Songs For All Seasons

Today is St. Andrew’s Day so naturally our Song of the Day today is to celebrate the patron saint of Scotland. St. Andrew holds a cherished place not only as the patron saint of Scotland but also for 21 other nations and towns. His protective embrace extends to fishermen, fishmongers, rope-makers, textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers, and even offers solace against ailments like sore throats, convulsions, fever, and whooping cough, as well as to the valiant souls of the Russian Navy and the US Army Rangers! St. Andrew was one of the original twelve Apostles of Christ, a brother of St. Peter. Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, or saltire. Legend has it that Óengus mac Fergusa, the king of the Picts from 820 to 834, heavily outnumbered, led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles. On the eve of battle, he prayed fervently, vowing that if victory was granted to him, he would name Andrew as the pat...

Hello friends Firstly, apologies for being quiet for a few days. I have been away for work - the kind of work they pay me for, not music work. Rude of them I know to expect me to actually work for my salary rather than messing about with music stuff all day, but what can you do? There will be a Song of the Day tomorrow for St. Andrews Day, but I wanted to share some very exciting news I received this week. The world premiere public performance of one of my Songs for all Seasons will be taking place on Sunday 8th December 2024 at 3pm. The Faringdon Singers , of Faringdon Oxfordshire, will be performing " Merry Souls " as part of their Christmas concert! It's a shame I can't be there, but it is a long trek from Blackpool! But, if you are in the vicinity, take yourself down and have a listen and let me know what you think 😊 It is free entry - yes, FREE entry - with a retiring collection for Sanctuary Faringdon which aids asylum seekers and refugees.

Today is National Adoption Day, so it feels only right to share a song that beautifully encapsulates the theme of Adoption. I found it surprisingly challenging to discover a public domain poem focused on adoption, so I've chosen one that tells the the oldest adoption story of all, the timeless and poignant story of Moses. Not only is this piece fitting for an adoption celebration, but it also resonates with any occasion where the inspiring tale of Moses can be shared, such as a Family Service. "The Story of Moses" was written by H. P. Nichols (1816 - 1890), from Salem, Massachusetts. He was the visionary behind a thriving publishing company in Boston during the mid-1800s alongside his partner William Crosby. This venture eventually evolved into Nichols & Noyes. This poem is from a volume printed in 1850 with the inscription: "Most of the simple verses which compose this volume were written for a very dear child, with no thought bey...

Today's Song of the Day beautifully captures the bittersweet theme of growing up, of embracing the journey into adulthood. Growing up is an unpredictable and often tumultuous time, whether it’s a phase you anticipated with excitement throughout your childhood or one you feared upon grasping the weight of adult responsibilities. This poignant poem by William Bliss Carman, who wrote under the name of Bliss Carman, is called "When I Was Twenty." It reflects the heartfelt nostalgia of a man reminiscing about the carefree moments of his youth as he fell in love with the enchanting, "melting, wayward, wistful, shy" Madeline, before the demands of the "hurrying world" pulled him away. First published in 1896 in the collection "More Songs From Vagabondia," it resonates deeply with anyone who has navigated the complexities of growing up. William Bliss Carman FRSC (1861 – 1929) was a gifted Canadian poet who spent much of his life in the United States,...

Today's Song of the Day is the second of my songs on the theme of weddings. It is a setting of a poem entitled "Marriage Morning" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892). Tennyson is probably one of Britain's most famous poets. He was Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign and penned such greats as "The Charge of the Light Brigade" which gave us the immortal lines "Into the Valley of Death / Rode the six hundred" and "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die." A number of phrases from Tennyson's work have become commonplace in the English language, including "Nature, red in tooth and claw" ("In Memoriam A.H.H."), "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all". "Marriage Morning" is a beautiful short poem wherein Tennyson describes the morning of the marriage to his beloved as the "golden morning of love" and asks the question "He...

