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This anthology contains exciting new choral works by some of the most highly regarded British choral composers of our time - from Jonathan Dove and Howard Goodall to Judith Bingham and Jonathan Harvey. Contemporary settings of key sacred texts such as Agnus Dei, Gloria, and The Lord is my shepherd, for use in concerts, church services, and choral evensongs throughout the year are also included. Accompanied and unaccompanied works could be chosen for mixed-voice choirs (four to eight parts), from intermediate to more advanced level. Furthermore, there are introduction and commentary with valuable rehearsal and performance tips by internationally acclaimed British choral conductor Simon Halsey. All works are also available as individual choral leaflets

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Catabile - The London Quartet has long been recognized to be one of Britain's great vocal groups. Founded in Cambrige as an a cappella student group, they first came to prominence in the Tim Rice muscial Blondel in London's West End, They have apperaed in a huge variety of venues, singing programmes encompassing early polyphony thorugh to jazz and contemporary music, and have released many albums.
This songbook features a collection pf the London Quartet's favourite songs, arranged for SATB. From Greenleeves and Oranges and Lemons, through a witty rendition of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.4 to Gershwin's description of A Foggy Day, these songs are a celebration of all things British.

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Jonathan Dove's Missa Brevis for SATB voices and organ is an altogether more extrovert affair. Dove is a highly accomplished writer in just about every genre, including his first love: opera. If a quiet, sombre atmosphere, underpinned by organ pedal drones, pervades the Kyrie and Agnus movements, Dove's theatrical sense of good timing is put to good use in the Gloria and Sanctus; both full of colour and sparkling organ writing (penned for performance at an annual convention of cathedral organists, Dove clearly knows his market!). This is immediate, vibrant music that simply jumps off the page demanding to be sung and played."

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Many of the arias in this collection are part of the standard repertoire of renowned soloists, and it is really through them that the operas to which they belong have become famous. This is undoubtedly true of arias such as Lascia ch'io pianga, Ombra mai fù and Caro mio ben. Gwyn Arch has now created new arrangements of these and further works by Handel, Mozart, Verdi and other composers, and thus opended up this musical genre to a whole new public. The piano accompaniments are largely orientated towards the originals.

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These "best of" choral pieces by Lorenz Maierhofer are popular choral standards that never fail to arouse enthusiasm - in both the choir and the audience! This choral collecgtion therefore provides an ideal repertoire for "open singing", whether at choral events, festivals or social choral gatherings. The pieces can be sung on a very wide variety of occasions: secular or sacred, vibrant, humorous, contemplative or festive. Singing unites!

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With his Latin Jazz Mass Martin Voellinger (1979-) presents a rousing, multifaceted work, which is equally suited for religious services as well as in concert. This Mass, multifaceted in compositional technique and musicality and characterized by emotions such as joy, trust, hope and happiness, not only enthralls the listener by means of the detailed interpretation of the texts, but also by its combination of various rhythms and styles - from salsa, samba, bossa nova, rumba, tango and gospel to pop ballads and funk. Diversified grooves, catchy characteristic melodies, sophisticated harmony, improvisational elements, solo passages, a diversified choral and instrumental part-writing as well as an abundant formal richness appeal to a large audience. Furthermore, the choral setting is characterized by a well-balanced range and logical part-writing, which is why The Latin Jazz Mass can be performed very well not only by chamber choirs but also by dedicated amateur choirs and small church choirs. A highlight for the performers and the audience alike!

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Listeners and performers alike will take delight in the missa deus est caritas for five-part mixed choir a cappella with its cantabile melodies paired with succinct themes and motifs which mirror the text closely. The Mass from Manfred Laenger (1950-)is characterized by rhythmically rousing sections as well as by tonally enchanting parts that increase to seven voices and by a catchy, occasionally spherical harmony. A rewarding challenge for ambitious choirs!

