The choral music of Ian Assersohn Autumn 2015 APPLE TREE MUSIC THE CHORAL MUSIC OF IAN ASSERSOHN - CATALOGUE. Dies Irae - a cantata

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1 APPLE TREE MUSIC THE CHORAL MUSIC OF IAN ASSERSOHN - CATALOGUE Yarmouth Town Light-hearted SATB folk song arrangement Yarmouth Town has been published by Novello in their new anthology The Novello Book of British Folksongs for Mixed Voice Choirs. From So Simple From so simple beginning (a setting of words by Charles Darwin) was premiered at the 2015 Darwin Day lecture sung by the British Humanist Association Choir. No Time To Stand And Stare The delightful SA song No Time To Stand And Stare has been published by Tim Knight Music in the Small Choir Music Series. My True Love Dies Irae - a cantata For soprano and baritone soloists, SATB choir, lower voice and upper voice/children's choirs and chamber orchestra. The work may be performed by a single mixed voice choir, but for the full dramatic effect it needs three choirs; mixed voice, male voice and upper voice children s choirs. The instrumental requirements are: strings, piano, percussion and trumpet or cornet. Dies Irae ( Day of Anger ) was commissioned jointly by Leatherhead Choral Society and Epsom Male Voice choir to mark the centenary of the Battle of The Somme in In fifteen movements, lasting in total about 70 minutes, the work presents a contemporary response to the conflict by imagining it through the eyes of the men caught up in the fighting, and those they left behind. The premiere of this new work will take place on November 26th 2016 at The Dorking Halls, Dorking, Surrey. For more information and the latest news, visit the Dies Irae mini-site at diesirae.appletreemusic.net My True Love has been selected as a 2016 competition piece by the Leith Hill Musical Festival music committee (Bob Chilcott, Brian Kay, Christopher Robinson, John Rutter, Robin Wells and Robin Gritton). Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 1

2 Crossing The Bar This TTBB setting of Tennyson s poem has recently been published by Alan Simmons Music. Crossing the bar won the Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival s composition competition in 2014, As The Rain Hides The Stars The beautiful recording of As the rain hides the stars by Michael Waldron and The London Choral Sinfonia is available to listen to on Soundcloud. As the rain hides the stars won the Nicola Dando Composition Competition in First World War arrangements A number of arrangements of WW1-themed songs for SATB or TTB are available to perform free of charge and have already been taken up by choirs as far afield as New Zealand, Tasmania and Canada as well as several in the UK. Blah Blah Bethlehem Blah Blah Bethlehem, The only choral Christmas Carol you will ever need is proving a popular antidote to Christmas Carol fatigue with choirs and audiences. Other longer works A Drop O Nelson s Blood For SATB choir and piano A collection of arrangements of sea shanties and forebitters, including: Ten thousand miles away, Maggie May, Haul away Joe, A drop o Nelson s blood, A- rovin, Spanish ladies, The capstan bar and Leave er Johnny. Duration 30 minutes. In Memoriam Songs of Catullus For soprano and baritone soloists, small orchestra and chorus A humanist requiem in one movement which juxtaposes poetry by Tennyson and Wordsworth with part of the Jewish memorial service for the dead. Duration 35 minutes. For SATB choir and chamber ensemble or small orchestra A cycle of settings, sung in ancient Latin, of poems by the Roman poet Catullus. Commissioned by Concordia Singers. "It is a wonderful piece. I thoroughly enjoyed singing it as the tunes are fantastic and the accompaniment is divine!" Duration 35 minutes. Lancelot Wins Again! For young soloists, upper voice chorus and ensemble A musical for children loosely based on the legends of King Arthur. Story and lyrics by the composer. Originally written for Cottesmore School in Sussex. Duration 60 minutes. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 2

