Michael Berkeley Catalogue

Michael Berkeley 

Catalogue

Michael Berkeley 

Michael Berkeley was born in 1948, the eldest son 

of the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley and a godson 

of Benjamin Britten. As a chorister at Westminster 

Cathedral, singing naturally played an important part 

in his early education. He studied composition, singing, 

and piano at the Royal Academy of Music but it was 

not until his late twenties, when he went to study 

with Richard Rodney Bennett that Berkeley began to 

concentrate exclusively on composing. 

In 1977 he was awarded the Guinness Prize for 

Composition; two years later he was appointed 

Associate Composer to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 

Since then Michael’s music has been played all over 

the globe and by some of the world’s finest musicians. 

Berkeley was later appointed Associate Composer to 

the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, during which he 

composed notable works such as 

Or Shall We Die?, Organ Concerto and Concerto for 

Orchestra. 

Berkeley currently presents Radio 3’s Private Passions 

and was Chairman of the Governors of The Royal Ballet 

from 2003 to 2012. 

Recent compositions include Magna Carta Te Deum, 

commissioned by Lincoln Cathedral to mark the 800th 

anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta; a Violin 

Concerto for the 2016 BBC Proms, which was premiered 

by Chloe Hanslip, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and 

Jac van Steen; and Haiku, a collection of miniatures 

for solo piano, which were premiered at the 2016 

Presteigne Festival. 

Berkeley was appointed a CBE for services to music in 

2012 and has been made an independent peer in the 

House of Lords. 

American Suite 

Recorder or flute and bassoon or cello 9780193554849 

A playful duet for an interesting combination of 

instruments. 

14 minutes 

A Mosaic for Father Popieluszko 

Violin and guitar 9780193555037 

In this angry, passionate piece, there is much contrast 

between aggressive, violent sounds and soft, wounded 

ones. It is a memorial to someone who died an atrocious 

death quite needlessly. 

13 minutes 

At a Solemn Wake 

Cello and piano 9780193408654 

A virtuosic single movement piece for cello and piano 

which moves through a series of moods from mysterious 

and atmospheric to turbulent and agitated, and takes full 

advantage of the range of timbral, rhythmic, and textural 

possibilities allowed by this combination of instruments. 

7.5 minutes 

Dark Sleep 

Solo piano 9780193722507 

This evocative solo piano piece looks back, as though in 

some troubled dream, to fragments of Purcell and Tippett. 

The widely spaced opening notes are interrupted, after 

only eight bars, by a quick and relentlessly turbulent 

passage. A brief reference to the opening of Tippett’s 

Fourth Symphony leads into a slower, more expressive 

section; a predominantly mysterious, even glassy sound 

world from which emerges the poignant notes of ‘Dido’s 

Lament’ from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, now at last 

momentarily in its correct juxtaposition. Finally, a tiny 

fragment of the music is spun obsessively until it falls out 

of control and back into the carefully placed notes of the 

opening. 

9 minutes 

Solo Instrumental 

Etude de Fleurs 

Cello and piano* 9780193554825 

*Available from June Emerson Wind Music 

Fierce Tears I and II 

Oboe and piano 9780193555013 

Both of these works for oboe and piano explore the 

emotions of grief and anger following loss or bereavement. 

Fierce Tears I and Fierce Tears II both use a melodic line 

taken from Berkeley’s Oboe Concerto, but it is developed in 

different ways in each work. 

16 minutes 

Flighting 

Solo clarinet* 9780193554764 


Funerals and Fandagos 

Solo violin* 9780193554979 


Haiku 

Solo piano 9780193518506 

Haiku is a collection of eight brief pieces which may be 

performed as a set or individually. Each is inspired by a 

different species of bird, depicting their movement rather 

than their sounds. 

7 minutes 

Iberian Notebook 

Solo cello 9780193554894 

A suite in six movements for unaccompanied cello, inspired 

by the composer’s travels in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. 

It incorporates fragments of traditional melodies and 

the composer chose the cello as a suitable instrument 

to depict the heat, richness, and cruelty that are part of 

Spanish history. 

15 minutes 

Impromptu 

Solo guitar 9780193554856 

Impromptu was written in 1983 as a homage to Julian 

Bream on his 50th birthday. 

3 minutes 


2 

3


Inner Space 

Solo flute 9780193358911 

8.5 minutes 

Keening 

Alto saxophone and piano* 9780193555143 


Last Breath 

Flute and harp 9780193358928 

This is a small-scale work, which would make a useful 

repertoire piece, bearing in mind the need to provide 

compatible items for groups playing the Debussy flute/ 

harp/viola sonata. 

5 minutes 

Odd man out 

Solo viola* 9780193554900 


Organ Sonata 

Solo organ* 9780193752962 

*Available from Banks Music Publishing 

Pas de Deux 

Solo alto or bass recorder and guitar* 9780193555266 


Second Still Life 

Oboe, harp or piano, and opt. tam-tam 9780193359826 

In Second Still Life the play on the word second is very apt. 

Not only is it scored for just two instruments (although 

there is also an optional tam-tam part) but the interval of a 

second is explored throughout the piece. The piece is short 

yet memorable, exploiting the beautiful timbres of the 

harp and oboe. 

7 minutes 

Snake 

Solo oboe or cor anglais* 9780193555167 


Sonata in One Movement 

Solo guitar* 9780193554962 


Sonata for violin and piano 

Violin and piano 9780193554832 

The work is in three movements - the first is fast and 

aggressive and is based on a sequence that repeats 

throughout the rest of the piece. The second movement 

is, by contrast, slow and would seem to have been bruised 

by the first. The final movement renews the aggressive 

vehemence of the opening and grimly combines it with 

material from the slow movement. 

23 minutes 

Strange Meeting 

Variations on Greek Folk-songs 

Solo viola 9780193554924 

The piece is a sympathetic glance at the Greek character 

and the variations take on an quasi-improvisatory feel. 

7 minutes 

Veilleuse (Night Watch) 


This is a reworking of material from Berkeley’s 1979 

Violin Sonata, and is an evocative and atmospheric 

single movement. Veilleuse means ‘Night Watch’ or ‘Night 

Lantern’, and the music has a slightly melancholy, restless 

atmosphere, which momentarily erupts in a passionate 

outburst before settling back to the quietly ticking, veiled 

lines of the opening. 

10 minutes 

Wild bells 

Solo organ* 9780193752979 


Worry Beads 

Solo guitar 9780193554917 

Worry Beads is an atmospheric and flowing piece for solo 

guitar. After a slow introductory passage it launches into 

virtuosic semiquavers which continue throughout much 

of the piece, with fluctuating time signatures bringing 

rhythmic flavour. 

