Then sing we all - A Jazz Cantata
for Choir and instrumental ensemble
Then sing we all was composed for the centenary of Twickenham Choral and their conductor Christopher Herrick. For this special occasion, I wanted to write a celebratory work using jazz styles. After the traumatic period of the pandemic in 2020-1 and the forced closure of group choral singing, I wanted to express something of the joy that we experience when singing together. It has been an activity that human beings have enjoyed for centuries, and many of the texts are about the simple pleasures of singing, rediscovering delight after suffering. These verses all come from the 16th and 17th centuries, a rich period in British musical history. The music belongs to the more recent stylistic world of jazz, with the instrumental ensemble resembling a jazz group.
The piece opens with a short swing introduction, before Welcome sweet pleasure, where the choir describes the joy of singing, somewhat hard-won after suffering sorrow and grief. Trip and go is an upbeat swing number, full of outdoor spirit and energy. This mood continues in the next movement, Sing we now merrily, with a funky, driving groove. There is a care-free attitude throughout, the choir even contributing their own percussion effects. A late-night club atmosphere pervades the sound of To Music, like an intimate jazz ballad. The jubilant character is briefly resumed with Sing we and chant it, again putting aside doubts. This underlying uncertainty is finally explored in a setting of Adieu, farewell, a poem originally about the loss and grief brought about by plague. The music is sorrowful and pleading, expressing something of the recent trauma felt by so many. A short piano solo shifts the mood to one of reflective acceptance and to the final movement Now let us make a merry greeting. This highlights the core 'message' of the piece: how special it is to be sharing music with each other in person. There is an almost gospel flavour to the music, impassioned and ecstatic, concluding with the opening words of the piece being forcefully repeated: 'Then sing we all'.
Scoring: SATB choir with piano, double bass, drum kit (3 players)
Alternative version also for 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, double bass, drum kit (9 players)
The work was first performed by Twickenham Choral, Brandenburg Ensemble and Christopher Herrick (conductor) on 2nd July 2022, Kingston Parish Church, UK.
Duration: c. 34 minutes
Available to purchase from Aria Editions:
Vocal score
Piano vocal score
Full score and parts (piano, bass, drums)
Listen to a performance by the City of Bristol Choir, David Ogden (conductor). With Chris Jones (double bass), Andy Hague (drums) and Iain Farrington (piano)
1 - Welcome, sweet pleasure (6'27)
2 - Trip and go (3'56)
3 - Sing we now merrily (4'53)
4 - To Music (6'14)
5 - Sing we and chant it (1'45)
6 - Adieu, farewell (5'40)
7 - Now let us make a merry greeting (6'38)
Texts:
Welcome, sweet pleasure – Anonymous
Then sing we all.
Welcome, sweet pleasure,
My wealth and treasure.
To haste our playing,
There’s no delaying.
This mirth delights me
When sorrow frights me.
Then sing we all.
Sorrow content thee,
Mirth must prevent thee,
Though much thou grievest
Thou none relievest.
Joy, come delight me,
Though sorrow spite me.
Then sing we all.
Grief is disdainful,
Sottish and painful.
Then wait on pleasure
And lose no leisure.
Heart’s ease it lendeth
And comfort sendeth.
Then sing we all.
Trip and go – Thomas Nashe
Trip and go, heave and ho,
Up and down, to and fro,
From the town to the grove,
Two and two, let us rove.
A-maying, a-playing,
Love hath no gainsaying.
So merrily trip and go.
Sing we now merrily – Anonymous
Sing we now merrily,
Our purses be empty,
Hey ho!
Let them take care
That list to spare
For I will not do so;
Who can sing so merry a note
As he that cannot change a groat.
Hey ho!
To Music – Robert Herrick
Music, thou queen of heaven, care-charming spell,
That strikes a stillness into hell;
Thou that tames tigers, and fierce storms that rise,
With thy soul-melting lullabies,
Fall down, down, down from those thy chiming spheres,
To charm our souls, as thou enchants our ears.
Sing we and chant it - Anonymous
Sing we and chant it,
While love doth grant it,
La la la.
Not long youth lasteth,
And old age hasteth.
Now is best leisure
To take our pleasure,
La la la.
All things invite us
Now to delight us,
La la la.
Hence, care, be packing
No mirth be lacking.
Let spare no treasure
To live in pleasure,
La la la.
Adieu, farewell – Thomas Nashe
Adieu, farewell, earth’s bliss,
This world uncertain is,
Fond are life’s lustful joys,
Death proves them all but toys,
None from his darts can fly,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Gold cannot buy you health
Physic himself must fade,
All things to end are made,
The plague full swift goes by,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Beauty is but a flower,
Which wrinkles will devour,
Brightness falls from the air,
Queens have died young and fair,
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Now let us make a merry greeting – Anonymous
Now let us make a merry greeting,
And thank good fortune for our meeting,
Our hearts are full of joy and pleasure,
Since thou art here our only treasure.
Now will we dance and sport and play,
And sing a merry roundelay.
