In Flanders Fields is a series of poignant and evocative choral works with a theme of reconciliation and remembrance set to iconic texts by John McCrae and Rupert Brooke.Alan Smith was born in London in 1962 and spent his childhood in Croydon. He sang with various local choirs and attended the nearby Royal School of Church Music where he began organ lessons with Michael Fleming at the age of ten. He was appointed as Organist and Choirmaster of a local church at the age of 16 and later became Organ Scholar at Kings' College London where he studied from 1981 to 1984. As part of his music degree he specialized in composition studying with Nicola LeFanu David Lumsdaine and George Nicholson.Following postgraduate training at the London Institute of Education Alan began his teaching career. After working in various schools he became Head of Music at Hazelwick School Crawley in 1990 a post he continues to hold. In the same year he came to some prominence by winning the RSCM's annual composing competition. His successful entry Let the Peoples Praise You became his first published piece and continues to be widely performed. Since then his choral compositions have won several awards most recently the Thornesian Prize in 2003 and an honorable mention in the 2004 Vanguard Premieres Competition.Alan's output is predominantly of choral and vocal music much of it written for specific choirs or occasions and his catalogue runs to over 150 works. In the UK his music is published by Animus Curiad Cantiones Press Escorial Edition Fagus Music and RSCM while in America he is published by Abingdon Press CanticaNOVA OUP Pavane and Roger Dean.Since 1998 Alan has been Director of Music at St Andrew's church in Burgess Hill West Sussex where he lives with his wife and three children.

Music played an enormous role in the works of William Shakespeare, while his own sonnets, poems and soliloquies have provided continuing inspiration for many composers through the years. The Novello Shakespeare Choral Collection, inspired by the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death in 2016, is an exciting anthology of choral works that are settings of Shakespeare's words. For choirs of all types and abilities, this collection has been edited by David Wordsworth so that all the pieces are fantastic both to sing and hear.The collection features some beautiful settings that have well and truly stood the test of time, such as Thomas Arne's Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind and Henry Leslie's How Sweet The Moonlight Sleeps. More recent settings from 20th century and contemporary composers include Ernest Moeran's Sigh No More, Ladies, Gary Carpenter's Lo, Here, The Gentle Lark and John Tavener's Fear No More and Look In Thy Glass.Not only this, the Shakespeare Choral Collection boasts several works that were specially commissioned, including John Joubert's Be Not Afeard, Richard Sisson's Light Thickens and Pawel Lukaszewki's Weary With Toil, I Haste Me To My Bed. Some pieces have never appeared before in print, such as those by Kevin Olsen, Bernard Hughes and John Gardner. These songs truly are a joy to perform, with some relatively simple arrangements that are purely fun to sing, while some more complex settings that will be thoroughly rewarding for choirs and audiences alike.A total of 26 fantastic works comprise The Novello Shakespeare Choral Collection, which would work as a wonderful concert programme on its own, or could provide a wealth of options for choirs looking to expand their repertoire with a range of unique settings. Also included is a fascinating introduction by editor David Wordsworth, and notes describing each piece.Words written by indisputably the greatest writer in the English language can only be matched with music by composers of talent and renown such as these. The Novello Shakespeare Choral Collection is an essential anthology of stunning settings of beautiful words which will be performed and enjoyed for many years to come. / Choeur Mixte (SATB)

Remember Bethlehem was conceived after a conversation on the works of the late story-telling songsmith Jake Thackray. Thackray’s sometimes bawdy sometimes satirical and often hilarious lyrics are delivered in a lugubrious baritone and underpinned by a strong Yorkshire accent that led him to be dubbed the “North Country Noel Coward”. In his Remember Bethlehem heshows a more tender side and tells a story devoid of expletives and cutting social commentary of a “shabby little country girl” completely broken by the ardours of her journey arriving in Bethlehem as a distrusted foreigner to give birth to baby boy called Jesus. Whatstruck and moved me most about Thackray’s telling of the Nativity Narrative is the way he normalizes Mary. Rather than retrospectively beatifying her - telling her story full in the knowledge of the extraordinary thing she did (as most nativity stories do) – Thackray’s portrayal of her as young afraid and cold makes her achievement all the more astonishing. Indeed so out-of-the-ordinary is the gift given by this apparently ordinary girl that no one and no thing can ever forget it: “Even the stony old hills […] your shaggy old trees […] the sulky old sun Remembers Bethlehem.” My carol of the same name adapts a similar approach to telling Mary’s story. Musically I have only thinly veiled my affection for Peter Warlock’s miniature masterpiece Bethlehem Down and evidence of this can be seen not only in the choice of key triple metre and strophic setting but also in the resemblance of some of the cadential figures. A final strand of influence comes once more from Yorkshire and specifically Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre. My wife is a literature scholar and pointed out to me the parallels between Mary’s plight in Thackray’s story and a scene from the novel in which Jane is lost up on the moors. Through her distrust of man she feels outcast and

