The Sarah Quartel Songbook brings together a selection of the composer's best-loved pieces for upper voices, including favourites such as The Birds' Lullaby, I remember, and All the way home. This is an invaluable resource both for choirs looking to explore the work of this fine choral composer for the first time and for admirers of Quartel's style hoping to find staple repertoire conveniently gathered together in one volume.

for Upper voices, SATB, and piano or 2 pianos and percussion (4 players) A work filled with ambition, Circlesong is a musical portrayal of the human life cycle as captured in the indigenous poetry of North America. Based on poetry from the Chinook, Comanche, Dakota, Eskimo, Iroquois, Kwakiutl, Navajo, Ojibwa, Pueblo, Seminole, Sioux, and Yaqui traditions, the thirteen movements, in seven parts, mark the different stages of life, from birth and childhood to adulthood, middle age and death. With energetic percussion accompaniment, climactic moments for tutti choir, tender unaccompanied passages and solo song, Circlesong is a work of impressive drama, variety, and depth. This is the upper voices part for Circlesong. The vocal scores are available for sale separately and instrumental parts for the two pianos/percussion version are available on hire.

for SATB unaccompanied Setting a beautiful text by Rabindranath Tagore, Wake, love, wake explores evocative imagery and metaphors through sonorous harmonies and freedom in tempo. The resulting piece is romantic, stirring, and atmospheric-perfect for concert performance. Also published in Breath of Song.

John Philip Sousa's The Washington Post March was written in 1889 for the newspaper's essay-writing competition award ceremony, and very swiftly gained the wide popularity it has retained to this day. Robert Gower's well-crafted and playable arrangement will work well on pretty much any size of instrument, and will make a welcome addition to the organist's repertoire of ceremonial voluntaries for grand occasions.

for SSATBarB unaccompanied Setting words by the composer, One of these days is an affirmatory piece with pop-inspired rhythms and harmonies. The scat syllables and repeating patterns of the lower parts provide a rich cushion for the lilting melody of the soprano lines, with lyrics that encourage us to seize the day!

for SSAA and piano Refuge sets a powerful Sara Teasdale poem by the same name, which perfectly captures the healing power of singing: 'For with my singing I can make a refuge for my spirit's sake, A house of shining words, to be my fragile immortality'. Quartel uses musical structure to complement the poem's narrative, opening and closing with music marked 'resilient and strong', with a central section that is 'warm and hopeful', as expressed by rich harmonies and soaring melodic lines. The piano underpins this expressive setting with steady continuous quaver motion, and provides characterful harmonic moments.

for low voice and piano This beautiful collection of 14 songs for low voice offers Christmas settings by some of Oxford's best-loved composers. Suitable for solo singers and unison choirs alike, each song is presented with piano accompaniment, and high-quality, downloadable backing tracks are included on a companion website. With a wonderful selection of pieces, including favourites such as Bob Chilcott's 'The Shepherd's Carol' and John Rutter's 'Candlelight Carol', this is the perfect collection for use in carol services and Christmas concerts or for enjoying at home. Also available in a volume for high voice and piano.

In the First World War, civilian life played a fundamental part in the war effort; and music was no exception. Performing Propaganda looks at musical life in Paris during the First World War. This conflict was one in which civilian life played a fundamental part in the war effort; and music was no exception. The book examines how Western art music became a central part of the home-front war effort, employed by both musicians and government as a powerful tool of propaganda. It situates French art music of the First World War within its social, cultural and political context, and within the wider temporal framework of the Franco-Prussian and Second World Wars. Drawing on a diverse range of archival material, including concert and operatic programmes, the musical and daily press, documents detailing government involvement in musical activity, and police records, it explores how various facets of French musical life served, in very different ways, as propaganda. In short, it explores why music mattered during a period of prolonged conflict, whether as emotional catalyst, weapon, or tool. This book will be of interest to musicologists, to cultural historians working on early twentieth-century France, and to scholars of the First World War,as well as to a more general readership with an interest in music during times of adversity. RACHEL MOORE is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Music, University of Oxford.