6 minutes 


Persistent Memory 


The composer writes: ‘Persistent Memory is a little six 

minute drama . . . although the piano begins as the more 

aggressive partner and triggers the violin into animation, it 

is in fact the piano that finally provides a note of resolution, 

or at least, partial resolution.’ 

6 minutes 

Solo piano 9780193722491 

A work in three contrasting sections, each reflecting a 

mood of Wilfred Owen’s poem of the same name. The first 

depicts the ‘strangeness’ of the meeting ‘ . . . Down some 

profound tunnel’, and the second portrays the viciousness 

of war with violent, jabbing rhythms. This leads directly 

into a concluding chorale-like movement in which a kind 

of peace is attained, echoing the closing words of the 

poem ‘Let us sleep now . . .’ 

15 minutes 

Three moods 

Solo oboe* 9780193554887 


4 

5

Chamber Ensemble 

Abstract Mirror 

String quintet 

Score 9780193556553 

Set of parts 9780193412323 

Abstract Mirror is a single movement work for string 

quintet. The composer writes: ‘After listening to the 

Schubert Quintet, it occurred to me that one of the many 

virtues of that score is the way the second cello is absorbed 

effortlessly into the texture. I became fascinated with 

the reverse, highlighting the added sonority of the bass 

texture.’ The title refers not only to the reverse image that 

a mirror provides but also to the idea of fragmentation, 

refraction, and distortion. 

22 minutes 

Catch Me If You Can 

Wind quintet 

Score and parts on hire 9780193555006 

The music follows a Sonatina-like structure with a fastslow-fast 

pattern. This opening vivo soon develops into 

multi-textured ideas and considerable friction. By contrast 

the centre of the work is slow and uncluttered. The last 

movement is a chase but with some rather nasty and 

unexpected twists and turns. Includes piccolo and alto 

flute. 

14 minutes 

Chamber Symphony 

Ensemble 9780193554863 

9 solo players - flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, piano, violin, 

viola, cello, and bass. 

20 minutes 

Champagne Fanfare 

Brass quintet 

Score and parts* 9780193411357 

*Available from Winwood Music 

Clarinet Quintet 

Clarinet, two violins, viola, cello 9780193555082 

The music is based on a tune suggested by the melodies 

and rhythms of sixteenth-century carols and lullabies. The 

strings are treated as a separate concertante unit. 

11 minutes 


Clarion Call and Gallop 

Chamber ensemble 

cl., bsn, hn, vln, vla, vc., db. 

Score and parts 9780193404014 

Berkeley’s Clarion Call and Gallop is a witty and humorous 

piece. Drawing on influences as wide as chamber music, 

rock’n’roll rhythms, and even some of Berkeley’s own choral 

music, the piece subverts and twists listener’s expectations 

at every turn through rhythmic invention and unexpected 

shifts. 

7 minutes 

Entertaining Master Punch 

Ensemble 

fl., ob., cl., tpt, perc., pno, hp, vln, vc, 5 gongs 

Conductor’s score and parts on hire 9780193555150 

Score* 9780193555198 

A chamber work for 9 players, commissioned by Lontano. 


12 minutes 

Fantastic Mind 

Brass quintet and narrator 


The work amalgamates two passionate poems of longing 

by the 17th-century libertine poet, The Earl of Rochester. 

The unusual metre of both poems and the dramatic 

stances of Rochester suggested to the composer the 

use of an actor speaking rather than a sung line. Brass 

instruments are well-suited to the text, given their ability to 

sound both overbearingly raunchy and exquisitely tender. 

The brass parts are written in a direct, bald style with 

many parallel intervals as in music contemporaneous with 

Rochester himself. 

10 minutes 

For the Savage Messiah 

Ensemble 

Vln, vla, vc., db., pno 


‘The music begins with a large boulder of sound on the 

piano that triggers off a scrambling burst of notes on the 

other instruments, with whom it is frequently in conflict. 

As the composition developed I became more and more 

conscious of a very physical relationship with the music. I 

reread H.S. Ede’s Savage Messiah - a remarkable portrait of 

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, the French sculptor who died in the 

trenches in 1915 at the age of 24. Gaudier was a fabulous 

draughtsman, but coupled to his delicate lines there seems 

to me a boulder-like massiveness born of frenetic energy. 

But it is perhaps most of all the awful inevitability of his life 

and the appalling waste at its ending that are echoed in 

the music.’ - Michael Berkeley 

Magnetic Field 

String quartet 


The starting point for Magnetic Field was the string music 

of Purcell and in particular the Fantasia upon one note. 

Here the composer uses a single note as a kind of magnetic 

force around which everything else revolves. 

20 minutes 

Mini-Drama 

Piano quintet 9780193556560 

Mini-Drama was commissioned for Chamber Music 

2000. Chamber Music 2000 works were designed to 

be technically easy, but still retain the composer’s own 

individuality and musical style. 

2 minutes 

Music from Chaucer 

Brass quintet 9780193555020 

A work in five movements, each characterizing a poem by 

Chaucer. ‘Triton’s Trumpets’, acts as an overture to the suite 

of pieces, is mainly rather rustic. Next is a haunting slow 

waltz, then a very short and very vigorous fanfare. In the 

fourth movement, ‘The Sorrowful Knight’, each instrument 

expresses its individual sorrow. Finally Chaucer himself 

chatters in a jaunty, innocent style. 

12 minutes 

Musical Chairs 

Ensemble 

picc., fl., ob., cl., hn, pno, vln, vla, vc. 


Written for Amelia Freedman’s birthday concert at the 

Wigmore Hall, November 2010. Performed by the Nash 

Ensemble. 

3 minutes 

Nocturne 

Flute, harp, violin, viola, and cello 


This little nocturne belongs to a group of early pieces 

written at the beginning of the eighties. The essence of the 

piece owes more to the sensations of Mediterranean nights 

than those closer to home. A dreamy mood pervades with 

only the occasional click of the cicada, a brief moment 

of passion and a final awakening snap interrupting an 

otherwise languorous evening. 

12 minutes 

Oboe Quintet ‘Into the ravine’ 

Oboe, two violins, viola, and cello 9780193390768 

While writing this quintet Berkeley had in mind the 

paintings of John Craxton and Mark Rothko, and the way 

in which paint can vibrate as colours collide. The piece 

opens with the oboe intoning three notes, and at pivotal 

moments in the music this lachrymose motif imposes itself, 

though in varied permutations. 

18 minutes 

Piano Quintet 

Piano, two violins, viola, and cello 9780193364554 

Inspired by Rothko canvases, this study starts by revolving 

around a high D, acting as a line of centrifugal force from 

which microtones pull away. Gradually little interruptions 

and playful ripples begin to disturb the sustained notes 

until they grow into a frenetic rondo and end by building 

to a climax dominated by a similar high note. Various 

musical ideas are utilized throughout, effectively emulating 

the textures and gradations of colour employed within a 

painting. 

