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This piece was originally the fifth movement of a short Christmas cycle (“Angels and Shepherds and Wise Men All”) was written in 2012 for the end of year concert by South Auckland Choral Society to be conducted by the composer. The concert included my school choir, St Mary’s Schola, and I was keen to write something that the combined forces (including the soloists) in the concert could sing together.

The cycle doesn’t try to encapsulate the entire Christmas story, but focusses on those characters on the edge of the story – the angels, the shepherds and the wise man. In this piece, the characters who gathered around the infant Jesus are focussed on: the animals, the angels and the shepherds.

• David Hamilton: A Child Lay in a Little Crib - hardcopy score 

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• The Treble Voice Choral Music of David Hamilton Vol. 4  Year: 2013 

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• Lange: Agnus Dei; computer set 

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A piece which celebrates an anniversary provides a composer with particular challenges in the choice of a text. It should not be so tied to the group or the event that no-one else will want to use the music, yet it needs to acknowledge and celebrate the group’s achievement.

“All This Singing, One Song” was written for GALS (Gay and Lesbian Singers of Auckland) for the choir’s 20th anniversary in 2012. The text comes from the 13th century Persian poet and philosopher Rumi, and consists of several short pieces of his writing on the subject of singing. Most of these encourage the listener to join in with the singing. The music is mostly rhythmic and energetic, with a strong climax at the end where the choir sings the words “Sing loud!”.

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi or Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian philosopher, theologian, poet, teacher, and Sufi mystic. Also known as Mevlana (Our Guide), Jalaluddin Rumi, but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi.

“All This Singing, One Song” was commissioned by GALS (music director: Stephen Bowness), and first performed by the choir on 27 October 2012.

• David Hamilton: All this singing, one song - hardcopy score 

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St Michael’s Church in Remuera (Auckland ) is one of the finest acoustics in the city for choral music. When I heard Viva Voce was presenting a concert of “heavenly music” there as the choir’s final concert for 2011, I offered to write a new piece. My earliest regularly performed work,“Lux Aeterna was already scheduled for the programme, so I felt this would make a nice comparison of works written 32 years apart. Conductor John Rosser readily agreed to the idea.

Angele Dei is a text traditionally attributed to St Anselm (c.1033-1109) although it is now believed to have been added to his works after his death probably in the 11th or 12th centuries. It is a brief prayer to a guardian angel – one who is charged with protecting against the assaults of demons, that might lead one into sin.

The piece is full of warm rich choral textures, beginning with the women’s voices descending in a scale-like passage which repeats several times against simple tonal chords in the men’s voices. The build to the climax uses textures reminiscent of Renaissance composers, featuring a string of suspensions in the harmony. The work ends quietly with an Amen section and final statement of the title.

David Hamilton

• Hamilton: Angele Dei; computer set  Year: 2011 

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This short Christmas cycle was written in 2012 for the end of year concert by South Auckland Choral Society to be conducted by the composer. The concert included my school choir, St Mary’s Schola, and I was keen to write something that the combined forces (including the soloists) in the concert could sing together. Several of the texts are traditional and anonymous, with more recent texts by Sara Teasdale and New Zealand poet and hymn writer Marnie Barrell.

The cycle doesn’t try to encapsulate the entire Christmas story, but focuses on those characters on the edge of the story – the angels, the shepherds and the wise men. The final text is a welcome to Christmas, naming a number of other participants in the story of Christmas, to which is added a quote from “In dulci jubilo”.

• David Hamilton: Angels and Shepherd and Wise Men All - hardcopy score 

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Using the traditional Ave Maria text this work gradually builds from unison, to two part, to three part. There are some uplifting key changes and the piece features a brief, but beautiful, a cappella section in the middle (optional accompaniment given).

• Lange: Ave Maria; computer set 

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By the Rivers of Babylon is a vocal setting of Psalm 137

• Graham Parsons: By the Rivers of Babylon (SATB) - hardcopy score 

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By the Rivers of Babylon is a vocal setting of Psalm 137

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By the Rivers of Babylon is a vocal setting of Psalm 137

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The text of this work comes from the 40-part motet of the same name by Alessandro Striggio (c1540-1592). His work was the likely inspiration for the better-known 40-part motet of Thomas Tallis “Spem in alium”. It is believed that Striggio wrote the text himself. Striggio wrote both sacred and secular music, and all his surviving music is vocal (although often with instrumental doublings clearly indicated).

“Ecce beatam lucem” is a hymn of praise to the sun and more generally to all of creation, and by analogy to the power of God shown through his creation.

This piece was written for Choralation (Westlake Girls’ and Westlake Boys’ High Schools) and conductor Rowan Johnston who had requested a ‘fireworks’ piece – something short, bold and dramatic.

• Hamilton: Ecce beatam lucem; computer set  Year: 2012 

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• David Hamilton: Ecce Beatam Lucem; video 

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