for SATB and piano Written for the BBC Last night of the Proms, this sensitive setting of the well-known Irish folk song does justice to the beauty of the original melody. Chilcott's harmonic subtleties add to the poignancy of the lyrics, expressing and elevating the sentiments of loss and longing.

for solo cello Conceived as a set, these eight songs are drawn from several Chinese regions (Shaanbei, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan, and Shanxi) and represent the three main genres of mountain song, work song, and the more structured performance song aimed at professional singers. In this new arrangement for solo cello the music has been carefully refashioned for Western instruments, with writing that includes stylistic bowing and fingering to match the original style. Suitable for students at early to intermediate level, these compelling short pieces are accompanied by illuminating programme notes with a synoposis of each song.

for SSAA, piano, and cello This bright, sparkling celebration of nature is inspired by the snowy and icy winters of the composer's native Canada. The text, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, is brought to life through vibrant melodies, a rippling piano part, and a rich, poignant line for solo cello. This piece was originally published in a version for SATB, solo cello, and piano as part of the five-movement work A Winter Day.

John Ireland (1879-1962) had a long and close friendship with Alan Bush (1900-1995) which lasted forty years, from 1922, when John Ireland was already fifty years old, until Ireland's death in 1962. It was the relationship of master and pupil and this was clearly reflected in their letters. The two men came to know each other well once Bush had left the Royal Academy of Music in 1922 and became a student of composition with Ireland until 1927. 160 letters are published here for the first time and they provide not only a compelling and engaging narrative, but also a unique insight into the musical and day-to-day lives of the two men. The letters were written during a most interesting and turbulent period in British history: the inter-war period of the 1920s and 30s, the situation during the Second World War and the post-war era. The volume will therefore appeal to those interested in wider aspects of British musical life and social and political history, as well as followers of Ireland and Bush.

for SATB and piano or orchestra This arrangement for choir and piano of a traditional American spiritual conjures a deep fervency, belying its simple appearance. The opening instruction is 'With hushed awe', and that encapsulates perfectly the gentle radiance of the tender lyrics and the music's highly singable lines.

for SATB and piano or orchestra Pulsating rhythms in the piano part underpin this energetic arrangement of a traditional spiritual. The voice parts progress from a forthright rendition of the famous tune at the beginning to bold and exciting harmonies by the end. The arrangement would provide a high-spirited and rousing climax for any Christmas concert.

for SATB and piano (with opt bass and drums) Optional parts for bass and drum set enliven this joyous arrangement for choir and piano of a traditional spiritual. Propelled by a light swing tempo, the mood grows more and more euphoric with each succeeding stanza of text, and the uplifting music surges towards an opulent conclusion.

for solo piano This short piano suite was written in response to the Covid-19 lockdown and features Chilcott's celebrated jazz style in three movements: 'Bobbing along', 'Becky's Song' and 'Walking with Ollie'. With a swing and a hop in the outer movements and rich harmonies in between, A Little Jazz Piano is wonderfully suited for younger pianists looking for something different.

for solo piano Featuring sparse textures, quirky endings, and intuitive phrasing, these 24 Preludes and Fugues, in all the keys, bear the hallmarks of Skempton's Minimalist style. This set is well-suited for performance but also for pianists wishing to practise polyphonic textures and single-hand exercises.

for SATB choir unaccompanied With a text by John Henry Newman, Lead, kindly Light is a short, moving piece perfectly suited for our current times. Step-like movement in the melody reflects the speaker seeking light in the darkness, slow but steady in their way out of the 'encircling gloom'.

This beautiful setting of a text by Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrates the universal presence of song, which can be found in places of beauty but also darkness. With memorable melodies and a flowing supportive accompaniment, this piece will leave a warm feeling in both the singers and listeners alike. Originally published in The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs for flexible voices and also available separately in a version for two part and piano.

- A comprehensive guide to musicals that are based on musicians' existing back catalogues - how they work, why they work and why they are so successful. - Written for musical theatre students at all levels - primarily on the 150 BA degrees across the UK and North America. - The first book to address this relatively new genre of musical theatre, doing so with in-depth and wide ranging analysis.

