for CCBar, piano, and opt. alto sax Red Boots On is a funky setting of a poem by Kit Wright, brought to life by Chilcott's jazzy chords and groovy syncopated rhythms. The melody begins in unison and grows in texture throughout the piece, and is accompanied by a characterful piano part. This new arrangement for cambiata voices also includes an optional alto saxophone part. Also available in a version for upper voices and piano.

Michael McLean's touching Christmas tale has become a timeless classic. It tells the story of a nurse whose empty life is changed by her patient, John, who expands her understanding of Christmas. "The Forgotten Carols" are original songs from the perspective of characters such as the innkeeper who turned the young couple away or the shepherd who slept through the angel's announcement. Their personal accounts, until now, have been overlooked or ignored. Together, John and Constance discover what the world has forgotten about Christmas.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied Setting Revelation 21: 1-5, this short anthem is in McGlade's typically fluid style, with harmonic twists, changing metres, and tempo fluctuations. With some divisi in the upper parts, it will be particularly welcomed by experienced church and cathedral singers as a new take on these well-known words.

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 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 unison voices and piano This secular work for upper voices sensitively sets Langston Hughes's poem of the same name. A lilting melodic line, eloquent part-writing, and an effective piano part combine to create a piece that will appeal to both youth and adult choirs. Also available in versions for SA and piano, SABar and piano, and solo voice (high/low).

for SSSAAA unaccompanied This imaginative setting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem encourages the use of evocative bird and wind noises to capture the text's natural imagery. In a fresh, a cappella style, Hawley's charismatic melodies soar through the vibrant texture, and offer plenty of opportunities for soloistic singing. Also available in a version for alto solo and SSATB unaccompanied.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This is an expressive setting of Sara Teasdale's poem 'Peace', with lush, rich harmonies and a soft dynamic palette. Poignant and peaceful, and perfect for choirs who enjoy refining blend and ensemble, this setting will provide a reflective moment in a concert programme.

for SATB and organ With a feeling of celebration, Bullard's setting of the well-known Psalm 100 is energetic and exciting. A spritely organ part supports bold statements in the vocal lines, while the middle section offers some thoughtful introspection. Perfect for services and encores.

for SATB unaccompanied This is a warm and tender piece setting the last three verses of Christina Rossetti's 'What good shall my life do me?', which encourages leading a life of love as an example for others. Daley's heartfelt melodies are set to hymn-like textures and flow freely in ever-changing time signatures.

for SATB unaccompanied This uplifting anthem sets the Invocation text from Carmina Gadelica. McDowall's beautiful melodies flow and intertwine, decorated by scotch snaps that reflect the text's origin. Suitable for services or concerts. Also published in Breath of Song.

for SATB unaccompanied William Romanis's hymn text is brought to life in this enchanting anthem with unexpected harmonic shifts and fluctuating time signatures. Rooney glides gracefully between tonal centres, creating a beautiful, ethereal atmosphere. Also published in Breath of Song.

for SATB (with divisions) and organ or orchestra This affecting setting of the well-known poem from George Herbert's The Temple features rich harmonies and sweeping melodies to create a work of depth and poignancy. The piece begins with an instrumental introduction, before the melody is taken up first by upper voices, then full chorus.

for SATB and piano This atmospheric setting of familiar words from Shakespeare's As You Like It is sprightly and uplifting, with singers being asked by the composer to perform with 'a bit of frost and a knowing smile'. Also available in a version for SSA and piano, and solo voice and piano (high/low).

for SSAA and piano Like the original version for SATB voices, this upper-voice arrangement of Wide Open Spaces reflects on the journeys and adventures to be found in the wide opens spaces within ourselves and in the world around us. The uplifting melody is passed from the sopranos to the altos before the piece opens out into an expansive texture with rich harmonies. Quartel introduces a playful episode of scat singing before a resolute final chorus brings this evocative piece to a peaceful and serene close.

for ATB unaccompanied Scored especially for ATB to meet social distancing requirements, this piece has both special resonance and practical application in these uncertain times. McGlade's characteristic unaccompanied style offers flowing contrapuntal lines while the shifting tonalities throughout effectively capture both poignancy and joy.

Hollywood film music is often mocked as a disreputably 'applied' branch of the art of composition that lacks both the seriousness and the quality of the classical or late-romantic concert and operatic music from which it derives. Its composers in the 1930s and '40s were themselves often scornful of it and aspired to produce more 'serious' works that would enhance their artistic reputation.
In fact the criticism of film music as slavishly descriptive or manipulatively over-emotional has a history that is older than film - it had even been directed at the relatively popular operatic and concert music written by some of the emigre Hollywood composers themselves before they had left Europe. There, as subsequently in America, such criticism was promoted by the developing project of Modernism, whose often high-minded opposition to mass culture used polarizing language that drew, intentionally or not, upon that of gender difference. Regressive, late-romantic music, the old argument ran, was -- as women were believed to be -- emotional, irrational, and lacking in logic.
This book seeks to level the critical playing field between film music and "serious music," reflecting upon gender-related ideas about music and modernism as much as about film. Peter Franklin broaches the possibility of a history of twentieth-century music that would include, rather than marginalize, film music -- and, indeed, the scores of a number of the major Hollywood movies discussed here, like The Bride of Frankenstein, King Kong, Rebecca, Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane and Psycho. In doing so, he brings more detailed music-historical knowledge to bear upon cinema music, often discussed as a unique and special product of film, and also offers conclusions about the problematic aspects of musical modernism and some arguably liberating aspects of "late-romanticism."

for SATB and cello This simple setting of words by Tennyson reflects a different side to McGlade's compositional style, without sacrificing any of her trademark characteristics. The largely homophonic vocal lines move as one, with clarity and poise in abundance, creating a bed of sound over which the cello gently glides.

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 SSSAA unaccompanied. The opening of this motet displays Massaino's skill in the art of word-painting with soaring lines that play on the word 'arise' (Surge). Punctuated with occasional homophonic writing, the beautiful melodic lines find clever use of imitation across all voices. The secunda pars increases the quick imitation of the vocal lines, mirroring the excitement of the text 'the time of pruning has come' (Tempus putationis advenit). This, coupled with the introduction of shorter note values, creates a joyful celebration of the text from the Song of Songs. Offprinted from The Oxford Book of Upper-Voice Polyphony.

for SSSA unaccompanied. Palestrina's setting of the Marian motet Alma Redemptoris Mater seamlessly interweaves each of the four independent voices based on the solemn tone of the corresponding chant. Offprinted from The Oxford Book of Upper-Voice Polyphony.

for SSA unaccompanied Clemens composed two settings of the Marian text Ego flos campi, one scored for mixed choir of seven voices and this other, more intimate, setting for three voices. Here the voices weave beautiful counterpoint with attractive independent melodies.