Voces8

VOCES8 Edition Peters Choral Ambassadors

The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertoire both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos.

VOCES8 has performed at many notable venues since it was founded in 2005, including Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Cité de la Musique Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo Opera City, NCPA Beijing, Sydney Opera House, Victoria Concert Hall Singapore, Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City amongst many others.

With an on-going programme of recordings, videos and live broadcasts, VOCES8 is heard regularly on albums, international television and radio, as well as maintaining a vibrant web performance presence. The ensemble is a Decca Classics artist and alongside releases on its own label, VOCES8 Records, has released acclaimed recordings that have all reached the top of the classical charts.

VOCES8 is passionate about music education and is the flagship ensemble of the music charity the VOCES8 Foundation. Engaging in a broad range of outreach work that reaches up to 40,000 people a year, the group runs an annual programme of workshops and masterclasses at the Foundation’s home in London, the VOCES8 Centre at St Anne & St Agnes Church.

As ambassadors for Edition Peters the ensemble publishes educational material including the ‘VOCES8 Method’. Developed by Paul Smith, co-founder of VOCES8, this renowned and unique teaching tool is available in four languages and adopts music to enhance development in numeracy, literacy and linguistics.

Also available are two anthologies of its arrangements, and an ever-expanding ‘VOCES8 Singles’ range.

VOCES8 METHOD

Smith, Paul (*1959)

• The VOCES8 Method

The VOCES8 Method is an innovative new system which enhances neurological development, helping to deliver improved academic results.

Based on research by the Institute of Education, it contains group activities based on rhythm and melody which are designed to develop key learning skills and improve students’ academic learning processes for all subjects.

• Suitable for small groups or whole-school participation. • Requires no musical expertise or expensive equipment. • Supported by free online training videos • Backed up by CPD training sessions led by members of VOCES8.

English..............................................................................EP 72486 German............................................................................ EP 11421 French...............................................................................EP 72604 Japanese..........................................................................EP 73005

Smith, Paul (*1981)

• Pas de deux........................................................................EP 73025

Five dance-inspired movements for SATB and piano

Written for SATB choir and piano, with optional audience participation, Pas de deux is a work consisting of five movements by Paul Smith, the co-founder of VOCES8 and author of The VOCES8 Method.

The movements can be performed individually or as one complete work. Pas de deux is inspired by the dance duet found in ballet, and the music takes the duet element of the dance to create a relationship between the performers and audience, enabling interaction between them and giving the option for performers and audience to make music together.

Suitable for all ages, this piece offers opportunities both to create and to perform, informed by Paul Smith’s expertise in leading participatory music events with hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

• A five-movement work inspired by the dance, pas de deux • Incorporates a wide range of musical styles, from contemporary classical to traditional Zulu

• Encourages a musical interaction between performer and audience • Suitable for singers (and audiences) of all ages • Incorporates well-known themes from the ballets of Tchaikovsky

VOCES8 Anthologies

• VOCES8 A Cappella Songbook:

8 Songs for 8-part Vocal Groups...........................................EP 72443 The VOCES8 a cappella Songbook includes many of the group’s favourite songs – ranging from folk and classical through to spiritual and pop.

Feeling Good (Bricusse and Newley) arr. Jim Clements Nobody Does it Better (Hamlisch and Bayer-Sager) arr. JimClements Folksong Medley (Traditional) arr. VOCES8 Erlkönig (Schubert) arr. Jim Clements Shenandoah (Traditional)arr. Thomas Hewitt Jones Opera Medley (Bizet/Mozart/Delibes/Verdi) arr. Jim Clements Wade in the Water (Traditional) arr.Jim Clements The Luckiest (Ben Folds) arr. Jim Clements

• VOCES8 A Cappella Songbook 2:

8 Songs for 4-part Vocal Groups..........................................EP 72527 This collection features eight of the ensemble’s favourite and most requested arrangements for SATB choir, written by members of the group and its resident arranger, Jim Clements.

