Northampton

For SATB chorus unaccompanied. Commissioned by the Friends of All Saints' Music, Northampton, for Lee Dunleavy and the Choirs of All Saints' Church, Northampton, in memory of Miss Valerie Travis (1918-2008). First performed by the Choirs of All Saints' Church, Northampton, conducted by Lee Dunleavy on 19 December 2010. Richard Rodney Bennett - The Shepherd's Carol by musicroom / SATB

James Whitbourn's Beatus Vir for SSATB choir with a Piano accompaniment for rehersal. Commissioned for the Choir of St Matthew’s Church Northampton. First performed on StMatthew’s Day 21 September 2017 conducted by Justin Miller. 'With the wedding season soon to be upon church musicians James Whitbourn’s new five-minute wedding anthem  Set me as a seal upon thineheart deserves a warm welcome. It would be easy to learn quickly if rehearsal time is limited with vocal lines that are not demanding and helpfully supported by the organ. But the music itself has a haunting intense beauty thatis very special. Judge for yourself with the performance on YouTube that appears to have been made at the wedding for which it was written. St Matthew Northampton for which Walter Hussey commissioned so notably continues an enterprising music commissioning policy most recently with Whitbourn’s setting of Beatus Vir. The commission was for the feast day of St Matthew last September and the published score describes the text asbeing the Gradual for St Matthew. But that rather limits what is simply the first two verses of Psalm 112 and deserves to be sung throughout much of the church year. Forget Monteverdi and other lively settings of Beatus vir:here we have a contemplation on how blest is the person who trusts in the Lord. Despite a dramatic outburst on ‘potens in terra’ (‘mighty in the land’) the work ends as it began with an extended gentlesetting of the word ‘Beatus’.' - Sunday by Sunday

O Praise God in His Holiness (Psalm 150) arranged by David Bednall for accompanied mixed voices. This piece was commissioned by All Saints’ Church Northampton and its Director Edward Whiting and received its premiere in the Jean Langlais Festival 2006. The organ for this first performance had no playing aids and no line of sight to the conductor and so the style is antiphonal. The feeling throughout should be one of great and highly rhythmic exuberance reflecting the spirit of this much loved psalm with a more relaxed and gentle feel for the middle section. This piece is from Faber's Choral SignatureSeries which introduces a wealth of new or recently written choral music to choirs in search of fresh repertoire. the series draws in a rich diversity of living composers and includes both lighter and more challenging contemporary works offering a thrilling array of varied styles.

A Vision was written for the tenor Anthony Rolfe Johnson and commissioned by the London Mozart Players. The first performance was at the Gregynog Festival in June 1991. Geoffrey Burgon has set 7 poems of John Clare (1793-1846)and the poems that Burgon has chosen were all written whilst Clare was in Northampton Asylum. The work is scored for tenor and string orchestra. There is a prominent part for solo violin which reflects Clare’s love of thatinstrument and upon which he would play folk tunes and dances.

This work for SATB Choir and Organ was commissioned by the Church of St. Matthew Northampton with financial assistance from East Midland Arts.

Commissioned by St Matthew's Church, Northampton for the Patronal Festival 2012, in memory of Edith Kennedy (1927-2009). / Choeur Mixte (SATB)

Alvin Etler (1913 - 1973) was an American composer and oboist who abandoned a promising orchestral career in order to focus on composition. The Sonata for Bassoon and Piano was written in 1951 while he was a professor at Smith College in Northampton Massachusetts. It is dedicated to the bassoonist Emil Hebert and scored in four movements: Moderately Slow - Fast - Slow - Fast. It is a twentieth century work which remains tonal without being overly reliant on traditional key structure. Influences of Hindemith Bartok and Copland can all be found especially in the second movement.

Oxford Music Education-This book looks at two years in the life of the UK's first specialist Music College - the Northampton School for Girls - and sets the development of this school against what we know about other schools often described as 'musical'. The author also sets out a wider context of local and national developments in education and challenges myths about musical children and the idea some childen never succeed in music.This book does not provide easy answers but in an entertaining and thought-provoking way challenges the reader to think hard about the issues surrounding music provision in schools and to reflect on and help develop their practice. Essential reading forall those working with music and young people.With a foreword by Howard Goodall.