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Hot CD
Gibbons: Choral and Organ Music
Gibbons is often better represented in the hymn book than in the serious music of a service - and this CD helps demonstrate why that's a shame. With a mix of verse and full anthems, plus both sets of Mag and Nunc, and a smattering of organ music it gives a good picture of Gibbons' church output. If you like the sound of madrigals, you'll like some of the church music, but there are also works in here to rival more heavy duty compositions - Out of the deep, for example. Both evening services are fun - the contemplative verse settings of the second service and the livelier short service.
Books and sheet music
Sheet music and books - direct links
- Anthem books
- Anthems - sheet music
- Books about church music/choirs
- Carol books
- Carols - sheet music
- Choral works - longer pieces for special occasions
- Hymn books
- Organ music
- Psalters and chant books (includes plainsong)
- Settings - sheet music of Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, responses and masses
- Wedding Sheet Music - see anthems etc. for wider range
Other sources - sheet music
- First point of call for older composers (i.e. out of copyright) has to be the Choral Public Domain Library. This has free downloadable sheet music (check the copyright information) from a wide range of composers - an excellent resource. There are MIDI files too. Thanks to Alan Sheldon for pointing out this site.
- Another site to check for free sheet music is the Free Sheet Music site (no, really).
- And there are a good number of PDF files of music plus midi files at the Choir Anthems site.
- Enthusiasts of early English church music should check out the EECM site - they have over 600 titles from 49 composers in PDF format - you are emailed the music and get a licence to print 10 copies, often just for £5.
- For hard-to-find music, a great source is Handlo Music. Based in Bath, UK but shipping worldwide they publish choral music that would otherwise be out of print. Particularly usefully, they sell on the basis that non-professional choirs can buy one and make copies for practice and performance. Note that, though UK based, they price in US dollars.
- Oxford University Press have put their choral music list online (to search for a title, try their catalogue). You can find the music you want, then order online, by fax or post.
- The Royal School of Church Music's catalogue is now online and includes all details for ordering. Look out for their excellent book Sunday by Sunday Collection 1, containing 30 anthems with a licence to copy them for your choir, so you only need to buy one book.
Contemporary composers online
A number of contemporary composers provide their own sheet music from websites. We haven't necessarily heard the music in question, but sites include:
- Will Todd: Will is a modern composer whose works include the Mass in Blue, featured on the BBC's Ascension Day service, and the Te Deum, commissioned by the Vivace Chorus and premiered in Guildford Cathedral in May 2009. You can find our more about his music at www.willtodd.com
- Free anthems: Nigel and Helen Williams provide a range of free sheet music for their compositions. Use the Composer/Season/Service/Saints menu to see different pieces. Some have audio clips too.
- Unusual anthems and a free Christmas Cantata: Debbie Zufall's site is in the form of a blog introducing her compositions, plus one or two other surprises on the church music front.
- Children's songs with a swing: It's sometimes difficult to find children's songs they really enjoy singing. Maynard's Groovy Bible Tunes (no, really) is a site with some excellent value original material including downloadable backing tracks and CDs, all accompanied with PDF versions of the music. There are even a couple of children's harvest songs, which are like gold dust.
- Choir, organ and bells: Some excellent value original settings, including two and four part anthems, organ pieces and unusual choir and bells pieces are to be found on David McCarthy's site. Not only are there practice MIDI files, but buying one copy of the music, you can use it for all choir members.
- Colin Brumby: is an Australian composer and retired Associate Professor of music with a wide range of choir pieces from simple unaccompanied rounds to full orchestrations. Take a look at his website for more information.
- Metrical psalms for free: Jim Smith is setting the Isaac Watts versions of the metrical psalms to music at his White Stone Music site. The music in PDF format is public domain - it can be copied freely. Some of his settings are for string quartet, and others for piano and strings, though many of these can be played piano only. There will also be other original settings by Smith on the site.
- Musica Anglicana: There is a growing source of recently composed music for congregational and choir-based sacred music at www.musicaanglicana.org.uk - you can listen to the music on the site and order copies of sheet music.
- Robin Highcock: is a working composer with a wide, energetic repertoire, who has written a wide range of church music - see his website for a catalogue with sample score pages and MP3s.
- Ronald Law anthems and organ music: A wide range of church music from cantatas to SATB and unison anthems and organ music by Ronald Law is available at his website Music Business Plus
- Stephen McManus: provides free downloadable contemporary church sheet music for non-commercial use. See The Music Page for details.
- Swingle Stunners: Some stunning a cappella sheet music along with some accompanied stuff in modern arrangements, mostly by an ex-member of the Swingle Singers (some of their best arrangements) at Kikapust.com
- Two Fish music and drama: You can find an interesting range of sheet music and drama, free to download for personal use and with very reasonable rates for performance use at the two fish website.
- Boosey & Hawkes has a secure online shop offering everything from sheet music to classical ringtones: not only Boosey & Hawkes titles, but over 100,000 products from all publishers worldwide.
- if you're in the US and don't want to wait for shipping from Europe, you could try Worldwide Music, which has an excellent church music section (they also have some sheet music that's difficult to find in the UK), or the J. W. Pepper site.
- UK buyers who can't find what they want at Music Room, give Sheet Music Megastore a try.
- Choral Net's choral music publishers list gives a much more detailed online list of publishers, but many are not yet set up to sell direct.
OUP Choral Subscription Scheme
I you are running a choir, give serious consideration to joining OUP's choral subscription scheme. For £15 a year you get single copies of around 25 choral pieces newly produced in the period. It's a great way to sample new possible anthems, carols etc. See the OUP site.
Instrumental hymn arrangements
Someone recently asked us if we knew any sources for instrumental hymn arrangements. Here are a few sites we were able to find:
- Kevin Mayhew Ltd. - UK based publisher. Publishes Hymns for Instruments (25 popular hymns) - see bottom of this page and The Source, a big hymn/song collection which has arrangements for music groups - see about halfway down this page
- James Gilbert music - US-based composer of a wide range of hymn arrangements, mostly four part, but some orchestral
- NPH - US musical publisher producing a number of books along the lines of '500 hymns for instruments'
- David E. Smith Publications US publisher offering a variety of hymn arrangements
- Word Music US publisher with various (quite expensive] orchestrations etc. of hymns
Harp arrangements of Christian music
Another recent specialist request. There's a lot more in the US than the UK, so European harpists may find it worthwhile to shop across the Atlantic.
- Dragonflower Publications (US) - a number of books of hymn tunes etc. arranged for harp
- Valkyrie Publications (US) has a sheet music set of 8 ‘old hymns for harp and voice’
- Melody’s Traditional Music and Harp Shoppe (US) - supplies a good range of hymns for harps books
- Morley Harps (UK) - small wedding/ceremonial section including hymns