for SA/SATB and organ with optional percussion This is a jaunty and original setting of the popular carol 'Rejoice and be merry', flexibly scored so that the tenor and bass parts are optional. It has been recorded by Tenebrae (conducted by Nigel Short) on the album A Very English Christmas (SIGCD902).

for SATB unaccompanied with hand drum Sing, my Child sets a joyful text celebrating the beauty found all around us in everyday life. Characterized by tight harmonies and a dynamic percussion line, the buoyant 7/8 metre of the opening drives the piece forward. Lush harmonies colour the hymn-like B section as the text evolves into a call for strength despite the troubles that may come. Commissioned for a mass choir of over 700 singers, this piece is well-suited for combined choir projects or as a rousing and meaningful close to a concert.

for SSAA unaccompanied, with optional handbells This compelling a cappella setting of Henry Van Dyke's poem has a continual sense of motion, created by the 7/8 metre and scat singing style that is passed around the parts. This is a powerful and uplifting anthem for general worship.

for SATB and organ Commissioned by King's College, Cambridge, for the 2016 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, This Endernight is a tender, peaceful setting of well-known fifteenth-century words. The recurring melody has an appropriately lilting feel, and Berkeley employs artful textural juxtapositions, with solo lines always opening out into a rich, full-choir sound for the 'lullay, by-by' refrain. The organ part provides colour and support for the voices, with sparkling semiquavers leading into the final, vibrant section.

for SATB and piano or orchestra Setting two verses of the Irish traditional carol, Wilberg's version opens simply with unaccompanied unison men, before the piano creeps in gently. Upper voices take over and an imitative section leads to a more dramatic, thicker-textured section. The carol melody's slightly haunting, modal qualities are complemented by colourful harmonic touches, and a final statement of the melody in the piano brings the piece to a calm close. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square have recorded this piece with orchestral accompaniment on the CD Hallelujah! (SKU 5157246).

for SATTBB unaccompanied With a text by the composer, this secular carol is a true celebration of all that we love about the festive season. Owain Park's arrangement presents a new take on this Christmas classic, drawing on Rutter's evocative orchestral colours to create this characterful and heart-warming arrangement for a cappella voices. This arrangement of The Very Best Time of Year has been recorded by The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, conducted by Stephen Layton, on the album Yulefest! (Hyperion, CDA68087).

for SATTBB unaccompanied This lively and joyous arrangement of the folksong 'Montagnarde' from the Haute-Auvergne region of France makes playful use of the call of the cuckoo in a catchy refrain. 'Montagnarde' is featured on the Tenebrae CD Sun, Moon, Sea, and Stars (Signum, SIGCD903).

for SATTBB unaccompanied Chilcott's arrangement of 'Viens par le pre', a folksong from the Haute-Auvergne region of France that presents a heartfelt expression of love, is tender and expressive, with rich, warm harmonies. 'Viens par le pre' is featured on the Tenebrae CD Sun, Moon, Sea, and Stars (Signum, SIGCD903).

for SATB and piano A favorite text and tune of singers and listeners alike, this festival hymn is given new life in this lively and upbeat 7/8 setting. The central section is legato and chorale-like, making for a beautiful contrast, before a slow build with 'Alleluias' returns us to a reprise of the original flavour, creating an exciting and powerful ending.

for SATB (with divisions), cello, and piano This five-movement work celebrates the long Canadian winter, setting texts by the composer, Sara Teasdale, Lucy Maud Montgomery (of 'Anne of Green Gables' fame), and Melville Cane. Each movement depicts a different time of day, beginning with the cold darkness before dawn ('Timid Star') and concluding with the evening turning into dusk and then darkness ('Snow Toward Evening'). The music conjures up vivid images of a cold and crisp winter, and of swirling, dancing snowflakes.