Atlantic Avenue (Gorrie/Ball/Stuart/McIntyre/Ferrone) Danny Boy (Traditional Folksong) Edo Lullaby (Traditional Folksong) My love is like a red, red rose (Urban/Burns) Pie Jesu (Gabriel Fauré) Price Tag (Kelly/Simmons Jr/Gottwald/Cornish) Strong (Reid/Major/Rothman) Underneath the Stars (Rusby

VOCES8 VOCES8 Singles

Original works & commissions

Barton, Stephen (*1982)

• The Universe Within You................................................EP 68740

Double choir (SATB-SATB)

Stephen Barton is a British composer living in Los Angeles who has written music for films and video games including Watch Dogs: Legion, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Apex Legends. He started his musical life as a chorister at Winchester Cathedral.

An exquisite 4-minute unaccompanied double choir (SATB-SATB) piece with text by the 13th-century Persian mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad, otherwise known as Rumi.

The piece is very still, pure, and possesses a quiet intensity. Slow moving chords overlap and interweave between the two choirs, building to an ecstatic point before falling away to the serene end.

Burton, Ken (*1970)

• Descend to Earth (Eng.)....................................................EP 73558 Baritone Solo and SSAATTBB Choir

British composer Ken Burton was drawn to the poetry of 18th-century slave and writer Phyllis Wheatley for his piece Descend to Earth.

The dual troubles of pandemic and racial oppression in 2020 resonate with Wheatley’s concise poem, the start of which recalls the Christmas/Holiday season. Written for SSAATTBB unaccompanied choir plus baritone solo, Descend to Earth will have a place in many programs with varied themes. It was commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020 and premiered by them with baritone Roderick Williams.

• A Prayer (Eng.)......................................................................EP 73580

SATB divisi

British composer Ken Burton uses the writing of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906), the black American son of emancipated slaves, in his 3-minute work A Prayer. The text of the three verses is bitter-sweet, filled with hope and sadness, and the music combines with this to make a rhythmically simple reflective evening hymn. Burton draws on Spiritual, Gospel and Blues to write a piece for SATB with divisi that will be a popular piece both to sing and to hear. • New commission from The Jason Max Ferdinand Singers and premiered in their inaugural concert as part of the online

LIVE from London – Spring Festival 2021 • Follows Descend to Earth, VOCES8’s own commission of Ken Burton in the LIVE from London – Christmas Festival 2020

• UK-based Ken Burton is known for his work on UK television programmes, particularly in BBC TV’s Songs of Praise • Burton was choirmaster for the multi Oscar winning and Grammy winning Marvel film Black Panther Davis, Taylor Scott (*1987)

• Solstice..............................................................................EP 68724

SSAATTBB Choir

Solstice is by US choral composer Taylor Scott Davis and his regular collaborator, the US poet and writer Milton Brasher-Cunningham.

Solstice is a three-minute piece for the dark of winter and the holiday season – a time when we naturally want to connect with those close to us. It was commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020 and is scored for unaccompanied SSAATTBB choir.

Dove, Jonathan (*1959)

• Vertue................................................................................EP 73381

SSAATTBB Choir

A beautiful 6-minute a cappella piece for double choir, set to George Herbert’s poem Vertue, co-commissioned by Wiltshire Creative and the Lichfield Festival for VOCES8, and premiered in 2019.

Dunphy, Melissa (*1980)

• Halcyon Days....................................................................EP 68722

SATB Choir

Melissa Dunphy is an original and exciting composer living in the USA, though of Australian background.

Her piece Halcyon Days, written to a new text from her regular collaborator poet Jacqueline Goldfinger, creates a period of calm during winter storms where we reflect on what we have lost but rise up to face the new year with joy and grace. Written for SATB unaccompanied choir this piece is suitable for any winter concert. Halcyon Days was commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020.

• Mother’s Song...................................................................EP 68723

SSAATTBB Choir

Jocelyn Hagen is one of the best-loved choral composers working in the USA today.

