Ian AssersohnChoral and Vocal catalogue

2014

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ian.appletreemusic.net

ContentsLonger Works 3

Shorter pieces 5

Christmas 10

Choral arrangements 11

Thank you for your interest in the music of Ian Assersohn.Ian Assersohn studied composition with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music inLondon and with Peter Schaat and Louis Andriessen at the Koninklijk Conservatorium, DenHaag.

Following a lifetime of involvement as a choral director, Ian today specialises in writingchoral music which is accessible and rewarding to sing for amateurs and professionalsalike.Ian is Musical Director of Leatherhead Choral Society, Concordia Singers and Epsom MaleVoice Choir.

For more information about any of these works, including free sample page downloads andaudio extracts, please visit ian.appletreemusic.net or email info@appletreemusic.net

All shorter works are available as pdf files except the Christmas song Light A Candlepublished by Shawnee Press and the solo song Echo which is published by Recital Music.

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Longer WorksA Drop O' Nelson's BloodA collection of arrangements of sea shanties and forebitters for SATB choir and piano.

Duration 25-30 minutes.

The work's eight movements are available, and can be performed, independently, oras the set. They are: Ten Thousand Miles Away; Maggie May; Haul away Joe (withoptional solo); A Drop O' Nelson's Blood; A-Rovin' (with optional solo and audienceinvolvement); Spanish Ladies; The Capstan Bar; Leave Her Johnny

In MemoriamA humanist requiem in one continuous movement for soprano and baritone soli, smallorchestra and SATB chorus.

The moving text interweaves poetry by Tennyson (from In Memoriam A.H.H) andWordsworth (Intimations of Immortality) with part of the Jewish memorial service forthe dead.

Duration 35 minutes.

Songs of CatullusA cycle of settings, in Latin, of poems by the Roman poet Catullus for SATB andchamber ensemble (fl, ob, timp, glock, hp, organ, vc) or small orchestra. The workwas commissioned by Concordia Singers and first performed by them in 2013.The eight movements are called: Hymn to Diana; Let us live and love; His brother'sgrave; A Prayer: To Lesbia; Wedding Dance (instrumental); Lesbia's sparrow (sopranosolo); The Old Falernian and Homecoming.The songs may also be performed individually

Duration 30-35 minutes.

The Song of SongsA full-length setting of one of the Old Testament's most glittering treasures and theworld's most beautiful and mysterious love poem. Scored for soprano and tenor soli,SATB chorus, ensemble or two pianos and percussionDuration 40 minutes.

The Song of Songs (in Hebrew Shir ha-Shirim), also known as the Song of Solomon,is collection of verses on the theme of love. Probably written about 3,000 years ago,the book appears in the Old Testament, despite having no obvious religiousconnotation.

The main characters are a woman (the “Shulammite") and her mysterious lover,represented in this piece by the soprano and tenor soloists. The chorus variouslyrepresents the coupleʼs friends or comment on the action.

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Lancelot Wins Again!A full-length musical for children loosely based on the legends of King Arthur,with story, dialogue and lyrics by the composer. Originally written forCottesmore School in Sussex the musical has received multiple performancesand is ideally suited to Year 6 or 7 productions.

The characters are: Merlin (non-singing role), King Arthur, Guinevere, SirLancelot, Sir Galahad and Sir Mordred with chorus of knights and ladies.

The action is fast-paced, the music is tuneful and memorable andincorporates a range of styles, and the lyrics are witty, and often very funny.

from "The Ballad of Tristan And Isolde"When Sir Tristan met Isolde he went right ahead and told herThat he loved her and he didn't care who knew,Then he took her by the shoulder and began to kiss and hold herAnd Isolde told Sir Tristan "I love you".

Well the only awkward thing was she was married to the king,And he found out that she's been seeing someone new,And he nearly hit the ceiling when he learned what she was feelingFor a man she'd only known since half past two.

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Shorter PiecesAs the rain hides the stars - Shortlisted for the 2014 Nicola Dando prizeSATB a cappellaDuration 4' 55"A sonorous setting of a Gaelic prayer.

Blow northerne wyndSSAATTBB or TTBBDuration 3'33"A lively, rhythmical setting in a modal style of an anonymous fourteenth century Englishtext.

By the rivers of BabylonSATB a cappellaDuration 2'55"An a cappella setting of the opening of Psalm 137.

Corinna's luteSATB a cappellaDuration 3'24"A setting of a love poem by the sixteenth century composer and poet Thomas Campion.

Crossing the bar - winner of the 2014 CIMVCF competitionSATB, TTBB or SSA and pianoDuration 2'56"A rhapsodic song with a warm harmonic texture to the text by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.Originally written for men's voices but also available for upper or mixed voices. Suitable formixed, male voice or community choirs.