3 Shorter pieces ( recording available) As the Rain Hides the Stars SATB a cappella 5 07" An atmospheric setting of a Gaelic prayer. Winner of the 2014 Nicola Dando Prize. Blow Northerne Wynd SSAATTBB or TTBB a cappella 3 30" A lively, rhythmical setting in a modal style of an anonymous fourteenth century English text. By the rivers of Babylon SATB a cappella 2 55" A setting of the opening of Psalm 137. Corinna s Lute SATB a cappella 3 24" A setting of a love poem by the sixteenth century composer and poet Thomas Campion. Crossing the Bar TTBB and piano. Also available for SATB or SSA and Piano 2 56" Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Winner of the 2014 Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival composition competition. Adjudicator Alan Bullard called it "An effective and moving work which represents the best of the Male Voice Choir tradition." Originally written for men's voices but also available for upper or mixed voices. Suitable for male voice or community choirs. TTBB version is available to purchase from Alan Simmons Music. Dona Nobis Pacem Soprano solo, SATB choir and piano (or chamber orchestra) 4 32" A call for peace with a touching melodic line which builds to a stirring climax. Elegy: Fear No More SATB or TTBB and piano or strings 3 52" A setting of Shakespeare s song Fear no more the heat o the sun from Cymbeline. One of the movements of the longer work, Dies Irae, listed above. Evening Song 2 39" A simple anthem with a memorable melody on a text from Luke's gospel. Feste s Song SATB (with solo) a cappella 2 A lilting setting with a call-and-response feel of a song from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The solo may be sung by either one or two singers of any voice. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 3

4 From So Simple a Beginning 3 50 A setting of the final few words from Darwin's The Origin of Species. Written for the British Humanist Choir who called it "haunting and uplifting". It was premiered by them at the Darwin Day lecture Futility SATB a cappella 3 22 The bleakness and anger of Wilfred Owen's text is both offset and highlighted by the music's warm harmonies and tender dissonances. Suitable for remembrance-themed concerts. High Flight 3 49 Written to a text by John Gillespie Magee, the song expresses the joy and exuberance of a young airman tasting the freedom of flight. Suitable for remembrance-themed concerts. Hope SATB a cappella 2 55 The text is by Charlotte Mew, an English poet writing at the time of WW1. Her poem evokes a spirit of optimism at a time of great sadness and turmoil. Suitable for remembrance-themed concerts. In Flanders Fields SATB a cappella 4 43 A melodic setting of the famous threnody by John McCrae which evokes both the poem's evocative, elegaic mood and its fervent call to arms. Suitable for remembrance-themed concerts. Loveliest of Trees SA Men (with soprano solo) and piano 3 15 A straightforward setting of the A.E. Housman's paean to the cherry tree, poem XXIII from A Shropshire Lad. Lullaby SATB a cappella 1 57 A gently melodic setting, with luxuriant harmonies, of a song from "The Woman Hater" by Jacobean playwrights Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher. Mary Bateman 4 29 A melodic setting of John Clare's folksong-like poem of lost love. My True Love SATB or upper voices and piano 3 01 Text by Sir Philip Sidney. A gentle song with a simple, graceful melody. Written for the BHA Choir as a wedding song and selected as a competition piece for the 2016 Leith Hill Musical Festival. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 4

5 No Time to Stand and Stare 2-part upper-voices and piano 2 36 The famous text is by William Henry Davies and begins: "What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?" Popular with school or community choirs, this simple but memorable song can quickly be learned by rote but, through the use of canonic imitation between the parts, builds up an impressively textured effect. Available from Tim Knight Music Now Winter Nights Enlarge SATB a cappella 2 30 An approachable, contemporary-with-a-hint-of-madrigal, setting of a text by the sixteenth century composer and poet Thomas Campion. O Death! Rocke me asleep SATB (with optional soprano solo) and piano 5 28 A gentle, lilting song with a slow quasi-gospel feel on a text attributed to Anne Boleyn. Prayer SA Men and piano/organ 1 50 A simple yet affective anthem in three parts to a text by by the metaphysical poet George Herbert. Remember SATB a cappella 2 21 A contemplative setting of the haunting poem by Christina Rossetti. Written for Leatherhead Choral Society. Sing as One SATB, TTBB or SSA, with piano 3 15 A joyful song about the pleasures of choral singing. Winner of the 2010 Making Music composition competition. Selected as a competition piece for the 2013 Leith Hill Musical Festival. "The jewel of the short pieces was undoubtedly Sing as One. It was wonderfully rhythmic and uplifting, as it celebrated the joys of singing together. Nothing could better express the pleasure of participating in the Festival." Soles Occidere SATB a cappella 3 37 This is a setting, in Latin, of lines from poem 5 by the ancient roman poet Catullus: Suns may set, and suns may rise again: but when our brief light has set, night is one long everlasting sleep. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 5

