for SATB (with divisions) and piano or small orchestra Originally published in Carols for Choirs 2, Rutter's arrangement of this well-known carol is energetic and joyful. The memorable and buoyant melody is supported and driven by lively piano accompaniment, making it well-suited for Christmas concerts and services. Orchestral material is available on hire.

for unison voices, with optional second part, and piano This is the key is a dramatic, narrative piece, perfect for children's and youth choirs. It can be sung in unison throughout, or the score contains options for two parts, sometimes singing alternating phrases and at other times singing together in two-part harmony. Sections in different tempos and keys create a variety of moods, and the continuous piano part features running quavers, a rhythmic bass line, and shimmering spread chords.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203482980

SSAA unaccompanied I will be with you sets a reflective text by the composer with a message of enduring solace. Lush harmonies, with predominantly homophonic passagework, coupled with flowing and cascading lines in every voice part make for a tranquil musical experience. Also available in a version for unaccompanied SATB choir.

for SSSSAATBB unaccompanied In this haunting arrangement of the well-known carol, Higgins creates a mystical soundscape by layering a single motif in a four-part soprano canon. These repetitions echo throughout and support the various textures explored in each verse, producing a dramatic and atmospheric setting of the Basque carol. Suitable for chamber and concert choir.

for SATB and organ Written for the 2018 BBC Advent broadcast sung by the choir of St John's College, Cambridge, A Prayer to St John the Baptist sets an artfully crafted text that combines Guido d'Arezzo's Ut queant laxis (itself a Hymn to John the Baptist, as well as a medieval music-teaching mnemonic) with Thomas Merton's poem on the same subject. The organ's flowing quavers represent Merton's baptismal 'rivers of water', while the largely octatonic melodies conjure a tellingly mysterious atmosphere.

for solo tenor and SSATB unaccompanied Following on from the publication of Jackson's settings of the seven 'O' antiphons under the title Seven Advent Antiphons, O Virgo virginum is a setting of the Latin text recognised as the eighth 'O' antiphon and performed as such in many Christian traditions. Jackson's imaginative setting features a melismatic line for tenor soloist and aleatoric writing.

for SSAA unaccompanied Oliver Tarney has re-worked his popular unaccompanied minature The Waiting Sky for upper voices. The evocative text by Lucia Quinault depicts a rural winter scene, and is skilfully set to music by Oliver Tarney to create a lucidly reflective piece. There is a sense in both the text and the music of waiting for the 'shining star' and, while it would make a beautiful addition to a concert programme at other times of the year, the setting is perfect as a reflective carol for Advent, anticipating the wonder of the birth of Christ.

for SATB unaccompanied This short sacred work for unaccompanied mixed choir is a highly atmospheric setting of the poet Henry Vaughan's mystical and enigmatic poem of the same name. Written for the choir of St Peter's College, Oxford, the work has a sonorous quality and uses extended harmonies to great effect.

for SATB unaccompanied I will be with you sets a reflective text by the composer with a message of enduring solace. Lush harmonies, with predominantly homophonic passagework, coupled with flowing and cascading lines in every voice part make for a tranquil musical experience. Also available in a version for SSAA unaccompanied choir.

for SSA 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'. Blow, blow, thou winter wind was originally published in the collection Hark, hark, the lark.

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 double choir unaccompanied Lightly come or lightly go is a playful setting of James Joyce's poem of the same name for SATB double choir. The second choir carries the titular words as an arching ostinato, while choir one presents the main body of the text through characterful melodies and word painting. The two choirs portray the conflicting emotions expressed in the poem demonstrated by the closing line: "Love and laughter song-confessed When the heart is heaviest".

for SATB unaccompanied The text for this imaginative and effective piece by Gabriel Jackson is a response to Allen Ginsberg's A Supermarket in California by Latvian poet Karlis Verdins, translated here by Ieva Lesinska. As in Ginsberg's poem, the initial setting is a supermarket, depicted with vivid imagery such as 'a weary, shrivelled apple', before the angel protagonist expounds on their observations about contemporary society. Pleasingly alliterative lines such as 'he'd babble boozily about tanks' are artfully given rhythmic emphasis by Jackson, who fully exploits the dramatic intent of the poem, giving space for the text to come through by homophonic setting, a pure harmonic language, and often sparse textures.

for SATB and organ This is a flexible hymn for general worship, with an original hymn tune ('Charleston') by Howard Helvey. Either Francis Scott Key's 'Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee' or Charles Wesley's 'Love divine, all loves excelling' may be sung, and Helvey employs hymnody's most popular traits, including a majestic organ introduction, an emphatic unison first verse, and a soaring soprano descant.

for unison or 2-part choir and organ or piano This setting of the well-known hymn text 'Christ the Lord is risen again!' features bright vocal lines and an energetic accompaniment. The scoring is flexible, allowing performance with either one or two vocal parts made up of upper, lower, or mixed voices. Offprinted from The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems.

Stephen Sondheim is one of the best-known and most-loved musical theatre composers, but also one of the most misunderstood, often being labelled as 'distant' or 'cynical'. Careful the Spell You Cast instead argues that Sondheim firmly belongs to the Broadway aspirational tradition, in that many of his characters are defined by their dreams: to abandon one's dream (as Ben does in Follies, Frank does in Merrily We Roll Along, and Addison does in Road Show) is to lose one's soul. Rather than take the established view of Sondheim as a cynic, this book contends that throughout Sondheim's work, letting go of one's illusions is a process that his characters need to go through, that they must cast off illusions and false dreams, without becoming cynical and destroying their genuine dreams in the process. In turn this view aligns Sondheim's work as being aspirational and a logical continuation from the work of his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II. Following the trajectory of Sondheim's career, Careful the Spell You Cast shows how Sondheim has dramatized this process throughout his writing life alongside different collaborators. From his work as a lyricist with the musicals Gypsy and West Side Story through to his later collaborations with Hal Prince (Company, Follies) and James Lapine (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George), this book reframes the established view through lyrical and structural analysis in relation to the characters within each of these celebrated works of musical theatre, arguing that Sondheim is, in the popular sense of the word, a romantic within the tradition of the Broadway musical.

for SATB and organ This radiant anthem explores the theme of light, with luminescent harmonies, a virtuosic organ part, and soaring vocal lines. The text is by Dr Marcus Tomalin, after Dante's Paradiso, and Bednall's word painting is highly effective. A compelling climax as the singers tell of the 'pure living light shining' falls away to a powerful unaccompanied moment, before the organ picks up a motif and develops it in a majestic interlude. This is a highly rewarding anthem for performer and audience alike. Pure Living Light was recorded by The Epiphoni Consort on the CD David Bednall: Sudden Light (Delphian, DCD34189).

for SATB and piano This celebration of friendship is rich in expressive melodies and poignant harmonies, underpinned by sensitive piano writing. The text, by Delphine Chalmers, is inspired by French Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne's writings on friendship, from which the well known quotation 'If I am pressed to say why I loved him, I feel it can only be explained by replying: 'Because it was he; because it was me.'' originates. Eminently accessible, this piece is perfect for concert programmes celebrating friendship and community.