Dona nobis pacemSoprano solo, choir and piano (or chamber orchestra)Duration 4'32"A call for peace with a touching melodic line which builds to a stirring climax.

EchoMezzo-soprano soloDuration 3'55"Echo is an austere and evocative setting of Christina Rossetti's words. "Its simple andaccessible vocal line is contrasted by a more restless accompaniment offering music ofgreat clarity and atmosphere. The slow moving and adventurous chordal harmonies help tocreate a bleak and static effect producing a song of powerful intensity and depth."

Evening songSATB and pianoDuration 2'39"A simple anthem with a memorable melody on a text from Luke's gospel.

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Fear no moreOne or two solo voices and pianoDuration 3'24"A gently lyrical setting of the famous song from Shakespeare's Cymbeline. This flexiblearrangement may be sung by either one or two mezzo-soprano or baritone solo voices.

Feste's songSATB (with solo) a cappella.Duration 2'A lilting setting, with a call-and-response structure, of a song from Shakespeare's TwelfthNight. The solo may be sung by either one or two singers of any voice.

From So Simple A BeginningSATB and pianoDuration 3' 50"A setting of the final few words from Darwin's The Origin of Species. Written for the BritishHumanist Choir.

FutilitySATB a cappellaDuration 2'41"The bleakness and anger of Wilfred Owen's text is both offset and highlighted by themusic's warm harmonies and tender dissonances. Suitable for Remembrance-themedconcerts.

High flightSATB and pianoDuration 2'36"Written to a text by John Gillespie Magee, the song expresses the joy and exuberance of ayoung airman tasting the freedom of flight. Suitable for Remembrance-themed concerts.

In Flanders fieldsSATB a cappellaDuration 4'15"A melodic setting of the famous threnody by John McCrae which evokes both the poem'sevocative, elegaic mood and its fervent call to arms. Suitable for Remembrance-themedconcerts.

Leisure2-part upper-voices and pianoDuration 2'36"The famous text by William Henry Davies begins: "What is this life if, full of care, We haveno time to stand and stare?". Popular with school or community choirs, this simple butmemorable song can quickly be learned by rote but, through the use of canonic imitationbetween the parts, builds up an impressively textured effect.

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Loveliest of treesSA Men (with soprano solo) and pianoDuration 3'15"A straighforward setting of the A.E. Housman's paean to the cherry tree, poem XXIII from AShropshire Lad.

LullabySATB a cappellaDuration 1'20"A gently melodic setting, with luxuriant harmonies, of a song from "The Woman Hater" byJacobean playwrights Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher.

Mary BatemanSATB and pianoDuration 3'46"A melodic setting of John Clare's folksong-like poem of lost love.

My true loveSATB or Upper voices and pianoDuration 2'13"A gentle setting with a simple, graceful melody of the beautiful poem by Sir Philip Sidney,this was written for the BHA Choir as a humanist wedding song

Now winter nights enlargeSATB a cappellaDuration 2'30"An approachable, contemporary-with-a-hint-of-madrigal, setting of a text by the sixteenthcentury composer and poet Thomas Campion.

O Death! Rocke me asleepSATB (with optional soprano solo)and pianoDuration 5'11"A gentle, lilting song, with a hint of a slow gospel feel, on a text attributed to Anne Boleyn.

PrayerSA Men and piano/organDuration 1'50"A simple yet affective anthem in three parts to a text by the metaphysical poet GeorgeHerbert.

RememberSATB a cappellaDuration 2'21"Written for Leatherhead Choral Society, this is a contemplative setting of the haunting poemby Christina Rossetti.

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Sing as oneSATB, TTBB or SSA, with pianoDuration 3'15"A joyful song about the pleasures of choral singing. Winner of the 2010 Making Musiccomposition competition.Sing as one was selected as a competition piece for the 2013 Leith Hill Musical Festival."The jewel of the short pieces was undoubtedly Sing as One. It was wonderfully rhythmicand uplifting, as it celebrated the joys of singing together. Nothing could better express thepleasure of participating in the Festival."

Soles occidereSATB a cappellaDuration 2'59"This is a setting, in Latin, of lines from poem 5 by the ancient roman poet Catullus. "Sunsmay set, and suns may rise again: but when our brief light has set, our night is one longeverlasting sleep."

The passionate shepherdSATB and pianoDuration 3'51"A light-hearted setting in the style of a drinking song of the famous text by ChristopherMarlowe which begins "Come live with me and be my love".

The soldierSATB with optional organ or pianoDuration 3'31"Rupert Brooke's poem which begins "If I should die, think only this of me" is familiar tomany, and this setting captures all the poem's wistful, elegiac mix of sadness andoptimism. Suitable for Remembrance-themed concerts.

The song of the flowersSA Men and pianoDuration 2'13"This gentle, simple 3-part song, with text by the composer, was written for the Wisley RHSworkplace choir and is suitable for community choirs.

