Set Me As A Seal Upon Thine Heart

James Whitbourn's Set Me As A Seal Upon Thine Heart for SATB and Organ. Composed for the wedding of James Roman and Grace SvatekTrinity Church Princeton New Jersey November 4 2017 Duration: 4.5minutes James Whitbourn's setting of the text popular at weddings Set me as a seal upon thine heart is a worthy competitor for Walton's well-known version. For SATE choir and not too demanding -though needing vocal clarity and accurate pitching - it is in an ABA form the gentle opening and concluding sections separated by the build-up to the climax on a C-sharp major chord at the end of the phrase 'many waterscannot quench love' followed by a brief organ interlude before subsiding to a piano ending. The whole is lightly and supportively accompanied on the organ. It is well worth considering by choirs needing new ideas for theirwedding playlist. - Organists' Review

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

This straightforward setting of the eighth chapter of the Song of Solomon which features two people’s professions of love for each other was written for the wedding of friends of the composer in 2005. It is a gentle and lyrical love song employing simple yet effective harmonic writing very approachable for mixed voice choirs looking to expand their contemporary repertoire.