This touching piece sets Yeats' beautiful words describing the love of a parent for their child. Switching between major and minor tonalities, A Cradle Song is quiet and understated, with sensitive a cappella scoring that makes the sentiments seem all the more real. This is an impressive and sophisticated debut from Swedish singer and composer Joel Nilson.

Composer: NILSON, JOEL

Arranger: Libby Larsen

Setting a text by Walter de la Mare, this tuneful, rhythmic choral work is infused with Scandinavian style. The poem is accompanied by extensive use of scat, giving a modern twist to the forlorn sentiments of the text. An ideal concert work for experienced choirs looking for something a little different.

Arranger: Jussi Chydenius | Performed By: Rajaton

Composer: William Mundy

This extrovert setting is in 6/8 interrupted by occasional 7/8 bars and with a rollicking chorus. The text is from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

Composer: BENJAMIN, TOM

There are three songs making up this cycle entitled 'Western Songs'- Buffalo Gals, Green Grow the Lilacs, and Ol'Chisholm Trail. The arrangements by turn spin contrapuntal and antiphonal textures then relax into meltingly beautiful chords,while glissandi and yipping vocal slides evoke the sounds of the cattle drive.

Arranger: Libby Larsen

This gentle and expressive setting of John Donne's 'Catch a falling star' once again demonstrates Chilcott's ability to 'get inside' a text. His wistful melody, varied vocal textures, and rich harmony combine with the poet's powerful imagery to create a setting of great beauty.

Composer: Bob Chilcott | Performed By: Perry Como

A piece made famous by the award-winning a cappella group Vocado, Coffee Time is an upbeat dedication to the down time we all crave, for sharing thoughts, silence, and that aroma! Founded on classic a cappella style and sense of fun, the piece boasts an infectious melody and bossa nova rhythm, with sumptuous key changes, scat rhythms, and contrasting sections. The piece is perfect for vocal groups or small- to medium-size choirs, and has the makings of a great encore or competition piece.

Composer: Anton Leanderson-Andreas

This is a lilting take on the Elizabethan lute-song full of smooth Stanford-like nineteenth-century harmonies, exquisitely tempered with modal effects.

Arranger: Rebecca Clarke

An exuberant song of rejoicing at the dawn, with a catchy, toe-tapping refrain of "Cry Jubilee".

Arranger: Libby Larsen

Larsen's fun setting of a sweetly humorous text by May Sarton will provide enjoyable and rewarding learning for school or amateur choirs. The contrabass part would also be suitable for the younger pupil.

Arranger: Libby Larsen

A peaceful and uplifting meditation on death and the afterlife, with softly overlapping upper voices that weave a hypnotic texture over a gentle melody in the tenors and basses to magical effect.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

This reflective winter carol features a prominent melody line, taken in two verses by the tenor soloist, which is supported by a gentle accompanying figure in the other voices. The minor tonality reflects the sentiments of the newly written text by Charles Bennett; while we can present temporary gifts for the child of winter, only his arrival will bring 'our summer without end'.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

Part of the John Rutter Anniversary Edition, this is a profoundly beautiful setting of one of the earliest English prayers, from the Sarum Primer of 1514.

Composer: John Rutter

This is a moving arrangement of the familiar passage from the Book of John. Larsen takes an original melody and arranges beautiful harmonies underneath with delicate suspensions. This is a rewarding and accessible piece.

Composer: Libby Larsen

There are three songs making up this cycle entitled 'Western Songs' - Buffalo Gals, Green Grow the Lilacs, and Ol'Chisholm Trail. The arrangements by turn spin contrapuntal and antiphonal textures then relax intomeltingly beautiful chords, while glissandi and yipping vocal slides evoke the sounds of the barn dance the cattle drive.

Arranger: Libby Larsen

Written for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, this new arrangement of the well-known spiritual is presented in two versions: one for mixed chorus and the other for men's voices. Each version opens gently with an effective unaccompanied unison section, and the accompaniment and further choral parts are gradually added. In classic Wilberg style, the piece builds up verse by verse with expanding textures, via two upward modulations, towards a grand and triumphant climax, leaving no doubt about the joy expressed in the text.
Orchestral material is available on hire/rental.

