Peter Maxwell Davies

Il Rozzo Martello for unaccompanied choir SATB by Peter Maxwell Davies was commissioned by BBC Radio 3. It was first performed on 14th August 1997 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London by the BBC Singers conducted by StephenCleobury.A Michaelangelo sonnet lies at the heart of Il Rozzo Martello - a contemplation on the process of artistic creation and the role of inspiration within it the sculptor's ‘crude hammer’; of the title in Davies'swords ‘a pale echo of the creative efforts of exploring the same theme and similar imagery’. This introduction is distinguished from the setting of Michaelangelo's test by adopting a plainsong style although it builds to aclimax with progressively rich harmony Duration: c 12 minutes.

Job (Vocal Score)-A substantial work for four soli SATB chorus and orchestra using text from the translation of Stephen Mitchell's The Book Of Job. Like Vaughan Williams in his Job: A Masque for Dancing Davies was inspired inpart by William Blake's 21 engravings for the Book of Job. His oratorio however is less dependent on find parallels for Blake's visual details given the direct poetry in David Lemon's adaptation of the Stephen Mitchelltranslation from the biblical original it is hardly surprising that the spotlight should be so much on Job's suffering litany. The baritone has the lion's share of the setting though the other soloists occasionally reinforce hisplea and chorale-like episodes universalize his predicament. Davies frames with work with two seminal plainsong-like passages; there is also plenty of dramatic contrast both within Job's monologues and in the vivid orchestralwriting for the smarmy Comforters the initially shrill God who finally appears out of a dazzling orchestral whirlwind and the animal life he uses to illustrate the wonders of creation to a humbled Job.Commissioned by theUniversity of British Colombia it was first performed in May 1997 by Valdine Anderson (soprano) Linda Maguire (mezzo soprano) Paul Moore (tenor) and Kevin McMillan (baritone) with the Vancouver Bach Choir and the CBC VancouverOrchestra conducted by the composer.Vocal score with piano reduction of the orchestral score. Duration c. 70mins.

Ave Maria Hail Blessed Flower (Op. 17) was written in 1961 and premiered at Cirencester Grammar School. It is a simple Christmas carol for unaccompanied SATB choir. It uses the image of the Virgin Mary as a delicate flower without sin reinforced by close-knit ethereal harmonies.Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934) is a British composer and conductor who served as Master of the Queen’s Music from 2004 to 2014. He has developed from an enfant terrible in the 1960s to become one of the leading figures of the British musical establishment. In the intervening years he has revolutionised contemporary music and helped re-define Britishmusic.

Peter Maxwell Davies sets Barbara Newman's translation of a text by Hildegard von Bingen for SATB chorus and Organ. The work was commissioned by Epsom College to celebrate the one hudred and fiftieth anniversary of the College.The first performance took place in February 2005 in Guildford Cathedral by the choir of Epsom College.

A haunting setting of four elegies from the writing of George Mackay Brown composed by Peter Maxwell Davies. Completed in 1998 this powerful and unsettling work is based upon four short verses that explore the more sinister tragic and even supernatural qualities of the oceans and tides. Composed for soloists mixed chorus and Orchestra the work was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The work wasfirst performed in December 1998 at Queen's Hall Edinburgh conducted by the composer. The vocal score is available using product code CH61504.

This Christmas cantata is an uncanny recapture by Maxwell Davies of a relatively simple modal style: luminous sometimes plaintive sometimes rapturous. A linked series of George Mackay Brown settings designed to give pleasure (ifsometimes strenuous pleasure) to a non-professional choir. A spiritual mystery is glimpsed in an Orcadian setting. Commissioned by the London Symphony Chorus to commemorate its 30th anniversary with additional funds from theArts Council of Great Britain.The first performance was given in October 1995 by the London Symphony Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox.Vocal score.

Continuant la richesse de la musique chorale de Maxwell Davies grâce à son rôle de maître de musique de la Reine, ' An céleste Song ' est le deuxième carol délicieux à la Royal Collection' et est adapté pour les chorales dans tous les domaines. / Choeur Mixte (SATB) Et Orgue

A work for SATB soli SATB chorus and orchestra using a variety of texts selected by Alistair Grant who commissioned the work to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Jacobite rising (1745-6). It was first performed inOctober 1997 in Glasgow by Lisa Tyrrell (soprano) Margaret McDonald (mezzo soprano) Neil Mackie (tenor) and David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus (chorus master Ben Parry) and the ScottishChamber Orchestra conducted by the composer.Vocal score with piano reduction of the instrumental score. Duration c. 40mins.

This motet for unaccompanied SATB choir was commissioned for the 500th anniversary of King's College Cambridge. This is a setting in Greek of an Orthodox prayer to Christ as Son and Word God and Man risen and saving. The prayeris led by a solo tenor and sung mostly by the men with the upper voices entering only for an appeal to Wisdom (sofia) and the final alleluia.It was first performed in 1991 in King's College Chapel by the choir of King's Collegeconducted by Stephen Cleobury.

Corpus Christi With Cat And Mouse is a setting of fragments selected from the Richard Hill Commonplace Book an early 16th century manuscript in the library of Balliol College Oxford. Commissioned by the Master andFellows of Balliol College to commemorate the centenary of the death of Benjamin Jowett Master of Balliol 1870-1893 this work was first performed by the Chapel Choir of Balliol College conducted by Mark Dawes in November1993.For unaccompanied SATB choir. This vocal score includes a piano accompaniment for rehearsal purposes.