15 minutes 

Piano Trio 

Piano, violin, and cello 9780193554795 

Unlike most of the classical trios this is in a single 

movement in three distinct sections; basically, fastslow-fast. 

The piece opens with a solemn, scene-setting 

glissando across the bottom strings of the piano. The 

work’s development is fairly easy to follow since the first 

phrases on which everything else is based are simple and 

easily recognizable. The melodies tend to be modal and 

show a certain rhythmic impetuosity which carries the 

music continuously forward. 

17 minutes 

Rain 

Tenor, violin, and cello 


Setting a poem by Edward Thomas, the violin and cello 

accompaniment use extended techniques to represent the 

sound of rain to great effect. 

8 minutes 

Re-Inventions 

Wind quintet 

fl., ob. + c.a., cl. + b.cl., hn, bn 


A skilful arrangement of four of Bach’s keyboard Inventions, 

each separated by a short meditation for one or two of the 

instruments which link the work into a continuous whole. 

12 minutes 


12 minutes 

6 

7


Seven 

Chamber ensemble (seven players) 9780193359963 

Seven is founded on the further elaboration of a 

simple phrase used in Second Still Life. As the number 

2 is significant in that piece, the number 7 is prevalent 

throughout Seven: the work is for seven players and is 

seven minutes in duration. 

7 minutes 

Shooting stars 

Symphonic wind ensemble 


The composer describes this short piece for symphonic 

wind ensemble as having ‘a feel of the fair ground, or 

bright lights, and of being jostled’, and recalls childhood 

days in the shooting gallery when the targets were placed 

at the centre of a star. Having witnessed a star flying across 

the night sky whilst he was working on the piece, and since 

this short piece for symphonic wind can act as a prelude 

to the more substantial Slow Dawn, he chose the title 

Shooting Stars. 

4 minutes 

Slow Dawn 

Wind band 


Slow Dawn is a gentle and evocative piece for wind band. 

Berkeley depicts the gradual appearance of the sun (in the 

form of the tuba), ‘shafts of light and playful reflections’ 

which accompany the increasing warmth of day, the ‘music 

of midday’ suggesting ‘the savage anger of heat in foreign 

climes with stabbing beams of light’, and the final descent 

of the sun at the end of the day. 

9 minutes 

String Quartet No. 1 


Score* 9780193554931 

Set of parts* 9780193554955 


String Quartet No. 2 


Score 9780193554986 

Set of parts 9780193412354 

Berkeley’s second string quartet uses a free, random 

presentation of thematic material. There is a sharp contrast 

between the tight and rhythmic central section and the 

final passage which dispenses with barlines altogether, 

providing a fascinating journey through interrelated and 

continuous sections. 

String Trio 

Violin, viola, and cello 

Score 9780193554801 

Set of parts 9780193554818 

This two movement work is dedicated to Richard Rodney 

Bennett, at one time Michael Berkeley’s composition 

teacher. A three bar theme introduces the first movement 

which is worked almost entirely in step-by-step crotchets. 

The Allegro that follows is more spiky and angular but has 

a lyrical central passage in 3/8. 

15 minutes 

Torque and Velocity 



This is Michael Berkeley’s fifth composition for string 

quartet. Berkeley says that it was the Takács Quartet’s 

special qualities of ‘exhilarating vigour coupled to innate 

musicianship, as exemplified in their playing of the Bartók 

quartets, which helped dictate the nature of the piece’. 

15 minutes 

William Walton arr. Berkeley 

Touch her soft lips and part 

String octet 9780193359697 

Originally part of Walton’s film score to Henry V composed 

in 1943, Touch her soft lips and part has been taken from 

the original string version and arranged beautifully by 

Michael Berkeley for a smaller ensemble. 

2.5 minutes 

Winter Fragments 

Voice and chamber ensemble 

fl. (+picc.), ob. (+c.a.), cl. (+b.cl.), hp, vln, vla, vc 


Seven setting of poems on the theme of winter. 

‘The double meaning title of these pieces came naturally, 

partly because I was at that time considering an opera 

project based on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, partly 

because the music was largely written in a frozen Welsh 

landscape, and partly because I wanted to write short, 

spare pieces that combine to create an overall aspect of 

winter. - Michael Berkeley 

Winter Fragments was first performed by the Nash 

Ensemble, Jean Rigby, and Thomas Adès on 5th March, 

1995 at The Purcell Room, London. 

19 minutes 

Coronach 

String orchestra 


Study score* 9780193620285 

Coronach is a Scottish highland lament. This piece 

belongs to a group of pieces written by Berkeley in the 

late 1980s which explore the complex emotions of grief, 

rage, and anger. (The other pieces are Fierce Tears I and 

II and Keening.) This rhythmic piece is an ideal work for 

advanced young string groups. Commissioned by the 1988 

Prestiegne Festival. 


13 minutes 

Gethsemani Fragment 



Based on the biblical passage of the Garden of 

Gethsemane. ‘My piece, while abstract rather than 

programmatic, simply attempts to capture a brief glimpse 

of the gnawing and nagging doubts racing through the 

mind of Christ. One does not, I think, have to be religious to 

identify with this touching moment.’ - Michael Berkeley 

10 minutes 

Glass Tears 

Shakuhachi, two kotos, and string orchestra 


‘The shakuhachi (bamboo flute) has intrigued me for many 

years and in particular its breathy, almost human quality. 

The koto on the other hand seems to combine aspects of 

the harp, zither, harpsichord and cimbalom and is capable 

of adding a metallic glint to the texture. Bringing these 

contrasting colours together with a string orchestra was 

a fascinating challenge compounded by my decision to 

write a piece that was not simply contemplative, which the 

shakuhachi might initially suggest, but contrasting in both 

mood and tempi.’ - Michael Berkeley 

15 minutes 

String Orchestra 

Meditations 



Meditations is Michael Berkeley’s first acknowledged 

orchestral work. It was written at the beginning of 1975 

and was the work that led to Berkeley, a late developer 

as a composer, doing post graduate studies with Richard 

Rodney Bennett. 

The piece is called ‘Meditations’ because its atmosphere is 

essentially contemplative, though the nature of the subject 

is far from being continuously passive. Another reason for 

the title is the inspiration behind the thematic material - 

though the actual melodies are original, they use rhythmic 

and melodic patterns suggested by Gregorian chant which 

Berkeley sang every day as a chorister at Westminster 

Cathedral. 

14 minutes 

Suite: Vision of Piers Ploughman 

Two horns, percussion, piano, and string orchestra 


- Strife - The Vision - Pier’s Theme - 

This three-movement work is based on the Medieval 

allegorical tale of Piers Plowman. 

