New Music For Choirs and Singing Groups

New choral music is always exciting. Choral music brings us closer to God. With choral music, there is a special quality to the human voice that touches deep in the soul. I love choral music and I love composing music for choirs too. This page is about new choral music I have composed. There is not much that beats the sound of voices in harmony and I love to hear when people sing my songs.

Although I have sung in bands for years, and now sing solo, it is a long time since I sung in a choir. The last choir I belonged to was the choir at Bishop Grosseteste College. I love choral music the time factor has always prevented me joining a new choir, but in recent years when I started to make time for creative activities I began to compose choral music again. So this new choral music is important to me. So far only the choir in my head has performed these, but my dearest hope is to hear them properly performed and recorded one day!

All images, including intro, are my own and should not be copied

The Heritage of Cathedral Music

Living in a Cathedral City as I do, it is possible to hear the most wonderful music. There is something special and spellbinding about the English choral traditional, but there is also an element of exclusivity. The music performed tends to be very old, very solemn and wonderfully scored for boys and men to sing. Cathedral organists largely choose the music and when it comes to new music cathedral organists tend to be better represented than freelancers like myself. I am not complaining, I can still have my dream of hearing my own anthems performed in such a wonderful and resonant building, but for now I will share a few here with you.

My latest choral work is available in several versions. These include SATB version, SAA and solo. St Francis is my very favourite saint (for obvious reasons) and this prayer is my mother's favourite prayer, so I set it in her honour. I recorded the following version for my mother.

It took me a long while to record and mix this for a variety of reasons, but I think releasing it at Easter is appropriate. Although it is not perfect (only a real choir and a professional studio could make it so), I hope you will enjoy it.

Joyful Anthem to the Queen of Heaven

This piece of music nearly made it! It was to be performed by the college choir in the cathedral until a jealous student member of the "music commitee" argued against it. Nevertheless, it would take professional singers to truly bring it off. The words are "Joy to Thee O Queen of Heaven" and I hope the music is truly joyful!

My music is available to purchase as a download or as an actual printed score on the links below. You can listen to a computer generated MP3 by clicking on the MP3 box on the score which can be found from my score exchange profile, scoreexchange.com/profiles/LisaGabriel in the original vocal music folder..

First I thought it would be nice to include some music from great choirs, so here we are...

The Sanctus from my Missa Brevis, was again written as a student, but recently I rearranged it! I made a video to promote the music. You can listen to it in the youtube module and the music is available to buy as a download on Sibelius music or as a printed score.

These pieces all come from the Latin liturgy. They were written many years ago, but revisited and rearranged last year! In all cases, please listen to MP3 rather than Scorch.

• Benedictus SSATTB

  My Benedictus,somewhat minimalist, first written and performed in 1977 and revised quite significantly in this version. I think there should be few tessitura problems with this, but what makes it difficult in performance is the dynamics.

• Kyrie SSATTB

  The choir is SSATTB although the 2nd tenor is really more of a baritone part. I ask the basses at one point for a low E (I love that Russian Bass sound) but there is an alternative. As always, amateur choirs please let me know if you plan to record it as I would like a copy of the recording.

• Agnus Dei SSATTB

  From my Missa Brevis, originally completed 23rd April 1977. This anthem is the least altered of the four. However, I have enriched the harmonies, corrected a few bloomers in the notation, altered the time to get a freer feel and respelled the accidentals.

Happiness is a secular anthem I wrote. This song was trying to get out for a LONG time. I wrote the poem a few years ago - and much of the melody shortly after - I read the poem for my parents' Golden Wedding rather than sing because it would not cooperate. If someone says it is easy to set your own words to music it isn't - unless they walk up to you hand in hand together. You don't have to be a Believer to enjoy the poetry and music in this. As a solo, it was difficult to set exactly the way I wanted, so it became a choral anthem....

To find the download for Happiness, you need to visit scoreexchange.com/scores/81014.html

It has been suggested to me that I offer my music to great choirs. As I work full time and use my free time for composing and writing I do not have much time left over to canvas great musicians who have not heard of me. It would be good to have an independent income, or be successful enough to devote myself to composing.

However, if anyone reading this lens has access to the Director of a great choir and thinks they might enjoy singing my music please let them know I am prepared to supply a free pdf to the first professional choir to offer to record or televise one of my anthems. This is conditional on them supplying me with an MP3 of a performance and also that I retain full publishing rights.

If anyone is interested, I may be contacted via my home page on www.scoreexchange.com

What makes all of this possible for me is Sibelius music software. I have been using Sibelius since version 2. The only thing it can't do is sing the words expressively! It is that human factor I am looking for - a beautiful voice goes straight to the soul and I would just love to hear my music performed properly one day!

If you did, please tell your friends about it. Perhaps that will make my dream of having a great choir sing my music come true! Thank you!