for upper voices, SATB, and harp My Perfect Stranger is a captivating setting of Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling of the Christmas story. Following an expectant prologue, the central movement is rich in characterization as soloists from within the choir take on the roles of key players in the narrative, with the upper voices adopting the role of the guiding star, as well as enriching the texture at important moments in the story. Beginning with the harp ostinato of the prologue, the epilogue asks the listener to reflect on the story we have heard, challenging us to consider the part we might have played and asking 'what have you to say and sing?'. The work's vibrant part for harp makes for a compelling alternative to the more conventional keyboard accompaniment.

for SATB unaccompanied and optional flute This warm and tender carol sets an evocative text by Norman Nicholson depicting Mary's gentle nurturing of her child. There is a beautiful simplicity in Chilcott's setting, which features sumptuous harmonies, lyrical melodies, and an optional part for flute that weaves in and out of the texture. The flute part is printed in the vocal score.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This reflective carol (setting a text by the composer) features an affecting recurring melody, sumptuous harmonies, and long, expressive phrases. Though it has moments of great intensity, the carol is primarily quietly optimistic in mood, with the homophonic texture and changing metre highlighting the heartfelt devotion of the text.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This spellbinding setting of words from Act 1, Scene 1, of Hamlet depicts a bird of dawning singing all night long in celebration of the Saviour's birth, with Shakespeare's characteristically evocative imagery heightened by Chilcott's artful word-setting. The harmonies are rich and the atmosphere hushed and expectant, with asoaring soprano solo line, which may be taken by a soloist from within the choir, evoking the birdsong.

for SATB and piano This rousing carol sets a text by the nineteenth-century Scottish poet Norval Clyne. Bassi's setting perfectly captures the contrast between light and darkness in Clyne's text, with simple vocal lines underscored by a busy piano part culminating in a powerful ending evoking the peels of church bells on Christmas morning. An orchestral accompaniment is available on hire/rental.

for SSATB unaccompanied Commissioned by Ralph Woodward and the Fairhaven Singers in memory of Dora Kemp, one of the choir's sopranos, God is Light sets lines from Psalm 139, 1 Thessalonians, and 1 John. It moves from an unsettled tonality at the beginning, through anguished false relations and wistful expressivity, to find triumphant resolution in a blazing A major at the end. Like all of McDowall's music, it is well crafted and singable. God is Light was first performed on 12 November 2016 in Queens' College Chapel, Cambridge, by the Fairheaven Singers and Perse Prep Senior Choir (director Paul Harris), conducted by Ralph Woodward.

for SSAA unaccompanied A bright and breezy piece with a charming text by Charles Bennett, A Tree of Song begins with a jaunty 7/8 figure which recurs throughout the piece, with a spirited melody floating above. Alternation between passages of 4/4 and 7/8 gives a lively offbeat feel, with the piece only taking on a darker tone in a brief central section.

for solo voice and SATB unaccompanied A familiar piece from the 100 Carols for Choirs stable, John Rutter's sublime arrangement of the haunting Appalachian carol I wonder as I wander, collected in the 1930s by musical folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles, is lilting and evocative, setting the scene with an affecting opening verse for solo voice.

for SA, piano, and percussion This is an uplifting and expressive setting of a fun, descriptive text by Christie Dickason that characterizes the sky in an imaginative way. The compelling melodies are underpinned by a dynamic piano part, often featuring rippling quavers, and charcterful interjections from the glockenspiel and suspended cymbal complement the narrative. A contrasting middle section in triple time quotes from the Northumbrian folk song 'When the boat comes in', while the final section is affirmatory in feel, emphatically repeating the final line of the poem, 'and I will grow'.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied First performed by the Choir of St Luke's Episcopal Church, Evanston, Illinois, in 2016, this powerful motet sets a reflective text by Augustine of Hippo. Connoisseurs of Jackson's music will recognise the hallmarks of his highly accessible style: inventive harmony that is largely diatonic but never plain, and textures that encompass the blazingly sonorous and the expressively intimate.