12 minutes 

String Orchestra 

18 minutes 

8 

9

Chamber Orchestra 

Fantasia Concertante 

Chamber orchestra 

fl. (+picc.), 2 ob. (II+c.a.), 2 bn, 2 hn, strings 


This work was commissioned as a result of the 1977 

Guinness Prize for Composition and first performed on 

March 5th 1978 at the Wembley Conference Centre by the 

English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. 

21 minutes 

The Romance of the Rose 


fl. (+picc.), ob., cl, bn, hn, strings 


Score and parts available to buy from Goodmusic 

Taking the form of a theme and variations, The Romance 

of the Rose was written for a BBC radio dramatisation of 

the early French poem, ‘Romaut de la Rose’, and is a reenactment 

in musical terms of the gestures and rituals of 

courtly love. 

12 minutes 

Severn Crossing 


2 fl .(II+picc.), 2 ob. (II+c.a.), 2 cl. (II+b.cl.), 2 bn (II+cbn), 2 

hn, 2 tpt, timp., strings 


‘Looking out across the Severn Estuary, I have often been 

struck by the beautiful but lonely seascape that stretches 

out to the Bristol Channel. It very much suggested the 

wistful melody on the flute which opens Severn Crossing 

and on which the whole piece is based. Gradually 

the sounds of construction are heard. As the crossing 

nears completion, so the cross rhythms become more 

pronounced and a familiar Welsh melody is glimpsed 

amidst the swirling textures.’ - Michael Berkeley. 

7 minutes 

Uprising 


2 fl. (I+picc., II+picc.anda.fl.), 2 ob., 2 cl.(II+b.cl.), 2 bn, 2 hn, 

2 tpt, timp, strings 


First performed 18 December 1980, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh 

by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Roderick 

Brydon 

21 minutes 


Concerto for Cello 

Solo cello and chamber orchestra 

fl. (+picc.), 2 ob., 2 bn, 2 hn, strings 


This single-movement chamber concerto is deliberately 

scored for the forces of the Boccherini and Haydn concerti. 

Light-hearted in spirit, it could easily be described as a 

divertissement. 

12 minutes 

Concerto for Clarinet 

Solo clarinet and chamber orchestra 

2 fl. (II+picc.), 2 ob (II+c.a.), 2 cl. (II+b.cl.), 2 bn (II+cbn), 2 hn, 

2 tpt, timp, strings 


Clarinet and piano score* 9780193620216 

This work was written whilst Berkeley was writing his 

opera, Baa Baa Black Sheep which is based on Kipling’s 

autobiographical short story of the same name. Although 

Kipling’s childhood predicament is the starting point for 

the relationship between the clarinet and orchestra, the 

music develops from there into an abstract essay. The 

clarinet frequently merges with the woodwind section 

while at other times stands out against it. The Concerto for 

Clarinet is a musical argument; there is no percussion, but 

the role of the timpani is crucial. The Concerto for Clarinet 

was commissioned by Emma Johnson and takes the form 

of one continuous movement. 


20 minutes 

Concerto for Horn 

Solo horn and string orchestra 


There are two movements which are closely related but 

while the overall mood of the first is aggressive the second 

is more resigned and poignant. Various musical ideas 

heard only in fragments in the opening movement come 

more sharply into focus in the second. Through a smoky 

haze of sound the lachrymose notes of the last post are 

superimposed on a Bach Chorale from the St Matthew 

Passion. 

First performed in 1984 at the Cheltenham Festival by 

Michael Thompson and the Polish Chamber Orchestra, 

Concerto for Horn was revised in 1994. 

16 minutes 

Orchestra with solo 

Concerto for Oboe 

Solo oboe and string orchestra 


Oboe and piano score* 9780193620308 

The work begins quietly, the oboe entering without 

orchestral preamble. The five-note theme introduced by 

the soloist permeates the entire movement as the music 

becomes steadily more animated and interplay between 

soloist and orchestra more intense. The central movement 

is a playful scherzo, with a lyrical middle section. The final 

movement, ‘Elegy’, is dedicated to the memory of the 

composers godfather, Benjamin Britten. It is based on an 

augmented fourth - the interval central to Britten’s War 

Requiem. The concerto ends with the oboe intoning the 

notes Britten used to depict Wilfred Owen’s line, ‘let us 

sleep now’, whereupon the music gradually comes to rest. 

Michael Berkeley’s Oboe Concerto was commissioned 

by the Burnham Market Festival in Norfolk and was first 

performed in 1977 by Janet Craxton with the Snape 

Maltings Training Orchestra. 


25 minutes 

Concerto for Organ 

Solo organ and full orchestra 

2 fl., 2 ob., 2 cl., 2 bn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp., 2 perc. 

(t.bell, sus.cym., vib., BD, SD, TD, tam), hp, strings 


This work is seen as marking a turning point in the 

composer’s music. The writing includes distinctive 

harmonic clusters breaking into great upward sweeps, 

buzzing (often menacing) mobiles under carefully 

controlled melodic lines, inventive timbres, and above all, a 

heightened sense of drama. 

18 minutes 

Concerto for Viola 

Solo viola and full orchestra 

2 fl. (I+picc.), 2 ob. (I+c.a.), 2 cl. (I+b.cl.), 2 bn (I+cbn), 3 tpt 

(all+flugel, I+tpt in D), 4 hn, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 4 perc. (t.bell, 

vib, tam (med), sz cym, w.blk, BD, c.bell, sus. cym, crash 

cym, tom (low, med, high), SD) hp, strings 


The concerto is cast in a single movement. The first two 

thirds of the music is built over a slow pulse. Throughout 

the music the soloist weaves in and out of the orchestral 

texture, sometimes riding the growing waves of sound and 

sometimes being overtaken by it. In the last third of the 

concerto the music breaks into a much faster tempo and 

the viola is pushed to the bottom of its compass where it 

feverishly races around like a trapped insect, constantly 

striving to rise above its orchestral surroundings. 

15 minutes 

Double Guitar Concerto 

Two solo guitars and chamber orchestra 

fl. (+picc.anda.fl.), ob. (+c.a.), cl. (+b.cl.), bn, hn, tpt, tbn, 

perc. (SD, roto-tom, mark tree, glock, vib, w blk, guiro, BD), 

hp, cel., strings 


The work is in three contrasting but related movements 

with the guitars having a role rather akin to a harpsichord 

in a concerto grosso, but informed by a contemporary 

sensibility. Inspired by the intuitive playing of the Katona 

twins, the soloists are used not so much as contrasting or 

antiphonal voices but rather as one double instrument. 

20 minutes 

For Mrs Tomoyasu from ‘Or Shall 

We Die?’ 

