The slow and delicate setting of an anonymous medieval text for solo Soprano and SATB chorus by Francis Pott. The piece includes full Organ accompaniment.

This short carol a setting of an anonymous 15th-century text was commissioned for a service given in Cambridge in 2012 by the Fairhaven Singers conducted by Ralph Woodward. A witness account of The Nativity it opens with a solo soprano before unfolding as a dialogue between Christ and the Virgin Mary represented by the alternation of the full choir and a group of four soloists (SATB).

There is no rose of such virtue is an anonymous mediaeval text, already well known through beautiful settings by Britten (in his Ceremony of Carols), John Joubert and others. The poem is 'macaronic' (it presents a verse in English, followed by a varying Latin refrain). This new version follows the illustrious examples above by remaining strophic and presenting broadly the same music in a succession of slightly different guises. The first verse is a straightforward four-part setting, the second gives the melody to the tenors and surrounds them with hushed, wordless writing for the other parts, and the third explores a freely canonic relationship between the tenor and soprano lines before carrying the previous verse-endings to a higher, more exalted pitch and mood. The fourth verse then expands its texture in a free climactic passage evoking the songs of praise sung by the angels. This subsides towards the final verse, where the texture of the music attenuates again to four parts, and canonic writing (based on the first four notes of the original melody) permeates all of them. This slightly extended statement leads to a hushed final cadence. Francis Pott (b. 1957) began musical life as a chorister at New College, Oxford. He held open music scholarships at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while pursuing piano studies privately in London with the distinguished British artist, Hamish Milne. Throughout the 1990s Francis was John Bennett Lecturer in Music at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and a lay clerk in the Choir of Winchester Cathedral. In 2001 he became Head of London College of Music, University of West London, later leading research across the University's Faculty of Arts and acceding in 2007 to its first Chair in Composition. Francis Pott has become recognised particularly for his sacred choral and organ music. This has been performed in concert and on radio in over three dozen countries worldwide, published by four major UK houses and released extensively on CD. Winner of four national composition awards, in 1997 he received first prize in the piano solo section of the S. S. Prokofiev Composing Competition, Moscow. In 2006 and 2011 he was a nominated finalist in the BASCA/BBC Annual Composer Awards. In summer 2012 he was winner of the international composing competition of the Cheltenham Festival, which sought new piano variations on the arioso song Bist du bei mir, well known in the arrangement by J. S. Bach. Francis lives with his wife and two children on the outskirts of Winchester. An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers, the Novello New Choral Series offers 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. / Choeur Mixte (SATB)

For more ambitious choirs who would like to emulate the sound of Anonymous 4 this piece uses chant-like singing and beautiful polyphonic Vocal writing that emphasizes the purity of the voice through the evocative Latin text by Hildegard von Bingen.

from Christmas Sequence op. 95-This carol was commissioned in 2002 by King’s College Cambridge for their famous service of Nine Lessons and Carols. It tells the start of the familiar Christmas story: Gabriel's Annunciation; praise to the Virgin before she too sings 'my soul doth magnify the Lord'; the shepherds a-watching their flocks by night; the angelic chorus in the sky; the fusion of celestial and earthy around the crib holding the baby who is also 'Lord of Time & Space'.   The text is from a variety of sources: anonymous carols of the 15th 16th & 17th centuries Edmund Bolton (1611 'Sweet music sweeter far...') the Gloria from the Mass and a couple of lines fromwell-loved Anglican hymns.   Selected for the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Encore’ project this carol will offer some challenge to intermediate choirs but will add some originality to a carol service or Christmas concert.

Setting for double SATB chorus a cappella of an anonymous medieval text about Saint Cecilia patron saint of musicians.

Andrea Ramsey Choral Series-Jonathan Adams' Holy Harmony is a setting of an anonymous 15th century text. This work mixes polyphony with homophonic writing offering broad contrasts in dynamics and range/tessitura that areappropriate for high school and festival choirs. The text offers deep meaning that will draw your singers in and resonate profoundly with them.

The simple but lovely melody of this anonymous Christmas carol from the Laudis Corona Boston collection of 1885 is beautifully arranged here for mixed voices. Try a set of Neil Harmon carol arrangements on your next Advent lessons and carols.

Text: Anonymous 15th Century-This carol written for the choir Canticum is an upbeat setting of a rarely-used 15th-century English text and would be an exciting new addition to any mixed-voice choir’s Christmas repertoire. A ‘sung-whisper’ repeating phrase in the basses through most of the carol adds an air of mystery and momentum as the text which uses some early English language describes the coming of Jesus.

Harlan uses the hymn tune Hyfrdol a gentle rolling accompaniment and a choice of an anonymous Christmas text or a Charles Wesley text for Easter or general use.Easily prepared would be a good warm up piece.

A celebratory anthem of love and unification with an anonymous text set for two SSATB choruses with three Soprano soloists. A Piano accompaniment is provided for rehearsal purposes.

An anonymous 15th century English text forms the lyric framework for this stirring work that features mixed meters and bold melodic lines. Very much in the mainstream of the British choral tradition this short accompanied piecemakes a fine concert opener. Duration: ca. 1:30

A haunting melody evokes all the power of this little-known anonymous 15th-century text. The theme is essentially that the Lord will be known not by pomp or grandeur but 'by the holy harmony which His coming makes in thee.'