for SATB unaccompanied Bob Chilcott has composed O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth our Queen, a reflection on the 16th-century piece of the same title by William Byrd, for the occasion of Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Chilcott uses the same text and some melodic ideas from Byrd's original piece, while developing and embellishing them with rich harmonic language and changing metre.

In this revision of the book first published in 1941, the music examples have all been revised. The period covered is that from Edward VI to Edward VII, or from the introduction of the Prayer Book to the late Victorian and Edwardian composers.

for SABar and organ or piano With words by the composer, this warm, expressive anthem calls to Christ, the light of the world, to bring justice, hope, and joy to our lives. The simple, memorable melody is supported by a gently flowing organ part, with straightforward but effective harmonies from Altos and Baritones in verse two. Offprinted from The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems.

for SATB double choir unaccompanied Chilcott sets this beautiful new text by Charles Bennett in a lush style. The vivid imagery is brought to life through the composer's warm harmonic palette. The Pear Tree Carol is a contemplative celebration of new life and nature. It would be equally suited to a winter concert or Christmas carol service.

for SSA and piano The time draws near is instantly recognisable as Chilcott. The text, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, describes the feeling of anticipation before the birth of Christ. Chilcott has set these words using a pure and effective melody in the verses, complimented by jubilant refrains of 'Gloria in excelsis Deo'.

for SATB choir unaccompanied This imaginative setting of the well-loved text O little town of Bethleham, by Phillips Brooks, displays McGlade's characteristic rich and expressive harmonies, with their jazz inflections. Opening with a plaintive two-part harmony for upper voices, the scoring expands into lush four- and five-part textures. McGlade uses swelling dynamics, legato vocal lines, and freely changing metre. O little town of Bethlehem would be a superb choice for Christmas services and concerts.

for SATB and piano or orchestra Based on William J. Kirkpatrick's 'Cradle Song', A Christmas Meditation was originally written as underscoring for a reading of the Biblical account of the Nativity (Luke 2:1, 3-14). In the tradition of incidental music, this wordless piece may be used in a variety of ways, including as a processional, as a transition between other works, or as background for spoken words and images.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied Commissioned by King's College, Cambridge, for the 2021 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Cecilia McDowall's setting of this well-known fifteenth-century macaronic text is expressive and ethereal. Employing the richness of her distinctive harmonic palette, McDowall pairs upper and lower voices to great effect throughout, contrasting polyphonic writing with moments of rhythmic unison. The carol abounds in rise and fall of both melody and dynamic, before drawing to a hushed, atmospheric close.

for SATB unaccompanied 'Traditionally sung on Christmas Eve, 'O Virgo virginum' is often described as the eighth 'O' Antiphon and praises Mary, 'O virgin of (amongst) virgins.' McDowall's setting is vigorous and joyful, with intimations of medieval plainchant. O Virgo virginum is the final movement of McDowall's set of three 'O' text settings conceived as Trinity Triptych.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied Characteristically sung on Christmas Day, this Catholic chant depicts mystery and wonder at the birth of Jesus, as witnessed by the animals. The second half of the text relates to words spoken by Elizabeth, welcoming Mary into her home. In McDowall's setting, deep, sonorous chords open and close the piece, which has a sustained tempo that gives space for the melismatic vocal lines and rich harmonies to take full effect. O magnum mysterium is the first of McDowall's set of three 'O' text settings conceived as Trinity Triptych.

for SSATB unaccompanied The O nata lux text is taken from a 10th-century anonymous hymn that uses the concept of light to symbolise hope, a particularly pertinent theme for Advent. Throughout this setting the sopranos intertwine their high, melodic lines above interjections from the lower voices, creating an atmosphere of ethereal luminosity. O nata lux is the second of McDowall's set of three 'O' text settings conceived as Trinity Triptych.

for SATB and organ Light Triumphant Breaks combines the text of the Sarum introit from the second Sunday of Advent and a translated anonymous Greek text using dancing dotted rhythms and intricate articulation. A free use of metre and contrapuntal movement make this a lively and jubilant piece that would be enjoyed by church and cathedral choirs alike.

This beautifully designed book includes 25 hymns chosen by Joni Eareckson Tada with accompanying devotions and photography designed to spark hope in the midst of hardship.

Neelima Shukla-Bhatt offers an illuminating study of Narsinha Mehta, one of the most renowned saint-poets of medieval India and the most celebrated bhakti (devotion) poet from Gujarat, whose songs and sacred biography formed a vital source of moral inspiration for Gandhi. Exploring manuscripts, medieval texts, Gandhi's more obscure writings, and performances in multiple religious and non-religious contexts, including modern popular media, Shukla-Bhatt shows that the songs and sacred narratives associated with the saint-poet have been sculpted by performers and audiences into a popular source of moral inspiration.
Drawing on the Indian concept of bhakti-rasa (devotion as nectar), Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat reveals that the sustained popularity of the songs and narratives over five centuries, often across religious boundaries and now beyond devotional contexts in modern media, is the result of their combination of inclusive religious messages and aesthetic appeal in performance. Taking as an example Gandhi's perception of the songs and stories as vital cultural resources for social reconstruction, the book suggests that when religion acquires the form of popular culture, it becomes a widely accessible platform for communication among diverse groups. Shukla-Bhatt expands upon the scholarship on the embodied and public dimension of bhakti through detailed analysis of multiple public venues of performance and commentary, including YouTube videos.
This study provides a vivid picture of the Narasinha tradition, and will be a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the power of religious performative traditions in popular media.