Novello New Choral Series- La Ballade de Jésus Christ is an arrangement of a French carol from the seventeeth century or earlier. The tune is well known as the hymn Let all mortal flesh keep silence from The English Hymnal and this arrangement was commissioned in 2007 by the Oxford choir Sospiri for their CD of Christmas music Videte Miraculum. The text a miniature morality tale has a simple almost childlike quality to it and this is reflected in the shimmering harmonies and soft fleeting dissonances presenting the story as a bitter-sweet fairy tale.The Novello New Choral Series is an inspiring selection of new works from a range ofcontemporary composers offering pieces for all types of choirs including sacred and secular works from simple four-part settings to more expansive yet accessible repertoire in an exciting variety of styles. This collection is perfect for choirs looking to broaden their repertoire and explore some of the best new music around.Born in 1963 John Duggan was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral and studied music at Oxford. Whilst still a boy he dreamed of writing in the choral tradition of Victoria Tallis and Palestrina. His vocal music has delighted both singers and audiences across Europe and the USA. He has written for a number of choirs including Commotio Westminster Cathedral Choir the Hildegard Choir and Sospiri and has received commissions from the Edington Music Festival Crossover Intergenerational Dance Group Oxford Youth Dance and The Oxford-Grenoble Association. He composers regularly for film and dance and performs as a singerand choral director whilst working as a recording engineer and producer.

Music runs through the story of Arion which begins with a singing competition in Sicily. Arion wins the prize and this puts his life in danger: his newfound wealth excites the greed of the sailors who are supposed to be bringing him back to Corinth and they threaten to kill him. They allow Arion to sing one last song and the power of his singing attracts dolphins to the ship.  At the end of his song he jumps overboard and one of the dolphins carries him to safety.  So Arion’s musical gift gets him into trouble but it is also his salvation.   The idea of being rescued by a music-loving dolphin is very appealing. In Robert Graves’account of the myth the dolphin could not bear to be parted from Arion and accompanied him back to court where “it soon succumbed to a life of luxury.”  However Herodotus says that after his rescue and return to Corinth Arion failed to return the dolphin to the sea and it died there.  Apollo placed the dolphin among the stars and next to it Arion’s lyre in recognition of his musical skill.  This is one of the mythical explanations of the origins of the constellations Delphinus and Lyra. It seems natural to sing a story that has singing at its heart. When I was asked by the Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust to write a choral work for Making Music something that would be within reach of many choirs and involve children this story struck me as ideal: the men of the chorus could be the bloodthirsty sailors and the women could create an atmosphere of mystery for the arrival of the dolphins represented by children’s voices. There would be one solo voice: Arion the marvellous singer. Andrew Fardell the conductor who was advisor to this commission had suggested that I might use the same instrumentation as a popular arrangement of Orff’s Carmina Burana a work that as well as using children’s chorus features a solo countertenor. I thought the magical otherworldly quality of this

Celebrate the special sentiments of the season in this 30-minute medley arranged by Mac Huff with staging suggestions by John Jacobson. Featuring some of the best-known Christmas songs each section stands on its own allowing you to perform the entire medley or create your own unique holiday showcase. I.Christmas Time Is Here: Christmas Time Is Here Silver Bells II. Everyone's a Child at Christmas: Deck the Hall The Christmas Waltz Everyone's a Child at Christmas My Birthday Comes on Christmas I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas. III. The White World of Winter: We're Going on a Sleigh Ride Wonderful World of Winter IV. Merry ChristmasDarling: Merry Christmas Darling I'll Be Home for Christmas V. Sing a Christmas Carol: Sing a Christmas Carol Up on the Housetop O Tannenbaum We Wish You a Merry Christmas VI. North Pole Live: Little Saint Nick Frosty the Snowman Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Santa Baby VII. Christmas Children: Christmas Children Because It's Christmas VII. Christmas Time Is Here - Bows: Christmas Time Is Here. Available separately: SATB SAB 2-Part Preview CD and ShowTrax CD. Performance Time: Approx. 31:30.

Nico Muhly's Marrow composed for SATB choir unaccompanied with texts from Psalm 63 vv.1–3 6–8 Book of Common Prayer (1662). Commissioned by the Netherlands Chamber Choir for the project 150 Psalms to be premiered by the Tallis Scholars during Utrecht Early Music Festival September 1st 2017. Duration: c. 3 minutes. 'Last September in one weekend in Utrecht settings were sung of all 150 Psalms by 150 different composers covering 1000 years of choral music. The Tallis Scholars were one of the four choirs taking part and among their contributions was this new piece by Nico Muhly. The words are from the Book ofCommon Prayer version of Psalm 63 with the title teasingly taking one word from ‘My soul shall be satisfied even as it were with marrow and fatness.’ Cries of ‘O God’ provide a fluid background to an almost plainchant-like proclamation of the text at start and finish with other voices gradually joining the psalm text in the central section until all unite on ‘when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips’. For a choir happy to subdivide into 4S 2A 2T and 2B it is a setting of imagination and beauty.' - Sunday by Sunday

