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SSAA accompanied
Text: James Thomson
Duration: 3.5 min
Publisher: Santa Barbara Music Publishing

Commissioned by the Amabile Youth Singers, and Prima of London Ontario, Canada.

from the publisher: “The composer cleverly weaves the melody in and out of the four parts making this a joy to sing, and fascinating to hear. The left hand of the piano maintains the pulse, thereby anchoring this delightful piece.”

Audio:

Let my voice ring out and over the earth,
Through all the grief and strife,
With a golden joy in a silver mirth:
I give thanks for Life!

Let my voice swell out through the great abyss
To the azure dome above,
With a chord of faith in the harp of bliss:
I give thanks for Love!

Let my voice thrill out beneath and above,
The whole world through:
O my Love and Life,
O my Life and Love,
I give thanks for you!

James Thomson (1834-1882) was a Scottish Victorian poet. In 1862 he moved to London, where he supported himself as a clerk while writing essays, poems, and stories, many of them published in Bradlaugh’s National Reformer, a worker’s weekly. The publication of a volume of Thomson’s poetry, The City of Dreadful Night and Other Poems (1880), received favourable critical attention.

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SATB a cappella

2 min 20 seconds

Henry Alline

Plangere Editions

2nd place in the Atlantic Voices Choral Composition Competition 2013

Audio from premiere:

O for the spirit of the Dove,
  To bow this heart of mine! 
Lord let my soul enjoy thy love, 
  And find a peace divine.

O for the meekness of the Lamb, 
  To walk with thee, my God! 
Then should I feel thy lovely name, 
  And feed upon thy word.

Jesus, I long to love thee more, 
  And life divine pursue;
I love thy worship, name adore,
  In songs forever new.
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Themes: nature, love, unity, peace, home, longing, sacred,

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SATB a cappella

2 min

Morris Rosenfeld

Plangere Editions

audio mock up: contact if you would like to premiere this motet!

I LIFT mine eyes against the sky,

The clouds are weeping, so am I;

I lift mine eyes again on high,

The sun is smiling, so am I.

Why do I smile? Why do I weep?

I do not know; it lies too deep.
I hear the winds of autumn sigh,

They break my heart, they make me cry;

I hear the birds of lovely spring,

My hopes revive, I help them sing.

Why do I sing? Why do I cry?

It lies so deep, I know not why.

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Themes: nature, love, sacred, secular, chant

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SATB A cappella

3 min

Archibald Lampman

Plangere Editions

Commissioned by Central Bucks High School- East, South and West Choirs: Chris Villante, Joseph Stellino and Joseph Ohrt conductors.

The tall trees stand without fear, without pain,
Though summers gather their gold and go;
For life is a thing to be lived; it is gain;
In the bounty of June or the winter’s snow;
Through miles of shadow and soft heat,

Where field and fallow, fence and tree,
Were all one world of greenery,
I heard the robin ringing sweet,
The sparrow piping silvery,
The thrushes at the forest’s hem;
And as I went I sang with them.

They are earth’s, they are God’s, and whatever may be,
They stand, as we ought to do, straight and free.

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Themes: equality, peace, nature, respect, community, togetherness, unity

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SATB a cappella

3.5 mins

Marjorie Pickthall

Purchase from composer

After page 1

Commissioned by Jennifer Lang, University of Saskatchewan – Greystone Singers.

The text for After comes from Canadian Poet, Marjorie Pickthall’s “Three Island Songs” and speaks to themes that reflect our Canadian identity and interconnectedness with nature. Throughout the work there is a repeating musical gesture, first heard in the opening with the sopranos. This incessant repetition acts as if it were a heart beat pulsing through the song.The work winds and weaves around the repeating gesture with shifting harmonies and soaring lines in an attempt to reflect the imagery in the text. The music changes towards the end of the piece, as if to literally blossom, or as if the skies have just cleared after an afternoon rainstorm as clouds gleam, dawns rise and we are left basking in a serene state.

AFTER the wind in the wood,
Peace, and the night.
After the bond and the brood,
Flight.
After the height and the hush
Where the wild hawk swings,
Heart of the earth-loving thrush
Shaken with wings.

After the bloom and the leaf
Rain on the nest.
After the splendour and grief,
Rest.
After the hills and the far
Glories and gleams,
Cloud, and the dawn of a star,
And dreams.

Please purchase from me directly. PDF copies sent via email, $2 per member singing in the choir.

