Michael Higgins: My heart is like a singing bird Christina Rossetti’s poem has inspired many composers, and this setting communicates joyful love with a beautiful flowing melody, while the flourishes and harmonies in the accompaniment portray the poem’s imagery of the natural world. The composer writes that ‘to me, the final four bars represent the feeling of a warm, comforting hug’. Trad. Hebridean, arr. Alan Bullard: O’er the Waves Let Us Go This robust song was traditionally sung by boatmen travelling between the many islands on the west coast of Scotland. Loorgin (Lurgainn) is thought to be the name of the boat. Islay, referred to in verse 3, is an island in the southern Hebrides; to the north is the island of Mull, where the castle of Aros (verse 4) is a landmark. Anon. 16th century, arr. Alan Bullard: Pase el agoa (Cross the water) This vivid popular song is from the sixteenth-century Spanish collection Cancionero de palacio. It is cast in the form of a conversation between a man and a woman, in a mixture of old French and Galician (or Portuguese); the English words are a free translation. for online perusal only Trad. English folk song, arr. Michael Higgins: Scarborough Fair Despite its reference to the coastal town of Scarborough in Yorkshire, the origins of this folk song, with its riddles and mysterious refrain, are lost in history. The composer communicates a sense of conflict and regret in the text with modal ostinatos and a deliberately unresolved coda, incorporating a dissonance on the word ‘love’. Edmund Jolliffe: Spring (Sound the Flute) ‘Spring’ is an exuberant setting of William Blake’s joyous poem. A sense of growing excitement is achieved by moving from unison to two voices, and then three, treated canonically. A bright and joyful chorus separates the verses. Andy Brooke: Stars of the summer night ‘Stars of the summer night’ was a very popular poem in its time and was set to music by several nineteenth-century composers. Longfellow’s verses suggest in turn the stars, moon, wind, and dreams of the summer’s night, and Andy Brooke’s setting elegantly mirrors these changes of mood with evocative piano textures. Anon. 13th century, arr. Alan Bullard: Sumer is icumen in This celebration of late spring is one of the earliest pieces in several parts that has come down to us in notated form; the original is a four-part round together with a two-part bass ostinato. This arrangement combines both elements, and adds a joyous piano part. The words are in Middle English with an alternative modern paraphrase. Fanny Hensel: The Darkened Valley (Abendlich schon rauscht der Wald) Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn) was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn and, despite her prolific output of songs and piano pieces, lived somewhat under his shadow. In this song, her dramatic sensibilities respond colourfully to the romantic style of Joseph von Eichendorff’s poetry. Trad. Irish, arr. Alan Bullard: The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby This is a traditional Irish melody, here set with words written for it by the poet Joseph Campbell under his pen name Seosamh MacCathmhaoil. Gartan is a village in County Donegal, and the birthplace of St Columba. xv
William H. Penn, arr. Alan Bullard: The Honeysuckle and the Bee This charmingly delicate pastoral (or suburban) love song was a frequent item on the music-hall stage at the turn of the twentieth century. (‘Where did you get that hat?’ is another example of the music-hall genre.) Blending parallels between nature and courtship, its universality, together with its memorably shaped melody, has ensured this song’s continued popularity. Alan Bullard: The Tiger William Blake’s poem (taken from his Songs of Experience) is full of colourful imagery, and the aim of this song is to communicate the changing moods by alternating powerful punchy rhythms with smooth sustained passages. Ralph Vaughan Williams, adap. Alan Bullard: The Water Mill Fredegond Shove was the niece of Vaughan Williams’s first wife Adeline, and through her cousin Virginia Woolf had links to the Bloomsbury Group. Her poem ‘The Water Mill’ tells of a bucolic lifestyle that must have been somewhat nostalgic even when it was written, and it inspired in Vaughan Williams a delicate pastoral setting, originally for solo voice, whose changing moods are underpinned throughout by the sound of the turning mill-wheel. for online perusal only Bob Chilcott: The Truth is Great Originally written for upper voices, Chilcott’s setting of Coventry Patmore’s poem ‘Magna est veritas’ communicates its spiritual and universal message with flowing melodic lines. Trad. West African (Mandingo wedding processional), transcribed and arr. Fred Onovwerosuoke: The Way of Peace (Kayra Sillo) In this touching traditional chant, suggesting a mood quite different from the celebratory character of most African weddings, the families of the newly-weds solemnly pray that the union will bring peace to the community. Mandingo (or Mandinka) is one of the Mande languages and is spoken in a number of countries in West Africa, primarily Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, and The Gambia. Sarah Quartel: There alway something sings The American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, originally simply entitled ‘Music’, is a tribute to the power of singing to change lives. The composer writes: ‘I chose to title the work “There alway something sings” because it is this line from the text that captivated me most. Even in the “darkest, meanest things” a song can be heard, music can continue, and beauty may still be found.’ Alan Bullard: Three Shakespeare Songs From a chronological point of view, my Three Shakespeare Songs began with ‘Hark, hark, the lark’—a setting that I originally made for upper voices. For this set I added a new Tenor/Bass part, and made it the centrepiece of two more Shakespeare settings. The set begins with ‘Full fathom five’, from The Tempest, which is full of magic and mystery. Here the spirit Ariel sings of a drowned figure who lies five fathoms (30 feet) deep and who is magically transformed; ostinatos and deep bass chords help to conjure up the atmosphere. In Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline, musicians are summoned to perform ‘a wonderful sweet air with admirable rich words’—‘Hark, hark, the lark’. This poem is an episode of gentleness amid a tale of deceit, rivalry, and seduction, and in my setting the piano suggests the singing of the lark while the voices communicate the sense of expressive calm. xvi
