Songs For All Seasons

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! So we come to the final day of the inaugural year of the project - it's been a brilliant start! I have 38 songs all ready to go out to my participating Beta choirs, two Christmas songs already gone out and one video returned already! I am most encouraged by the enthusiasm shown and the complimentary feedback I have already received. Today's Song of the Day is a setting of the famous poem "Ring Out, Wild Bells" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. On the theme of ringing out the bad and ringing in the good, it entreats the reader to forget any unpleasantness of the year gone and focus on the good that can be done in the year to come. Historically, the New Year has not always begun on 1st January. The early Roman calendar began the year on 1st March. The calendar then had just 10 months, beginning with March. September through to December, the ninth through to the twelfth months of the Gregorian calendar, were originally positioned as the seventh...

Today's Song of the Day is the second of the two songs I have written to celebrate the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents, the babies who were slaughtered by order of King Herod in his attempt to find and kill the baby Jesus. This day is celebrated on both the 28th and 29th of December, the 28th in the Western Church and the 29th in the Eastern Church. This second song is called "The Holy Innocents" (not to be confused with the first one I shared yesterday which lacks the "The") and is a setting of a poem/hymn by English writer and poet Laurence Housman (1865 – 1959). Housman was a prolific writer with around a hundred published works to his name. Some of his plays were scandalous for depicting biblical characters and living members of the Royal House on stage, which at the time was illegal, and many of them were performed only privately until the subsequent relaxation of theatrical censorship. This poem was published in The English Hymnal in 1906. My setting is a ...

Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents - a day to remember the babies of Bethlehem massacred by order of King Herod in his attempt to murder the Baby Jesus. The slain children were regarded by the early church as the first martyrs, but it is uncertain when the day was first kept as a saint’s day. It may have been commemorated with Epiphany, but by the 5th century it was kept as a separate festival. In Rome it was a day of fasting and mourning. I have written two songs for this Feast Day, the second of which I will share tomorrow, when the Eastern Church commemorates this feast day. Today's song is a setting of a poem, beautiful in its simplicity, by Christina Rossetti, simply called "Holy Innocents". It equates their terrible fate with a sleep, watched over by angels, out of which they will awaken to a world of everlasting love, light and warmth, surrounded by the "eternal Arms" of God. My setting is appropriately simple and lullaby-like, but (if I'm allow...

Today is the Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist (c. 6 AD – c. 100 AD), the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos (the author of the Book of Revelation), and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how many of these may actually be the same individual. This is a setting of a poem or hymn from hymn or carol from a book called "New Christmas Carols, 1661 AD" - there is no author attributed to it. Despite its title of "On Saint John's Day" it's actually mostly about Christmas food, mince pies particularly. This is apt as, like many others I am sure, I overbought for Christmas - as I do every year - and still have plenty of Christmas food in the house which we are slowly eating through, including mince pies! So please enjoy this song while you eat your mince pies, secure in the knowledge that you are conti...

Christmas Day is over for another year, so Happy Boxing Day to my UK readers. Boxing Day may not be celebrated world-wide, but 26th December is St. Stephen's Day throughout Western Christendom. Today's Song of the Day is a setting of a hymn, or rather the translation of a hymn in praise of St. Stephen by Adam of St. Victor: Yesterday, With Exultation. These words are probably the oldest in the entire collection, Adam of St. Victor having lived c. 1068 – 1146. The archives of Notre Dame Cathedral dated 1098 note that Adam held office there first as a subdeacon and later as a precentor. He left the cathedral for the Abbey of Saint Victor around 1133, remaining there until his death. Stephen (c. 5 AD – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a s...

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you are enjoying your Christmas morning and commiserations to those of you with young children who were no doubt up at the crack of dawn, fizzing with excitement about Father Christmas arriving!!! I promise, it does get better! I had to actually wake my 17-year-old up this morning to come down for presents. Today's Song of the Day is a setting of a poem called The Star of Bethlehem by William Cullen Bryant (1794 – 1878), an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. Born in a log cabin in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry early in his life. Bryant wrote this poem as a hymn for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Church of the Messiah in Boston, Massachusetts. It was also sung at his funeral. In praise of the Star of Bethlehem., it rejoices that children are led to the Saviour by the Star and entreats that this continue. The Star of Bethlehem B...