Arranger: Mack Wilberg | Performed By: Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Chilcott's fresh and simple arrangement has a touch of magic that makes it a perfect leave-taking concert item.

• Well known and much loved text
• Approachable SATB setting
• Perfect encore material

Composer: Bob Chilcott

Displaying Chydenius's unique style, I am the great sun is a driven and focused setting of Charles Causley's poem. This is textured choral writing: you'll find imitative passages, melodic and rhythmic motifs, sections requiring precise articulation, and full homophonic climaxes. An exciting challenge for established choirs!

Arranger: Jussi Chydenius | Performed By: Rajaton

I am the song is an imaginatively-conceived showpiece setting a fine and thought-provoking poem by Charles Causley.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

This is a peaceful and positive setting of words by Elizabeth Jennings from the poem 'Assurance beyond midnight'. The magical images that Jennings conjures as she reflects on her life are perfectly captured in Chilcott's music.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

Composer: Libby Larseb

This moving and prayerful arrangement of the well-known traditional song was written in memory of Nelson Mandela. Rutter treats the melody in simple yet varied ways, with a mixture of unison and four-part choral textures, into which the organ is gently interwoven. The piece reaches a dynamic and emotional peak in the fourth and final verse, before a quiet and reflective ending.

Composer: John Rutter

Helvey sets a combination of sacred texts to beautiful music. Similar to his Cor mundum crea in me Deus, Helvey writes mainly in homophonic textures, with thick, lush chords.

Composer: Howard Helvey

Based on Psalm 139, this beautiful and expressive tender hymn begins with unison upper voices and builds into four-part harmony.

Composer: UNTERSEHER, REGINALD

Setting a well-known poem by Percy Shelley, Love's Philosophy is a sweet and tender choral song reflecting on the idea of love with reference to nature and the interdependent relationships evident in the world around us. Mellifluous choral writing and sighing 'ah' interjections convey the sometimes wistful feel of Shelley's words, and numerous repetitions of 'thou' at the end of the piece emphasize the theme of unrequited or lost love.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

This piece was composed in honour of the centenary of Marconi's first trans-oceanic wireless signal. The theme of the work, sound waves, is evoked through overlapping phrases sung ad lib., and the music as a whole conjures up an air of mystery and romance which is sure to appeal to many choirs.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

An exquisite setting of a love song by Sir Philip Sydney.

Composer: John Rutter

Bosnian Folk song

Arranger: Steven Sametz

This is a powerful setting of one of the greatest American blues melodies. The tension in the piece climaxes in two cumulative waves. A devastatingly effective concert piece in the hands of accomplished adult groups, it is also technically accessible to school choirs.

Composer: BENNIGHOF, JAMES

Out of the depths is a reflective, homophonic, and beautifully written work. The choral parts are very accessible, yet the resulting sound is rather sophisticated and thoughtful. This setting of Psalm 130 is suitable throughout the liturgical year, but would be particularly effective during Lent and other reflective occasions.

Composer: Debra Scroggins

A setting of the familiar psalm text with interpolations from nature writings by the American naturalist John Muir and by Patricia Hennings.

Arranger: Libby Larsen

The music opens with 'oos', and, after a pause, the choir enters, singing in Latin, sempre legato. Bassi writes lush choral lines with suspension after suspension, which results in a stunning sound with considerable depth. An English singing translation is provided beneath the text.

Composer: BASSI, JAMES

This arrangement brings out all the genre's characteristic driving rhythms, strongly marked syncopations, and added-beat patterns, with resonant harmonic divisi in all parts. It builds in a pounding crescendo to a climactic glissando blast on the train whistle. It is a genuine foot-stomper.

