This Is My Word SATB

Recently recorded by VOCES8 to celebrate the Royal Wedding Ed Newton-Rex's 'This Marriage' is a setting of words by the 13th-century poet Rumi in which blessings are wished on a married couple.Ed Newton-Rex is a composer and arranger based in London. He was a chorister in the Choir of King's College Cambridge went on to the King's School Canterbury and returned to Cambridge as a choral scholar at King's. He graduated with a double-starred First in Music in 2010. He has written for various groups including The King's Singers VOCES8 and the Choir of King's College Cambridge and also recently wrote the music for a West End play directed byTom Attenborough. His music has been played on BBC Radio 3 and 1Xtra. Ed is musical director of the Camden Choral Collective a choir for the contemporary music scene who sang with Dizzee Rascal at the BBC Electric Proms in 2009. He is also a regular contributor to The Spectator.

Thomas Moore's timeless words set for SATB Chorus by Irish folksong composer Lough Sheeling.

The Vocal Score for Judith Weir's Truly I Tell You a setting of three different Biblical passages from Psalms and Mark's gospel. This work was first performed by the Choir of Westminster Abbey at theCommonwealth Day Observance on the 9th of March 2015. It is arranged for SSATB Chorus and Organ. Truly I Tell You is a setting of Psalms 8: 4-10 and 34: 1-4 and Mark 10: 15. The thread thatmarries these three texts together is the comparison between man and the name of God the literal exposition of the word of God (working beautifully within the context of such a brilliantly-composed piece of music) and thehopeful entering of God's kingdom in general. In the December 2015 edition of RSCM Church Music Quarterly Magazine the reviewer states that this piece is 'highly recommended' and is a 'useful churchanthem that is not too difficult'. Judith Weir is a British composer whose music often draws influence from her many extra-musical interests such as medieval history and Scottish traditionalmusic. In 2005 Weir received a CBE for her services to music and in 2014 she was appointed the Master of the Queen's Music becoming the first female holder of a post which dates back to 1626.

This motet for unaccompanied SATB choir was commissioned for the 500th anniversary of King's College Cambridge. This is a setting in Greek of an Orthodox prayer to Christ as Son and Word God and Man risen and saving. The prayeris led by a solo tenor and sung mostly by the men with the upper voices entering only for an appeal to Wisdom (sofia) and the final alleluia.It was first performed in 1991 in King's College Chapel by the choir of King's Collegeconducted by Stephen Cleobury.

De Algunos Canciones de Juan de la Cruz. This work was commissioned by the BBC for the 10th anniversary of the BBC Northern Singers in 1975. 'Dos Coros is a setting for voices of two poems by the 16th centurySpanish mystic St John of the Cross. St John is widely considered to be the greatest of the Spanish mystic poets because he comes closest to expressing what is usually considered to be inexpressible - mystical experience. Hispoetry is all about the intense excitement of the union with God but paradoxically the word God is rarely used and not at all in the two poems set here. Another paradox is that he is able to express great serenity by employingthe imagery of rushing water flight and even drunkenness. If mystical experience is near impossible to convey in words then maybe it is natural that many composers have taken up the challenge of conveying it in their ownmedium.' Geoffrey Burgon

A lively carol setting the anonymous 16th-century text ‘All this time this song is best: Verbum caro factum est [The word was made flesh]” originally composed for the choirs of Harrow School England. The main SATB chorus is supported by a semi-chorus of tenors and basses which may be positioned a distance away and the clever interplay between the two groups coupled with the syncopated rhythm and close yet approachable harmony make for an exciting carol both to sing and to hear.

David Bednall's The Scholar for SATB unaccompanied. The Scholar is a sensitive setting of Robert Southey's poem that explores a man's kinship with the dead. With Bednall's characteristic metrical fluidity and effective word setting this piece will provide a moment of quiet reflection in a concert programme.

The apparent simplicity of God Be In My Head with its repetition of the key phrase suddenly gives way to very effective harmonic sophistication on the word ‘heart’ that lays the path for the twilit ambience of the final phrase. H Walford Davies was a composer and musical director at the University of Wales as well as Organist at among others Temple Church where his student Leopold Stokowski (later one of the leading conductors of the 20th century) assisted him. Davies is best remembered for this work and for the march ‘RAF March Past’. Davies also did much to educate the public about serious music through radio programmes and his writings.

Drop drop slow tears was written for The Arcadian Singers of Oxford University for a recording in 2002. The work is set in a simple three-verse format beginning with upper voices whose melting harmonies are intended to convey dropping tears. The second verse sung by lower voices is more urgent but subsiding to a serene final verse. Here all eight voice parts sing in rich almost claustrophobic harmonies ending on a blurred final chord that fades gently avoiding a firm conclusion.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.James Davy (b.1980) has worked with many choirs in churches and cathedrals around the UK most recently as Assistant Director of Music at Blackburn Cathedral. He is a composer with a real affinity for the voice and has developed a keen ear for effective timbres harmony and word-setting. He has had several works broadcast on radio and television and has written for choirs around the UK and USA. In 2010 he won the Choir & Organ Composition Competition.

