This Child of God : A jolly Christmas carol

This lively carol was commissioned in 2005 by Lichfield Cathedral Special Choir (now called the Cathedral Chorus) to celebrate the birth of Hannah Scriven and Holly Mason, the daughters of the two cathedral organists at thattime. The words were specially written by Tony Barnard, the then Canon Chancellor at Lichfield, and a member of the choir. This carol, whilst not entirely foreign to my normal style, touches more ‘country andwestern’/popular buttons than I am in the habit of touching. But I wanted to write a tuneful piece which swayed and danced and reflected the colourful imagery of Tony Barnard’s text. Recommended recording:Comeout, Lazar – The shorter choral works of Paul Spicer (Regent REGCD280) by The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge and Claire Innes-Hopkins (organ), directed by Sarah MacDonald. Text: This child ofGod, who’s born on Christmas day, whom shepherds view, to whom kings homage pay, is called to be a shepherd and a king. Sing alleluias, praise this wondrous thing. This child of God isshepherd, born to lead, through pastures green, by banks of golden reed; nor left, nor right, but ever on the way, which leads to Calvary and endless day. This child of God, this Son ofDavid’s line, is root of tree, a shoot, a fruitful vine, it shelter gives to all who see the way which leads them to the cross and Easter day. This child of God, this many spangled star, is light’ning flash which dazzles near and far; bright light to guide our feet along the way, that leads to Calvary and endless day. This child of God is called to save mankind, to openeye and ear, the heart and mind; to heal, and make the lame man leap and play along the road that leads to Easter Day. This child of God, let angel voices praise. Give God the glory, live hisloving ways. Let peace on earth o’er come our worldly strife through all who walk his road throughout their life. Tony Barnard

What Child

Holy Child

Sigale : Test Your Gold

Great Mother : No.1 from From the Heart

Based on the poem The People, Yes by Carl Sandburg, this work expresses the great love of a caring mother for her child. She sings of her understanding and acceptance of the child, the potential that the child embodies, her confidence in who the child is and who the child will become.

A child is born

Lullay, lullay, thou lytil child

This short carol, a setting of an anonymous 15th-century text, was commissioned for a service given in Cambridge in 2012 by the Fairhaven Singers, conducted by Ralph Woodward. A witness account of The Nativity, it opens with a solo soprano (‘This other night I saw a sight, A mayd a cradle keep:’) before unfolding as a dialogue between Christ and the Virgin Mary, represented by the alternation of the full choir and a group of four soloists (SATB). The soloists may either be placed within the body of the main choir or be grouped together some distance away.

A Song for Every Child

This popular William Blake text has a playful nature, which is reflected in the shifting meters that follow the rhythmic contour and accentuation of the words. The vocal line is light and bright, and encapsulates the joyful spirit of the poem.

A Child Is Born In Bethlehem

Composed in 1978 this is a setting of a Dutch traditional carol. The work opens with an extended passage for solo oboe, molto rubato. The vocal writing includes sections for various combinations of voice-parts, both with and without the oboe. A further solo oboe passage brings the work soflty to a close.Suitable for advanced standard performers. The oboe part is available as a free download from Boosey.com.

Crossing Ohio When Poppies Bloom in Ashtabula : No. 3 from From the Heart

Based on a Carl Sandburg poem, this work tells the story of the mutual longing of mother and grown child for the time and place of childhood.

Yued Gwong Gwong : (Bright Moon Light)

This Chinese lullaby reflects a simpler time, showing the journey that a child travels as they fall asleep. An English translation and phonetic singing translation and the original Cantonese characters are included in the music. With opt. glockenspiel and/or flute.

Christmas Day

This is a setting of a poem by Kerry poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice which beautifully captures the magical essence of Christmas from the perspective of a young child (“If you don't like the snow you're old!”). The music is energetic and the optional percussion adds to the vitality.

The Lamb has come for us from the House of David

Sacred setting of words of St Ephraim (c. 306-373) from 1979 and has only recently been released by the composer. The text reflects on both Christ's coming as a child and his sacrifice on the Cross. For SATB with alto divisi and some unison passages; suitable for intermediate standard performers.

Sista

“Sista” visits the grief of an African family losing a beloved child, as well as the deep connection to the spirit world of the ancestors, which makes it possible for family and friends to carry on after her death. Polyphonic layers of song in the finale reflect the polyrhythmic nature of the traditional Ghanaian music which helped inspire this piece

In excelsis gloria

This simple carol for two-part upper voices was commissioned by Jenni Wake-Walker in 2008 and is a setting of an anonymous 15th century text celebrating the Nativity. It was written specifically for children of primary schoolage, and with this in mind may be transposed up or down a semitone, depending on the vocal ranges available. The accompaniment, a gently undulating ostinato which remains constant throughout, is intended for a piano, harp, ororgan and might also be played by a child.