Soprano and chamber ensemble or orchestra 

fl., ob., cl., bn, hn, tpt, hp, string quintet) /orchestra (fl., 2 

ob., 2 bn, 2 hn, strings 

Score and parts on hire - ensemble 9780193354050 

Score and parts on hire - orchestra 9780193354036 

This aria for soprano and orchestra is taken from the 

oratorio Or Shall We Die?. Mrs Tomoyasu was a young 

woman in 1945 when her nine year-old daughter died in 

her arms at Hiroshima. Her words, taken almost verbatim 

by the librettist Ian McEwan, describe her terrible 

experience on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped. 

6 minutes 

Songs of Awakening Love 

Soprano and chamber orchestra 

fl. (+picc.), 2 ob. (+c.a.), 2 bn, 2 hn, strings 


This work is a setting of three poems; two sonnets, by 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, framing a scherzo-like song of 

elation by Christina Rossetti. The poems superficially seem 

straight-laced and high-minded, but, in reality, smoulder 

with intense expression. 

26 minutes 

Touch Light 

Solo soprano, solo counter-tenor and string 

orchestra, or solo flute, solo violin, and strings 

Score and parts on hire - voices and strings 9780193352858 

Score and parts on hire - Instrumental 9780193357167 

Berkeley describes this work as a ‘homage’ to the masters 

of early opera: Monteverdi, Handel, and Purcell. In his 

exquisite piece he distils the essence of some of their 

most ecstatic moments into his own words and employs 

a variation on the ground bass which lies at the heart of 

some of his favourite arias and duets. In the instrumental 

version, the soprano and counter-tenor solo lines from the 

original version are re-worked for flute and violin. 

Orchestra with solo 

8 minutes 

10 

11


Violin Concerto 

Solo violin/electric violin and full orchestra 

picc., 2 fl., 2 ob., cor ang., 2 cl., bcl, 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 

3 tbn, tba, timp, tabla, tuned perc, untuned perc, celeste, 

2 hp, strings, tuned perc: xyl, vib, glock, t bells, crotales, 

untuned perc: tom-toms, bongos, BD, SD, tam-tam, claves, 

referee’s whistle, whistle, sus. cym. 

Violin part 9780193517905 


‘In 2014 I wrote At A Solemn Wake, which was 

commissioned by the Ryedale Festival in memory of my 

wife, the literary agent, Deborah Rogers, who had died very 

suddenly earlier that year. As I began work on this Concerto 

I found that that cello piece was constantly invading my 

thoughts and in particular a melodic idea that just would 

not go away. 

Another influence was hearing Nigel Kennedy play a 

quite extraordinary electric violin tribute to Jimi Hendrix 

at Ronnie Scott’s. The volatility of this amplified sound 

seemed to me to echo the elements of rage that are 

so often a part of the grieving process. Listening to the 

amazing timbres Nigel was getting from this instrument, 

it occurred to me that it would be a vibrant colour to have 

on the sound palette I was starting to mix for the concerto. 

The third contribution to my emerging soundworld came 

from working with Nitin Sawhney and Akram Khan on 

programmes for the Radio 3 series, Private Passions, and 

then watching Akram’s sculptures in movement with his 

dance company. Both Akram and Nitin talked about their 

love and use of the Tabla which, as it happens, Deborah 

and I had relished in India on one of our last trips together. 

Somehow these disparate elements coalesced in my mind 

to form a twenty-minute continuous score which began to 

write itself.’ - Michael Berkeley 

Violin Concerto was premiered by Chloë Hanslip and BBC 

National Orchestra of Wales at the 2016 BBC Proms at the 

Royal Albert Hall, London. 

20 minutes 

Concerto for Orchestra 

Full orchestra 

3 fl. (IandII+picc., III+a.fl.), 2 ob. (II+c.a.), 3 cl. (III+b.cl.), 3 bn 

(III+cbn), 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp., 5 perc. (glock, xylo, 

vib, cortales, tbells, SD, 3 TD, BD, sus. cym., 2 Chinese cym., 

tam-tam, roto-tom, mark tree, flex.), pno (+cel), hp, org. 

(opt), strings 


‘The Concerto is in three movements with the outer two 

having a fast-slow-fast design which indeed mirrors the 

overall structure of the piece. In thinking about the music 

I was conscious that the finding of ideas is seldom the 

problem; it is how they are developed that matters. So, I 

deliberately began with a very simple motif: falling tones 

and soon decided that the first two movements would be 

based on a downward progression while the third should 

invert the whole process and move constantly upwards.’ - 

Michael Berkeley. 

This is the second piece Berkeley wrote as associate 

composer to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and was 

premiered in 2005 at the BBC Proms. 

20 minutes 

Daybreak and a Candle End 


2 fl. (II+picc.), 2 ob. (II+c.a.), 2 cl., 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, 

timp., perc. (vib, BD, crotales, sus. cym., glock.), hp, strings 


Based on a theme by the composer’s father, Sir Lennox 

Berkeley, and dedicated to him. 

7 minutes 

Full Orchestra 

Flames 


3 fl. (II+a.fl., III+picc.), 3 ob. (III+c.a.), 3 cl. (II+Eb cl., III+b.cl.), 

3 bn (III+cbn), 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 3 perc (SD, ant. 

cym., vib., BD, sus. cym., TD, tamb., t.bells, tam., w.blk, xylo., 

temp. blks), hp, strings 


Flames was written for David Atherton and the Royal 

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with funds provided by 

the Arts Council of Great Britain. 

12 minutes 

The Garden of Earthly Delights 


3 fl (III+picc), 4 ob. (IV+c.a.), 4 cl. (III+Eb, IV+b.cl.), 3 bn, 

cbn, 6 hn, 4 tpt, 3 tbn, 2 tba, timp., 4 perc. (sus. cym., cast., 

crotales, tam., rattle, lion’s roar, sz. cym., 3 tom., 2 w.blk, BD, 

c.bell, whip, vib., claves, guiro, SD, marac., cabaca, tuned 

gongs, Chinese gong, Javanese or Thai gongs, clash cym., 

tamb., mba, glock., tri., flex.), 2 hp, strings, 3 special players: 

vln, s.sx, tbn (all+claves, rattle, tam) 


‘I have for many years had Hieronymus Boschs visionary 

triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights in the back of my 

mind as a potential spring board for a piece of music... 

I have expressed my own reactions to the piece and 

indeed added other dimensions. In the opening tableau, 

for instance, the music suggests that innocence and 

ignorance are not necessarily bliss, rather there is a sense 

of melancholy and wistfulness, a longing for something yet 

to be articulated.’ - Michael Berkeley. 

21 minutes 


The Wild Winds 

Soprano and chamber orchestra 

fl. (+picc.), ob., 2 cl. (II+b.cl.), bn, 2 hn, tpt, pn, perc. (xylo, 

sus cym, sus tri, tbells, tam (low and high), SD, BD), strings 

or string quartet 


A poetical sketch for soprano and small orchestra to words 

by William Blake. 

