COMPOSER’S NOTE

The sixth piece from Songs of Innocence collection, A Cradle Song aims to compliment the deep beauty of William Blake’s text. 

Essentially a lullaby, the ‘song’ aims to create a sense of sweetness and calm with its rocking piano figurations and flowing melody.  Into this structure is woven a whole range of emotions – sheer delight in the newborn, a mother’s protectiveness, the pain of motherhood – and a sense that the whole experience is a gift from God.  For me, the phrase ‘Sweet babe in thy face, Holy image can I trace‘ sums up the poem’s sentiments.  

For the full beauty of the text to be conveyed, a performance should maintain the flowing rhythms and phrases of the music, free from mannered changes in dynamic and tempo.

The Sheet Music for the complete collection of Songs of Innocence and the other standalone work The Lamb is also available.

Click here for more information on Songs of Innocence >

COMPOSER’S NOTE

Anthem for Doomed Youth originally appeared as part of the third movement of The Great War Symphony which I wrote to commemorate the centenary of the First World War in 2018.  The well-known words by Wilfred Owen are sung against an instrumental elegy.  For this reason, the accompaniment should make perfect sense in itself with the frequently syncopated, broken choral parts suggesting a sense of grief – even of weeping.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

COMPOSER’S NOTE

A setting of some of the last sentences of the Bible from the Book of Revelation, perfect for Advent.

Written for choir and organ, this was a gift from me to my alma mater of St Chad’s College, Durham University for the climax of their Advent Procession in Durham Cathedral.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

A new setting of the traditional carol for choir, organ, brass, and percussion, with congregational participation.

From the Publisher’s website: “Majestic and grand, this will be an incredible addition to your choral library.”

COMPOSER’S NOTE

Commissioned by the Choir of Magdalen College School, Oxford with words adapted by my brother Andrew from the Book of Isaiah and the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

It was first performed on 6 July 2013 at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford by the Choir of Magdalen College School, Oxford.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

This setting of Joy to the World is a magnificent new option for choir, organ, brass, and percussion.  This will be a great fit for church, community, and collegiate choir Christmas programs.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

Commissioned by Cathedral Commissions of Wells Cathedral.

The core of the Easter message is so beautifully condensed in these fourteen lines by Edmund Spenser and, from the outset, I felt genuinely inspired to write a work of both praise and deep love for the Risen Lord.

The main theme, first appearing in the choir’s opening phrase, reaches upwards in three clear steps, inviting the listener to become directly involved in a sense of being ‘raised’. The theme’s second appearance is more joyous as a result of the slightly quicker tempo and the urgency of the choral imitation until this first of three main sections comes to a decisive close.

The middle section, featuring solo soprano and a cappella choir, is a quiet reflection on the way in which we must ‘weigh’ the love which Christ won for us at such great cost and, with the full choir, there appears the anthem’s main invitation – that we ‘with love may one another entertain.’

The final section urges us to be unafraid of taking up this invitation as references to the main theme reappear and the textures swell again and again until the final climax is reached, and we are able to deliver our final words of thanksgiving to the Glorious Lord of Life on the occasion of his mighty Resurrection.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

Commissioned by Lincoln Cathedral, England to celebrate the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury for the centenary of the death of Bishop Edward King.

My brother Andrew provided the text which is based on the last letters from Edward King to the people of his diocese and the recurrent theme is ‘My dearest wish – be Christ-like Christians’.  I was lucky enough to be present on the 6th March 2010 to hear Lincoln’s wonderful choir premiere the anthem under Aric Prentice with accompaniment from the mighty Father Willis organ.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

A dynamic and majestic new arrangement of this well-loved carol for choir, organ, and optional brass and percussion.

Perfect for church services and Christmas concerts.