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Helbling Chorus XXI -
New perspectives in choral music with choral works by contemporary composers, offers chamber and concert choirs and also dedicated amateur choirs a broad spectrum of sacred and secular pieces. The diversity of its style and content ranges from musical settings of poems through sacred concert pieces to experimental sound compositions. Many of the compositions have already been successfully performed in competitions and have aroused considerable international attention.

With Lux aeterna, Franz M. Herzog (1962-) presents an impressive concert piece for mixed voices that with its dramatic interpretation of the content of the requiem mass represents a fascinating challenge for every dedicated choir. With an exceptionally expressive musical language, full of tension and suspense and characterized by cluster-like overlays of melodic lines and differing sound surfaces and pattern structures, he has produced a vivid, closely-woven musical setting of the final plea for eternal light. This piece is specially commissioned for the 44th International Choir Competition in Porca Castle, Spittal an der Drau, Austria.

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This composition of Veni creator spiritus from Rupert Gottfried Frieberger (1951-) was commissioned by the Hilliard Ensemble and was given its first performance in the Collegiate Church in Schlaegl in May 1998. The Gregorian melody is carried through in each of the four fully composed verses, roaming through all the vocal parts. In the third verse, which is reduced to three voicings, we encounter its mirror image. In verse four, ostinato groups in the "sub-choir" underpin the soprano cantus firmus. This rhythmically and harmonically diverse choral composition has meanwhile become part of the repertoire of the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and has been performed at many venues.

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Matsuura Masa is one of the active composers who responded to the commission of "Poetry Project of Reconstruction" which is carried out mainly in Miyagi Prefecture. Matsuura completed this "Requiem" to express her condolences to those who suffered from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The premiere was performed by the mixed chorus, children chorus, alto and baritone solos, string orchestra, and flute and saxophone players. In response to its popularity, the piece was replayed by female chorus with organ accompaniment. Even though the mixed chorus version is the most popular one, the female chorus version will also be published simultaneously. The latter version is based on the organ accompaniment and considered as "organ reduction version". The piece reminds Durufle's or Faure's "Requiem". The work's beautiful music will certainly touch not only those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, but also the people who were unfortunate to experience wars and disasters all over the world. An alternative to female chorus can be its substitution with children chorus.

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It is a piece for unaccompanied mixed chorus by composer John Tavener (1944-2013) who is known as the British "mystic". The work has a dedication "For the birthday of 70-year-old mother-in-law". Although the major harmony is continuously intermittent, singers should sing with love and joy. It can be considered as a more challenging work since harmony is rather complicated.

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Jan Dismas Zelenka is a contemporary of Bach's and regarded one of the leading exponents of the Dresden Baroque alongside Johann David Heinichen and Johann Adolf Hasse. J.S. Bach knew Zelenka personally and has held him in great esteem. Next to Masses and Vespers, Zelenka also wrote Litanies and pieces for the Holy Week. This Miserere in C minor is the only late work by Zelenka to be reprised in Dresden's Hofkirche after his death. The unconventional piece is both fascinating and mystifying through its strong stylistic and expressive contrast.

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Matsushita's composition draws on elements of the Gregorian antiphon. It begins in unison Gregorian chant, as was typical of Renaissance motets, and the beginning of new lines of text are also derived from Gregorian material. Matsushita juxtaposes a syllabic, rhythmic declamation with this melody, constantly alternating bars with even and odd numbers of beats, the octave C' - C" constantly repeated by the outer parts and leading towards the climax at the text "nomen Jesu". After ascending D major arpeggios, the central word "Jesu" radiates into F sharp major, the following repetition in the compass of an octave on C is more tranquil, ending peacefully with an F major chord, ppp. World premiere: September 2013, Trondheim, Norway (women's choir "Brilliant Harmony", Ko Matsushita)

