Bednall Make we merry

for SSAA and organ, and optional brass ensemble and timpani Commissioned by Benenden School, Make We Merry is an eight-movement piece which sets texts from the 15th to 19th centuries to a variety of choral textures with a highly characterful accompaniment. A vast array of sentiments is depicted, from quiet expectance and gentle wonder to boisterous jubilation, and the different movements provide a wonderfully paced journey through these moods. The final movement brings back motifs from the opening and grows to a thrillingly climactic ending to this exciting Christmas concert work.

Make We

Make We Merry is an eight-movement Christmas work for upper voices which sets texts from the 15th to 19th centuries to a variety of choral textures. The upbeat title movement opens the piece and the following movements provide a wonderfully paced journey through a vast array of sentiments, from quiet expectance and gentle wonder in ‘The time draws near’ and ‘Sweet was the song’ to boisterous jubilation in ‘All this night shrill chanticleer’. The final movement, ‘Make we joy now’, brings back motifs from the opening and grows to a thrillingly climactic finish. The highly characterful organ accompaniment may be augmented by brass and percussion in six of the movements. Make We Merry BEDNALL Born in 1979, David Bednall studied at The Queen’s College, Oxford, where he was Organ Scholar. A prize-winning organist, he has a varied freelance playing and conducting career and has performed extensively in the UK and abroad. Bednall is most prominent as a composer, and his works have been performed and recorded by leading choirs and ensembles, to critical acclaim. His music has been broadcast on radio, and his 40–part motet Lux orta est iusto closed the Bristol Proms in 2015. for online perusal only For more details about David Bednall and his music, please contact Oxford University Press, Music Department. Cover images: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd /Alamy Stock Photo; Guschenkova/Shutterstock.com 1 www.oup.com ISBN 978-0-19-352653-2 9 780193 526532