Chorus

Sacred repertoire

Sacred repertoire Benedict Sheehan Easter This is a declamatory setting of a popular Easter text by Gerard Manley Hopkins in an upbeat 7/8 metre. Featuring compelling interplay between choral sections, a slower reflective passage, and a rousing conclusion, this anthem will bring a fresh sound to Easter services and concerts. SATB unaccompanied 2 1 /2 mins, Moderately Difficult ✝ Composer Benedict Sheehan has been called ‘a rising star’ (Orthodox Arts Journal). He is director of music at St. Tikhon’s Seminary and Monastery in Pennsylvania, artistic director of the Saint Tikhon Choir, and CEO and Founder of the Artefact Institute, a collective of ‘culture creators’. His works have been performed by Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Cappella Romana, the Saint Tikhon Choir, and many others. Two recordings featuring Sheehan’s works are forthcoming in 2020: Once Upon A Time (Skylark), and Divine Liturgy (Cappella Romana Records). Photo: Miriam Sheehan 978-0-19-354042-2 | Published May 2020 Benedict Sheehan Gabriel’s Message 978-0-19-354041-5 | Published May 2020 This Easter carol is based on J. M. Neale’s translation of the Latin Piae Cantiones and occupies a captivatingly exotic soundworld. Sheehan’s setting is in strophic form, with a texture that builds from verse to verse and with varying harmonizations, culminating in a dramatic cadence. SATB and organ or piano 2 1 /2 mins, Easy–Moderately Difficult Benedict Sheehan Let all mortal flesh keep silence Let all mortal flesh keep silence is a reflective, homophonic setting of text from the 4th-century Orthodox Liturgy of St James. Sheehan’s setting, an original rather than the customary pairing with the hymn tune ‘Picardy’, is steeped in the Orthodox tradition, and has pure harmonies and a beautiful stillness. SATB unaccompanied 4 mins, Easy ✝ 978-0-19-354040-8 | Publishing July 2020 ✝ Suitable for Easter 18 Find Oxford Choral on Facebook for inspiration, news, and resources for the choral world

Sacred repertoire Mack Wilberg A Cloud of Witnesses This dramatic choral work sets a text by David Warner that artfully weaves together multiple witnessing stories of Christ’s Resurrection into a single narrative. Wilberg employs an effective array of musical techniques to depict the protagonists’ experiences: from rapid figurations that move through the orchestra creating a sense of momentum and breathless astonishment to pairings of voicings to convey an act of collective witnessing and declamatory exclamations of praise. SATB with piano four-hands or orchestra 25 mins, Easy–Moderately Difficult Vocal score: 978-0-19-353201-4 | Published January 2020 Orchestral score and parts (rent): 978-0-19-353207-6 ✝ Suitable for Easter ✝ ‘Tree of Life’ presents the first recordings of two large-scale choral works, The Prodigal and A Cloud of Witnesses. Also included are new compositions, Children of Light and Tree of Life, and a moving orchestral piece Lament: And Wept Bitterly plus recordings of several hymn arrangements. Mack Wilberg This little light of mine This radiant anthem is an arrangement of the hymn tune ‘Lattimer’, often paired with the popular gospel song ‘This little light of mine’. Wilberg gives each section of the choir a presentation of the melody, before building towards a climatic finish with new harmony and texture as light spreads ‘across the land’. SATB and organ or orchestra 4 mins, Easy 978-0-19-353500-8 | Published April 2020 Mack Wilberg and the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square were featured performers at the 2020 Western Regional ACDA Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in March 2020. They will visit four Nordic nations as well as Scotland and Wales on their 2020 Heritage Tour. ‘‘ [Mack Wilberg has] a flair for creating brilliant jewels of orchestration. Seattle Times To listen to recordings, visit www.oup.com/sheetmusic or search on Spotify 19