Written for SSA chorus and Piano. Commissioned by Gareth Malone for Series Four of BBC TV's 'The Choir' and first performed by Malone and the Military Wives' choir as part of The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on 12th November 2011 in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen. The text is taken from poems, letters and prayers written by the Military Wives, selected and adapted by Paul Mealor, and a passage from the Book of John: Wherever you are, my love will keep you safe - My heart will build a bridge of light, across both time and space. Wherever you are, our hearts still beat as one, I hold you in my dreams each night, until your task is done. Light up the darkness, my wondrous star, Our hopes and dreams, my heart and yours, forever shining far. Light up the darkness, my prince of peace - May the stars shine all around you, may your courage never cease. Wherever I am, I will love you day by day, I will keep you safe, cling on to faith, along the dark, dark way. Wherever I am, I will hold on through the night - I will pray each day, a safe return, will look now to the light. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 / Ssa Et Piano

A Gaelic Blessing is a simple and catchy piece by Craig McLeish. This piece will be particularly useful for school, junior and community choirs, and a tuneful introduction to singing simple contrapuntal lines. The second soprano part repeats the tune at bar 33 and should dominate here - the first sopranos and altos should support appropriately. Ease and beauty of tone should be of paramount importance throughout. 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. Craig McLeish began his musical life as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral under Barry Rose. He began composing at the age of ten and his preces and responses for four trebles are still in the repertoire. After a degree at York University he returned to London to study at the Guildhall and sang again at St Paul's as a tenor. At the time he also arranged and copied music for West End shows such as Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, and played bass guitar for various groups. This led to a spell in the cult pop band 'Fat and Frantic', who shaved the top 100 twice with the whimsical anthem Last night my wife hoovered my head. He also worked as musical assistant for David Heneker (Half a Sixpence) and David Fanshawe (African Sanctus). In 1992 Craig became director of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs Orchestra and Singers, performing concerts throughout the UK and becoming involved in a number of recordings and BBC broadcasts. During this time he arranged more than 250 orchestral scores ranging from Queen to Calamity Jane, Stravinsky and Stevie Wonder. Alongside this he began arranging and writing songs for children's collections (Big Blue Planet, Love Shone Down) and producing recordings and string arrangements for various artists (Sheila Walsh, Kim Hill, Matt Redman). He is also well known as a conductor and arranger for Songs of Praise. Recently Craig has collaborated with composer Tolga Kashif writing orchestrations for the RPO's Seo Taiji Symphony, the Classic FM chart-topping CD by saxophonist Tyler Rix, and the Genesis Suite which was premiered at the Barbican. He has been musical director of Young Voices UK for 13 years, bringing large school choirs together to play with a live band and solo artists, and currently conducts the Milton Keynes Community Choir, Hart and Soul Community Choir and the Milton Keynes Youth Choir. / Choeur SSA