Music and texts of 201 carols for the Christmas season (many in more than one setting) each with copious notes on historical background and performance. An extensive general introduction gives an overview of the history of the carol and there are a number of appendices dealing with specific areas of the repertory. The book's approach is an attempt to rediscover the native vitality of material that has sometimes been debased and sentimentalized by means of `authentic' period settings and a concern for historically informed performance. Mostly SATB accompanied and unaccompaniedEasy to Moderately difficult'simply magnificent ' - TheTimes (London).

In a 2010 interview Billy Joel was asked which song is his best work that is least appreciated to which he started playing And So It Goes. As part of the King’s Singers Choral Series this ballad is arranged for SATB (Soprano Alt Tenor Bass) a cappella with Piano accompaniment included for rehearsals only. The harmonious hymn-like sound makes And So It Goes perfect for a variety of occasions. Performance time is ca. 3 minutes. The King’s Singers is a Grammy Award-winning British male sextet founded in 1968 at King’s College Cambridge. The group has always consisted of six singers in total with their membership constantly changing. Over the decades the ensemble has reached an ever-widening international audience and popularity today appearing in around 125 concerts each year mostly in Europe the US and the Far East.

Walter Piston is better known for his symphonic and larger scale orchestral compositions mostly of a secular nature. In fact this is his only religious composition. It was premiered it at Brandeis University on May 9 1959. The joyful and sprightly musical content of the first part is expressed with shifting accents modal chanting and exquisite orchestration. The prayer that follows is substantially darker and more troubled though Piston’s skill is to present glimpses of light and relief. This SATB version includes a rehearsal Piano reduction by the composer.

Commissioned by The Manchester Grammar School to celebrate its quincentenary in 2015. First performed on 16 April 2015 at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester by The Manchester Grammar School Choir Hallé Youth Choir and Hallé Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. Composer’s Note: 'A Celestial Map of the Sky commissioned by The Manchester Grammar School on the occasion of its quincentenary takes its cue from two woodcuts engraved by the German polymath Albrecht Dürer in 1515 the same year in which school was founded. These two groundbreaking polar projections of the northern and southern celestial hemispheres are the oldest printedEuropean star charts. Whereas prior celestial projections sometimes depicted allegorical figures looking over the skies Dürer instead honoured four ancient astronomers by depicting them at their work overseeing his maps. The various texts I have chosen (mostly extractions from larger works) reflect the changing worldview hinted at in Dürer’s charts. His inclusion of the four astronomers was a signal that the universe could be comprehended through human intervention rather than solely through spiritual or symbolic means.' - Tarik O’Regan

With a text by thirteenth century poet Meister Eckhart that speaks of the fall from and a return to grace composer Brewbaker uses mostly homophonic writing with soft contemporary harmonies to find the soul's rightful place in the universe. This emotional showstopper calls for the full range of a woman's voice and mature emotions. Duration: ca. 4:00.Performed by Somerset Festival Chorus at Wells Cathedral in England Emily Ellsworth conductor.

Par HUMMEL BERTOLD. With the Eight Fragments Bertold Hummel has successfully created a most impressive work. Uncommonly concentrated in the evoking of atmosphere and reflecting the texts strongly, these 'dark grey songs' - to quote Ludwig Hirsch - develop a sadly expressive, almost somnambulant charm. These songs seem to have become Bertold Hummel's completely inwardly turned 'Winterreise', the epigram of a psychosis, full of concealed suggestion and dark references, but always more full of hope. The 'sun' becomes the constantly invoked bearer of hope. The music is highly expressive, exploiting the various performing and bowing possibilities of the stringed instruments and their capacity for nuances to the limits; occasionally oppressive visions in sound appear. It is music in danger, of a most fragile balance. Nor are subtle musical references missing. With only one note, following the word 'music', harmony and tonality are conjured up. / Date parution : 2007-11-20/ Répertoire / Baryton et Quatuor à Cordes