48 Catch a Falling Star 53 ° & # #
∏∏∏∏∏ 50 Catch a Falling
52 Chimes & bb b { { 10 From mf the
54 Chimes S. 29 ° & b œ j œ œ
56 Chimes 47 ° & bb b mf Œ. œ œ
58 Chimes 69 ° & bb b nœ. œ. œ.
60 S (A) (Bar) Piano 12. Dwell on t
62 Dwell on the beauty 21 ° & bb b
64 Dwell on the beauty 40 ° & bb b
66 Eletelephony 1 13 ° & < ‹ > (
68 Eletelephony ° & < ‹ > ¢ & <
5 A 70 Voices 1 2 Piano for Cantiam
72 Fall, leaves, fall 21b ° # & #
74 S (A) (T) (B) or T B (Piano) 15.
76 Flow my tears 17 ° & & & ‹ ?
78 Flow my tears 31 ° & & & ‹ ?
80 Flow my tears 46 ° & & œ œ ˙
82 The Owl 26 ° & b b < ‹ > ¢ &
84 Four Bird Songs Voices 1 2 Anon.
86 Four Bird Songs Voices 1 2 John
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏ 90 Greensleeves 22 °
92 S A (T) (B) Piano Commissioned b
94 If I can stop one heart from bre
96 It was a lover and his lass 8 °
98 It was a lover and his lass 23
100 S A (T) (B) or T B 23. La, la,
102 La, la, la 26 ° & bb œ # œ
104 Juanita 9 ° & # # ˙ œ œ œ
106 Voices 1 (2) 3 (4) Piano 25. My
108 My Boy Jack ° # & < ‹ > # ¢
110 My Boy Jack 56 ° # & # # < ‹
112 My Boy Jack ° & b b œ. < ‹
114 S (A) (Bar) (or S A A) Piano fo
116 My heart is like a singing bird
S. A. 118 My heart is like a singin
120 O’er the Waves Let Us Go 16
S. A. 122 O’er the Waves Let Us G
S. A. 124 O’er the Waves Let Us G
126 S (A) (T) (B) or T B (Drum) 28.
128 Voices 1 2 3 Piano Commissioned
130 Scarborough Fair 30 ° & b <
132 Scarborough Fair ° ¢ & b <
134 Voices 1 2 3 Piano 30. Spring (
136 Spring ° & < ‹ > ¢ & < ‹
138 S A (T) (B) or T B Piano 31. St
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏∏ 142 Stars of the
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
146 Sumer is icumen in 9 ° ¢ & <
1 2 3 4 148 Sumer is icumen in 33
150 Sumer is icumen in ° # & # œ.
152 S A (T) (B) or T B (Piano) 33.
154 The Darkened Valley 19 ° & & &
156 S (A) (T) (B) (Piano) Seosamh M
158 The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby 1
160 The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby 4
162 S (A) (T) (B) or T B (Piano) 35
S. A. T. B. 164 The Honeysuckle and
166 The Honeysuckle and the Bee 21
168 S (A) (T) (B) or T B Piano 36.
170 The Tiger f 23 Tempo I ° > > >
172 The Tiger 47 ° > > > > > > > >
174 The Water Mill 7 ° & bb b ? ¢
176 The Water Mill 29 poco tenuto a
178 The Water Mill 49 ° & bb b œ.
180 The Water Mill 71 ° & bb b œ
182 S (A) (Bar) or T B Piano Commis
184 The Truth is Great 17 ° ˙. Œ
TACET TACET 186 S (A) (Bar) or T B
TACET TACET 188 The Way of Peace 9
TACET TACET 190 The Way of Peace °
192 There alway something sings 7
194 There alway something sings 28
196 Three Shakespeare Songs S A (Ba
198 Full fathom five 31 ° & & ? ¢
200 Full fathom five 54 ° & & f mf
202 Three Shakespeare Songs S A (Ba
204 Hark, hark, the lark 14 ° & #
206 Hark, hark, the lark 28 ° & #
208 Three Shakespeare Songs S A (Ba
210 You spotted snakes 31 ° & # #
S. A. BAR. 212 You spotted snakes 7
214 You spotted snakes 109 ° & # #
216 To Music 8 ° & # mf # ∑ œ.
218 To Music 24 ° & # # ˙. œ œ
220 Solo(s) S (A) (Bar) (Piano) 45.
222 Tom’s gone to Hilo 25 ° CHOR
∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏
226 Tread Softly 12 ° ¢ & # # mf
S. A. T. 228 Tread Softly 35 ° & #
230 Tread Softly 51 ° & # # & # #
232 Tread Softly 63 ° & # # Œ pp
234 Voices 1 (2) 3 (4) (Percussion)
TACET 236 Two Songs of Quisqueya 7
TACET 238 Two Songs of Quisqueya 14
240 Two Songs of Quisqueya 20 ° #
242 Two Songs of Quisqueya 29 ° #
244 S (A) (Bar) (Piano) 48. Under t
246 Under the greenwood tree rough
248 What is the song the stars sing
250 What is the song the stars sing
252 What is the song the stars sing
254 S (A) (T) (B) or T B Piano 50.
256 Where did you get that hat? 15
258 Why does he gallop? 8 ° & b Al
260 Why does he gallop? 24 ° & b
The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral
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