Country: Africa

with Guitar and Bass Guitar (or String Bass). (3:30)

The title of Ain't That News is a tribute to the superb Staple Singers, who dang a piece by that name, not otherwise quoted in this chart. The opening seven measures are an adaptation of an old Paul Robeson 78. The rest of the piece is original material intended to pay homage to both the black church and black popo music, just one of the many genres that owes its soul to the spiritual. The composer states, "My goal is to allow even the most demure chorister to have at least a little taste of what it would be like to be Aretha Franklin."

The rough and tumble life of a sailor and his adventures on the high seas is celebrated in this rousing English sea shanty known from Nova Scotia to Australia.

This energetic work combines an Irish folk melody and two Celtic mazurkas with original text, a lament for the exodus of young people from the small communities of Nova Scotia. With piano, and opt. Irish band. (4:15)

Country: Ireland

The Apple Tree Wassail comes from the cider country of Devon and Somerset, where it might be sung in the orchards or at the farmer's door. Wassail comes from the Anglo-Saxon wes hael - to be healthy.

Country: England

As She Goes sets words by the composer on a reflective yet inspirational theme ('We were born to fly, but your wings come without a trial run'), against the backdrop of images from the natural world. The choral lines are simple and melodic, drawing on the sound-world of the folksong 'My Love's An Arbutus', which opens the work. Ideal for adult and youth upper-voice choirs, as well as children's choruses.

This robust, full-bodied song comes from the rich musical tradition of Transylvania. The vocal figures inspired by the dance rhythms and vigorous bowing techniques of this region should inspire choirs to sing out and make this an entirely powerful performance.

Several variants of this famous English folk ballad are incorporated into this evocative setting for women's voices. First performed by the Varsity Women's Choir of Appleton North High School, James Heiks, conductor.

Battant Son Plein is French slang, literally "hitting his fill," the equivalent of the English "in full swing." Written for Scala, a children's choir from Bruxelles, the title refers to what these children sound like when they sing, and the piece is a salute to their confidence and daring.

Country: France

An old Irish carol adapted with the composer's own recollections of childhood Christmases on Vancouver Island, Canada. This heartfelt song evokes natural beauty and childhood wonderment.

Country: Ireland

Here is a playful and creative treatment of the alphabet centered around the theme of children and hope. Filled with slides and scoops, a conventional tone of delivery, and a steady rhythmic drive, audiences will enjoy every minute of the performance. May be performed with voices and piano only or with rhythm section and optional string quartet. String parts sold separately. Duration: ca. 3:10.

The main idea behind this unique work is that music is the ultimate gift and that all things must pass. Opening with a Latin phrase and theme by di Lassus, it moves into a jaunty, Celtic-flavored tune with a text constructed from anecdotes written by members of the commissioning choir. Duration: ca. 4:00.

From Queen's College, Oxford, comes the ancient ritual and the rousing holiday song The Boar's Head Carol, where the highly decorated dishes of the Christmas feast were presented to the company amid song, pomp and circumstance, with the great platter on which rested the boar's head given pride of place. This arrangement can be adapted and customized to suit various levels of choirs, and lends itself to staging a spirited processional.

Taking advantage of the ancient and at the same time relevant musical style we know as Chant, Stephen Hatfield has created a funky, rhythmic, modern look at musical styles and how reality and the digital world have changed what is possible. Music is in us and has been in us from the beginning of time. Now is the time to express the music in me. Duration ca. 3 minutes, 40 seconds.

Written from the point of view of a young chorister, this Hatfield original tells the story of a young girl who wants to join her friends in the choir. The effect this has on her and her parents is profound. A perfect recruiting piece or first concert of the year. Optional steel drum or melody instrument part in vocal score. Duration: ca. 4:00.

Written for SATB choir, SSA choir and small ensemble or solo voice, this original piece with an original text by the composer speaks of hope and the joy that music brings to the world. With a wonderful yet rare opportunity to bring both mixed voice choirs and treble choirs together, this is the perfect piece to end the school year as all of your ensembles can join together for one final time and declare keep the world alive, that's a world where people are singing. Duration: ca. 4:20.

