Mascagni?s draws on church music in this masterful and intense evocation of a small community and one guilt-ridden woman?s position outside of it.

The grand Easter Hymn, scored for pretty much the whole cast of the opera, starts with just a solo organ playing from inside the church nearby. Then we hear an unaccompanied choir singing (in Latin) the beginning of the service ? ?Regina coeli, laetare? ? with the voices of the congregation responding ?Alleluja!?. The choir sings two more phrases and the congregation responds. All this is out of sight.

Recently, I was asked to write an arrangement for choir of the fantastic track Heavenly Father by Bon Iver. The performance he gave at the Sydney Opera House in 2016 as part of Vivid Live, featuring The Staves, was so breathtaking that I immediately agreed to transcribe and arrange the song.

An earthy arrangement that features a soloist and some extra special choral effects, this tune is full of emotions and reaches an amazing climax that will wow your audience. Featured in the movie Wish I Was Hereby acclaimed director Zach Braff and scored for SATB Choir and soloist.

If there's one piece of music you purchase for choir this year, make it this one!

Live performance

The performance Bon Iver delivered at the Sydney Opera House really took this song to a new level, giving it such emotion and power that takes your breath away. Utilising subtle body percussion and some exquisite voices, this video is a must watch if you wish to recreate the song at the highest level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAoADCSpD-8

A challenging, modern fugue requiring rhythmic intensity and constant metrical shifts. This piece keeps all four parts busy, particularly the basses, who churn along as the motor of the piece throughout. This piece was premiered by Resonance Vocal Ensemble in the summer of 2018. Text from Psalm 81. Appropriate for intermediate to advanced high school choirs and above.

Paul Osborne is a choral director, tenor soloist, and composer/arranger from California's Central Coast. He received his degree at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he studied choral conducting with Ren� Clausen. He is currently the Chorus Master for Opera San Luis Obispo and Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan, the founder and director of Resonance Vocal Ensemble, the director of the Young Men?s Ensemble with the Central Coast Youth Chorus, and the worship leader at Paso Robles Church of the Nazarene. He performs frequently with the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale, The Cuesta Concord Chorus, and in the annual "Bach in the Mission" concert series with the Cal Poly Early Music Ensemble.