Her Mother’s Song uses a touching translation by Willis Barnstone of an anonymous Japanese text in which the health and well-being of a mother’s child is sought. Commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020 and scored for unaccompanied SSAATTBB choir, this three-minute piece contains wonderfully rich and sonorous harmonies. Suitable for performance at Christmas/Holidays or at any time for the year. • ARABIC Meelad Majeed! • SWEDISH God Jul! • JAPANESE Meri Kurisumasu! • FRENCH Joyeux Noel! • SWAHILI Kristmasi Mwema! • SPANISH Feliz Navidad! • POLISH Wesolych Swiat! • Happy Christmas, Happy Christmas, Happy Christmas!

First performance given by VOCES8 on 2 December 2013, at 'The Candles Glow', the Edition Peters Annual Christmas Concert 2013, St Bartholomew the Great, London, UK

• Celestial Bird......................................................................EP 72512

SSAATTBB Choir

Setting of poetry by Jessica Power. First performance given by VOCES8 on 2 December 2013, at 'The Candles Glow', the Edition Peters Annual Christmas Concert 2013, St Bartholomew the Great, London, UK.

Parry, Ben (*1965)

• They that put their trust in the Lord (Eng.).......................EP 72970

SSAATTBB Choir

Commissioned by VOCES8 and first performed by the group in King’s Place at the London A Cappella Festival, 2017.

The setting is based on the form of the motets by J. S. Bach.

Hession, Toby (*1997)

• She Walks in Beauty..........................................................EP 73182

SATB Choir

Written for, performed, and recorded by vocal ensemble VOCES8 on the album Enchanted Isle, this beautiful a cappella work has flowing and independent vocal lines as well as mixed meters that accentuate the text by Lord Byron.

Lack, Graham (*1954)

• This Ember Night..............................................................EP 11519

SATBB Choir

The composer’s poem is based on the early 15th Century Middle English carol ‘This Endris Night’, that is cast as a discourse between Mary and the infant Jesus, where her lament alternates with his responses on what the future holds. In the arrangement the sacred meaning is combined with the secular tradition of Ember Days, so that it is not clear whether the poem is religious or secular, nor if the poet is expressing personal belief or musing on the passing of the year. The composition works wonderfully with the themes of the VOCES8 album, ‘Equinox’.

Panufnik, Roxanna (*1968)

• Happy Christmas!................................................................EP 72519

Choral fanfare for SSAATTBB a cappella

Some time ago, I was asked to write an ‘agnostic’ carol.

This short choral fanfare is the result, and the text consists simply of its title in eight different languages – ending excitedly in English.

Roxanna Panufnik, 2006 • Veni Emmanuel (Eng. & Lat.)................................................EP 73381

Double Choir

A Christmas carol for double choir using the latin text ‘Veni Emmanuel’ alongside the English words by Garth Bardsley. First performance at St Mary-at-Hill, London in November 2012 by VOCES8.

Roth, Alec (*1948)

Alec Roth’s vocal and choral music has been commissioned, performed and recorded by musicians such as Mark Padmore, Ex Cathedra, VOCES8 and The Sixteen.

• Men & Angels

SSAATTBB Choir

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 72824 Violin Part..........................................................................EP 72824a

English composer Alec Roth sets George Herbert’s poem Antiphon II for his atmospheric piece for unaccompanied SSATBB choir.

The duration is 4’30” and if performed with the optional violin part the duration is expanded to 5’30” with the opening minute being a short prelude in which the violin establishes the mode and introduces the musical ideas which are taken up by the singers. Herbert sets his verses out like a play script, with parts for ‘Chorus’, ‘Men’ and ‘Angels’. Roth’s setting gives voice to the characters with soprano and alto singing the words of the Angels, the tenor and bass the Men, and both groups combining as the Chorus. A commission from 2014 from the Farrant Singers (UK). Version with violin was commissioned by VOCES8 premiered in the LIVE from London online festival in 2020.