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Matsushita sets each section of the Offertorium text vividly, in keeping with the style of Renaissance motets. The opening motif soars powerfully upwards over a pedal point in leaps of a fifth and fourth from the starting note of C, before pausing on a chord of superimposed fourths at the word coelo (heaven). In the corresponding place at the end of the work, the same tender chord is heard en passant at the word "Maria", a beautiful musical portrayal of the mystery of the Assumption of Mary into heaven.
The angels' rejoicing and the alleluia forms the greater part of the motet: imbued with playful repetitions and eighth note rests, the emphasis in the words is displaced and individual, dance-like syncopations are created. The dynamic climax of the work is in three upswings at the words "cum Christo regnat in aeternum", arriving at a radiant B flat major at the word "aeternum" (eternity), chanted forte hymnically over five measures.
World premiere; 24.10.2004, Nagano, Japan (Women's choir "Shinano", Ko Matsushita)

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The aged Simeon takes the new-born Jesus in his arms, recognises his significance and celebrates this moment in a paean of praise as the fulfilment of his life. In Matsushita's motet this song of praise, the "nunc dimittis", stands at the centre of the composition. Here, the triad of C-F sharp-G, used for the word "hodie - today" at the beginning, symbolically combines with a Gregorian-like motif, revolving around the central note of B flat in whole-tone movement, and which is used to represent the Virgin Mary. The work ends with a mystical wash of sound, a whole-tone cluster which emerges from the aleatorically repeated basic motifs of the work, and fades away to nothing. World premiere: 22.7.2012, Tokyo, Japan (Collegium Cantorum Yokohama, Ko Matsushita)

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The aged Simeon takes the new-born Jesus in his arms, recognises his significance and celebrates this moment in a paean of praise as the fulfilment of his life. In Matsushita's motet this song of praise, the "nunc dimittis", stands at the centre of the composition. Here, the triad of C-F sharp G, used for the word "hodie - today" at the beginning, symbolically combines with a Gregorian-like motif, revolving around the central note of B flat in whole-tone movement, and which is used to represent the Virgin Mary. The work ends with a mystical wash of sound, a whole-tone cluster which emerges from the aleatorically repeated basic motifs of the work, and fades away to nothing. World premiere: 22.7.2012, Tokyo, Japan (Collegium Cantorum Yokohama, Ko Matsushita)

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The "Tenebrae factae sunt" for six-part chorus was commissioned in 2012 for Beijin University Student Choir and was premiered at the "World Choir Games" in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA conducted by Hou Xijin. It is an ambitious work with a fervent intensity. Matsushita sets the two last words of Jesus, "Deus meus, ut quid me dereliquisti" and "Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum" as pained, in chords characterized by tritones, as a truly superhuman work of redemption. This work lies slightly beyond the upper limit of the musical and it is well within the abilities of ambitious chamber choirs.

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This collection bring together the favourite Anthems and Partsongs of Paul Mealor for the first time. Written for a mixture of accompanied and a cappella chorus, the collection included the No. 1 chart hits "Where you are" and "In My Dreams" alongside classics such as "She walks in beauty" and " Ubi Caritas". Also included are newer works such as the dramatic "Let all the world" and the uplifting "With a friend like you". The composer said: "Each piece of mine has the waves of the sea in it throughout-small accelerandi and ritardani which create aural waves ... Find them, and the music will sound perfect."

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Orlando Gibbons was exceptionally competent at allgenres of the time, and was among the finest composers of his generation. This collection contains the 17 hymn tunes composed by him for George Wither's "Hymnes and Songs of the Church", published in 1623, many of which are still popular today. This is the first modern edition which incorporates Wither's hymn texts beyond the first verses. Gibbons composed treble and bass lines for the hymns; editor David Skinner has constructed the inner voices to create a collection of pieces that can be performed either as hymns or as simple anthems.

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This book contains seven traditional spirituals' for SAT choir, sometimes in to six (double choir), and the occasional bass part. They are designed to be sung to backing tracks(included on the CD), however for rehearsal purposes, or should you want to use your own live band, piano accompaniments are included and quitar chord symbols.
The CDs contain complete demonstration of all pieces, performance backing tracks and also individual tracks of each vocal part. It is envisaged the Tenor part will be sung by male voices. All notated solo lines should be treated with flexibility - they are simply a quide, a starting point for individual interpretation and improvisation.

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