Lux Benigna by Paul Mealor, with words by Gordon Graham, for SSSAAA choir with Piano accompaniment.

Alan Bullard's first Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, written for the choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, can be performed a cappella or with organ. Both movements feature pleasing tonal contrasts and have a distinctly folk-like feel. In this lyrical and expressive setting, the voices are often offset against each other in pairs, focussing the listener's attention on the text and highlighting by contrast the rich, powerful passages for full choir. The Selwyn Service is included on a CD by Selwyn College, Cambridge (Regent Records).

Many of the anthems in The Choral Collection are settings of words which Geoffrey Nobes has known for a long time. Most of the pieces are arrangements of songs which were originally written for the three CDs published by Kevin Mayhew and which have lent themselves to new treatments. All of them are reflections on the beauty and meaning of some profound and lovely words.

Thee We Adore by David Poole-Connor for unaccompanied SATB choir.

For more information on Ola Gjeilo, read our in-depth interview with the composer.Described by Ola Gjeilo as perhaps his most personal piece, Contrition sets a line of English text from George Herbert's poem Perseverance and excerpts from Psalm 101, in Latin. Contrition is here performed by the Central Washington University Chamber Choir:

Crucifixus by Paul Mealor is here presented in a version for Baritone solo, SATB choir and Organ accompaniment. Also available for solo baritone, SATB chorus and Piano (NOV293304).

Setting a popular text paraphrased from the Song of Solomon, Rise up, my love is an uplifting anthem ideal for Easter services, although the text's beautiful springtime imagery would also make a lovely feature in any concert programme. The work contains expressive word painting, with moments of intensity alongside phrases of utter stillness. There are opportunities for soloists, and the flexible scoring allows choirs to decide whether to perform the piece unaccompanied, with organ, or with piano. This anthem will be included on a forthcoming CD by Selwyn College, Cambridge (Regent Records).

O Be Joyful is a jubilant setting of Psalm 100 from the Book of Common Prayer. Suitable for performances throughout the church year, it features fluctuating time signatures, a lively tempo, and bright harmonies, which are underpinned throughout by a sparkling organ part.

This edition of the Salve Regina by Portuguese composer Diogo Dias Melgás (1638-1700) is the first published version of the work, which has previously only been available in a library edition. Suitable for liturgical or concert performance, this setting is in four equally active parts throughout, each of which takes the initial plainsong motif at the opening. The effectiveness of this moving work lies in the skilful manipulation of simple motivic material, through the use of devices such as parallel writing, sequences, repetition, suspensions, and hocket. The vocal score is presented alongside detailed performance and editorial notes, and an optional basso continuo part appears as an appendix. Salve Regina is featured on The Sixteen's CD 'A Goldern Age of Portugese Music', conducted by Harry Christophers (COR16020).

Ubi Caritas Et Amor taken from John Pickard's Three Latin Motets for unaccompanied SATB choir.

Paul Mealor's Praise was commissioned by Ralph Allwood for the Rodolfus Choir and was first performed by them on 31 December 2012 at Douai Abbey. Vocal Score for for SATB divisi chorus, organ and optional percussion. Percussion part available separately: NOV293590-01.

Choralpassion nach den vier Evangelien op. 7 by Hugo Distler for Tenor solo, Bass solo and Mixed choir SSATB.

Originally composed as the second of a set of three Latin motets, Paul Mealor's Ave maris stella is now available separately, set for SATB divisi chorus unaccompanied.

Lead Us, O Father by Michael Doswell, an anthem for unaccompanied SATB choir with words by W.H Burleigh.

