Madrigals for SSATB and SSATBaB Edited by E H Fellowes. Revised by Thurston Dart CONTENTS ANONYMOUS How can the tree but waste (SSATB) BYRD, William Though Amaryllis dance in green (SSATB) EAST, Michael Your shining eyes (SSATBaB) FARMER, John Fair nymphs (SSATBaB) MARENZIO, Luca I must depart (Io partiro) (SSATB) MORLEY, Thomas My bonny lass (Questa dolce sirena) (SSATB) O grief e'en on the bud (SSATB) VAUTOR, Thomas Sweet Suffolk owl (SSATB) WEELKES, Thomas In pride of May (SSATB) WILBYE, John Lady your words do spite me (SSATB)

Music runs through the story of Arion which begins with a singing competition in Sicily. Arion wins the prize and this puts his life in danger: his newfound wealth excites the greed of the sailors who are supposed to be bringing him back to Corinth and they threaten to kill him. They allow Arion to sing one last song and the power of his singing attracts dolphins to the ship.  At the end of his song he jumps overboard and one of the dolphins carries him to safety.  So Arion’s musical gift gets him into trouble but it is also his salvation.   The idea of being rescued by a music-loving dolphin is very appealing. In Robert Graves’account of the myth the dolphin could not bear to be parted from Arion and accompanied him back to court where “it soon succumbed to a life of luxury.”  However Herodotus says that after his rescue and return to Corinth Arion failed to return the dolphin to the sea and it died there.  Apollo placed the dolphin among the stars and next to it Arion’s lyre in recognition of his musical skill.  This is one of the mythical explanations of the origins of the constellations Delphinus and Lyra. It seems natural to sing a story that has singing at its heart. When I was asked by the Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust to write a choral work for Making Music something that would be within reach of many choirs and involve children this story struck me as ideal: the men of the chorus could be the bloodthirsty sailors and the women could create an atmosphere of mystery for the arrival of the dolphins represented by children’s voices. There would be one solo voice: Arion the marvellous singer. Andrew Fardell the conductor who was advisor to this commission had suggested that I might use the same instrumentation as a popular arrangement of Orff’s Carmina Burana a work that as well as using children’s chorus features a solo countertenor. I thought the magical otherworldly quality of this

Aus: Opera Omnia I, Nr. 14. Par SELLE THOMAS. Tonalité : phrygisch - / Mottet / Répertoire / Choeur SSATB

Cecilia McDowall's I Know That My Redeemer Liveth for SSA(A)TB unaccompanied. This attractive motet was written for performance alongside Brahms's Requiem following the precedent of Handel's famous setting of the same text being sung at the premiere of the Brahms in 1868. The gracefully sculpted music clothes the text with touching melodies expressive harmonies and varied sonorities.

Anthem For The Coronation Of James Ii (1685). Par PURCELL HENRY. Pflichtstück des 9. Internationalen Kammerchor-Wettbewerbs 2007 in Marktoberdorf / Hymnes et chorals / Répertoire / Choeur SSATB

For Passion in 1680 Dieterich Buxtehude composed his largest work in the style of an oratorio the cantata cycle Membra Jesu nostri and he dedicated it to his friend the Swedish Court Music Director Gustav Düben. In each of the seven separate cantatas which in principle follow the scheme ?instrumental introduction ? choral movement with biblical texts ? vocal soli (aria) with a sacred text from the Middle Ages ? repetition of the choral movement ? the feet knees hands side chest heart and face of the crucified Christ are interpreted allegorically. The original scoring for strings in No. VI ('Ad Cor') consists of a consort of five gambas. If this group of instruments isnot available then violins I/II can be substituted for gamba I/II and the gamba V parts can be played by the violone (the music for these substitute parts is contained in each respective parts) so that in this case only two gambas (III IV) are needed. For such a performance only two copies of the Gamba performance score (Carus 36.013/16) are required.

This 5 minute anthem for choir SSATB setting a text by George Herbert was commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban to mark the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the Norman Abbey performed at Solemn Evensong 18 October 2015.