David Bednall Catalogue

Choral Sacred Blessed is

Choral Sacred Blessed is the man SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193524293 Digital score 9780193538559 This gentle, lilting anthem sets verses from the psalms that speak of devotion to and delight in the Lord. Bednall’s sophisticated and appealing musical language gives colour and expression to the text and creates a devotional atmosphere perfectly suited to the psalmists’ words. 2.5 minutes Come, my way SATB and organ Vocal score 9780193534919 Digital score 9780193534940 George Herbert’s popular poem, ‘The Call’, is set to music in this powerful and evocative anthem. Bednall uses subtle dynamic and rhythmic shifts to build towards a powerful climax in the third verse, before winding down to a contemplative ending. The organ part plays a dramatic role and offers atmospheric interludes throughout. 6 minutes The Humble Spirit (A Prayer to St Chad) SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193565111 Digital score 9780193565128 This gentle anthem, written for the Choir of St Chad’s College, Durham, sets a text that is adapted from several prayers of St Chad. Warm dynamic swells and rich harmonies emphasize the meaning of these prayers. Bednall has added movement to this calm and reflective piece through the use of melismatic vocal phrases and falling triplet figures. 3 minutes In manus tuas SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193514249 Digital score 9780193537811 In this short introit, Bednall sets the ‘In manus tuas’ responsary for the Compline service. A setting of a useful text for church or cathedral services, the anthem is appropriately serene and luminiscent, featuring trademarks of Bednall’s style such as changing metre, rich harmonies, and expressive melismas. 3 minutes Like as the hart SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193514270 Digital score 9780193538122 Like as the hart sets reflective yet fervent words from Psalm 42. The vocal writing is emotive and expressive, and the fluctuating metres perfectly complement the rhythm adopted by the psalmist when penning this devotion. 2.5 minutes Lux orta est iusto 40-part unaccompanied motet Vocal score on hire 9780193530225 This 40-part unaccompanied motet was inspired by Thomas Tallis’s famous ‘Spem in alium’ for the same forces. ‘Lux orta est iusto’ (Light dawns for the righteous) is scored for eight choirs of five voices (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass) with homophonic sections for the full choir complemented by antiphonal, imitative, and canonic sections for smaller choral groupings. The harmonic framework of the composition is elegant, and Bednall makes clever use of imitation and the regular changing of texture. This work has been recorded by The Epiphoni Consort, directed by Tim Reader, on the album David Bednall: Sudden Light. 8 minutes O clap your hands SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193524330 Digital score 9780193538467 This high-energy, majestic setting of well-known words from the psalms is a welcome addition to the service repertory. The changing metre brings the text to the fore, and the semiquaver movement that passes between parts creates a sense of motion and drive that is fitting for this uplifting and joyous hymn of praise. 2.5 minutes O come, let us sing SATB or unison voices and organ Vocal score 9780193513167 Digital score 9780193538092 This joyous, celebratory introit sets well-known words from Psalm 95 and features appealing recitative-like melodies, striking harmonies, and fluctuating metre. The flexible scoring facilitates performance by SATB choir and unison voices, and the organ part provides a supportive yet compelling accompaniment. O come, let us sing has been recorded by Wells Cathedral Choir, conducted by Matthew Owens, on the album Flame Celestial (REGCD320). Pure Living Light SATB and organ Vocal score 9780193524286 Digital score 9780193531246 This radiant anthem explores the theme of light, with luminescent harmonies, a virtuosic organ part, and soaring vocal lines. The text is by Dr Marcus Tomalin, after Dante’s Paradiso, and Bednall’s word painting is highly effective. A compelling climax as the singers tell of the ‘pure living light shining’ falls away to a powerful unaccompanied moment, before the organ picks up a motif and develops it in a majestic interlude. This is a highly rewarding anthem for performer and audience alike. Pure Living Light was recorded by The Epiphoni Consort on the album David Bednall: Sudden Light (Delphian, DCD34189). 5.5 minutes Rejoice in the Lord SATB & organ Vocal score 9780193543669 Digital score 9780193543744 Rejoice in the Lord is a fast, festive, and joyful setting of Psalm 33. After an exuberant opening, a lively organ passage leads into a beautiful moment of stillness in the choir, unaccompanied, creating an effective contrast before an emphatic closing statement of rejoicing. 4 minutes St Martin’s Mass SATB and organ, with opt. congregation Vocal score 9780193540163 Digital score 9780193546189 This congregational mass setting is short and accessible, with a congregational part that may be intuitively learnt. The organ plays a supportive role throughout, while the choral parts are of melodic and harmonic interest, but always keeping the discernibility of the text at the fore. The congregational part, which may be photocopied, is available at the back of the vocal score. 5 minutes Te lucis ante terminum Tenor solo and SATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193514256 Digital score 9780193538115 David Bednall’s unaccompanied setting of this Compline hymn contrasts sections of chant, for tenor soloist, with rich responses for full SATB choir. The introit has a gentle sense of ebb and flow, compounded by unusual metres. 2 minutes Tota pulchra es SSATB unaccompanied Vocal score 9780193524279 Digital score 9780193538542 This simple and exquisite miniature keeps the text, the fourth-century Latin Hymn to the Virgin Mary, at the fore, with instructions from the composer to accent the melodic lines according to word stress rather than position in the bar. The musical style is a fusion of old and new, with plainchant-like melodies and tonality set against expressively dissonant contemporary harmonies. Tota pulchra es was recorded by The Epiphoni Consort on the album David Bednall: Sudden Light (Delphian, DCD34189). 3 minutes Choral Sacred 1.5 minutes 4 5