La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker)is a much-studied and frequently performed two-act opera by the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801 35).A master of the bel canto style Bellini ranks among his era's most popular composers. La Sonnambula is particularly admired for the simplicity and economy of its orchestration and the inspired lyricism of the vocal writings.This story of two lovers unfolds in an idyllic village setting and has been a favorite with audiences and musicians since its first performance in 1831. The role of Amina has been performed by several famed mezzo-sopranos from Jenny Lind to Maria Callasand Cecilia Bartoli.A reprint of the G. Ricordi edition Milan n.d this inexpensive score offers a sturdy affordable resource for conductors scholars musicians and music lovers.

Over the Rainbow is a standard that has become forever associated with its most famous interpreter Judy Garland. Her troubled adult years only added poignancy to her guileless interpretation of the song preserved on celluloid in The Wizard of Oz when she was seventeen. The song would also do something similar for Eva Cassidy whose 1992 version brought her posthumous fame almost a decade later.Arranged beautifully by Christopher Hussey for SATB choir with Piano accompaniment this anthem of hope has not lost its bitter-sweet yearning.

Pop classical soft-shoe and a little swing all contribute to the musical variations in this arrangement of the popular tune. It provides a great opportunity to teach style while being just plain fun in its novelty approach.

Uses: General Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27: Matthew 10:29-31 The care and provision of our gracious and loving God are the spiritual foundations of this arrangement of a gospel evergreen. Made popular by singers such as George Beverly Shea this hymn has long been a favorite of church soloists... and now your choir will enjoy singing this treasure. Each verse is given its own treatment as the words come to life crowned with a rousing crescendo as the vision of heaven comes into view. I trust in God I know He cares for me: On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea: Though billows roll He keeps my soul: My heavenly Father watches over me.

By Wisdom a été composé pour marquer le jubilé de platine de Sa Majesté la Reine en 2022 et a été interprété pour la première fois lors d\'un service d\'action de grâce pour Sa Majesté la Reine à la cathédrale St Paul, à Londres, le 3 juin 2022 par les ch'urs de la cathédrale St Paul et de la chapelle royale de Sa Majesté sous la direction d\'Andrew Carwood, avec William Fox à l\'orgue.
Note de programme : Parmi les nombreux écrits anciens qui examinent l\'importance de la sagesse dans notre vie sur terre, on trouve le livre des Proverbes de l\'Ancien Testament. La courte sélection de versets (tirés du chapitre 3 des Proverbes) mis en musique dans cet hymne célèbre celui qui trouve la sagesse, celui qui acquiert l\'intelligence . / Partitions classique / Vocale - chorale / Choeur et ensemble vocal / CHESTER MUSIC

Tarik O'Regan's Mass Observation was commissioned for the University of Michigan Chamber Choir Jerry Blackstone conductor thanks to support from the William K. and Delores S. Brehm Choral Commissioning Fund and the Barbara Abramoff Levy Fund.   Composer's note:   Mass Observation is a meditation on the histories of our varied ambivalent relationships with surveillance in its myriad guises. The use of technologies that sate our desires to be watchedand heard (safety tracking empowerment and pride) has in some sense always been able to be weighed against our anxieties around invasions of privacy (physical and psychological harm hacking subjugation and embarrassment). The work takes its title from the British social research organisation Mass-Observation which aimed to record everyday life in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937 Mass-Observation controversially paid investigators to anonymously record people's conversation and behaviour at work on the street and at various public occasions including public meetings sporting and religious events. Scored for chorus and percussion sextet  Mass Observation ebbs and flows between various polarities (human voices and percussion instruments pitched and unpitched sounds clear and opaque tonalities) over the course of its thirteen movements. There is a ritualistic nature to the overall pacing of the work reminiscent of a liturgical mass setting. The two groups of musicians are rarely aligned: for much of the piece they watch and listen to one another in silence.    Duration approximately: 40 Minutes  

Kirby Shaw's phenomenal arrangement of this Simon & Garfunkel hit ballad is contemporary choral writing at its finest! The light harmonic a cappella opening is contrasted with this soaring fresh gospel-style setting that holdsopportunities for improvisation from multiple soloists. This is an excellent choice for a pops concert or graduation. Available separately: SATB SAB TTBB SSA Show Band Orchestration StudioTrax A/P CD.

Lee Dengler creates a gentle mood with this four-part a cappella arrangement of the Welsh “Poverty Carol.” Lovely in its simplicity of both melody and text “Poverty Carol” reiterates to us the fact thatJesus was of humble lowly birth and that it is the least of us who shall find favor in his service. This quiet contemplative moment is useful for concert or worship.

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)

Citroner Til Vorherre af Jørgen Lauritsen. Ti motetter til tekster af Simon Grotrian for blandet kor SATB a cappella. Fra forordet: Simon Grotrian udgav i 2008 denne samling bønner på Borgens forlag og jeg faldt straks for teksternes helt særlige karakter. Simon kan noget unikt med ord. Jeg læser en strofe og straks falder jeg i tanker - glemmer oplever læser linien igen og går lidt videre for at se hvordan teksten nu kan forføre min oplevelse. Simon gav mig eneretten til at komponere musik til denne digtsamling på den betingelse at jeg ikkemå 'rykke et komma'. Det har jeg overholdt idet Simon har givet mig lov til at gentage linier når jeg føler for det. Motetterne er komponeret i årene 2008 til 2015. Der har været lange pauser i arbejdet jeg har vendt og drejet teksterne og tonerne. Mens livet er passeret forbi. Ud af alle disse tanker tvivl læsning og lytning er der nu kommet ti motetter. For mig er dette værk et fredfyldt sted til eftertanke og bøn. Det vil glæde mig hvis musikken bruges - som samlet værk eller enkeltvis til koncerter eller gudstjeneste. Det er vigtigt at tekst og musik synges mundret med de betoninger der er naturlige. Sådan forstår jeg budskabet bedst. Derfor de mange skiftende taktarter og den enkle melodik. Med ønsket om at dirigenter sangere og publikum får gode oplevelser med Simons tekst og min musik. Jørgen Lauritsen (2015)