Then sing we all.
for Choir and instrumental ensemble
Then sing we all was composed for the centenary of Twickenham Choral and their conductor Christopher Herrick. For this special occasion, I wanted to write a celebratory work using jazz styles. After the traumatic period of the pandemic in 2020-1 and the forced closure of group choral singing, I wanted to express something of the joy that we experience when singing together. It has been an activity that human beings have enjoyed for centuries, and many of the texts are about the simple pleasures of singing, rediscovering delight after suffering. These verses all come from the 16th and 17th centuries, a rich period in British musical history. The music belongs to the more recent stylistic world of jazz, with the instrumental ensemble resembling a jazz group.
The piece opens with a short swing introduction, before Welcome sweet pleasure, where the choir describes the joy of singing, somewhat hard-won after suffering sorrow and grief. Trip and go is an upbeat swing number, full of outdoor spirit and energy. This mood continues in the next movement, Sing we now merrily, with a funky, driving groove. There is a care-free attitude throughout, the choir even contributing their own percussion effects. A late-night club atmosphere pervades the sound of To Music, like an intimate jazz ballad. The jubilant character is briefly resumed with Sing we and chant it, again putting aside doubts. This underlying uncertainty is finally explored in a setting of Adieu, farewell, a poem originally about the loss and grief brought about by plague. The music is sorrowful and pleading, expressing something of the recent trauma felt by so many. A short piano solo shifts the mood to one of reflective acceptance and to the final movement Now let us make a merry greeting. This highlights the core 'message' of the piece: how special it is to be sharing music with each other in person. There is an almost gospel flavour to the music, impassioned and ecstatic, concluding with the opening words of the piece being forcefully repeated: 'Then sing we all'.
Scoring: SATB choir with piano, double bass, drum kit (3 players)
Alternative version also for 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, double bass, drum kit (9 players)
The work was first performed by Twickenham Choral, Brandenburg Ensemble and Christopher Herrick (conductor) on 2nd July 2022, Kingston Parish Church, UK.
Duration: c. 34 minutes
Available to purchase from Aria Editions:
Vocal score
Piano vocal score
Full score and parts (piano, bass, drums)
Listen to a performance by the City of Bristol Choir, David Ogden (conductor). With Chris Jones (double bass), Andy Hague (drums) and Iain Farrington (piano)
1 - Welcome, sweet pleasure (6'27)
2 - Trip and go (3'56)
3 - Sing we now merrily (4'53)
4 - To Music (6'14)
5 - Sing we and chant it (1'45)
6 - Adieu, farewell (5'40)
7 - Now let us make a merry greeting (6'38)
Texts:
Welcome, sweet pleasure – Anonymous
Then sing we all.
Welcome, sweet pleasure,
My wealth and treasure.
To haste our playing,
There’s no delaying.
This mirth delights me
When sorrow frights me.
Then sing we all.
Sorrow content thee,
Mirth must prevent thee,
Though much thou grievest
Thou none relievest.
Joy, come delight me,
Though sorrow spite me.
Then sing we all.
Grief is disdainful,
Sottish and painful.
Then wait on pleasure
And lose no leisure.
Heart’s ease it lendeth
And comfort sendeth.
Then sing we all.
Trip and go – Thomas Nashe
Trip and go, heave and ho,
Up and down, to and fro,
From the town to the grove,
Two and two, let us rove.
A-maying, a-playing,
Love hath no gainsaying.
So merrily trip and go.
Sing we now merrily – Anonymous
Sing we now merrily,
Our purses be empty,
Hey ho!
Let them take care
That list to spare
For I will not do so;
Who can sing so merry a note
As he that cannot change a groat.
Hey ho!
To Music – Robert Herrick
Music, thou queen of heaven, care-charming spell,
That strikes a stillness into hell;
Thou that tames tigers, and fierce storms that rise,
With thy soul-melting lullabies,
Fall down, down, down from those thy chiming spheres,
To charm our souls, as thou enchants our ears.
Sing we and chant it - Anonymous
Sing we and chant it,
While love doth grant it,
La la la.
Not long youth lasteth,
And old age hasteth.
Now is best leisure
To take our pleasure,
La la la.
All things invite us
Now to delight us,
La la la.
Hence, care, be packing
No mirth be lacking.
Let spare no treasure
To live in pleasure,
La la la.
Adieu, farewell – Thomas Nashe
Adieu, farewell, earth’s bliss,
This world uncertain is,
Fond are life’s lustful joys,
Death proves them all but toys,
None from his darts can fly,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Gold cannot buy you health
Physic himself must fade,
All things to end are made,
The plague full swift goes by,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Beauty is but a flower,
Which wrinkles will devour,
Brightness falls from the air,
Queens have died young and fair,
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye,
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Now let us make a merry greeting – Anonymous
Now let us make a merry greeting,
And thank good fortune for our meeting,
Our hearts are full of joy and pleasure,
Since thou art here our only treasure.
Now will we dance and sport and play,
And sing a merry roundelay.
Then sing we all.