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TTBB, Bass Drum and Violin

2.5 mins

Traditional SeaShanty of Newfoundland Canada

Purchase from composer.

Images of the sea and men hauling in large ships to dock. Commissioned by Amabile Young Men’s Ensemble and Primus. Accessible for men’s choir of all levels and sizes.

Email me for the score. PDF copies sent via email, $2.25 per member in the choir.

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Unison and Piano

Text: Emily Dickinson

Duration: 2 min

Publisher: Boosey and Hawkes 2017

Commissioned by Amabile Choirs of London, Canada.

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking is a setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem by the same name. The text illuminates themes of generosity and selflessness. It asks us to think of others before ourselves, encouraging us to reflect the need in today’s society for humility and thoughtfulness. This unison song has a melody that weaves in and out of the piano line, creating a contemporary feel with uplifting harmonies and appealing melodic gestures.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Premiere audio

IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Published: Boosey and Hawkes 2017

Purchase from Hal Leonard

Themes: love, death, life, nature, birds, vain, selflessness, ease, health, life, living, refuge

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SATB a cappella

Duration: 5 min

Text: 16th Century

Boosey & Hawkes (April 2017) 979-0-51-48382-2

YouTube: https://youtu.be/enOjtz6w5GY

Winning entry in the Amadeus Choir Seasonal Song Writing Competition, Professional Category. Winning entry in the Brazos Valley Chorale Composition Competition.

A Boy Is Born is a lyrical anthem for the Christmas season. The work is built on a melodic gesture first found in the opening Soprano melody. This gesture is then passed between all voices throughout the piece. The middle section of the work is marked by a slower passage, with the Basses singing the melody and the Soprano, Alto and Tenor ‘floating’ above as if they were angels gathering to witness the miracle birth. A flowing, lyrical melody enwraps each verse marked by an Allelujah refrain motive. The song speaks to the serene and delicate moments inspired by the original latin text Puer Natus

Premiere Audio

A Boy is Born in Bethlehem!
Allelujah! Allelujah!
And joy is in Jerusalem,
Allelujah! Allelujah!

And there He lay in manger poor,
Allelujah! Allelujah!
Whose rein shall last for ever-more,
Allelujah! Allelujah!

And kings from out the East there were,
Allelujah! Allelujah!
With gold and frankincense and myrrh
Allelujah! Allelujah!

He came our souls to purify,
Allelujah! Allelujah!
and bring us safe to bliss on high
Allelujah! Allelujah!

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Themes: Holiday, Christmas, Birth, SATB, Mixed Choir, Christmastide

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SATB a cappella
Text:Henry Van Dyke
Duration: 2 min
Publisher: Pavane Publishing

Commissioned by the Amabile Choirs of London, Canada. From the publisher: Who doesn’t remember musical moments in their past, when singing became transcendent and the moment became a memory never to be forgotten? Henry Van Dyke’s poem recalls that time and Matthew Emery, the young Canadian composer attracting everyone’s attention, set it to song. You just want to sing it, that’s all that needs to be said. High school, college, festival, community choirs. Easy to medium.

Remember'd songs, most dear,
        In living songs I hear,
     While blending voices gently swing and sway
        In melodies of love,
        Whose mighty currents move,
     With singing near and singing far away;
        Sweet in the glow of morning light,
     And sweeter still across the starlit gulf of night.

Purchase

Score

Pavane Publishing

Themes: Remember, Remembrance, Love, stars, night, singing, dear, life

 

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SATB a cappella

Duration: 4 min

Text: Marjorie Pickthall

Boosey & Hawkes

Winning entry in the 2014 DaCapo Chamber Choir NewWorks competition.

The music ebbs and flows  with blossoming phrases and

captivating imagery of the text by Canadian poet, Marjorie Pickthall. The constant repetition of

the E further depicts life’s flow, while the final phrases articulate a sweeping motion as if to

portray a starry night and the repetition of the roads illustrating life’s long journey toward the

road’s final ending.

Give me a few more hours to pass
With the mellow flower of the elm-bough falling,
And then no more than the lonely grass
And the birds calling.

Give me a few more days to keep
With a little love and a little sorrow,
And then the dawn in the skies of sleep
And a clear to-morrow.

Give me a few more years to fill
With a little work and a little lending,
And then the night on a starry hill
And the road’s ending.

 

Purchase

Hal Leonard

Boosey and Hawkes

Themes: Night, Stars, Hill, Journey, Path, Road, Sky, Death, Longing, Love, Nature