Of Noblest Cities is intended for a choir of between 12 and about 40 voices although it may also be given by just six singers one to a part (SSATBB). The piece can be performed unaccompanied if no suitable organ is available simply by leaving approximately two crotchet beats of silence between the end of the last note of one verse and the beginning of the next.Underlying the melody is a simple rhythm which is sometimes expanded or contracted. In the first verse the position of the main beats in this rhythm is made clear by the barlines. In the remaining verses however the barlines are only there to help the singers to keep together and forconvenience in rehearsal: singers should observe their own strong beats which fall in different places for each part and not regard the barlines as indicating downbeats. A few of the strong beats which underlie individual parts and appear to be contradicted by the barlines are marked by the symbol / .The words are a beautiful Victorian translation of a Latin hymn by Prudentius which meditates on the story of the three wise men. Each verse is set to the same melody in an increasingly rich counterpoint inspired by the wonderful sound of Tudor choral polyphony.An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers the Novello New Choral Series offers 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. Jeremy Thurlow is a composer writer and pianist. His music has been described as ‘seductive innovative full of freshness’ by Henri Dutilleux. It has been performed by the BBC Philharmonic the Fitzwilliam String Quartet Rolf Hind the BBC Singers Endymion Carmen Elektra Peter Sheppard Skaerved Matthew Schellhorn and Sequitur (New York) among others. In 2007 he won the George Butterworth Award for new composition. As a musicologist he writes on French music in

SSATBB-Famously set to music by Thomas Tallis and taking words from the gospel of John If Ye Love Me is a fresh attempt at this famous passage of scripture. Rich harmonies will resonate in your performance space enveloping your listeners with a tapestry of sound.

(Novello New Choral Series)-There is no rose of such virtue is an anonymous mediaeval text already well known through beautiful settings by Britten (in his Ceremony of Carols) John Joubert and others. The poem is ‘macaronic’ (it presents a verse in English followed by a varying Latin refrain). This new version follows the illustrious examples above by remaining strophic and presenting broadly the same music in a succession of slightly different guises. The first verse is a straightforward four-part setting the second gives the melody to the tenors and surrounds them with hushed wordless writing for the other parts and the third explores a freely canonic relationshipbetween the tenor and soprano lines before carrying the previous verse-endings to a higher more exalted pitch and mood. The fourth verse then expands its texture in a free climactic passage evoking the songs of praise sung by the angels. This subsides towards the final verse where the texture of the music attenuates again to four parts and canonic writing (based on the first four notes of the original melody) permeates all of them. This slightly extended statement leads to a hushed final cadence.Francis Pott (b. 1957) began musical life as a chorister at New College Oxford. He held open music scholarships at Winchester College and at Magdalene College Cambridge where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while pursuing piano studies privately in London with the distinguished British artist Hamish Milne. Throughout the 1990s Francis was John Bennett Lecturer in Music at St Hilda’s College Oxford and a lay clerk in the Choir of Winchester Cathedral. In 2001 he became Head of London College of Music University of West London later leading research across the University’s Faculty of Arts and acceding in 2007 to its first Chair in Composition. Francis Pott has become recognised particularly for his sacred choral and organ music. This has been performed in concert and on radio in

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis-Nico Muhly's Second Service (Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis) sheet music arranged for SATB (Soprano/Alto/Tenor/Bass) Chorus and Organ accompaniment. This piece was originally commissioned by the Choir of Christ Church Christiana Hundred from Delaware USA and was first performed on 19th October 2014 by them. After its various premieres internationally the Second Service was met with resounding warm reviews praising its percussive qualities beautiful melodies and dynamic rhythms. The work is a pleasure to sing especially when beneficial acoustics complement the warmth of the vocalharmonies. Nico Muhly is a composer of many talents lending his skills to a number of diverse genres including Orchestra Choral and even Film Music. This work is arranged for SATB Chorus and Organ accompaniment and lasts around 14 minutes. With this composition Muhly has set the traditional Magnificat also known as the 'Song of Mary' joining the long list of composers who have set this work such as Mozart Tchaikovsky and Schubert. Next comes the Nunc Dimittis similarly a canticle found in the gospel of Luke. The Second Service (Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis) is presented here in an accurate transcription for SATB Chorus and Organ. Audiences will love this innovative and contemporary setting of such traditional words. 

A jolly Christmas carol-This lively carol was commissioned in 2005 by Lichfield Cathedral Special Choir (now called the Cathedral Chorus) to celebrate the birth of Hannah Scriven and Holly Mason the daughters of the two cathedral organists at that time. The words were specially written by Tony Barnard the then Canon Chancellor at Lichfield and a member of the choir. This carol whilst not entirely foreign to my normal style touches more ‘country and western’/popular buttons than I am in the habit of touching. But I wanted to write a tuneful piece which swayed and danced and reflected the colourful imagery of Tony Barnard’s text. Recommended recording: Comeout Lazar – The shorter choral works of Paul Spicer (Regent REGCD280) by The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College Cambridge and Claire Innes-Hopkins (organ) directed by Sarah MacDonald. Text: This child of God who’s born on Christmas day whom shepherds view to whom kings homage pay is called to be a shepherd and a king. Sing alleluias praise this wondrous thing. This child of God is shepherd born to lead through pastures green by banks of golden reed; nor left nor right but ever on the way which leads to Calvary and endless day. This child of God this Son of David’s line is root of tree a shoot a fruitful vine it shelter gives to all who see the way which leads them to the cross and Easter day. This child of God this many spangled star is light’ning flash which dazzles near and far; bright light to guide our feet along the way that leads to Calvary and endless day. This child of God is called to save mankind to open eye and ear the heart and mind; to heal and make the lame man leap and play along the road that leads to Easter Day. This child of God let angel voices praise. Give God the glory live his loving ways. Let peace on earth o’er come our worldly strife through all who walk his road throughout their life. Tony Barnard