1. Michael
2. Raphael
3. Gabriel
4. Uriel

COMPOSER’S NOTE

In 2012 I was very pleased to be asked by Decca Records to write a whole album on the theme of angels.  The resulting album – Angel – recorded with the Choir of New College Oxford and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, went straight in at Number One in the UK classical charts.

The Archangel Suite, with texts by my brother Andrew, brings together the four Christian archangels, and I’ve used a different type of solo voice to depict each of them and their nature.  Strings, harp and choir add colour and depth to the words of each archangel.

MICHAEL is the warrior and captain of the angelic host and is conveyed by a rich, vibrant tenor voice.  He sings with defiance and authority and leads the choir in words of praise.  RAPHAEL is the tender healer.  The countertenor or mezzo soprano voice sits amid a warm choral and string texture, generating a tone of ethereal beauty.  GABRIEL, the messenger (sung by a baritone) delivers his world-changing message to Mary with an air of quiet authority.  The piece is full of the Christmas spirit and points towards the Annunciation and the very beginning of the Christian faith.  URIEL’s gentleness and comforting presence are reflected in the simple key of C major and the triadic nature of the melody.  The soprano voice adds elegance and a sense of light to a piece full of optimism and reassurance.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

On the 23rd August 1914 the Battle of Mons took place – the first major conflict between the British and the Germans in World War I.  During this battle more than a hundred British soldiers claim to have witnessed the vision of an angel which guided them to safety.  I wrote The Angel of Mons to depict this event and the drama between the angel, the soldiers and the loved ones at home.  

For King and Country – using text by my brother Andrew – is the opening movement and conveys the men relinquishing their peacetime duties and leaving their families behind to fight for their country.  It depicts the early optimism at the outbreak of the war, the soldiers’ heroism and their ‘honest wills to God and right entrusting’.

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

An accessible setting of Wilfred Owen’s unfinished poem I Know the Music which describes the sounds of the battlefield as musical, a lament for the loss of beauty in a time of unimaginable tragedy.  The sounds of bells, bugles and the countryside are brought to life in a work which mirrors both the pain of war and the comfort that music can bring.  There are two sections where the soprano solo comes to the fore and the strings provide a programmatic backdrop.

Commissioned by Aliquando Choir for the town of Henley-on-Thames and the wider community, I composed this for the memory of those who served their country in times of war.  I Know The Music was premiered on the 8th of November 2014 in St Mary’s Church in Henley-on-Thames by Aliquando Choir, the Soprano Meryl Davies, West Forest Sinfonia, conducted by me, in the presence of Wilfred Owen’s nephew, Peter Owen.

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

On the 23rd August 1914 the Battle of Mons took place – the first major conflict between the British and the Germans in World War I.  During this battle more than a hundred British soldiers claim to have witnessed the vision of an angel which guided them to safety.  I wrote The Angel of Mons to depict this event and the drama between the angel, the soldiers and the loved ones at home.  

Let Them Give Thanks is the closing movement and the libretto is adapted from the words of Psalm 107 sung alongside the well-known hymn ‘Glory to thee, my God, this night’ by Thomas Ken.  Sung by the tenors and basses, the psalm conveys the soldier’s prayers of thanks for the divine assistance and safe deliverance from a terrible situation.  The hymn, sung by the sopranos and altos at the same time as the psalm is being sung, symbolises the evening prayers of the wives, fiancées and mothers left at home.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

Love’s Promise is the opening piece from the collection Song of Songs and depicts the yearning of the lover for her beloved and the hope of love.

The collection of love poetry which forms the Old Testament’s Song of Songs has always presented a conundrum to scholars.  The orthodox understanding of its presence in the Canon of Scripture was the widespread use in the Prophets of the concept of God as the husband of Israel.  For the Christian mystical tradition, the dialogue between the lover and the beloved gave voice to the relationship of the soul to Christ.  Bernard of Clairvaux preached over fifty sermons on them!  Jesus called himself ‘the Bridegroom’ giving authority to this reading.  Some have seen Mary the Mother of Jesus in the references to the ‘room where my mother conceived me’.

The relationship of romantic and erotic love to spirituality is the subject of the Song of Songs collection.  They express desire, hope, confusion and joy; the whole range of emotions experienced by the lover – but there is no final consummation.  The metaphors of vine, wine, garden and fountain are ones that prefigure the language of Christian spirituality.  They provide Christian spirituality with a language of love that is both sensual and spiritual, of earth and of heaven.  The text for these songs is faithful to the text of the Bible but poetic licence has provided a narrative structure and the development of some metaphors.  The cry of the lover to the beloved, the heightening of the senses through sumptuous smells and tastes, and the imagery of fire provide a rich basis for a certain type of music – music born out of our time, yes, but which also draws upon the timelessness of tonality, consonance and balance.

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.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

On the 23rd August 1914 the Battle of Mons took place – the first major conflict between the British and the Germans in World War I.  During this battle more than a hundred British soldiers claim to have witnessed the vision of an angel which guided them to safety.  I wrote The Angel of Mons to depict this event and the drama between the angel, the soldiers and the loved ones at home.  

Out of the Depths – using text adapted from Psalm 130 –  first conveys the prayers of the wives, fiancées and mothers left at home: the angel responds with words of reassurance.  Next, the soldiers themselves sing of their longing for divine assistance.  The angel appears once more as the prayers of the men and women alike combine in a final climax.  The piece subsides into quiet prayer asking the Lord for mercy.

This piece also featured on my No.1-selling album Angel recorded with the Choir of New College Oxford and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

COMPOSER’S NOTE

This setting of Silent Night for choir, organ, and optional brass and percussion is a thoughtful and moving addition to your Christmas service or concert.

Accessible vocals with a unique descant.