A unique pairing of Latin text (taken from a bell inscription) and the percussive beats of African drumming, Carillon is full of rhythmic excitement, call-and-response singing, and relentless energy.

Change My Name is a series of melodic variations on the opening line of a spiritual more commonly known as If He Changed My Name. Composer Stephen Hatfield has created an intense, grave, peaceful arrangement for women's voices that will cast a spell over both singer and listener. Duration: ca. 4:00

Here's a carousing English toasting song, hearty and robust and perfect for the pub with raised glass in hand - or, if the chance arises, perhaps for your next rollicking encore or concert piece!

Performed By: England Country: England

This piece and its prayer of save me can be approached from a perspective of simplicity and serenity, or of deepest anxiety. The intention is that for all of the anxious undercurrents in the song, it could be sung quietly and devoutly in a Christmas Eve service by a soloist or choir of any age and any mix of voices. Duration: ca. 2:40.

Colcannon, made from various combinations of cabbage, kale, onions, scallions and potatoes mashed with butter and milk, is one of Ireland's most famous traditional dishes. Although this piece at first seems like a tribute to food, it's really a tribute to memory, and to times gone. The verses take us from the home, to the school, to courting on a country lane, with the narrator a little older in every verse, and a little more aware oCanadaf the magic of the moment.

Country: Ireland

Stephen Hatfield sets out to accomplish the seemingly opposing objectives of expressing the frustration of war while still providing a sense of uplifting inspiration. He accomplishes this-and then some, in this rhythmically-driven piece for mixed chorus and percussion.

Creation is in seven short movements that parallel the seven days described in the Bible. At the end of each day there is a short hymn of thanksgiving based on the text And God saw that it was good. Written for treble chorus and handbells, there are opportunities to make creative decisions about soundscapes in free time, as well as the inclusion of the audience and a second choir. Duration: ca. 12:00.

Country: Canada

Weaving together the melodies and texts of three Korean folk songs, Stephen Hatfield has created a seven-minute suite that suggests two contrasting moods of romantic longing - one full of vigor and action, the other more reflective. Scored for high voice and low voice, flute and drum, it can be performed by any combination of voices including SA, TB, or ST/AB. Available separately: 2-part any combination, Instrumental parts (fl, dm). Duration ca. 7:00.

Country: Korea

Dubula is a folk song of the Xhosa people of South Africa. The style is boisterous, party-hardy and open-throated.

Country: South Africa

Duration: ca. 3:40

Country: Poland

Written for SATB choir, solo, two hand percussion players and string bass, composer Hatfield mixes Spanish and English texts and explores how a community supports and nourishes an individual, even as the individual inspires the community. Coining a new musical style with the piece that he calls Middle-East Latin the music mixes choral counterpoint and a percussive dance groove that will surely become infectious to both singer and listener. Duration: 4:15

Here we have a slangy de profundis about trying to placate your peer group. The soli section acts as the Drama Queen, while the rest of the choir takes the part of the peer group, commenting on the outsider in a mixture of English and Tex-Mex Spanish slang. (There's only a half dozen Spanish phrases to learn.) There is a clapping ostinato throughout the piece which looks terrific when the whole choir does it, but can also be played with brushes on a snare drum. The piece is not that demanding technically, and entire sections get repeated, although in different keys. Because of the cross-dialogue between the choir and the soli section this chart has lots of potential to be blocked in various ways, and would be perfect for choirs that are looking for a piece that lets them present themselves on stage in an unusual way. The tempo is fairly brisk, the words are humorous, and the overall effect is half positive, half sad and creepy - one of my favourite aesthetic experiences.

Country: Canada

Different influences from across the gospel tradition gather together in this spirited piece. Body percussion and double choir call and response make for a vivid performance!

Hatfield uses the old Italian technique of matching the vowels of her name to the corresponding sol-fa syllables to create an ostinato that metaphorically translates her into music. The piece combines poignancy with lots of sparkle, lots of interlocking ostinati. The mix of tenderness and energy has effected audiences strongly. On the line between medium and advanced.