Happy Christmas Eve all you lovely people! Christmas is of course the time of year when choirs sing songs that require them to imitate bells and I have naturally continued this time-honoured tradition in today's featured Song of the Day.  For Christmas Eve, I have for you a setting of a poem called "The Song of the Bells" by Canadian poet Jean Blewett (1862-1934). With a title like that, how could I resist the urge to have my choirs ding-donging away! With echoes of Charles Dickens' famous novella "A Christmas Carol" this song tells the tale of an cynical, selfish old man who, long since having lost his enjoyment of Christmas, finds joy again in giving to others on Christmas Eve. The Song Of The Bells By Jean Blewett He frowned and shook his snowy head. "Those clanging bells! they deafen quite With their unmeaning song," he said. "I'm weary of it all to-night - The gladness, sadness. I'm so old I have no sympathy to spare, My heart has...

So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, today is the FINAL DAY to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. It closes at 9pm tonight - Sunday 22nd December 2024. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you...

Today's Song of the Day is a setting of a poem that has been set to music several times before. I only discovered this after I had written my setting, and mine is very different, being written with a four-part choir in mind rather than in the easy-listening style of the others. Some of you may already be familiar with other musical settings of this poem, or at least select verses of it, by Johnny Marks, Casting Crowns, as well as others. It is a setting of the poem "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882). Longfellow's original works include the poems "Paul Revere's Ride", and "The Song of Hiawatha". He was the first American to completely translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. "Christmas Bells" was written on Christmas Day in 1863 during the American Civil War, a month after his son was severely wounded in battle. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during...

Happy Winter Solstice everyone! So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, there is only  ONE  day left to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. It closes at 9pm tomorrow night - Sunday 22nd December 2024. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the informat...

So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there are only  TWO  days left to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and conditions...

So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there are still three days left to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and conditio...

So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there are still four days left to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and condition...

Continuing our Yule theme with only 3 days to go until Winter Solstice, today's Song of the Day is a setting of a poem called "The Mistletoe" by Bryan Waller Procter (1787-1874). Unusually for a poem it has a chorus of sorts, which lends itself nicely to a musical setting. This song is being beta tested by my friends The Mearns Singers and I am very much looking forward to hearing their recording of it! Bryan Waller Procter was a Yorkshire man and a lawyer, educated at Harrow and schoolmates with such notable fellows as Lord Byron and Sir Robert Peel, who was to become Prime Minister. He began writing poetry in 1815 under the pseudonym Barry Cornwall. This poem is written from the point of view of young ladies who enjoy watching their menfolk bring in various evergreens to decorate the house, beginning with laurel and holly, but then the poem takes a slightly cheeky turn when the men "laugh low" and bring in the mistletoe. The Mistletoe By Bryan Waller Procter ...

So I have been spreading the word about my Beta Choir programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there are still five days left to sign up for my Beta Choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and conditions, click the...

  So I have been spreading the word about my beta choirs programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there are still six days left to sign up for my beta choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and condition...

So I have been spreading the word about my beta choirs programme for a couple of months now and I have had some choirs sign up that I am very much looking forward to working with. If you have been contacted by me or have seen my posts and have been sort of vaguely thinking maybe you’d like to sign up for this and get some free music and also incidentally help out this lovely lady composer who only wants to get her music out there (and maybe get published), or are wondering what the heck this is all about, I have good news for you – there is still a whole week left to sign up for my beta choir programme. Yes, I know it’s Christmas, I know you are busy, but it only takes a minute! And did I mention, FREE MUSIC!! If you haven’t got a clue what I am talking about but would like to know more, click the red arrow below, that will take you to the page with all the information on it. If you’d like to read the terms and conditi...