Composer: K. Lee Scott

In this short, strophic, and effective introit Helvey has taken a children's folk melody and arranged and adapted it to fit the text of Mary Louise Bringle's poem. The result is a beautiful and eloquent little anthem worthy of performance in any church service throughout the year.

Composer: Howard Helvey

Setting a specially written text by Charles Bennett, this gentle lullaby reflects on the role of the animals and angels in the nativity, compelling us to follow their lead and create our own Christmas scene wherever we are. Chilcott's choral writing is characteristically warm and lush, with some divisi, and the singable melodies are shared between the parts. Song of the Crib features on the Naxos CD of Bob Chilcott's Christmas music, The Rose in the Middle of Winter.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

This festive arrangement of a traditional German carol features an English text, translated and adapted by John Rutter himself. The first two verses are sung by soloists (or alternatively by a semi-chorus over a background of choral hums) before all singers come together in the final verse and then fade into solemn stillness.

Arranger: John Rutter

These two enjoyable and easy songs use riddle texts from the 17th and 18th centuries that are both haunting and rich with imagery. Chilcott produces two charming and characterful miniatures that although simple, manifest a 'swanlike' dignity befitting their subject.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

In this beautiful arrangement of Tallis' popular hymn, Chilcott expertly utilizes the flexibility of the SATB double choir. The piece will be enjoyed by church and chamber choirs alike.

Composer: Thomas Tallis

for mixed chorus (SATBarB). From Five Traditional Songs.

Arranger: John Rutter

Debra Scroggins' setting of a poem by William Blake is both stunning and gentle. The tight harmonies offer a lush and flowing soundscape that conveys warmth and tenderness perfectly suited to the text, 'Little lamb, dost thou know who made thee?'. The choral lines are accessible yet sophisticated, and the work is suitable for performance in churches and schools.

Composer: Debra Scroggins

A very exciting and dramatic arrangement of a traditional early American folk hymn made up of contrasting sections of homophonic textures and a soprano melody against a rhythmic background.

Composer: Howard Helvey

Features accented rhythms, and percussive vocal lines which create the feel of a march for an inspirational and powerful effect.

There are three songs making up this cycle entitled 'Western Songs'- Buffalo Gals, Green Grow the Lilacs,and Ol'Chisholm Trail. The arrangements by turn spin contrapuntal and antiphonal textures then relax intomeltingly beautiful chords, while glissandi and yipping vocal slides evoke the sounds of the barn dance the cattle drive.

Arranger: Libby Larsen

This is a truly beautiful addition to the Christmas repertory, setting a specially commissioned poem by Charles Bennett. The flexible metre creates a sense of movement, while the luscious harmonies and often-homophonic textures provide an anchor to the choral writing. The Rose in the Middle of Winter will appeal to all mixed-voice choirs looking for a poignant centrepiece for a Christmas concert or service.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

The text is a beautiful poem by Clive Sansom (1910-81) that narrates the experience of the shepherds, drawn by starlight to the baby Jesus. The lovely, poignant melody of folk-like simplicity is supported by languid and atmospheric harmonies. The effect is a sublime marriage of poetic imagery and music.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

Alan Smith provides a lush, floating, contemporary setting to this traditional text. Gentle and with a captivating melody, this highly accessible anthem is a true gem for the Christmas season and provides a welcome addition to the repertoire.

Composer: SMITH, ALAN

Helvey's musical arrangement is just as descriptive as the words of Sara Teasdale, who won the precursor to the Pulitzer Prize in 1918. These lush madrigals are perfectly suitable for college and community choirs.

Composer: Howard Helvey

This compact anthem for unaccompanied choir is the result of another successful collaboration between Bob Chilcott and the poet Charles Bennett. Well-crafted and tender melodic lines are shared between the 'two friends' to good effect.

Composer: Bob Chilcott

Weep you no more,sad fountains is a modern take on the Elizabethan lute-song, integrating the characteristic alternations of minor and major, fondness for cross- relations, and vivid word-painting. The synthesis is remarkably compelling.

Arranger: Rebecca Clarke