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Books > Music > Musical scores, lyrics & libretti
for SATB and organ or orchestra John Rutter's original setting of
this popular Easter hymn is resplendent and celebratory, with
frequent metre changes that give a fresh feel to these historic
words. Also available in Anthems for Choirs 4 and Ash Wednesday to
Easter for Choirs, with a version for SSA and organ available in
Anthems for Choirs 3. Orchestral scores and parts are available on
hire/rental: 2fl, 2ob, 2cl, 2bsn, 2hn, 2tpt, timp, perc, hp, str.
Vaughan Williams wrote Symphony No. 8 between 1953 and 1955 while
in his eighties. It is his shortest symphony and considered by many
to be his least serious. Aside from a few sombre moments, the
symphony is optimistic in mood and displays Vaughan Williams's love
for exotic and colourful combinations of instruments with a
percussion sections that, he said, employs "all the 'phones and
'spiels known to the composer". For this newly engraved edition,
editor David Lloyd-Jones has consulted all extant sources and
materials to create a score matching the composer's intentions. The
full score is completed with Textual Notes and Preface, and
accompanying orchestral parts are available on hire.
Vaughan Williams wrote his Symphony No. 8 between 1953 and 1955,
when he was in his eighties. It is his shortest symphony, and is
considered by many to be his least serious. Aside from a few sombre
moments, the symphony is optimistic in mood and displays Vaughan
Williams's love for exotic and colourful combinations of
instruments, with a percussion sections that, he said, employs 'all
the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer'. For this newly
engraved edition, editor David Lloyd-Jones has consulted all extant
sources and materials to create a score matching the composer's
intentions. The full score is completed with Textual Notes and
Preface, and accompanying orchestral parts are available on hire.
for SATB and piano or orchestra Tree of Life is an expansive
setting of an evocative text by David Warner that depicts the
sacred archetype of the life-giving tree through the cycle of all
four seasons. The lyrics, coupled with simple, memorable melodies,
speak of spiritual planting and growth, nourishment, and an
abundant harvest; each observation is punctuated by an 'Alleluia'
as an expression of praise and gratitude. Wilberg's imaginative
orchestration creates an abundant soundworld, with arching woodwind
phrases, sweeping strings, and a cacophony of handbells that lifts
the closing alleluias skywards in celebration. This is the title
track on the Tabernacle Choir's 2018 CD release.
for SATB and organ Michael Finnissy's John the Baptist won the 2015
British Composer Award in the Liturgical Category. Commissioned by
St John's College, Cambridge, for Advent 2014, the piece recalls
the folk music of the Middle East, and alternates between
boisterous two-part homophony and slower, reflective polyphony.
for SATB unaccompanied John Rutter's tender and poignant
arrangement of W. J. Kirkpatrick's much-loved carol sees the
familiar melody taken first by the sopranos and then by the male
voices, underpinned by a rich cushion of humming from the other
sections of the choir, before the voices join together for the
final verse in glorious harmony.
for SSA and organ This concise Latin mass setting is entirely
suitable for liturgical use, but the sharply delineated characters
of the different movements make it also an appealing concert work.
The organ part is supportive, but full of interest and not merely
accompanimental. Particularly memorable are the jaunty Gloria, with
its constantly shifting time-signatures, and the haunting Agnus
Dei.
for SSA(A)TB unaccompanied This attractive motet was written for
performance alongside Brahms's Requiem, following the precedent of
Handel's famous setting of the same text being sung at the premiere
of the Brahms in 1868. The gracefully sculpted music clothes the
text with touching melodies, expressive harmonies and varied
sonorities.
for SSAA, solo cello, djembe, and piano This evocative anthem, from
the larger work Snow Angel, is a piece of two halves. Opening with
a haunting cello line, the first section ('God Will Give Orders')
is mystical and ethereal, until a vibrant figure from the djembe
lifts the music into the second section ('Sweet Child'), which is
uplifting and bold in character, with a distinctly African feel and
an effective a cappella ending.
