Preface This collection is for choirs of all types, sizes, and ages that wish to give concerts, perform at events, or just sing together for fun. All the songs in this book can be performed by a mixed choir, but the flexible arrangements also enable them to be sung by a range of other choirs, including SA choirs, TB choirs, and mixed choirs with few tenors and basses. The book provides a wide range of concert repertoire, spanning several centuries and with many brand-new songs and arrangements specially written for the collection. The songs cover a breadth of subject matter, from ‘comedy’, ‘encores’, and ‘romance’ to ‘mystery’, ‘the natural world’, and ‘seasons and times’. Additionally, some slightly more substantial songs are identified as ‘choral centrepieces’. A selection of the contents could therefore make an entire concert, or section of a concert, if wished, and a list of songs by subject matter is provided on page viii, which I hope will be of help in programme-building. It is also worth bearing in mind that, in a concert situation with a mixed-voice choir, it can be very effective to achieve contrast by choosing to sing one or two items with just SA or TB. As this is an edition for practical use, editorial changes to both words and music in some of the pieces have been made without comment; the original versions of these pieces are listed on the Companion Website (www.oup.com/flexible). The Companion Website also includes audio tracks of performances for a number of the pieces across the Flexible series. for online perusal only Vocal scoring All the possible scorings for each song are shown in a box at the top of the first page of each piece. The basic principle is that anything in brackets may be omitted: thus SA(T)(B) may be sung by upper voices in two parts, or by SAT, SAB, or SATB. Additionally, parts simply marked VOICE can be sung by SA, or TB, or a combination of both. In this collection, the term ‘baritone’ (or Bar.) has been used to indicate a single part for tenors (or lower altos) and basses, in unison. At the foot of the first page of each song, a performance note provides further details about the various options available. In summary: • If your choir is SATB, you can perform everything in the book (in some cases with tenors and basses largely in unison) by following the suggestions in the performance note and the directions within the music. • If your choir is S, A, and Bar., you can perform almost everything in the book, in some cases omitting tenor or bass lines, as indicated in the performance note and the directions within the music. • If your choir is SA, you can sing almost every song: those marked ‘Voices 1 2’ (or ‘Voices 1 2 3’, etc.), ‘Voices 1 (2)’, and all those marked SA with ‘TB’or ‘Bar.’ in brackets.
• If your choir is TB, you can sing all those marked ‘Voices 1 2’ (or ‘Voices 1 2 3’, etc.), ‘Voices 1 (2)’, and many of the upper-voice pieces by singing SA an octave lower, as indicated in the performance notes. • If your choir prefers to sing in unison, in both octaves, or just upper or lower, then you can sing all the pieces in which everything after the ‘S’ is in brackets, or where everything except ‘Voice 1’ is in brackets. Occasionally, individual voice parts will divide, with two notes indicated on the same stem. If both notes are large, then either or both may be sung. If one note is small, then the larger should be sung by some or all voices, but the smaller is an optional alternative for those for whom the large note is out of range. Some performance aspects for online perusal only Many of these songs have a piano accompaniment, which is in some cases optional. In some pieces there are sections in small notes for the piano—these sections can be omitted where all voice-parts are present, but should be played if not. Remember that the accompaniment is designed to support the choir, adding musical interest but not detracting from the singing or the projection of the words, for it is the words that shape the musical phrases and aid communication with the audience. I would like to thank all who have contributed to this book and made suggestions for it, including Dr Mark Williams, Departmental Lecturer in Celtic at the University of Oxford, for his advice on the use of Gaelic. Particular thanks must go to all those at OUP responsible for the various aspects of the project, in particular Robyn Elton, Commissioning Editor, whose advice, efficiency, and encouragement has been invaluable. Alan Bullard, August 2019 iv
36 S (A) (T B) or T B (Piano) 9. Ch
38 Cherry ripe 21 poco rit. ° & ?
40 Cherry ripe ° & ? # œ nnœœ
42 Catch a Falling Star S./A. 8 °
44 Catch a Falling Star 20 ° & #
46 Catch a Falling Star 38 SOPRANO
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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