This book is the first biography of 20th-century pianist Rudolf Serkin, providing a narrative of Serkin's life with emphasis on his European roots and the impact of his move to America. With the help of interviews, the authors focus on three key aspects of Serkin's work, particularly as it unfolded in America: his art and career as a pianist, his activities as a pedagogue, including his long association with the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and his key role in institutionalizing a redefinition of musical values in America through his work as artistic director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Vermont. The book concludes with a discography by Paul Farber that documents an essential part of Serkin's achievement.

The first full-length volume on the life work of one of the most well-known and prolific masters of our time, "William Thomas McKinley: A Bio-Bibliography" provides both musicologists and performers with a guide toward further exploration of the composer and his music. Included within are a complete biography on McKinley, the man and performer; a discography of both McKinley's compositions and his performances; and an in-depth catalog of his works. Each entry of the catalog contains a complete manuscript description, a detailed listing of any sketches or drafts which exist, a piece-specific bibliography, a complete performance history, and editorial notes. Also included are the composer's own writings about his works in the form of his program notes. Program notes by other authors are included as well, as they are the product of interviews with the composer.

The book has been organized with easy access and a larger audience of performers, musicologists, and other interested parties firmly in mind. The works numbering system has been completely restructured from previous bio-bibliographies in order to provide performers with quicker access to works for their particular instrument or group of instruments. Works are cross-listed in several ways and the book is thoroughly indexed, making for easy information access.

The John Rutter Christmas Piano Album brings together eight of the composer's best-loved seasonal choral pieces as piano transcriptions, made by John Rutter himself, for performance use or enjoyment at home. Designed for pianists at early intermediate level, the collection provides skilful and approachable arrangements of festive favourites such as 'Angels' Carol' and 'What sweeter music' and of the more recent 'Colours of Christmas' and 'Christ our Emmanuel'. The gentle 'Mary's Lullaby', meanwhile, features a newly written Epilogue, a homage to George Shearing and evoking the style of this celebrated jazz pianist. Clearly presented and laid out, the transcriptions also include the texts (lyrics) within the piano score, for reference or potential sing-alongs. From the composer who has become synonymous with Christmas, this versatile collection is a joyous celebration of the season. The pieces in this collection have been recorded by Wayne Marshall on Decca Records.

This beautiful setting of a text by Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrates the universal presence of song, which can be found in places of beauty but also darkness. With memorable melodies and a flowing supportive accompaniment, this piece will leave a warm feeling in both the singers and listeners alike. Originally published in The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs for flexible voices and also available separately in a version for SATB and piano.

The first book to deal exclusively with British musical flops, Must Close Saturday presents a rolling panorama of the good, the bad and the ugly, reassessing their place in theatrical history. The ominous announcement "Must Close Saturday" too often heralded the demise of British musicals. Looking forward from the vantage point of Lionel Bart's spectacularly successful Oliver! in 1960, Adrian Wright's authoritative chronicle of the commercially unsuccessful British musical of the last half a century uncovers a wealth of fascinating material. In the wake of the resurgence that briefly blew through the British musical at the end of the 1950s with verismo works such as Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be and Expresso Bongo, the British musical was shaken by Bart's adaptation of Dickens, but was quickly left floundering in the face of constant critical complaint and financial failure. The first book to deal exclusively with British musical flops, Must Close Saturday presents a rolling panorama of the good, the bad and the ugly, reassessing their place in theatrical history.Wright reveals a consistent striving at invention, with subjects including the electric chair, the Holocaust, the Virgin Mary, social inequality and Trade Unionism, sexual problems and murder, as well as biographical treatments of Hollywood stars, French painters, tragic novelists, royalty, and the Rector of Stiffkey. Discursive and provoking, Must Close Saturday at last prises open the neglected history of the British musical flop up to 2016. ADRIAN WRIGHT is the author of Foreign Country: The Life of L. P. Hartley (1996), John Lehmann: A Pagan Adventure (1998), The Innumerable Dance: The Life and Work of William Alwyn (Boydell & Brewer, 2008), the novel Maroon (2010) and The Voice of Doom (2016). His previous books on British musical theatre are A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-War British Musical (Boydell & Brewer, 2010) and West End Broadway: The Golden Age of the American Musical in London (Boydell & Brewer, 2012). He lives in Norfolk.