Pieces

Let no calamitie: Prelude and Romance for oboe and piano

Posted by sara-garrard

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Oboe and piano |Duration: 5.30 | Difficulty: Intermediate-Advanced

image from the British Museum CC BY-SA 4.0

The inscription “let no calamitie separat amitie” or similar is found engraved on several ‘poesy’ rings, rings given as gifts between lovers and friends.  One such is on display at the National Civil War museum in Newark.

This piece is moderate/more challenging, suitable for oboists exploring contemporary repertoire around ABRSM Grade 6+ level.  Might pair well with a movement of for example the Saint-Saens sonata or the Poulenc.  The Prelude is shorter and the Romance longer and more complex.

Easter Night

Posted by sara-garrard

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SATB [SSAA also available]
Unaccompanied (with rehearsal piano part)
Duration: ~ 2 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate (some close/clustered harmony)

This quietly emotional anthem with text by the poet Alice Meynell focuses on an unheard, hidden moment at the very centre of the Easter story.

All night had shout of men and cry 
    Of woeful women filled His way; 
Until that noon of sombre sky 
    On Friday, clamour and display 
Smote Him; no solitude had He, 
No silence, since Gethsemane.

Public was Death; but Power, but Might, 
    But Life again, but Victory, 
Were hushed within the dead of night, 
    The shutter’d dark, the secrecy. 
And all alone, alone, alone, 
He rose again behind the stone.

Missa Brevis

Posted by sara-garrard

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Female choir unaccompanied | Duration: 17 minutes | Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Kyrie Bristol University Schola Cantorum 4:45
  2. Gloria Bristol University Schola Cantorum 3:46
  3. Sanctus Bristol University Schola Cantorum 1:50
  4. Benedictus Bristol University Schola Cantorum 3:10
  5. Agnus Dei Bristol University Schola Cantorum 3:42

A setting of the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei for women’s voices (or upper voices). This piece takes inspiration from medieval chant as well as other traditional and modern styles to create an experience that is meditative, moving and exciting. Missa Brevis is suitable for either church use or concert performance. It can be sung as a whole piece or sections performed individually.

The Kyrie is built around a sevenfold repetition of a single line and set of wordless chords. The Gloria and Sanctus are fast and upbeat, influenced by traditional Estonian work-songs to emphasise how the glory of God fills the heavens and the earth. The Benedictus is warm and peaceful, and the Agnus Dei the most emotionally charged and containing the most dissonance.

The choir is divided into SSAA with further divisi in the Benedictus and Agnus Dei, but often uses a unison or two-part texture. There are several opportunities for soloists or small groups to shine.

Performances: St Paul’s Church, Bristol, 28 March 2018, Bristol University Schola Cantorum conducted by Emma Hornby

Bristol Cathedral, as part of A Service of Celebration of Women’s Priestly Ministry, 12 March 2022, University of Bristol Schola Cantorum conducted by Emma Hornby

+ The Gloria performed at various Christmas carollings and TreeFest @ St Mary Redcliffe

St Paul’s Knightsbridge, London, 19 September 2025, The BBC Singers conducted by Martyn Brabbins

Mass, sacred, choral, mass ordinary, short mass, church, liturgy.