We are well into the heart of Christmas season now - winter solstice is almost upon us, Christmas shopping is in full swing, trees are up and spirits are high - that Out of Office is just around the corner! As well as writing "Christmas" songs, I decided to also write "Yule" songs - looking at the Yule traditions that have been incorporated into our modern-day Christmas celebrations, such as singing, lighting candles, decorating our homes with holly and mistletoe, burning a Yule log, decorating a tree branch (later a whole tree), and of course, feasting! Today's Song of the Day is a setting of a poem called The Story of the Holly Sprig by American poet Arthur Upson (1877 – 1908). Upson's life was tragically brief, ending at just 31 when he fell from a boat, either inadvertently or, as some speculated, in a heart-breaking act of despair. In the heartfelt tributes that followed his passing, he was hailed as a bright talent, with his work drawing comparisons to...

Today's Song of the Day is another wintry-themed one. It is a setting of a poem by Scotland's most acclaimed poet, Robert Burns (1759 – 1796). Burns holds a cherished place in the hearts of the Scottish people, so much so that they have dedicated an entire night to honour his remarkable life! The first Burns Night was held in remembrance at Burns Cottage in Ayrshire by his devoted friends on 21 July 1801, marking the fifth anniversary of his death; this tradition has continued ever since. The first still-active Burns Club was founded in Greenock in 1801 by merchants who hailed from Ayrshire, some of whom had the privilege of knowing Burns personally. They celebrated the first Burns supper on what they believed to be his birthday, 29 January 1802, but they later discovered through the Ayr parish records that his true date of birth was actually 25 January 1759. Ever since, these suppers have been held on or around that significant date.  Burns is renowned for his exquisite poetry...

Today's Song of the Day is an alteration from what I had originally planned to share, as yesterday I received the first beta choir recording back from one of my lovely partner beta choirs - The Faringdon Singers ! They performed the world premiere of one of my Songs for all Seasons and sent me the video the very next day. I confess I had a huge happy grin on my face the entire time I listened to it. I have had my music performed before, but only by choirs I already ran so they had no choice but to sing it. This was the first time in my entire life that a group of people who don't know me chose to learn and sing one of my songs! I actually had no idea how emotional it would make me. So, THANK YOU, Faringdon Singers, for making my day yesterday.  The song was "Merry Souls", a song for Christmas Eve, the words of which I found on Project Gutenberg in an old Christmas book of poems called "Round About Our Coal Fire" published in 1796. I have since learned (liter...

Our final song for Grief Awareness Week this year is a setting of a poem by John Le Gay Brereton called simply "Death". John Le Gay Brereton (1871 – 1933) was an Australian poet, critic and professor of English at the University of Sydney. This poem explores the profound grief of a mother who has lost her son in war. The speaker's raw emotions are conveyed through vivid imagery of touch and memory, as she recalls her son's childhood and the comfort he brought her. Compared to Brereton's other works, this poem is particularly poignant and personal. It reflects the sombre mood of the time period, marked by the devastation of World War I. Get the music for this song for free - find out how here . Death By John Le Gay Brereton He, born of my girlhood, is dead, while my life is yet young in my heart Ere the breasts where his baby lips fed have forgotten their softness, we part. We part. He was mine, he was here, though he travelled by land and by sea, My son who could ...

Returning to Grief Awareness Week for today's Song of the Day, we highlight a setting of another poem by Christina Rossetti, "Remember". This sonnet is a heartfelt plea from the perspective of the dying for their loved one to remember them when they are gone, but not if it causes pain. The poem changes tone at the end with an assurance that it is "Better by far you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad." The song begins with the melody being passed from part to part quasi-canonically, from bass to tenor, to alto and finally to soprano. It is gently lyrical, the music matching the tone of the poem. It would be ideal for use in either a religious or secular funeral service or memorial service as it makes no mention of any particular deity. Get the music for this song for free - find out how here . Remember by Christina Rossetti Remember me when I am gone away,     Gone far away into the silent land;     When you can no more hold m...

Today's Song of the Day is our first Christmas-themed song! Today is of course the feast day of St. Nicholas. Dutch families took the tradition of celebrating the feast day of St. Nicholas with them to New Amsterdam in the American colonies, beginning as early as the 17th century. They referred to him as Sinter Klaas. That name became Santa Claus to the early United States’ English-speaking majority. Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and travelled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. In 180...