12 minutes 

12 

13


Gregorian Variations 


3 fl. (III+picc.anda.fl.), 3 ob. (III+c.a.), 3 cl. (II+Eb cl., III+bcl), 

a.sx., 2 bn, c.bn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 tbn, b.tbn, tba, timp, 3 perc. 

(vib., mba, xylo., glock., t.bells, crotales. SD, TD, BD, w.blk, 

tamb., cym., sus. cym., gong, tri., whip, cabasa, marac., 

guiro), hp, pno, strings 


Study score* 9780193620421 

A one-movement work in which Berkeley weaves the 

modes and melodies of Gregorian plainchant into his own 

modern and direct style. A facsimile of the composer’s 

manuscript. 


17 minutes 

Primavera 


picc., 2 fl., 2 ob., cor ang., 2 cl., b.cl., 2 bn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, 

tba, timp., 2 perc. (BD, SD, glock., tri., t.bells, w.blk, bongos, 

tamb., sus. cym.), hp, strings) and opt. wordless chorus 


A quiet but sonorous note starts the piece with pizzicato 

strings before the melodic line emerges from the first 

clarinet, followed in a fugal-manner by other woodwind. 

The textures range from sparse to complex throughout the 

piece, reflecting the many variants found in Spring. 

6 minutes 

Secret Garden 


3 fl. (III+picc.), 3 ob. (III+c.a.), 3 cl. (II+Eb cl., III+b.cl.), 3 bn 

(III+cbn), 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 3 perc. (vib., sus. cym., 

crotales, SD, clash cym., tam., thundersheet, BD, marac., 3 

w.blk), hp, strings)/ reduced orchestra (3 fl. (III+picc.), 2 ob., 

2 cl. (II+Eb cl.), 2 bn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn (III+b.tbn), tba, timp., 

perc., strings 


Secret Garden opens by depicting the barrier that 

surrounds it - an impenetrable wall of sound from the 

brass and wind announced initially on the trumpet. The 

end of the wall is reached only to reveal the beginning 

once again. The very solidity and mass of this obstacle is 

both frustrating and exhilarating. For on the other side lies 

a magical but dangerous landscape. This piece explores 

facets of the imagination, that garden in the mind that 

so thrills and alarms but, alone amongst the workings of 

human beings, can never be completely conquered or 

stolen by another. 

Secret Garden was jointly commissioned by Oxford 

University Press to celebrate the 75th anniversary of 

its Music Department and by The London Symphony 

Orchestra, with funds provided by the Arts Council. 

12 minutes 

Slow Dawn 


picc., 2 fl., 2 ob., cor ang., 2 cl., b.cl., 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 

tbn, b.tbn, tba, timp., 3 perc., hp, cel., strings 


Orchestral version of the wind band original for the BBC 

Proms 2008. 

11 minutes 

Tango! 


picc., 2 fl., 2 ob., cor ang., 2 cl., b.cl., 2 bsn, cbsn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 

tbn, tba, 3 perc. (cast., tamb., t-t, SD, BD, cym., glock), timp., 

pno, hp, strings 


As I was about to make my first visit to South America 

in 2012 I began to explore the music that seemed to 

symbolise that continent and became very intrigued by 

the Tango and, in particular, the work of Astor Piazzola. For 

fun really but also in homage to Piazzola, I set myself the 

challenge of writing a Tango that only used the usual forces 

of the Symphony Orchestra. The main melody was inspired 

by a figure that is often found in the accompaniment of the 

Tango. 

Tango! was first performed in Cardiff by the BBC National 

Orchestra of Wales on 18th September, 2015. 

5 minutes 

Tristessa 


cor ang. solo, vla solo, 2 fl. (II+picc.anda.fl.), 2 ob., 2 cl. (II+b. 

cl.andtri.), 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 tbn, b.tbn, tba, 2 perc. 

(glock., sus. cym., gong, tamb., TD, BD, vib.), hp, strings 


Tristessa was written with particular players in mind, in this 

case, from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Although 

there are two soloists in Tristessa, it is not a concerto but 

rather a tone poem in which a solo Viola and Cor Anglais 

are the chief protagonists. The title comes from a pivotal 

character in Angela Carter’s extraordinary and visionary 

novel The Passion of new Eve. Tristessa was commissioned 

by the BBC for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and first 

performed in St David’s Cathedral, 29 May 2003. 

21 minutes 

Bastet 


2 fl., 2 ob., 2 cl., 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp., 2 perc., 

strings 


Bastet was commissioned by Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet 

in 1988. This serious ballet was choreographed by Lynn 

Seymour and the piece is based around the Egyptian 

Goddess of fertility and cats. The designs for the original 

production were drawn up by Andrew Logan. 

30 minutes 

The Mayfly 

Ensemble 

fl., cl., perc., pno, vln, vc. 


The Mayfly is a short ballet, originally choreographed by 

Lynn Seymour in 1984. It was written for a chamber group 

of musicians and created for young dancers (the Brownies) 

and starred Wayne Sleep. 

12 minutes 

Ballet 

Opera 

Baa Baa Black Sheep 

Soli, SATB chorus of eight singers and orchestra 

fl. (+picc. anda.fl.), ob. (+c.a.), cl. (+b.cl.), bn (cbn), 2 hn, 2 

tpt, 3 tbn, perc., hp, pno, strings 


Vocal score on hire 9780193352780 

Drawing on both Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and 

his autobiographical story Baa Baa Black Sheep, Berkeley’s 

opera layers the two narratives so as to create parallels 

between the cruel treatment of a young boy living in the 

human world and his fantastical adventures amongst the 

jungle animals. While he eventually achieves revenge, 

his story is ultimately a tragic one: by the time he has 

vanquished his greatest tormentor, he has sustained deep 

psychological damage. The libretto of this three-act opera 

is by David Malouf and offers a wide variety of solo roles. 

Most of the human characters have an animal counterpart, 

to be performed by the same singer. 

120 minutes 

For You 

Six voices and chamber orchestra 

fl (+piccanda.fl), ob (+c.a.), cl. (+b.cl.andEb cl.), bn (+cbn), 

hn, tpt, tbn, perc (+timp), hp, strings) 

Vocal scores and parts on hire 9780193359833 

Libretto by Ian McEwan. Premiered 2009, Music Theatre 

Wales. 

This dramatic two-act work for soloists and chamber 

orchestra explores the tumultuous relationships in the 

household of a pre-eminent composer. Charles Frieth is 

a serial womaniser but nevertheless reacts with jealousy 

when he finds out that his ill wife Antonia is in love with 

her long-term doctor. The situation is complicated by 

his housekeeper Maria, who idolises him and believes 

that he returns her feelings. Charles resolves to change 

his ways but circumstances quickly unravel in a series of 

misunderstandings, ending with Antonia’s tragic death. 