Suscipe Quaesumus : Words from The Roman Missal

This accessible motet is a companion piece for Lullabye for Lucy (ISMN 979-0-060-03760-3), which was composed for the birth of Lucy Rendall, the first child born in Rackwick, Hoy, for 32 years. Suscipe Quæsumus was first sung by the Mayfield Singers, conducted by Neil Price, on the occasion of the marriage of Lucy Rendall in St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney on 18 July 2005. Suscipe Quæsumus also appears in the Concerts for Choirs volume ‘Calmo’ (ISMN 979-0-060-11770-1).

Ride in a High-Speed Train

From the pen of the composer of the ever-popular Miroir comes this attractive, 3½-minute transcription of a TGV, which was written for The Busy Drone, a beautiful mechanical dance organ now standing in Het Orgelpark, Amsterdam. The piece will delight audiences, yet the depiction of a train rushing on its journey places considerable demands on the performer as it proceeds through numerous keys and rhythmic combinations within the 5/4 metre. This is a real test of the player’s coordination given that there are up to five simultaneous but separate parts, including much rhythmically independent double pedalling. Although an instrument of three manuals and pedals is required, theregistration is delicate and colourful, not bombastic and overwhelming as the title might suggest. Suitable for advanced standard performers.

Precious Moment : from Songs of Peace

This song is the second movement of Todd’s ‘Songs of Peace’, written in memory of the composer’s mother, Iris Todd, who died in 2012. The text (by the composer: ‘A gift so pure, life so precious, gifted to me’) is intentionally ambiguous suggesting both the gift of the Christ child and less specific gift of life. This work could therefore be used as a Christmas carol as well as more generally. The first verse, with voices singing in unison, presents a contemplative and memorable melody over characteristic, jazz-inspired harmonies in the piano (or organ) accompaniment. This melody is then beautifully interwoven with a counter-melody as the voices split into two parts for thesecond verse.“Precious Moment” is featured on Tenebrae’s album ‘Lux et Veritas’.

Why is This Night Different? : String Quartet No 2

This, MacMillan's second string quartet was commissioned in 1998 by the Maggini Quartet. The work's title is taken from the Jewish rite of commemoration on the Seder Night, which is that before Pesach (Passover) begins. Here the family celebrates the flight of the Children of Israel from Egypt. The youngest asks 'why is this night different from all other nights?' before the father relates the tale of flight and liberation from slavery. The drama of the story, the centrally important figure of the child in the ritual, the closeness between elation and despair and between joy and fear together suggested the archetypes which lie behind MacMillan's musical interests. They providedthe initial spark of inspiration for this piece. The work is cast in a single span comprising several contrasted sections.

Why is This Night Different? : String Quartet no 2

This, MacMillan's second string quartet was commissioned in 1998 by the Maggini Quartet. The work's title is taken from the Jewish rite of commemoration on the Seder Night, which is that before Pesach (Passover) begins. Here the family celebrates the flight of the Children of Israel from Egypt. The youngest asks 'why is this night different from all other nights?' before the father relates the tale of flight and liberation from slavery. The drama of the story, the centrally important figure of the child in the ritual, the closeness between elation and despair and between joy and fear together suggested the archetypes which lie behind MacMillan's musical interests. They providedthe initial spark of inspiration for this piece. The work is cast in a single span comprising several contrasted sections.

Interludes

Album for organ solo from the composer of the much-recorded “Miroir”. The album consists of four pieces of between 2½ and 4 minutes’ duration respectively. “Play it cool!” was composed as the mandatory test piece in the 2012 First Breda International Organ Competition, with the Grote Kerk’s four-manual Flentrop/Van den Heuvel instrument in mind. As the title suggests, the piece makes great play on syncopated, jazz- and rock-inflected figures. Suitable for advanced standard performers. “The Messenger on the Hill”, while similarly syncopated and witty, is within easy reach of intermediate standard players. Laid out for two-manual instrument it features an almost continuousoscillating left-hand figure with right-hand melody and a very simple pedal part. “Rejoice!” is an arrangement of a work for saxophone and organ, made at the request of, and in collaboration with, Thomas Trotter. A duo for contrasting manuals, with a simple, syncopated bass part in the pedals. Suitable for advanced standard performers. ­­­“­Passacaglia”, also for two-manual instrument, is composed almost entirely for the white notes. The simple passacaglia theme is repeated throughout on the pedals. Above this, melodic material derived from the theme is played in the right hand against a sustained, chordal left-hand accompaniment. Later on, there is dialogue between the hands, with some optional ornamentation in the right hand. Suitable for intermediate standard performers.