for SATB and organ or piano Originally published as the fifth
movement in the large-scale work The Gift of Life, this is a
pleasingly optimistic anthem in Rutter's gloriously uplifting
style. The words by the composer capture a thankfulness for the
world's creation, along with a sense of excitement and anticipation
for the future to come. Rutter skilfully mirrors the varying moods
of the text through harmonic shifts, melodic devices, and tempo
fluctuations, and brings the music to a wonderfully calm and
peaceful close.
for SATB, trumpet, and organ/orchestra The second of two Rutter
anthems celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, Give the
king thy judgments, O God is a ceremonial work that draws upon the
Book of Psalms alongside text written by the composer to create a
suitably festive piece. Although the prevailing mood is jubilant,
the closing pages provide a prayerful moment as Orlando Gibbon's
gentle hymn tune Song 1 is interpolated to great effect. This
anthem is featured on Rutter's highly-acclaimed CD The Gift of
Life. A trumpet in C part is included in the vocal score, and a B
flat trumpet part is available separately.
for CBar, piano, and percussion This original composition sets the
composer's own text celebrating freedom of expression and the music
within each of us. Accompanied by hand-drum and piano, the piece is
an exciting and engaging sing filled with teachable moments and
opportunities for musical growth, with simple legato and two-part
passages, and vocal percussion.
for CCBar and piano This original suite, written for the
Warwickshire Youth Choir, represents an extended concert item at
the centre of the Emerging Voices series. It sets anonymous
instructions found in packaging to general household goods,
providing amusing and theatrical highlights as well as musical
interplay and formal episodes.
for CBar and piano This original composition combines several
traditional proverbs (Good things come to those who wait, What goes
up..., Where there's a will...), a quirky melody, a laid-back swing
feel, a whispering section, and an immediate melodic 'hook'.
Sufficient unison writing supports effective learning, for this age
group, and challenging duplet rhythms are made accessible within
helpful longer phrases. The music is well-suited to the text and
displays Bullard's accessible but highly accomplished compositional
technique.
for CCBar and piano This arrangement of the well-loved spiritual
celebrates gospel style in all its colours, through rhythm, close
harmony, memorable melody, and piano riffs. Ian Crawford is
Director of Music at The King's School in Macclesfield and musical
director of Cambiata North West.
for SATB unaccompanied In this unaccompanied setting of a text by
contemporary poet Thomas A. Clark, Jackson skilfully evokes the
magical atmosphere of the onset of nightfall. This is a striking
and complex piece, with highly imaginative word setting.
for soprano solo, upper voices, SSATB, piano, and optional
percussion A Time for all Seasons is an evocative cantata that
explores the complexities of the human condition. The well-known To
every thing there is a season text from Ecclesiastes is interwoven
with a modern-day reworking of the verses by award-winning poet
Kevin Crossley-Holland. McDowall's impressive range of musical
styles, effective antiphonal writing, and artful juxtaposition of
textures work together to create a meaningful experience for the
listener. The work's scoring contributes to the narrative, with
sections for solo soprano or full choir contrasting with prescient
interjections from the uppervoice choir. The part for upper voices
may also be sung by a children's choir, and there is an optional
part for percussion.
for SATB (with divisions) and organ Set to Ursula Vaughan
Williams's celebrated paean to the patron saint of music, this work
is by turns joyous and reflective. Rich harmonies, shifting
tonalities, and expressive melodies combine to evoke the changing
moods explored within the text. The poignant Andante section midway
through the piece, sung by a solo soprano, is a pivotal moment; it
gives way to increasingly jubilant and powerful writing that brings
the work to an ecstatic conclusion.
for SSSAA unaccompanied Sanctum is a captivating setting of four
movements of the Requiem text, inspired by the landscape of the
west coast of Canada. Each movement depicts an aspect of Vancouver
Island (the water, mountains, wind, and sky), exploring landscape
as a place of healing and sanctuary. The combined effect is some of
Quartel's most atmospheric and dramatic writing to date.
for CCBar and piano This is an imaginative and modern-sounding
setting of John Masefield's popular poem (2017 marks the 50th
anniversary of Masefield's death). This expressive piece ebbs and
flows, and provides imitative textures and well-crafted narrative.
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