChoir.

Although the English madrigal has been fairly described by John Rutter as a completed historical form its younger sibling the partsong still flourishes in the hands of sympathetic composers like Edmund Jolliffe who can clothe secular texts with music a cappella that fits their sentiments like a glove. In fact John Donne's verse though of a later period receives a setting that might even be described as madrigalean in its sensitive response to verbal rhythm and feeling. And for anyone who treasures the heritage of music for chorus by English composers such as Walton and Britten and indeed Rutter himself Jolliffe's command of a tonal idiom that isrich in sensuous detail yet also broadly appealing is an additional pleasure.

Place Names-The Chester Books Of Madrigals offer an exciting collection of secular European madrigals partsongs and rounds from the 16th and ear;y 17th centuries newly edited from early sources by Anthony G. Patti who contributescopious historical notes to each volume.The majority of the settings are for SATB and simplified keyboard reductions. Texts are in the original languages with an English translation (for non-English texts) provided at thehead of each piece.

Masterpiece Edition-Franz Schubert was born in Vienna in 1797. He was involved in music at an early age learning music theory and many different instruments including piano violin organ and voice. During his brief but prolific life he wrote a wide variety of music. His compositions included symphonies piano sonatas piano duets operas masses chamber works and several hundred songs. Among the hundreds of songs the most loved and revered is Ave Maria. Ave Maria was first published in 1826 under the German title Ellen's Gesang 111: Hymne and die Jungfrau (Ellen's Song 111: Hymn to the Virgin). The text used was taken from a novel written by Sir Walter Scott entitled 'Lady of the Lake'. It was then translated into German as it appeared in Schubert's song. After Schubert's death in 1828 the Latin text began being used and eventually surpassed either the use of the German or English text. 'Antiphon of the Blessed Virgin' is a text which has been used in religious contexts since the beginning of Christianity. This vocal classic was originally envisioned as a devotional piece but over time the magnificent beauty of both music and text has made this song equally popular for secular performances. Schubert's Ave Maria arranged for High Voice is recommended for Soprano or Tenor ranges. We have included a separate vocal line with lyrics written in Latin just above the piano accompaniment stave(s). The English translation is also included to explain this fabled story. This Minstrel Press Edition of Schubert's Ave Maria for High Voice is exclusively distributed by Santorella Publications.