I don't have a Song of the Day for you today but I thought I would share a story from back in 2009. I was engaged and thought it would be a sweet idea to write a song for my husband-to-be and have it professionally recorded. So I wrote this song which I called "Someone Like You." I practised it and perfected it, and organised musicians to play the guitar and drum parts, got it all recorded, even taught it to my youth choir so they could sing it at my wedding, and then found out some young upstart named Adele had also written and released a song called "Someone Like You"! Ah well, it's not like you can copyright a song title—which is a good thing because if she sued ME for breach of copyright I am not sure how to prove I thought of it first. I don't even know if I DID think of it first!! It's a bit different from the Songs for all Seasons, but I hope you like it. Who knows, if my music gets published, this song might get picked up by some famous balla...

Today's Song of the Day is a tribute to Martinmas, a beautiful celebration known as the Festival of Compassion. St. Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for the tale whereby he cut his cloak in half with his sword, to give half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the half-cloak. For this special festival, I have chosen a moving poem titled “Compassion” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. It beautifully captures the limitless compassion of Christ, reflecting the very essence of Martin's noble actions. Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919) was an inspiring American author and poet. Her works include the collection Poems of Passion and the evocative poem "Solitude," which reminds us, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.” Her autobiograph...

On this solemn Remembrance Sunday I would like to share with you the second of my songs on the theme "War's End". This is a setting of a poem by Robert William Service (1874 – 1958) called "Victory Stuff". Service was born just down the road from me actually, in Preston, Lancashire. Of Scottish descent, he moved back to Scotland with family when he was 5 years old, and then emigrated to North America at the age of 21, spending years drifting around western North America, wandering from California to British Columbia, taking and quitting a series of jobs: "Starving in Mexico, residing in a California bordello, farming on Vancouver Island and pursuing unrequited love in Vancouver."* Aged 40 when World War I broke out, Service was turned down for active duty on health grounds, but he served by working as a stretcher bearer and ambulance driver with the Ambulance Corps of the American...

In the run-up to Armistice Day, I have two songs to share. The first is a setting of a thought-provoking poem by G. K. Chesterton (1974 - 1936), called "For a War Memorial". Chesterton was a huge figure, both literally—standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighing around 20 stone 6 pounds (130 kg; 286 lb)—and figuratively, in British late 19th and early 20th century literature. He wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4,000 essays (mostly newspaper columns), and several plays. He was a literary and social critic, historian, playwright, novelist, journalist, BBC broadcaster, Catholic theologian and apologist, debater, and mystery writer. He was a columnist for the Daily News, The Illustrated London News, and his own paper, G. K.'s Weekly; he also wrote articles for the Encyclopædia Britannica, including the entry on Charles Dickens and part of the entry on Humour in the 14th edition (1929). Get the music...

Today's Song of the Day is another on the theme of Retirement. It is a setting of a hymn "Far from the world, O Lord, I flee" by William Cowper (1731-1800), who is perhaps best known for another hymn: "Oh! For a Closer Walk with God". However, most people will be more familiar with the quote "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform" - which was also penned by Cowper, in his hymn "Light Shining out of Darkness". A celebrated poet of his era, Cowper transformed 18th-century nature poetry by capturing the essence of everyday life and the serene beauty of the English countryside. He truly paved the way for Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge deemed him "the best modern poet," while William Wordsworth held a particular admiration for his evocative poem "Yardley-Oak." Despite his remarkable contributions, Cowper's life was shadowed by heartbreak. He...

The best-laid plans of project managers and composers often go awry, to misquote Robert Burns. I initially believed that four weeks would be an adequate timeframe for choirs to review my proposal and decide whether to join as a Beta choir.  Yet, I certainly didn't foresee that Microsoft would perceive my outreach as spam and ban my email accounts. This unexpected hurdle has left me reaching out to each choir individually, a task that’s proving to be more time-consuming than I anticipated! Moreover, many choirs have shared that they are currently too swamped with Christmas preparations to give my proposal the attention it deserves.  On a brighter note, I have welcomed some enthusiastic choirs who have signed up already. In fact, I’ve even sent out a few songs early for those eager to incorporate Christmas-themed music. Stay tuned for announcements of my music being performed by real-life choirs at actual ...

