for soprano soloist, SSA chorus, and piano This tender lullaby sets William Ballet's well-known text 'Sweet was the song the Virgin sang'. An expressive soprano solo is gently accompanied by SSA chorus and a piano reduction of the original orchestral accompaniment. The lullaby is taken from the Christmas Cantata Hodie, for which scores and parts are available on hire.

Rounds and canons drawn from the folk and classical repertoire provide an introduction to two-part singing.

Tallis's Canon for 2, 3, 4, or 5 equal voices and chamber orchestra or organ and strings Accompaniment for chamber or string orchestra is available on hire

for SATB, congregation (opt), and organ, or string/chamber orchestra, or brass This popular arrangement can also be found in Carols for Choirs 1 and 100 Carols for Choirs. Verses two and five may be sung by two choirs or by choir and audience. The other verses are a mixture of women's voices alone, men's voices alone, and SATB. Orchestral accompaniment is available on hire.

This is the first ever book-length study of the a cappella masses which appeared in France in choirbook layout during the baroque era. Though the musical settings of the Ordinarium missae and of the Missa pro defunctis have been the subject of countless studies, the stylistic evolution of the polyphonic masses composed in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has been neglected owing to the labor involved in creating scores from the surviving individual parts. Jean-Paul C. Montagnier has examined closely the printed, engraved and stenciled choirbooks containing this repertoire, and his book focuses mainly on the music as it stands in them. After tracing the choirbooks' publishing history, the author places these mass settings in their social, liturgical and musical context. He shows that their style did not all adhere strictly to the stile antico, but could also employ the most up-to-date musical language of the period.

for SATB and congregation (opening phrase to be played on trumpets or organ) This striking anthem sets the Latin text of Psalm 33 (an English singing translation is included). Dynamic melismatic vocal lines feature throughout, with the texture switching between homophony and polyphony. It was first performed in 1956, the same year as the composer's similarly lively motet A Vision of Aeroplanes.

for soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists, SATB choir, and orchestra In this Christmas cantata Vaughan Williams uses and a wide range of musical styles to create a compelling, vivid, and highly original retelling of the Christmas story. Composed in 1953-4, Hodie (This Day) was Vaughan Williams's final large-scale choral-orchestral work, and was premiered under his own baton in Worcester Cathedral as part of the 1954 Three Choirs Festival. It comprises sixteen movements, including 'narrations' of words from the Bible, chorals, and a variety of other forms for both soloists and choir. The words are taken from diverse sources, with sacred texts from the Vespers of Christmas Day and the Bible interspersed with secular texts by poets including John Milton, Thomas Hardy, and the composer's own wife Ursula Vaughan Williams.

for SA and piano This setting of the much-loved English folksong Greensleeves employs sophisticated harmony to adorn the simple yet timeless melody. An SATB version is also available.

for SATB and organ or orchestra With a text by David Warner on the parable of The Prodigal Son from St Luke's Gospel, this dramatic choral work brings to life the ancient, universal story of reconciliation and belonging. The closely woven text and music feature an expansive range of expression-plaintive, exuberant, and resolute-before concluding with a transcendent coda that gives way to reverberating 'Amen's. With echoes of some of the minimalist elements of Wilberg's Requiem, as well as Arvo Part, Henryk Gorecki, and John Tavener, the work is scored for mixed voices without soloists, allowing the choir to function like a Greek chorus-sometimes narrating, sometimes participating in the action, sometimes reflecting on it-all underpinned by organ, or orchestra, or chamber ensemble.

The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs is the perfect resource for secular choirs and singing groups who like the flexibility to perform songs in a range of combinations from unison to SATB. Each piece may be performed by a mixed choir, but is also presented with flexible scoring options, clearly explained throughout, enabling performance by various combinations of singers, including upper voices or men's voices alone. As well as new arrangements of existing repertoire, the collection also features newly commissioned original works, specially written for flexible forces.