• Stargazer (Eng.)......................................................................EP 72753

Four Partsongs for SSAATTBB Choir

Stargazer was commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival, Hereford 2015. The first performance was given at St Francis Xavier Church, Hereford, 28 July 2015 by Voces8.

Review in Seen and Heard of the group's performance of Stargazer in LIVE from London series 2021.

The four songs of Alec Roth’s Stargazer include a plea to take time to see what is around us, the second talks of stargazing, while the third includes the brilliantly named character Timothy Toodletrot, who spends all his time stargazing, while the final song is an a cappella train as it travels through the countryside.

The initial ‘Stand and Share’ (from William Henry Davies’s Leisure) is gentle, full of sweet regret for lost opportunities to enjoy our surroundings. ‘The Star-Lit Stairs’ began with the angelic voices of Eleonore Cockerham and Katie Jeffries-Harris; it feels like all voices of the ensemble get a chance to shine in this gently melancholic song. Roth works with poignant dissonances in this setting of a tract from The Flâneur by Oliver Wendell Holmes. And VOCES8 traced the music’s sweet swell, its ebb and flow, perfectly. Interesting how the whole demeanour of the music changes for ‘Star-Struck’, the story of Timothy Toodletrot (from Star-Struck by Else Harriet Raspin); there is more of a narrative, complemented by the lovely vocal representation of movement in ‘In the train’ (text James Thomson).

Smith, Paul (*1981)

• Let's Walk Together..........................................................EP 73560

Baritone Solo and SSAATTBB Choir

The text of Let’s Walk Together, by Daniel Simpson, neatly sums up the character of its composer Paul Smith and the vocal ensemble he founded with his brother, VOCES8. Connection, interaction and movement are all characteristics.

Composed for SSAATTBB unaccompanied choir with baritone solo, this three-minute piece has sonorous hymn-like chords which introduce cascading faster voices in its middle. Although composed for VOCES8 to premiere in their LIVE From London Christmas festival, this piece is suitable for performance at any time of year.

• Nunc Dimittis (Lat.).............................................................EP 73452

SATB Choir

A tranquil and meditative 4-minute setting of the traditional sacred text Nunc Dimittis.

• O God Beyond All Praising...........................................EP 73602

SATB divisi & Organ

Written for SATB (with divisi) and organ this 5-minute celebratory piece takes its inspiration from the traditions of the early 20th-century English church choral tradition. A large organ part is called for, with the choral writing at a medium level of difficulty. The famous Gustav Holst hymn tune ('I vow to thee, my country') forms the basis of the melody around which the organ and voices weave a dignified and sumptuous anthem. SATB Choir & Piano (& Timapni)

A New World is a musical story across five movements with texts by authors from Cicero and Ovid to George William Russel; from nursery rhymes to war poets.

The music and texts link to form a narrative that questions what sort of ‘New Worlds’ have come into existence, or could be created in our future, and considers how we balance human traits of fear, displacement, isolation and conflict with equally human traits of love, hope, forgiveness and unity.

1. On History

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 73183

Timpani Part.......................................................................EP 73183a

An opening movement for SATB choir, piano and timpani (with solos for soprano, tenor and alto). A calm opening leads to a dramatic conclusion with text by Cicero and Ovid in praise and recognition of their homeland. 2. The Dream

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 73184

A standalone work for SATB choir and SATB solo quartet, painting a picture of the different characters of a dream. This movement is both comforting and confusing, and is inspired by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. 3. Lullaby

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 73185

A lullaby for choir and children’s choir (or sopranos) setting an ancient nursery rhyme that explores the idea of the journey through life. 4. War

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 73186 Timpani Part.......................................................................EP 73186a

A dramatic fourth movement with SATB choir, piano and timpani depicting the horrors of war with text by Wilfred Owen. 5. Love

Vocal Score..........................................................................EP 73187

A beautiful and flowing work for SATB choir, SATB solo quartet and piano, with textures that celebrate love, cherishing our place among the stars.