Libretto by novelist and screenwriter Ian McEwan. 

140 minutes 

Jane Eyre 

Five soli 

soprano, young soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, bassbaritone), 

and chamber orchestra (fl. (+picc.anda.fl.), ob. 

(+c.a.), cl. (+cl. in AandEb), bn (+cbn), tpt, hn, tbn (+b.tbn), 

perc., hp, strings 


Adapted from the latter part of Charlotte Bronte’s famous 

novel, this compact opera focuses on the events from 

when Jane takes up employment at Thornfield Hall. Her 

burgeoning relationship with her employer Mr. Rochester 

is interrupted by the revelation of his disturbed and violent 

shut-in wife, but, though tragedy ensues, both Eyre and 

Rochester are ultimately able to find happiness. This opera 

has a libretto by David Malouf and its musical world is 

eclectic and wide-ranging, encompassing influences from 

both 19th and 20th century opera. 

84 minutes 

Ballet and Opera 

14 

15

Choral Works Sacred 

Eight Motets 

SATB and organ 

Vocal score* 9780193530546 

*Available from Banks Music Publications 

Gabriel’s Lament 

SATB and full orchestra 

2 fl. (I+picc.), a.fl., ob. (+c.a.), 2 cl., b.cl., 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 

2 tbn, b.tbn, tba, perc. (gong, t.bells, vib., crotales, tuned 

hand bells, xylo., timp., cym., tam., BD), cel., hp, strings 


As Berkeley began writing this piece commissioned by 

the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, a much-loved family 

friend, Gabriel Bailey, died. He was born around the time 

Paul Bailey’s novel Gabriel’s Lament was published. Berkeley 

was inspired by eternal time, space, and infinity as well 

as whale ‘singing’ and the congregational singing found 

on the Isle of Harris. As Berkeley was finishing the piece, 

Richard Hickox (of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales 

and Chorus) passed away. This threnody is a ‘heartfelt In 

Memoriam to both Richard and Gabriel’. First performed by 

BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales with Thierry 

Fischer on 19 June, 2009 at St David’s Hall, Cardiff. 

16 minutes 

Choral Works Sacred 

Advent Anthem 

SATB and organ 9780193376434 

A setting of the Archbishop Rowan Williams’ text ‘Advent 

Calendar’ for choir and organ. 

8 minutes 

At the Round Earth’s Imagined 

Corners 

SATB double chorus and brass quintet/organ and 

opt. trumpet 

Vocal score available from Banks Music Publications 

Instrumental parts on hire 9780193544109 

A setting of John Donne’s sonnet. 

8 minutes 

Build this House 

SSA or SATB and organ 

SSA and organ 9780193407190 


Setting a text taken from the Books of Sirach and Ezra, Build 

this House uses tonal shifts and alternating homophonic 

and polyphonic sections to create a piece that is both 

contemplative and joyous. It was commissioned by Cycle of 

Songs, for the Tour de France visit to Cambridge on 7 July 

2014. 

4 minutes 

Choral Leaflets Sacred 

First the sun, then the shadow 


This anthem is the second of two in which Michael 

Berkeley sets texts by Rowan Williams. First the sun, then 

the shadow uses words from his poem Emmaus, written 

in 2008. It was commissioned by Durham Cathedral Choir 

Association at the request of Archbishop Justin Welby. 

8 minutes 

Hereford Communion Service 

SATB and organ 

Vocal score* 9780193516601 


Laus Deo Semper 

SSAA or SATB and organ 

Vocal scores on hire 9780193544116 

5 minutes 

Listen, listen, O my child 

SATB and opt. organ 9780193397675 

This anthem was commissioned for the Enthronement of 

the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend 

and Right Honourable Justin Welby, in March 2013. It sets 

a text from The Rule of St Benedict, translated by Michael 

Berkeley, counselling the recipient to ‘receive willingly and 

carry out effectively your loving Father’s advice’. The vocal 

lines are simple, flowing, and eminently singable, with 

alternating sections of unaccompanied chant and joyous 

outbursts from the full choir. 

4.5 minutes 

Missa lumen de lumine 

SATB 

Vocal score* 9780193516724 


Stupendous Stranger 

SATB and keyboard/brass ensemble (4 tpt, hn, 4 

tbn, tba) 



Commissioned for the BBC Singers, and first performed in 

December 1990, this short work sets The Nativity of our 

Lord and Saviour by Christopher Smart. 

6 minutes 

The Tale of Andrew 


This anthem sets a text by the 17h-century Bishop Thomas 

Ken. The vocal parts are narrative in style and coloured by 

decorative organ passages. This setting would be wellsuited 

for use on Saints’ Days. 

5 minutes 

This Endernight 


Commissioned by King’s College, Cambridge, for the 

2016 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, This Endernight 

is a setting of well-known fifteenth-century words. The 

recurring melody has a lilting feel, and Berkeley employs 

artful textural juxtapositions, with solo lines flowering into 

a rich refrain. 


Cradle Song 

SATB unaccompanied and opt. keyboard 9780193432192 

A short, straightforward carol for SATB unaccompanied, or 

with organ or piano, dedicated to the composer’s brother, 

Julian. 

Love is as strong as death 

SATB 

Vocal score* 9780193504851 


4.5 minutes 

1 minute 

Easter 

SATB, organ, and opt. brass ensemble 

3 tpt and 3 tbn 



A rousing anthem commissioned by the BBC for its 60th 

anniversary service in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, July 

1982. With words by George Herbert. 

8 minutes 

Magna Carta Te Deum 


This setting of the Te Deum was written for the Choir 

of Lincoln Cathedral Choir to commemorate the 800th 

anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta. It opens with 

a dialogue between the organ and strident unison choral 

lines, before moving on to the Sanctus, with alternating 

tutti and solo passages. Powerful choral lines and jubilant 

organ flourishes marry perfectly with the well-known text 

to result in a truly laudatory work. 

12 minutes 

16 

17


Veni Emmanuel 

SATB, organ, and brass (4 trpts, 3 tbns, tuba) 

Vocal and instrumental parts on hire 9780193442085 

An arrangement of the well-known carol O Come, O Come, 

Emmanuel. 

6 minutes 

Verbum caro factum est 


With a text by G. M. Hopkins, this work is interspersed 

with frequent solo passages, initially for baritone (whose 

delicate solo opens the piece) but later for tenor, soprano, 

and alto soloists also. The polyphonic choral passages 

provide a balance to these frequent solos, to mesmerising 

effect. 