Today's Song of the Day is, unsurprisingly, a song about Guy Fawkes Night , aka Bonfire Night, aka  Fireworks Night aka Gunpowder Treason Day. Unless you slept through primary school (or happen to be from outside the UK)  you're likely aware that today marks the day when the nation comes together to celebrate the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot devised by Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators, who aimed to obliterate Parliament and King James I back in 1605. This day is traditionally filled with dazzling fireworks displays and roaring bonfires, where we cast an effigy of Guy Fawkes himself into the flames, though, in more recent years, other notorious figures have taken his place. What you might not know is that in the aftermath of the Plot, the government enacted an Act of Parliament mandating an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot’s failure. We all know the verse: Remember, remember! The fift...

I don't have a Song of the Day for you today, although I am excited to share tomorrow's with you - it is of course a song for Guy Fawkes Night. But today I thought I would share my very first foray into writing for choirs. I was 17 years old, studying for my A-level Music. I had spent the last 9 years singing in a traditional church choir where we sang the usual hymns, anthems and monthly Choral Evensong. So, when I was considering what to write for the composition part of my A-level Music I decided I would write a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. The Magnificat has a solo soprano part sung here by Joanne Appleby , who would go on to study opera at the Royal Northern College of Music. She then won a scholarship from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company before embarking on an operatic career. In 2002 she was signed by Sony BMG as an original member of the opera group Amici Forever.  The Nunc Dimittis has a solo tenor part, ably sung by one of our Music teachers at the time, Kevin Mat...

Today's Song of the Day is on the theme of Engagement, although it could equally be used at a wedding. The poem I have chosen is "The Passionate Shephard (sic) to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe. Christopher Marlowe, a brilliant contemporary of Shakespeare, held the esteemed title of the preeminent Elizabethan playwright until Shakespeare took the mantle. He earned both his BA and MA from the University of Cambridge, yet his life was tragically cut short at the tender age of 29, under mysterious circumstances that continue to haunt us to this day. Speculation abounds regarding the nature and reasons behind his untimely demise—ranging from a bar-room brawl to accusations of blasphemy, whispers of homosexual intrigue, betrayal by a fellow playwright, and even espionage connected to the highest echelons of Elizabeth I's Privy Council. This poem is a heartfelt declaration of love, a tender proposal from the ...

Following on from the observance of All Saints' Day yesterday, November 2nd is All Souls' Day, also known as The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. In the Catholic Church, "the faithful" refers to baptized Catholics, while "all souls" refers to those who find themselves in purgatory. The Catholic Church holds the belief that the purification of souls in purgatory can be aided by the actions of the faithful living on earth. Those souls, who, upon leaving their bodies, are not entirely cleansed from venial sins or have yet to fully atone for their past mistakes, can receive assistance in reaching Heaven through prayers, alms, and compassionate deeds. The poem I have chosen to set to music for this poignant day is by D. H. Lawrence. He beautifully describes the dead as in need of a "little ship and the proper store of meal for their longest journey," equating the traveling souls with brave mariners embarking on a significant voyage. I found t...

After the exuberance of Hallowe'en, we now turn our hearts to a more solemn topic for today’s Song of the Day.  Hallowe'en, as we know, is The Eve of All Hallows, which is more commonly recognized today as All Saints Day. Today's song, beautifully reflecting the spirit of All Saints Day, is a sacred anthem with a simple yet moving melody, uniquely arranged for each verse—truly ideal for church choirs to lift our spirits.  The words come from a hymn by William Dalrymple Maclagan (1826 – 1910), who served as Archbishop of York from 1891 to 1908 and had the distinct honour of crowning Queen Alexandra in 1902. Get the music for this song for free - find out how here. The Saints of God By W. D. Maclagan 1 The saints of God! their conflict past, And life's long battle won at last, No more they need the shield or sword, They cast them down before the Lord: O happy saints, for ever blest, At Jesus' feet how safe your rest! 2 The saints of God! their wanderings done, No...