ISBN 9790300761862. 190 x 272 mm inches.

Melissa Dunphy is an original and exciting composer living in the USA, though of Australian background. Her piece Halcyon Days, written to a new text from her regular collaborator poet Jacqueline Goldfinger, creates a period of calm during winter storms where we reflect on what we have lost but rise up to face the new year with joy and grace. Written for SATB unaccompanied choir this piece is suitable for any winter concert. Halcyon Days was commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020.

Made popular by British vocal octet VOCES8, this arrangement of Dougie Maclean's heartwarming tune invites a slice of Scotland into the choral rehearsal room. "Caledonia" was the Latin name the Romans used for Scotland, and Dougie's original song has become somewhat of an unofficial anthem for the country. In an arrangement here by Blake Morgan, the textures throughout range from the signature "blended" sound of VOCES8 to a roaring climb through the Scottish highlands before returning to the final refrain in a hymn-like harmonization, bringing us to back to the place we call home. "Let me tell you that I love you, and I think about you all the time; Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm going home.".