6 minutes 

Versicles, Responses, and The 

Lord’s Prayer 

SATB unaccompanied 9780193355347 

An incandescent setting of versicles and responses 

for Evensong. The music is haunting in its simplicity, 

supporting and illuminating the text to great effect. The 

second set includes an account of The Lords Prayer, in a 

moving, unison setting that should inspire any church 

choir. 

10 minutes 

We wait for thy loving kindness O 

God 

SATB (with divisions) and organ 9780193504622 

Commissioned by St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin for their 

800th anniversary. 

10 minutes 

Or Shall We Die? 

Soprano and baritone soli, chorus and full 

orchestra 

3 fl. (II+a.fl., III+picc.), 3 ob. (III+c.a.), 3 cl. (III+b.cl.), 2 bn, 

cbn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp., 5 perc., hp, pno (+cel.), 

strings 


This oratorio, with words by Ian McEwan and William Blake, 

was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra 

Chorus and first performed in 1983. Influenced by that 

year’s events and possibilities of nuclear conflict, this 

oratorio grew out of the conviction that the responsibility 

of the survival of our species is not limited to governments, 

but is collective, involving every single one of us. Or Shall 

We Die? argues that only if we have the strength to bind 

feeling to intellect shall we survive. 

Lyrical passages of music are constantly interrupted by 

more strident sounds creating a relentless sense of unease. 

At the end there is a half resolution but over the final notes 

there lies the inevitable question mark - Or Shall We Die? 

50 minutes 

The Red Macula 

Soprano and baritone soli, SATB chorus and full 

orchestra 


- Piano - The Red Macula - The Ship of Death - 

Three songs to poems by D. H. Lawrence. This was the first 

commission undertaken by the new Leeds Festival Chorus 

and was first performed in 1989. 

20 minutes 

Choral Works Secular 

As the wind doth blow 

SATB unaccompanied 

Vocal score 9780193435438 


The crocodile and Father 

William 

SSAA and piano 

Vocal score 9780193426009 


Fanfare and National Anthem 

Unison/SSATB and full orchestra/brass/organ/brass 

and organ 

Vocal and instrumental parts on hire 9780193620339 

A versatile alternative to the standard setting of the 

National Anthem. The originally composed fanfare can 

be played separately to the arrangement of the National 

Anthem. which itself comes in two versions - one for full 

orchestra, and one for brass/organ/brass & organ. There is 

also a part for military trumpets, if wanted. 

5 minutes 

Farewell 

SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied 9780193439207 

This heart-felt setting was originally included in the 

popular ‘A Garland for Linda’, a celebration of the life of the 

late Linda McCartney. Combining a poignant text adapted 

from Milton, Shakespeare, and Elizabeth Speller with 

emotive harmonies, this is an attractive piece by one of 

Britain’s foremost contemporary composers. 

4 minutes 

Choral Leaflets Secular 

Night song in the jungle 

Choral Works & Leaflets Secular 

SATB and oboe 

Vocal score 9780193448223 

Oboe part 9780193412347 

This is an evocative setting of the Rudyard Kipling jungle 

poem ‘Now Chil the kite brings home the night’. 

6 minutes 

18 

19

Solo Voice 

Echo 

Solo soprano and piano 9780193365865 

This song was written for the ‘NMC Songbook’, a CD of 

contemporary vocal studies. Of a romantic, wistful nature, 

it is particularly accessible, full of lush Poulenc-inspired 

harmonies. 

Echo was first performed and recorded in August 2008 at 

King’s Place, London by Ailish Tynan and Iain Burnside. 

16 minutes 

Gethsemane 

Tenor, piano, and string quartet 

Score 9780193451544 

Set of parts 9780193412330 

A sacred scena telling the story, in Biblical text, of the scene 

in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

12 minutes 

Grenadier 

Voice, violin, and cello 


Grenadier was commissioned by the Housman Society 

as part of the celebrations for the centenary of the 

publication of A Shropshire Lad . Berkeley deliberately 

chose to set the words of Grenadier with a folk-like 

simplicity while the accompaniment is little more than 

an incessant drum beat. Thus the instruments used are 

interchangeable. 

2 minutes 

Solo Voice 

Speaking Silence 

Baritone and piano 9780193451513 

A beautifully constructed song-cycle set to poems from 

Christina Rosetti to WB Yeats, and Pontus de Tyard. 

Exploring the themes of yearning and longing at the end 

of a love affair, the subject of the texts focus largely on 

a desire for rest and even oblivion. The music responds 

accordingly, ranging from the bright and chromatic to 

simple, poignant settings of folk-inspired tunes. 

20 minutes 

Tant que mes yeux 

Solo voice and piano* 9780193451636 


Three Rilke Sonnets 

Soprano solo and ensemble 

fl.(+b.fl), ob., cl.(+b.cl.), hn, hp, vln, vla, vc., d.b. 


A setting of three sonnets from Sonnets from Orpheus by 

Rainer Maria Rilke, in the original German. There is a theme 

of tangible loss moving through the piece, from childhood 

to adolescence, and then full-blown youth. 

The middle movement is scored for soprano and solo viola. 

18 minutes 

Three Songs To Children 

Soprano or tenor and piano 9780193451681 

One of Berkeley’s earliest published compositions, Three 

Songs to Children sets texts by W B Yeats, Wilfred Owen, and 

Walter de la Mare. The direct simplicity of Yeats and Owen 

settings contrast with a central, more ambitious setting of 

a poem by Wilfred Owen. 

When I hear your voice... 

Mezzo-soprano solo and ensemble 

A.fl., ob.+c.a., cl, bn+c.bn, hn, tpt, tbn, perc, hp, two violins, 

vla, vc., d.b. 


This aria for mezzo-soprano solo and ensemble is taken 

from Berkeley’s opera For You. 

10 minutes 

Choral Leaflets Christmas 

Christmas bells 

SATB and piano 

Vocal score* 9780193432215 


The Oxen 

SATB and piano 

Vocal score* 9780193432208 


Choral Leaflets Christmas 

Hollow Fires 

10 minutes 

Solo baritone and piano 9780193379770 

Hollow Fires is a cycle of four songs, setting texts by Hardy 

and Housman on the subject of love and loss. 

9 minutes 

Thresher 

Solo voice and piano* 9780193451629 


Nettles 

Wessex Graves 

High voice and piano 9780193451537 

These two short songs are set to texts by A E Housman and 

Edward Thomas. 

5 minutes 

Version for mezzo-soprano and piano 9780193359574 

Version for tenor and harp 9780193451520 

These songs are among Berkeley’s earliest compositions, 

written in the mid-1970s at the suggestion and 

encouragement of Peter Pears. The poems, by Thomas 

Hardy, were chosen for various treatments of one theme - 

death, and the grave. Some are wistful, some tragic, some 

humorous. 

17 minutes 

20 

21

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