There is no rose of such virtue is an anonymous mediaeval text, already well known through beautiful settings by Britten (in his Ceremony of Carols), John Joubert and others. The poem is ‘macaronic’ (it presents a verse in English, followed by a varying Latin refrain). This new version follows the illustrious examples above by remaining strophic and presenting broadly the same music in a succession of slightly different guises. The first verse is a straightforward four-part setting, the second gives the melody to the tenors and surrounds them with hushed, wordless writing for the other parts, and the third explores a freely canonic relationship between the tenor and soprano lines before carrying the previous verse-endings to a higher, more exalted pitch and mood. The fourth verse then expands its texture in a free climactic passage evoking the songs of praise sung by the angels. This subsides towards the final verse, where the texture of the music attenuates again to four parts, and canonic writing (based on the first four notes of the original melody) permeates all of them. This slightly extended statement leads to a hushed final cadence. Francis Pott (b. 1957) began musical life as a chorister at New College, Oxford. He held open music scholarships at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while pursuing piano studies privately in London with the distinguished British artist, Hamish Milne. Throughout the 1990s Francis was John Bennett Lecturer in Music at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and a lay clerk in the Choir of Winchester Cathedral. In 2001 he became Head of London College of Music, University of West London, later leading research across the University’s Faculty of Arts and acceding in 2007 to its first Chair in Composition. Francis Pott has become recognised particularly for his sacred choral and organ music. This has been performed in concert and on radio in over three dozen countries worldwide, published by four major UK houses and released extensively on CD. Winner of four national composition awards, in 1997 he received first prize in the piano solo section of the S. S. Prokofiev Composing Competition, Moscow. In 2006 and 2011 he was a nominated finalist in the BASCA/BBC Annual Composer Awards. In summer 2012 he was winner of the international composing competition of the Cheltenham Festival, which sought new piano variations on the arioso song Bist du bei mir, well known in the arrangement by J. S. Bach. Francis lives with his wife and two children on the outskirts of Winchester. An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers, the Novello New Choral Series offers pieces for all types of choirs, including sacred and secular works from simple, four-part settings to more expansive, yet accessible, repertoire in an exciting variety of styles.

Rosa Mystica (There Is No Rose) by Benjamin Dale for Tenor solo and SATB choir.

Crucifixus by Paul Mealor is here presented in a version for Baritone solo, SATB choir and Piano accompaniment. Crucifixus was commissioned by the sound Festival, and premiered by the National Youth Choir of Scotland, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland Futures Ensemble with baritone soloist Jeremy Huw Williams, conducted by Christopher Bell at St Machar Cathedral, Aberdeen on 11 November 2012. Also available for solo baritone, SATB chorus and organ (NOV293425).

Ave Verum Corpus by Paul Mealor for SATB divisi chorus unaccompanied.

The Lord Is In His Holy Temple, an anthem composed by Edward Henry Thorne for SATB choir with Organ Accompaniment.

The Peace Of God from the series 'Hymns for a Changing World'. Optional harmony part in the chorus. Dedicated to St. Cairell. The Irish missionary, St Cairell, is thought to have left Iona c.600 AD. Along the route of his journey through the Highlands, he established several centres of Christianity, one such holy place being Cille Choirill in Brae Lochaber, east of Roy Bridge.The highest knoll on this site is Tom Angeal (the Hill of the Angels), an ancient burial ground, the final resting place of laity, priests and bishops of Lochaber. According to local tradition, the first recorded church on the site was built or restored by Ailean nan Creach, a fifteenth century Cameron chief, in atonement for his violent life. Over the centuries, the chapel fell into disrepair but in 1932, and again in 1991, it was restored and repaired, thanks to the generous funding provided by the descendants of Lochaber people who emigrated to Nova Scotia at the end of the nineteenth century.

Requiem for my Friend by Zbigniew Preisner was first performed on 1st October 1998, at the Teatr Wielki, Warsaw. The Lacrimosa from Requiem for my Friend is here presented in a separate vocal score for solo Soprano, SATB choir and Organ accompaniment.

Sunrise Mass is a spiritual, extended work by Ola Gjeilo which uses the liturgical Latin text. The four movements bring us on a metaphysical journey from the heavens to earth, from the echo of The Spheres (Kyrie) to Identity & The Ground (Sanctus) with its earthly themes. Neither expressly sacred nor secular, this is an exquisite work for advanced high school level and beyond. Duration: ca. 32:00.

The Oxford Book of Descants is a definitive collection of 102 descants to well-known hymns, carols, and worship songs.It features descants by a wide range of composers, including contemporary names such as David Willcocks, John Rutter, Malcolm Archer, and Paul Leddington Wright, as well as celebrated twentieth-century church composers such as Alan Gray, Edward Bairstow, Sydney Nicholson, and John Wilson. Published in both full music and melody editions, this is a fully practical collection, with selected descants presented in different keys and with alternative words to match most popular hymnals. The With a superb range of descants, ably written and sympathetic to the style and harmony of the original tune, this is an excellent resource that will be welcomed by all choirs and church musicians and will enhance hymn singing at church services.

This offering from Mack Wilberg is a joyful yet graceful arrangement of the well-known hymn tune by Conrad Kocher. Featuring a lyrical accompaniment and variations in choral textures, this piece is ideal for Harvest or Thanksgiving celebrations, but can also be used all year round.