for SATB and piano or organ or trio A lilting 3/4 metre carries the listener through this familiar Christmas story, beautifully depicted in a text by the composer. Rutter employs artful word-painting throughout, and the verse-refrain structure enables the compelling melody to soon become as familiar as any traditional carol of the season. Christ our Emmanuel may be accompanied by piano or organ, or by flute, oboe, and harp. Two versions of the vocal score are available: one with piano accompaniment and one with organ accompaniment. Full scores and parts are available for purchase.

for SATB and piano Ring the bells is a joyful setting of a text by Frances Crosby that celebrates the coming of Christmas. Written in a lively compound time, the carol explores one melodic refrain through numerous keys and textures, giving each verse a different energy. The voices are supported by resonant harmonies in the piano that cheerfully mimic the 'bells' and 'harps' in the text.

for SATB (with divisions) and piano This is a high energy, foot-tap inducing setting of a well-known text. The bluesy melodies, jazzy harmonies, and swung rhythms give the piece a gospel feel and fill you with the infectious urge to boogie along to the music. Powerful voices and enthusiasm required. An optional bass and drum kit part is available as a free PDF download from the OUP website. Also available in a version for SSA and piano.

for SA (with soprano solo) and piano This thought-provoking carol takes up the topical theme of the plight of refugees, drawing parallels with the stories and reception of Christ's birth. The text, by the composer, alludes to familiar lines from the Coventry Carol, rooting the piece in tradition while encouraging us to consider our present. The verses feature contrasting textures and changing metres, while a soft, reflective refrain stands steadfastly in triple metre. This carol was originally published in a version for unaccompanied mixed voices, with soprano solo.

for SSA and piano This is a high energy, foot-tap inducing setting of a well-known text. The bluesy melodies, jazzy harmonies, and swung rhythms give the piece a gospel feel and fill you with the infectious urge to boogie along to the music. Powerful voices and enthusiasm required. Also available in a version for SATB and piano. An optional bass and drum kit part is available as a free PDF download from the OUP website.

for SATB unaccompanied Poems of Love and War sets a sequence of nine poems from 'Viking Poetry of Love and War' by Judith Jesch. The war poems are formal and celebratory, making vivid use of figures of speech known as 'kennings', while the love poems are more direct, and sometimes playful. Skempton's imaginative settings bring these striking texts to life, artfully using changing metres to evoke the sound of spoken word.

for SATB (with divisions) and organ Setting his own text, Archer's new carol is specifically dedicated to Mary. 'Ave Maria's are interspersed between flowing melodies that rock gently in 3/4 time, while the central section offers brief introspection in the tonic minor. Accompanied by a supportive organ part throughout, the voices finish with a jazzy chord progression, leaving behind a warm, Christmassy feeling.

Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. A. M. C. Casiday begins with an evaluation of conventional ideas about Cassian and, finding them seriously flawed, offers the first sustained attempt at re-reading Cassian's works for their theological significance. Specific attention is called to the Christological aspects of Cassian's monastic anthropology. Throughout, reference is made to Cassian's contemporaries - both well-known figures like Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius Ponticus, Vincent of L rins, and Nestorius, and lesser-known figures such as Prosper of Aquitaine, Valerian of Cimiez, and Paul of Tamma - in order to offer an analysis of Cassian's writings and their significance that is unencumbered by anachronism.

for SSATB unaccompanied Written to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Brightest Star sets a powerful text by Sean Street. The poem describes the call for assistance made by the occupied Channel Islands in 1944 and the response of the Red Cross ship, the Vega, which came to their aid, drawing parallels between this story and the light and hope of the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany. The bleak wartime conditions are portrayed by dissonant harmony and downward sliding phrases, and extracts from the Bailiff of Jersey's letter of appeal, sung by the lower voices, draw attention to the gravity of the situation. In contrast, the upper voices bring an ethereal quality to the texture, with closing phrases that are suggestive of the traditional French carol Les anges dans nos campagnes ('Angels, from the realms of glory').

for SSA and piano Higgins's setting of this popular folk song is simple and wistful, particularly well-suited for children's and youth choirs. With delicate quaver flourishes, the piano accompaniment flows gently alongside the vocal lines, creating suspensions that reflect the mysterious demands of the narrator. Originally published in The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs for three-part choir.

for soprano solo and SATB unaccompanied In this innovative arrangement Stanley M. Hoffman takes Henry Purcell's most popular solo aria, the 'Lament' from his opera Dido and Aeneas, and reimagines it as a work for unaccompanied soprano solo and SATB choir, thus making a staple of the solo song repertoire available for choral performance. The chromatic passage that opens the piece is sung wordlessly by the bass section, and Hoffman's setting features imaginative interplay between chorus and soloist, sharing the well-known lyrics between them, and sensitive dynamic contrasts.

This book is a pioneering attempt to explore the fascinating and hardly known realm of reciting poetry in medieval and Renaissance Italy. The study of more than 50 treatises on both music and poetry, as well as other literary sources and documents from the period between 1300 and 1600, highlights above all the practice of parlar cantando («speaking through singing - the term found in De li contrasti, a fourteenth-century treatise on poetry) as rooted in the art of reciting verses. Situating the practice of parlar cantando in the context of late medieval poetic delivery, the author sheds new light on the origin and history of late Renaissance opera style, which their inventors called stile recitativo, rappresentativo or, exactly, parlar cantando. The deepest roots of the Italian tradition of parlar cantando are thus revealed, and the cultural background of the birth of opera is reinterpreted and revisited from the much broader perspective of what appears to be the most important Italian mode of music making between the age of Dante and Petrarch and the beginning of Italian opera around 1600.

for SATB (with divisions) and piano Marked 'light and flowing', Quartel's setting of Sara Teasdale's poem 'Peace' features slow, sustained vocal writing over a piano part with continual moving quavers. The harmonic palette is rich and warm, and soaring soprano lines conjure Teasdale's vivid celestial imagery.

for SATB unaccompanied In this bittersweet pastoral setting Bednall's flowing melody lines are paired with the tender words of the contemplative First World War poet, Siegfried Sasson. The 5/4 metre lends a wistful whimsical feel to the music, allowing the piece to flow freely, whilst retaining the playful syncopation so familiar in folk music. The poem itself is a rare step outside Sassoon's typical First World War themes. Rather, Idyll describes a summer garden where he wishes to meet somebody, who, it seems, has passed away. A beautifully creative work offering heartache and warmth in equal measure.

for SA and piano This is a beautiful setting of an anonymous medieval text that follows a broken-hearted lover into the woods. Fluctuating between major and minor keys, Chilcott's melody is full of nostalgia and grows intensely towards the middle of the piece. The parts are supported by a warm and flowing piano accompaniment. 'All for Love of One' was originally published in the collection Five Songs for Upper Voices.

Throughout history, two books have accompanied the advancement of Christianity: the Bible and the Hymnal. We may easily forget words that we read, or even memorize, but the melodies that we hear and sing remain in our thoughts, our minds, and our hearts forever. When Biblical truths are stated in a musical form we enjoy, the result is a penetration into our lives that has lasting spiritual benefits. These enduring songs convey a message that never grows old! So sing the hymns. Sing them over and over again. Seek out some of the great traditional songs that are rarely heard today. Purposefully learn hymns you do not know -- you will discover some gems. Whatever your musical tastes, discover anew the joy of singing the hymns! Pass this great tradition on to your children, and to the generations to follow.