Williams, Roderick (*1965)

• Now winter nights (Eng.)........................................................EP 73559

SSAATTBB Choir

Now winter nights by British composer and baritone Roderick Williams uses an evocative poem by Thomas Campion as its text, helping him to pinpoint the excitement of Christmas he felt as a child, and still holds on to.

Written for SSAATTBB unaccompanied choir, Now winter nights is suitable for choirs wanting a Christmas/Holiday treat but which requires a medium to higher level of skill. Commissioned by VOCES8 for their LIVE From London festival in 2020.

VOCES8 Singles

Popular Classics arrangements

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770–1827)

• A Little Ludwig...................................................................EP 73500

Double Choir (SSAT – ATBB) based on themes by Ludwig van Beethoven Arr. Jim Clements • Erlkönig...............................................................................EP 73265

SSAATTBB Choir Arr. Jim Clements

This vocal arrangement of the classic Schubert song by Jim Clements for VOCES8 tells the terrifying tale of a young boy and his father being chased by the Erl King.

Each voice has a chance to inhabit the characters from the story, while Schubert’s original piano part is brought to life by the other voices.

An entertaining medley of some of his greatest hits (Für Elise, Moonlight Sonata, Pathétique Sonata, and Fifth and Ninth Symphonies), cleverly arranged by Jim Clements.

• A Moonlighting Sonata......................................................EP 73501

SATB Choir, Unison Voices and Piano Choral Parts by Christopher Moore, Katie Jeffreis-Harris and Paul Smith

A dreamlike choral fantasia based on the first movement of Beethoven's famous Moonlight piano sonata.

Particularly suitable for mixed ability choirs, this piece has been used by VOCES8 in many of their school workshops. • Four Folksongs...................................................................EP 73502

SATB Choir Arr. Joshua Pacey

Beethoven's folks songs are given the VOCES8 treatment in these fantastic new arrangements.

Works included: Lochnagar WoO 156/9; Farewell Bliss WoO 152/20; Enchantress, farewell Op. 108/18; Sunset Op. 108/2

Fauré, Gabriel (1845–1924)

• Pie Jesu..............................................................................EP 73149

SATB Choir from Requiem in D minor Op. 48 Arr. Barnaby Smith

An a cappella setting for SATB of Gabriel Fauré’s famous Pie Jesu, taken from his Requiem. In Barnaby Smith’s arrangement the famous melody is framed at the start and end by atmospheric plainsong. As recorded by VOCES8 on the album After Silence.

Bizet / Mozart / Delibes / Verdi

• Opera Medley.....................................................................EP 73266

SSAAATBB Arr. Jim Clements

This is one of VOCES8’s earliest arrangements by Jim Clements and was first performed at London’s Royal Opera House.

Many well-loved tunes from famous operas appear in this 4-minute piece and there is plenty of opportunity to bring them to life on stage, unleashing the singer's inner diva!

VOCES8 Singles

Folksong arrangements

• Carrickfergus................................................................EP 73541 for Soprano Solo & SATB Traditional Arr. Jonathan Pacey

A beautifully evocative 4-minute arrangement by Joshua Pacey of the Irish folksong ballad, named after the Irish town Carrickfergus, Score includes rehearsal piano reduction. First recorded on VOCES8’s 2019 album Enchanted Isle.

• Danny Boy..................................................................EP 73147 for SATB divisi Traditional Arr. Jonathan Pacey

Ireland’s most famous folksong, Danny Boy, in an arrangement for SATB with divisi into 8 parts by Joshua Pacey, as recorded by VOCES8 on the Enchanted Isle album.

• Edo Lullaby..................................................................EP 73148 for SATB Choir Traditional Arr. Paul Smith

A beautiful traditional Japanese folksong, Edo Lullaby, originating from Edo, the old name for modern day Tokyo, arranged for unaccompanied mixed voices by Paul Smith. As recorded by VOCES8.