Uses: General ConcertScripture: Psalm 5:11; Psalm 8:3-5; Isaiah 55:12Buoyant with jubilant praise this wonderful selection will dance its way into your hearts. A tuneful main theme is presentedsimply at first and then builds to an impressive crescendo. The lyrics are a festive shout of praise making this song useful for general worship or even concert presentations. Delightful!

Commissioned by The Manchester Grammar School to celebrate its quincentenary in 2015. First performed on 16 April 2015 at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester by The Manchester Grammar School Choir Hallé Youth Choir and Hallé Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. Composer’s Note: 'A Celestial Map of the Sky commissioned by The Manchester Grammar School on the occasion of its quincentenary takes its cue from two woodcuts engraved by the German polymath Albrecht Dürer in 1515 the same year in which school was founded. These two groundbreaking polar projections of the northern and southern celestial hemispheres are the oldest printedEuropean star charts. Whereas prior celestial projections sometimes depicted allegorical figures looking over the skies Dürer instead honoured four ancient astronomers by depicting them at their work overseeing his maps. The various texts I have chosen (mostly extractions from larger works) reflect the changing worldview hinted at in Dürer’s charts. His inclusion of the four astronomers was a signal that the universe could be comprehended through human intervention rather than solely through spiritual or symbolic means.' - Tarik O’Regan

Per Nørgård's 2 Nocturnes - for 12 voices (2003) 1. Summer's Sleep (text: Ole Sarvig) 2. Michael's Night (text: Ib Michael) English version. Programme note:These two choral pieces for 12 voices consists of radical recompositions on of earlier themes: in Summer's Sleep we hear new combinations of two 'Sarvig melodies' from the 1970s (one of which is now in the Danish Hymnbook under the title 'Året' The Year); Michael's Night is based on an earlier simple choral song (Star Mirror 1987) now for 12 voices and composed such that an originalidea of 'simultaneously displaced opposite motions' cf. the poem) comes out as desired. Of the Nocturnes Nørgård writes: 'Summer's Sleep was composed to stanzas of Ole Sarvig's poem The Year (from the collection Forstadsdigte ('Suburban Poems')) and forms the picture of 'the summer of life' which is asleep - while the 'heaven seed' waits for the summer wind ('invisible to every mind'). The many layers of text are expressed musically in a multilayered choral texture with 'looks' up and down through the various tempo and time-worlds: summer sleep summer dream. 'The second nocturne Michael's Night takes its name from the author Ib Michael whose poem Star Mirror (from the collection Himmelbegravelse ('Sky Funeral') (1986) I pushed/coaxed him to expand from one to nine stanzas. The four selected stanzas set in the nocturne focus on the pan-erotic elements of the moonlit starlit night. With the titles I have chosen I have stressed the mythic layer of the text the summer night not as a dream but as sensual reality. 'The two nocturnes are dedicated to Ivan Hansen on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday on 25th February 2003 out of gratitude for over a quarter of a century of inspiring collaboration'. Danish version available: KP01444

'From the Beginning of the World was commissioned by the Cardinall’s Musick and premiered at Cadogan Hall on the 20th July 2015 in the first of the 2015 BBC Proms Chamber Music Concerts. The concert launched The Tallis Edition a new project by the ensemble with an aim to throw new light on Tallis’s work and part of the commission brief was that my new piece should be a homage to this great English polyphonist. I spent several weeks in libraries attempting to find a suitable text eventually settling on excerpts from Tycho Brahe’s German Treatise on the Great Comet of 1577. Whether Tallis knew about the comet is unknown of course but this seismic event to me seemed emblematic of all the great changes that occurred during his lifetime in areas such as religion the calendar and time-keeping (finding out that Tallis lived out his last days in Greenwich was an extra bonus). The text also seems to speak to contemporary times: whilst Brahe may have thought the comet’s birth would cause the sun to ‘bring unnatural heat’ nowadays we know that its ‘venom [will be] spewed over the lands’ due to mankind’s continued pillaging of the earth’s natural resources. Yet our political ‘pseudo prophets’ prefer to distract us with an austerity delusion rather than confront a reality perpetuated by certain corporations for whom ‘seek[ing] their own honour’ is of primary value. The music itself is very influenced by Tallis and canons and imitation abound. During my time as a ‘cellist at the Yehudi Menuhin School I performed Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis many times and so From the Beginning of the World which also uses Tallis’s Third Mode Melody from the English Hymnal is really a homage to both composers.' - Cheryl Frances-Hoad.

Uses: EasterScripture: John 20:1-8; I Corinthians 15:4A rousing opener for Easter celebrations this festive anthem captures a robust “Americana” feel both in its melodic content and itsjoyful abandon. A rhythmically vital approach punctuates the main theme while contrasting solo passages provide an oasis of expressivity as it unfolds the story of Christ's crucifixion and victory over the grave. Brief yetpowerful this delightful offering will be a surprising change of pace for church choirs. Duration: ca. 2:56.