The first in-depth study of the ceremonial and music performed at British royal and state funerals over the past 400 years. British royal and state funerals are among the most elaborate and solemn occasions in European history. This book is the first in-depth study of the ceremonial and the music performed at these events over the past 400 years, fromthe funeral of Elizabeth I in 1603. Covering funerals of both royalty and non-royalty, including Nelson, Wellington and Churchill, this study goes up to the funerals of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 and the ceremonial funeral of Baroness Thatcher in 2013. While some of these funerals have received a good deal of attention - especially the 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales - these extraordinary events have largely not been discussed in their longer historical context. The book examines the liturgical changes in the Anglican funeral rite since the Reformation and also the change from the so-called 'public' to 'private' funerals. It includes many new findings onthe development of the ceremonial and its intricate peculiarities, as well as new insights into the music and its performance. British Royal and State Funerals shows that, despite a strong emphasis on continuity in the choice of music, the ceremonial itself has shown an astonishing flexibility over the last four centuries. Overall, the book also contributes to the debate on the monarchy's changing public image over time by paying particular attention to topics such as tradition and propaganda. Drawing on substantial research in principal libraries and archives, including those of Westminster Abbey, the College of Arms, Lambeth Palace and the British Library, this book is an exhaustive resource for musicologists, musicians and historians alike, providing an unprecedented insight into this most sombre of royal and state occasions. MATTHIAS RANGE is author of Music and Ceremonial at British Coronations (2012). He is a post-doctoral researcher for the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music and its partner AHRC-funded Tudor Partbooks project at the Faculty of Music, University of Oxford.

Music was one component of the cultural continuum that developed in the contiguous civilizations of the ancient Near East and of Greece and Rome. This book covers the range and gamut of this symbiosis, as well as scrutinizes archeological findings, texts, and iconographical materials in specific geographical areas along this continuum. The book, volume VIII of Yuval - Studies of the Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University, provides an updated scholarly assessment of the rich soundscapes of ancient civilizations.

for SATB chorus and organ, or orchestra This uplifting and highly effective arrangement of the popular Stanford hymn-tune ENGLEBERG, to words by Fred Pratt Green, was commissioned by the Broadway Baptist Church (Fort Worth) in Texas, and later recorded for broadcast by The Tabernacle Choir. The piece is suitable for regular worship services but most often at special praise services, choral liturgies, and musical feasts, and for recognizing the work of church musicians.

Here are the results of two Harvard University seminars on 19th century African-American music, led by Eileen Southern in 1982 and 1986. This volume consists of 11 major contributions by faculty members of smaller American colleges and universities. Much of this information does not appear in any previously published secondary literature. Each chapter is immediately comprehensible by anyone interested in the subject, even without the terse perspective offered in the introduction. . . . A major contribution to the field. Choice The discovery of Black music by Northern whites during the Civil War opened the way for many Black musicians and singers to pursue successful careers as composers and concert and stage artists. This collection of essays and bibliographical materials is an important contribution to our knowledge of their achievements and experiences in the post-Civil War period. Reflecting the combined efforts of leading specialists in the field, it documents and describes the careers of individual artists and performing groups and provides a vivid picture of what it was like to be Black and a musician in late nineteenth-century America. The introduction provides a background for the post-Civil War Developments and shows how the papers included in the anthology are related to the overall topic and to each other. The collection begins with a discussion of the music of Black Americans during the war years, both in military bands and individual performance. Several essays present biographical and bibliographical information on well-known concert performers and other musicians of the postwar period, including Nellie Brown Mitchell, Marie Selika Williams, P. G. Lowery, Sam Lucas, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Musical genres such as revival hymns and plantation melodies are considered together with the nineteenth-century musical and literary sources of modern Gospel. An essay on musical promotion offers some insights on concert management as it affected Black performers in New York and Boston. Another essay on keyboard music includes a bibliography of existing compositions by Black composers. The volume concludes with a bibliography of research sources and a general index particularly useful as a reference and guide for students with an interest in nineteenth-century Afro-American music.

A dictionary containing 3500 biographical entries, each representing a composer whose work has been used within the worship of the church in Britain and Ireland.

for SSATB unaccompanied In this sensitive choral arrangement of 'Nimrod' from Elgar's Enigma Variations, Michael Higgins sets the Eucharistic hymn 'O salutaris Hostia', written by St Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi. The familiar melody passes seamlessly between the voice parts, and Elgar's lush, rich soundworld is perfectly emulated by the choral textures Higgins has fashioned.

for TTBB unaccompanied or with optional handbells (or percussion, or organ) Sarah Quartel brings a fresh take on a familiar fifteenth-century text in this enchanting carol. The dialogue between Mary and the infant Jesus is woven to a beguiling folk-like melody, in 6/8 metre, through each of the voice parts, with each verse ending in the lilting refrain 'Lully, by by, lullay'. Also available in a version for upper voices or SATB.

for TTBB unaccompanied This profoundly beautiful setting by John Rutter of one of the earliest English prayers, from the Sarum Primer of 1514, has been specially adapted by the composer for tenors and basses.

for TTBB unaccompanied This lively reimagining of the traditional hymn is a thrilling a cappella arrangement which pairs the soaring legato melody with a rhythmic vocal accompaniment. Together, these elements capture both the gentle hope and the profound joy contained in the text. Also including moments of tenderness and reflection, the piece comes to a rousing close with an energy that engages singers and audience alike. Also available in a version for SSA unaccompanied and SATB unaccompanied.