Anhand der Entfuhrung aus dem Serail wird systematisch aufgezeigt, wie sich das markante Stimmprofil der Besetzung der Urauffuhrung 1782 am Nationaltheater in Wien darstellt. Indem Mozart der Virtuositat und dem Stimmumfang seiner Erstbesetzung (Catarina Cavalieri, Valentin Adamberger, Ernst Dauer, Therese Teyber und Ludwig Fischer) in ausserordentlichem Masse entgegenkommt, sprengt er gleichermassen den musikalischen Rahmen der Gattung des Singspiels. Das musikalisch-kunstlerische Ergebnis des Zusammentreffens von Mozart und "seinen" Sangern ist eine gluckliche Synthese zwischen der Leistungsfahigkeit der Sanger und der Inspiration des Komponisten. Die Partitur wird sichtbares Zeugnis von Mozarts Kunst, fur Stimmen zu schreiben. So kann das Werk als Musterbeispiel fur eine gegenseitige kunstlerische Befruchtung gelten.

for SATB unaccompanied Vaughan Williams composed this setting of a poem by his wife Ursula in 1953 to form part of A Garland for the Queen, a collection of ten tributes to the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II by leading British composers and poets. It is dedicated 'to the memory of Charles Villiers Stanford, and his Blue Bird', and reflects Stanford's masterpiece in its harmonic language, floating soprano part, unaccompanied scoring, and haunting atmosphere.

for unison or two-part voices and piano Adapted from music from The Pilgrim's Progress, this setting of words from Revelation 2 is profound and mystical. Flowing melodies, atmospheric harmonic shifts, and hushed dynamics all give the piece an ethereal quality that powerfully evokes the religious transcendence described in the text.

This cantata features sixteen highly-varied folk song settings, bound together in seasonal groupings to take the listener on an engaging journey through the year from Spring to Winter. The prologue implores us to 'sing and be merry', and many of the songs facilitate this with their charmingly light-hearted melodies and imaginative orchestral accompaniment. There are also darker moments, such as the haunting and heart-rending setting of 'The Unquiet Grave' in 'Autumn'. An orchestral suite (arranged by Roy Douglas) is available on hire, and several of the individual movements are available on sale.

for tenor soloist, SATB choir, and organ Written for the marriage of HRH The Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey, 20 November 1947.

for STB soli and unaccompanied SATB choir This unaccompanied motet was first performed at the dedication of the Battle of Britain Chapel in Westminster Abbey, London, and has an accordingly sombre tone. It opens with a haunting treble/soprano solo, and this ethereal atmosphere continues with unexpected harmonic shifts and hushed vocal writing. The words are taken from The Wisdom of Solomon (3: 1-5) and convey death as peaceful for those who have been 'righteous'. This motet would therefore be particularly well-suited to funeral or memorial services.

for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied Vaughan Willliams made numerous arrangements of the old English folk song Greensleeves throughout his career, most notably the Fantasia on 'Greensleeves', based on music from his opera Sir John in Love. This version for mixed choir uses four-part scoring to create a continuously flowing texture, with hushed dynamics and expressive harmonies bringing a sense of timelessness to the setting.

The practices of singing and teaching singing are inextricable, joined to each other through the necessity of understanding the vocal art and craft. Just as singers must understand the physical functions of voice in order to become musically proficient and artistically mature, teachers too need to have a similar mastery of these ideas - and the ability to explain them to their students - in order to effectively guide their musical and artistic growth. With this singer-instructor relationship in mind, Richard and Ann Alderson's A New Handbook for Singers and Teachers presents a fresh, detailed guide about how to sing and how to teach singing. It systematically explores all aspects of the vocal technique - respiration, phonation, resonance, and articulation - with each chapter containing exercises aimed at applying and teaching these principles. Beyond basic vocal anatomy and singing fundamentals, the handbook also covers such understudied topics as the young voice, the changing voice, and the aging voice, along with helpful chapters for teachers about how to organize vocal lessons and training plans. Thoughtfully and comprehensively crafted by two authors with decades of singing and teaching experience between them, A New Handbook for Singers and Teachers will prove an invaluable resource for singers and teachers at all stages of their vocal and pedagogical careers.

Originally entitled Thanksgiving for Victory, A Song of Thanksgiving is a powerful and moving work that celebrates the Allies' victory in World War II. It was first recorded in 1944 while the war was still ongoing, but was not broadcast until victory had been achieved in May of the following year. Comprising seven movements, it sets texts from the Bible alongside words by Shakespeare and Kipling, lending the work a sense of timelessness and grandeur. Scores and parts for both the full and reduced accompaniments are available on hire.

for SATB and strings or organ This is a full anthem for mixed voices with a brief section for SA. The words are based on Psalm 39. String material is available on hire.