An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers the Novello New Choral Series offers pieces for all types of choirs including sacred and secular works from simple four-part settings to more expansive yet accessible repertoire in an exciting variety of styles.This collection is perfect for choirs looking to broaden their repertoire and explore some of the best new music around.Angele Dei (Angel of God) is a prayer to the guardian angel suitable for general liturgical use in particular as an introit anthem or blessing at the Feast of the Holy Archangels or for concert performance.‘This piece was composed as a partinggift for my great friend and colleague Harriet Gedge. Recorded by the BBC Singers conducted by Bob Chilcott on 19 November 2010 at St Paul’s Church Knightsbridge London it was subsequently sung at Harrriet’s funeral in Brecon Cathedral on 16 December 2010.’     - Kate Johnson Kate Johnson - Angele Dei by musicroom Text.Angele Dei qui custos es mei me tibi commissum pietate superna hodie illumina custodi rege et guberna.Amen. Angel of God my guardian dear to whom God's love commits me here ever this day be at my side to light and love to rule and guide.Amen.The text is attributed to Reginald

A collection of five festive anthem settings recorded by the Canadian Brass with the Elmer Isler Singers on the CD People of Faith. The arrangements are for SATB chorus brass and organ. The choral score includes akeyboard part for rehearsal or performance without brass. Includes: Come Thou Almighty King How Firm a Foundation Beautiful Saviour People of Faith All Creatures of Our God and King.

'Ave verum was commissioned early in 2011 by Edward Rowntree for the birthday of his father John Rowntree director of music at Douai Abbey in the UK. My aim was to write a piece both short and simple suitable for regular liturgical use. There are of course many wonderful settings of this text already not least those by William Byrd and Edward Elgar both of which I sang as a boy. In this instance I felt their presence as a fellowship and having their music in my head while writing I was encouraged rather than daunted. In fact if you listen with this in mind you may hear a phrase or two in homage to the great masters.' - JohnDugganAn inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers the Novello New Choral Series offers pieces for all types of choirs including sacred and secular works from simple four-part settings to more expansive yet accessible repertoire in an exciting variety of styles.Born in 1963 John Duggan was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral and studied music at Oxford. While still a boy he dreamed of writing in the great European choral tradition of Victoria Tallis and Palestrina. His vocal music has delighted both singers and audiences across Europe and the United States and he composes regularly for film and dance. He has composed for a number of choirs including Commotio Westminster Cathedral Choir the Hildegard Choir and Sospiri and has written commissions for the Edington Music Festival Crossover Intergenerational Dance Group Oxford Youth Dance and The Oxford-Grenoble Association. John regularly performs as a singer and choral director and works as a recording engineer and producer. He has recently been appointed as a Creative Arts Fellow at Wolfson College Oxford.

John Tavener's Ex Maria Virgine is a sequence of Christmas carols their emphasis on the Nativity and the Virgin Mary. Scored for SATB unaccompanied or with Organ the collection isrepresentative of the broad range of Tavener's choral writing. These carols may be performed as the full sequence or as individual pieces: carols such as Ding! Dong! Merrily on High and Unto Us is Born aSon to familiar texts made novel and exciting or Rocking a simple four-part setting sure to become a favourite with choirs of any accomplishment. Includes a performance CD recorded by the choir of ClareCollege Cambridge.

Ticket To Ride-Ever since the Swingle Singers released their Beatles' tribue album in 1999 the group have been overwhelmed with requests by a cappella groups and choirs for the arrangements of that recording. And Now... ...From the classic Swingle Singers library comes this stunning volume of seventeen Lennon and McCartney favourites. The Swingle Singers are an 8-voice mixed choir that formed in Paris in 1963 founded by Ward Swingle. The group has been through numerous incarnations but their unique style and sound have remained largely unchanged. Their repertoire includes classical contemporary opera jazz standards gospel pop and even rock music! Completely unaccompanied all the sounds are made by the human voice (or other body parts!). These songs have been arranged for full SATB mixed choir and are fit for any choral occasion.

Rebecca Clarke's Come oh come my life's delight for SATB.for unaccompanied SATB to words by Thomas Campion.This is a lilting take on the Elizabethan lute-song full of smooth Stanford-like nineteenth-century harmonies exquisitely tempered with modal effects.Rebecca Clarke was born in Harrow in 1886 and died in New York City in 1979. She was one of the finest Viola players of her day and a skilful composer who studied with Stanford at the Royal College of Music in London. Her output as a composer was small comprising about 90 works but all these pieces are brilliant and powerful. Her Piano Trio and Viola Sonata are often playedand recorded and are now widely regarded as masterpieces. However her songs are perhaps her finest body of works and embrace a variety of styles from Blakean simplicity to brutal tragedy and outright farce. Rebecca Clarke's choral music was virtually unknown until Oxford University Press began to publish these works for the first time. She wrote for chorus and other vocal ensembles throughout virtually her whole career from her earliest attempts at composition around 1906 to her final flowering in the 1940s revising and recomposing until as late as 1976.