6 The Passionate Shepherd 3 51 A light-hearted setting in the style of a drinking song of the famous text by Christopher Marlowe which begins "Come live with me and be my love. The Soldier SATB with optional organ or piano 3 31 Rupert Brooke's poem which begins "If I should die, think only this of me" is familiar to many, and this setting captures all the poem's wistful, elegiac mix of sadness and optimism. Suitable for remembrance-themed concerts. The Song of the Flowers SA Men and piano 2 13 With an original text by the composer, this song is eminently suitable for community choirs. This gentle, simple 3-part song was written for the Wisley RHS workplace choir. The Street Sounds to the Soldiers Tread or brass quintet 1 38 One of several A.E. Housman settings, this is an evocative setting of poem XXII from A Shropshire Lad. Like many of the poems in A Shropshire Lad this text touches on the theme of war and soldiering, making this setting, with its march-like rhythms and slightly dissonant harmonies, very suitable for Remembrance-themed concerts. Waving SSA and piano 3 52 A moving song, with text by the composer, about the women left behind when the men go to war. Suitable for community choirs and for remembrance-themed concerts. The Widow Bird TTBB and piano 1 34 A setting for men's voices of a beautiful and deceptively simple poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which evokes the wintry scene and the ceaseless turning of the mill-wheel described in Shelley's text. The Winds Out of the West Land Blow SATB a cappella 4 07 One of several A.E. Housman settings, this setting of poem XXXVIII from A Shropshire Lad captures the poem's wistful, slightly bitter, atmosphere. White in the Moon SATB a cappella 2 11 One of several A.E. Housman settings, this is an evocative setting of poem XXXVI from A Shropshire Lad: "White in the moon the long road lies That leads me from my love. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 6

7 Arrangements World War One These arrangements of WW1 songs are available free of charge for either SATB or TTBB choirs. Practice files are also available for the TTBB versions. There s a Long, Long Trail a-winding TTBB or SATB a cappella A barbershop/edwardian partsong style arrangement of a song by Zo Elliott popular in WW1 and which was one of the songs featured in Oh What A Lovely War. It s a Long Way to Tipperary TTBB or or brass quintet An evocative arrangement of the famous WW1 song by Judge & Williams, complete with a verse of the alternative, soldiers', lyrics (That's the wrong way to tickle Mary ") accompanied by the sound of marching. I Want to Go Home TTBB or SATB a cappella An arrangement that captures both the surface humour and the darker emotion behind this WW1 soldiers' song. Folk song arrangements A Drop O Nelson s Blood SATB or TTBB and piano A simplified version of the arrangement that appears in the longer work listed above. Cambric Shirt SATB a cappella Cambric shirt is an old folksong with a mysterious character. This arrangement uses simple, authenticsounding harmonies to tell the story. High Barbaree An arrangement of an old sea-faring ballad. John Anderson my Jo A short, simple (mainly 2-part) setting of the Robert Burns poem to an original melody in a folksong style. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 7

8 Scarborough Fair SA Men and piano An authentic-sounding arrangement in three parts, suitable for community choirs. Sumer is icumen in There are already many arrangements of this wonderful old round and now there's one more. But in this one the choir makes sheep noises at the end. Ten Thousand Miles Away TTBB or A simplified version of the arrangement that appears in the longer work listed above. The Skye Boat Song 2-part male voices and piano A simple yet effective arrangement of this famous melody. Yarmouth Town SATB or TTBB and piano A fast-paced, light-hearted arrangement of this famous folk song. The SATB version is available as part of Novello's new anthology The Novello Book of British Folksongs for Mixed Voice Choirs. Original Christmas Songs Blah Blah Bethlehem "The only choral carol you will ever need". A warm-hearted satire on traditionally cosy carols. Deck the hall, stairs and landing SATB or 2-part mixed voices and piano A humorous song for in which a husband and wife discuss her lavish Christmas decoration plans. Every Christmas Has a New Beginning An original Christmas song with text by the composer. An unhappy man is inspired with new hope when he hears distant voices raised in Christmas songs. Light a Candle A humanist carol with text by the composer reflecting on the symbolic meaning of a midwinter festival of light. Finalist in the 2010 Waverley Care Carol Competition. Available from Shawnee Press.. Apple Tree Music appletreemusic.net 8