The street sounds to the soldiers' treadSATB and piano or brass quintetDuration 1'38"One of several A.E. Housman settings, this is an evocative setting of poem XXII from AShropshire Lad. Like many of the poems in A Shropshire Lad this text touches on the themeof war and soldiering, making this setting, with its march-like rhythms and slightly dissonantharmonies, very suitable for Remembrance-themed concerts.

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The widow birdTTBB and pianoDuration 1'34"A setting for men's voices of a beautiful and deceptively simple poem by Percy ByssheShelley, which evokes the wintry scene and the ceaseless turning of the mill-wheeldescribed in Shelley's text.

The winds out of the west land blowSATB a cappellaDuration 4'07"One of several A.E. Housman settings, this setting of poem XXXVIII from A Shropshire Ladcaptures the poem's wistful, slightly bitter, mood.

WavingSSA and pianoDuration 3'52"A moving song, with text by the composer, about the women left behind when the men goto war. Suitable for community choirs and for Remembrance-themed concerts. Written forthe Culdroses Military Wives Choir

White in the moonSATB a cappellaDuration 2'11"One of several A.E. Housman settings, this is an evocative setting of poem XXXVI from AShropshire Lad: "White in the moon the long road lies That leads me from my love.

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ChristmasBeautiful star of BethlehemSATB and pianoA carol arrangement in an American country style.

Blah blah BethlehemSATB and Piano"The only choral carol you will ever need". A warm-hearted satire on traditionally cosycarols.

Deck the hall, stairs and landingSATB or 2-part mixed voices and pianoA humorous song in which a husband and wife discuss her lavish Christmas decorationplans.

Deo gratiasSATB (div) and pianoAn energetic and rawly powerful 8-part setting of the fifteenth century macaronic verse"Adam Lay Ybounden".

Every Christmas has a new beginningSATB and pianoAn original Christmas song in which an unhappy man is inspired with new hope when hehears distant voices singing Christmas songs.

Light a candleSATB and pianoA humanist carol reflecting on the symbolic meaning of a midwinter festival of light.Light a candle was a finalist in the 2010 Waverley Care Carol Competition and is publishedin the US by Shawnee Press.

Te harinuiSATB (or SAMen) and pianoThis simple but very effective arrangement of New Zealand's favourite carol is Ian's mostfrequently requested arrangement.

The new year childSATB and pianoAn original Christmas song on the connection between the turning of the year and theimage of rebirth.

Try to rememberUnison voices and pianoAn original Christmas song about a nostalgic yearning for the excitement that Christmasheld when we were children.Suitable for children's and community choirs.

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Choral ArrangementsA drop o' Nelson's bloodSATB and piano.A rollicking stamp-and-go shanty.

A-rovin'SATB with optional solo and audience involvement and piano.An ever-popular sing-along folk song.

Cambric shirtSATB a cappella.Cambric shirt is an old folksong with a mysterious character. This arrangement, based on a version by Craig,Morgan, Robson, uses simple, authentic harmonies to tell the story.

Haul away JoeSATB with optional solo and piano.A tack-and-sheet shanty with an authentic call-and-response structure.

High BarbareeSATB and piano.An arrangement of an old sea-faring ballad.

It's a long way to TipperaryTTBB or SATB and pianoAn arrangement of the famous WW1 song by Judge & Williams, complete with a verse of the alternative,soldiers', lyrics (That's the wrong way to tickle Mary...").

I want to go homeTTBB or SATB a cappellaAn arrangement that captures both the surface humour and the darker emotion behind this WW1 soldiers'song.

John Anderson, my joSATB and piano.A short, simple (mainly 2-part) setting of the Robert Burns poem to an original melody in a folksong style.

Keep the home fires burningTTBB or SATB and pianoA stirring arrangement of Ivor Novello's youthful masterpiece.

Leave her JohnnySATB and piano.A pump shanty sung as the last song on a voyage.

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Maggie MaySATB and piano.A lively foc'sle song from Liverpool.

Scarborough fairSA Men a cappella.An authentic-sounding arrangement in three parts, suitable for community choirs.

Spanish ladiesSATB and piano.In its minor key version this eighteenth-century naval song has a wistful atmosphere all its own.

Ten thousand miles awaySATB and piano.A broad and atmospheric shanty.

The capstan barSATB and piano.A capstan shanty evoking the slow, heavy work of heaving the capstan round.

There's a long, long trail a-windingTTBB or SATB a cappellaA barbershop/Edwardian partsong style arrangement of a song by Zo Elliott popular in WW1 and whichfeatures in Oh What A Lovely War.

Yarmouth townSATB and optional ukulele and/or percussion.A fast-paced, light-hearted arrangement of this famous folk song.