Choral Highlights from the Broadway Musical-Evan has six weeks to go before he turns 13 and after an idyllic childhood in New York City he's just been uprooted and brought to Appleton Indiana with his mother. He has one mission: get all the cool kids in school to come tohis Bar Mitzvah or else spend the rest of his academic career banished to the land of the Geeks. 13 is a show about finding out who you are finding out what you need and finding out what's really important. In this14-minute medley choirs will enjoy both the angst and the excitement of this pivotal time of growing up. Songs include: All Hail the Brain Bad Bad News Brand New You Getting Ready The Lamest Place in the World A LittleMore Homework Thirteen What It Means to Be a Friend. Available separately: SATB 3-Part Mixed 2-Part ShowTrax CD. Rhythm Section parts available as a digital download (syn gtr 1-2 b dm). Duration: ca. 14:00.

. . . for Choirs Collections-Spirituals For Choirs is an exciting collection of 20 specially commissioned arrangements for a cappella and accompanied SATB choir. The contents reflect the richness and diversity of the spiritual tradition including many much-loved favorites alongside exquisite discoveries that are less well known. Each piece is bursting with freshness and invention to provide singers with inspirational moving and above all enjoyable repertoire. With a mixture of large and small-scale pieces there???s something here for every choir whatever its forces or levels of expertise.

The Novello Book Of British Folksongs For Mixed-Voice Choirs is an enjoyable collection of diverse tunes that have descended from the folksongs across the British Isles. A variety of arrangements are included, both old and new, of well-loved tunes as well as some lesser-known pieces. All 34 tunes are arranged for SATB Chorus with Piano accompaniment, making this a brilliant way to enhance your choir's repertoire.This Book Of British Folksongs offers a grand selection of favourite folk tunes arranged by composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Paul Mealor and George Dyson. Tunes like A-Hunting We Will Go, Auld Lang Syne, Bonny At Morn, Come Lasses And Lads and Scarborough Fair suggest the sheer diversity on offer here. From sad tunes to happy songs, the arrangements here are at once beautiful and touching, coming truly to life when sung by a Mixed-Voice Choir. These thirty four folk songs will enrich a performance programme, whether as one part or the entirety. Choirs of all types and abilities will be able to discover their favourite arrangements, either the most beautiful, the funniest, or the most enjoyable to sing. With the country experiencing a revival in singing traditional folksongs, this collection is a great way to experience the unabashed joy that performing these British tunes can bring. With a great number of favourite tunes as well as some lesser-known songs, this collection includes songs like There Were Three Ravens, Yarmouth Town, My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose, Dance To Your Daddy and The Rio Grande, as well as an extensive and fascinating introduction by Jeremy Summerly.The wonderful thing about singing folksongs is they are like a window into our country's history. They are occasionally funny, often dramatic, but always enjoyable to sing, and their diversity reflects the different people, landscapes and cultural history of the British Isles. These folk tunes can be traced back through British history, evolving through the oral tradition, continually changing lyrics and melody, being amended and sculpted according to the people who sung them. These timeless tunes have been recorded in this innovative Novello Book Of British Folksongs For Mixed-Voice Choir, however, the joy of these songs is you can put your own spin on them, adapting them to how you want them sung and continuing their legacy. This wonderful collection is a fantastic addition to any choir's performance repertoire, and is sure to lead to success for the choir and audience for many years to come. / Choeur Mixte (SATB) Et Piano

ShowTrax CD-It's Carnival Time ... come join the lion the turtles the singing donkeys waltzing elephants and a host of other animals as they bring to life the music of Camille Saint-Saëns. Designed specifically for elementary students this all-school revue may be produced with minimal set and costuming or if time and resources permit a more elaborate production. The Teacher's Manual comes complete with the accompanied songs script staging directions and ideas for set and costuming. The Singer's Edition includes the script with staging directions and vocal lines only. The ShowTrax CD includes the spectacular orchestration by John Higgins for a truly professional production. Yourperformers and their parents will enjoy the timeless music of Camille Saint-Saëns and you'll enjoy the opportunity to introduce your classes to a great orchestral classic. Available: Teacher's Manual Singer's 5-Pak Preview CD ShowTrax CD. Performance Time: 30 minutes. For grades 1-6.

Sing with the Choir Volume 16. This great new collection lets vocalists sing in the choir of some of the greatest Broadway showstoppers. The book includes SATB parts and the online audio features full performances for download or streaming. Listen to the audio, open the book, pick your part, and sing along! Songs include: Come Alive · The Greatest Show · A Million Dreams · Never Enough · Rewrite the Stars · This Is Me.