It is now impossible to imagine a world without Imagine an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief and continues to provide hope all around the world up to this day.The immortal song was the best selling single of the solo career of John Lennon the co-founder of the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music the Beatles; a legend who hardly needs any introduction. Since its release in 1971 the song has sold more than 1.6 million copies just in the UK and has been recorded and performed by dozens of artists including Madonna Stevie Wonder Elton John and DianaRoss.As part of the Pop Choral Series John Lennon’s signature song has been arranged for SATB a cappella choir by Roger Emerson. Named one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century and played just before the New Year's Times Square Ball drops in New York City since 2005 Lennon’s plea for world peace remains relevant and timeless a guaranteed audience favourite.

Judith Clurman Choral Series-Recorded by the New York Concert Singers and premiered at the Lincoln Centre Tree Lighting by Project Youth Chorus and the Muppets this sweet a cappella setting is a simple and warm salute to the December holidays especiallyappropriate for diverse audiences. 'We are different and the same all together. What we want this holiday is peace forever.' The full recording is available at www.newworldrecords.org and dramonline.org. (Lance Horne AllTogether New World Records NW80592. P 2001 C 2001 Anthology of Recorded Music Inc. Used by permission).

Recorded by Pink this top-ten hit is a song about taking risks with love no matter the consequences. Ryan O'Connell's sleek choral version captures the mood and style of Pink's recording with instrumental parts also available.

from Les Chansons des Roses-In addition to his vast output of German poetry Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) composed nearly 400 poems in French. His poems on roses struck me as especially charming filled with gorgeous lyricism deftly crafted and elegant in their imagery. These exquisite poems are primarily light joyous and playful and the musical settings are designed to enhance these characteristics and capture the delicate beauty and sensuousness of the poetry. Distinct melodic and harmonic materials recur throughout the cycle especially between Rilke''s poignant 'Contre qui rose' (set as a wistful nocturne) and his moving 'La rose complète.' The final piece 'Dirait-on ' is composed as a tuneful chanson populaire or folksong that weaves together two melodic ideas first heard in fragmentary form in preceding movements. 'Les Chansons des Roses' was premiered and recorded in 1993 by Portland Oregon ''s celebrated chamber choir Choral Cross-Ties conducted by Bruce Browne. The complete cycle has been widely performed since then and also recorded by the Los Angeles Master Chorale Los Angeles Chamber Singers Nordic Chamber Choir and tonight's performers the Donald Brinegar Singers. (Morten Lauridsen)

Tarik O'Regan's Mass Observation was commissioned for the University of Michigan Chamber Choir Jerry Blackstone conductor thanks to support from the William K. and Delores S. Brehm Choral Commissioning Fund and the Barbara Abramoff Levy Fund.   Composer's note:   Mass Observation is a meditation on the histories of our varied ambivalent relationships with surveillance in its myriad guises. The use of technologies that sate our desires to be watchedand heard (safety tracking empowerment and pride) has in some sense always been able to be weighed against our anxieties around invasions of privacy (physical and psychological harm hacking subjugation and embarrassment). The work takes its title from the British social research organisation Mass-Observation which aimed to record everyday life in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937 Mass-Observation controversially paid investigators to anonymously record people's conversation and behaviour at work on the street and at various public occasions including public meetings sporting and religious events. Scored for chorus and percussion sextet  Mass Observation ebbs and flows between various polarities (human voices and percussion instruments pitched and unpitched sounds clear and opaque tonalities) over the course of its thirteen movements. There is a ritualistic nature to the overall pacing of the work reminiscent of a liturgical mass setting. The two groups of musicians are rarely aligned: for much of the piece they watch and listen to one another in silence.    Duration approximately: 40 Minutes  

This complex work was commissioned by the West Virginia Choral Directors Association. The final movement, 'The Phoenix,? explores the mystery of new life rising up from the ashes. Recording provided by the College of Saint Rose Masterworks Chorale, directed by Michael Lister. / Choeur Mixte (SATB)

This Is The Day Which The Lord Hath Made-Haec Dies (This is the day which the Lord hath made) is a lively and rhythmic piece. It was commissioned by the choir of Clare College Cambridge and has recently been recorded by them on the Harmonia Mundi label. It sets a joyful Latin text suitable for Eastertide and with very little divisi is within the reach of proficient choirs. For SATB with Organ. Part of Faber Music’s Choral Signature Series.