Country: Canada

Written as a farewell to a beloved choir director, this work is filled with meaning and imagery both textual and musical. The text Bon voyage, I'll be moving, moving with the wind is illustrated by slowly drifting melodies and ostinati until the final quiet farewell. Duration: ca. 5:00.

A colorful and lively Scottish ballad telling the tale of Lady Ann, gone to Edinburgh to save her man Geordie from wrongful execution. Each of the four vocal parts has its chance to sing!

Country: Scotland

This suite emulates the long phrases and finely developed breath control that is a hallmark of Gaelic singing.

Country: Canada

"Glettur" is an Icelandic word that signifies a mischievous but ultimately good-hearted sense of humour. Launching itself from a snatch of an old fiddle jig, "Glettur" lives up to its name with crafty changes of style and key, and with ironic allusions to a couple of other famous pieces of music that have something to do with high spirits. Somebody who is glettin will have a warm heart, but watch out for the garlic gym and the dribble glass. This fun and original piece is built entirely of nonsense "lyrics."

Country: Canada

In keeping with Sister Rosetta Tharpe's stylistic blend, this arrangement has a funky doo-wop flavored middle section that reminds us just how many different rock styles go back to the gospel source.

Exploring themes of the traveler returning to home and family especially during the holidays, this work uses ostinati and superimposed lines of text in a hypnotic, jazz-flavored style that evokes the foggy December weather of St. John, Newfoundland. Duration: ca. 5:30.

This fleet-footed setting of a medieval French folksong is packed with energy and self-assurance. Sure to please!

Country: France

Now available in an SSA voicing, this choral work offers a taste of layered ostinatos and African polyrhythms and may be performed a cappella or with two or more percussionists.

Adapted from a traditional African-American chant, this is - in the composer's words - a soulful piledriver with a monster backbeat. Plentiful but manageable divisi writing makes this a full and satisfying arrangement.

Ka Hia Manu (Little Birds) pulls together chants and texts from various Polynesian and Micronesian islands. A metallic, brassy edge to the sound sets this Stephen Hatfield original apart from much of the standard choral repertoire. Think of the spontaneity of kids singing on a bus. Think of hand-woven fabric rather than cashmere. Duration: ca. 6:45.

Country: Polynesia

Duration: ca. 5:30

This is a folk melody from Ecuador traditionally played on the siku - the double row of panpipes that have been used in the high Andes for over a thousand years. With percussion.

Country: Ecuador

Hot-blooded and haughty, a mixture of delight and disdain. The central paradox of performing this piece it that the rhythms must be very incisive and exact, yet the precision must be combined with the devil-may-care festive attitude that prevents the precision from sounding clinical.

Written to be a reflection on the power of love, the composer has constructed a semi-gospel anthem with a slow groove that allows each singer to find meaning in the word love for their own lives. The original text lifts up the joy, heartbreak, uncertainty and eternal love that we all experience along the way. Deep and powerful emotions will inform the musical performance. Duration: ca. 3 minutes.

Hauntingly beautiful, this is the story of a young girl exiled to a remote island by a hard-hearted uncle. The story of love and loss that unfolds is second only to the lush harmonies of the vocal lines.

Written for the Virginia ACDA Voices United Children's Honor Choir, this is a Yiddish lament set to an unstoppable dance groove. The rhythms and melodic contour evoke the Middle East without being culturally specific, and driving percussion fuels cantabile vocal lines. A unique piece that will not soon be forgotten!

Each movement of this mass incorporates folk melodies from a different country. The moods and the tempi of the originals have been altered; melodies have been unraveled, spliced together and persuaded to modulate. (12:00)

Country: Canada

Using both French and English, the composer has created a piece for the Mosaik choral festival with the message that every tile contributes equally when building a mosaic and each every voice contributes to building a choir and a community. With an IPA pronunciation guide provided, this a cappella setting can be sung by choirs large and small, whether or not they have experience in the French language. Duration: ca. 2 minutes 45 seconds.

Country: France