larger works
mixed chorus and keyboard
a cappella
children's chorus
women's chorus
men's chorus
List of choral pieces in order by difficulty
WHERE TO START: Choral Music Recommendations and Highlights
| Work | Duration | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| larger choral works | ||||
| Lovelife Dances by William Copper |
25 minutes | SATB, piano 4-hands. The Liebeslieder for the 21st century: Love, life, and lovelife in dance rhythms. Six centuries of English poetry, Geoffrey Chaucer through James Merrill. A major work now available for scheduling. "Musically there is only this to say: this is beautiful music" "... All in all, I'm in love with the work." Completely revised, 2006-2007, with one new song, "Love in the Valley". | ||
| New Lovelife Dances by William Copper |
28 minutes | SATB, piano 4-hands. More Lovelife Dances, new in 2002. 14 new choral songs with texts from a wide range of English poetry, including Robert Burns, William Shakespeare, and George Elliot, and Christopher Marlowe. Like the first set, "an amazing suite", "passionate, tender, jolly, and wry". | ||
| Stabat Mater | 8 minutes | Major choral work for full chorus a cappella; also with orchestra or double quartet (strings and winds). | ||
| Songs from the Book of Knowledge by William Copper |
15 minutes | A multi-volume set of songs for children's chorus and piano. Volume I, in preparation now, contains seven songs: 1. Answer to a Child's Question 2. Great Wide Beautiful Wonderful World 3. A Tragic Story 4. My Heart is Like a Singing Bird 5. Birds 6. Good-bye 7. The Dance of the Flowers | ||
| Sea Songs | 10 minutes | Four a cappella songs of the sea, new in 2002, opus 74: Sea Love, Sea Fever, Water, Water Everywhere, and A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea | ||
| Dinggedicht-Fugen | 15 minutes | SATB, piano. Three very difficult fugues for chorus and piano, in German. Setting of poems by Ranier Maria Rilke: Die Rosenschale, Das Karussell, and Spanische Täanzerin. | ||
| Moses Facing Jordan | 60 minutes | Oratorio of the life of Moses, from his point of view at the end of his life: looking back to the river Nile and down at the river Jordan. Chorus, soloists, and orchestra or keyboard reduction. | ||
| The Half-Bird | 60 minutes | A fantasy children's opera about a mythical bird and two children who accidentally find themselves in ancient Persia. | ||
| Magnificat | 25 minutes | Soprano, Alto, Tenor Soloists, Chorus, Small Orchestra or Flute, Violin, 'Cello, Piano | ||
| mixed chorus and keyboard | ||||
| Alleluia | 5 minutes | One-word chorus perfect for many occasions. Good concert closer. Innovative optional accompaniment provides tonal and rhythmic support without doubling modal notes (thirds of major triads, etc). A chorus can sing with pure tuning even while accompanied by an equal-temperament keyboard. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| America, One and Many | 3 minutes | Patriotic song, original words. Strong melody sounds as though it should be part of our heritage, but it is newly composed. SATB with Piano, Orchestra, Band, or String Orchestra. Also available for unison chorus and children's chorus. Online Score (PDF) and Online Recording (MP3) | ||
| And the Lord Delivered Him | 2 minutes | When Moses succeeds in battle, he doesn't hold back. ".. and we smote him, and all his people, we left none to remain." A fierce, powerful, rhythmic account of part of the Moses story. | ||
| The Animal Fair | 3 minutes | Traditional words and melody arranged for chorus, with additional comical lyrics added. | ||
| Birds | 3 minutes | Jazz chords, scat singing, lovely melodies, American poet Richard H Stoddard. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| The Oubit | 3 minutes | An oubit is a caterpillar, used here as a metaphor for a young poet. Tak' warning, then, young poets, from this poor oubit's shame ... for critics lie, like salmon fry, to mak' their meals of you. Setting of the poem by Charles Kingsley. Fairly easy piano part; revised edition (2006). Online Score (PDF) and Online Recording (MP3) | ||
| Goe and Catche a Falling Starre | 3 minutes | A setting of John Donne's "Song", which begins "Goe and catch a falling starre, get with child a mandrake root, tell me where all past yeares are, or who cleft the Divels foot". A series of unlikely or impossible events, ending with the search for a person true and fair. Language made inclusive by the trading of "he's" and "she's" by the men and women at the end. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Pie Jesu | 2 minutes | Latin text, very easy unison treble chorus with treble soloist. Piano or Organ accompaniment. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Ave Maria | 3 1/2 minutes | Two versions: A setting of the traditional Latin text with effective accompaniment by violin, french horn, and piano; also, SATB a cappella | ||
| Blessed the Gift | 3 1/2 minutes | Beautiful offertory or concert piece for organ and chorus. A translation and free adaptation of a benedictus from St. Peter's mass by Stanislaw Moniuszko, 19th century Polish composer. Begins with soprano melody, chorus joins in with an effective but easy organ part. | ||
| Communion for the New Covenant | 3-4 minutes | "Jesus Took Bread, and Blessed and Broke It", communion or lenten anthem in Latin and English from Matthew 26:26-28. Somewhat flexible duration from the inclusion or omission of a repeated passage for solo soprano and tenor. | ||
| Confession | 2 minutes | Setting of a confession text from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Very easy vocal parts, easy but effective organ part. | ||
| English Romantic Poems | 4 minutes | A pair of choral songs from Lovelife Dances, with piano accompaniment reduced from 4 hands to 2 hands. Tennyson's "O Swallow, Swallow", for women's chorus, paired with Shelley's "Stay Yet Awhile" (from Adonais), for men's chorus. | ||
| Flow Forth, Abundant Tears | 3 minutes | Folk song simplicity on a complex meter. One of the Lovelife Dances, suitable for performance by itself. Text from a madrigal by William Barley. Available for SSAB or SATB with piano (2 hands). | ||
| I Can See the Lord | 4 minutes | A modern spiritual for chorus with coloratura soprano solo and keyboard accompaniment. | ||
| It Was a Lover and a Lass | 4 minutes | From New Lovelife Dances, a simple refrain that grows in interest and passion through repetition and vocal variety. 4-hand piano accompaniment. | ||
| Join Me in the Jumping | 2 minutes | Original Christmas carol moving swiftly from "Doloroso" to "Giocoso" in 6/8 time. Piano accompaniment and string orchestra accompaniment available. | ||
| Knights of Troubled Love | 4 minutes | From Lovelife Dances, with piano accompaniment reduced from 4 hands to 2 hands. Two noble poets of the English Renaissance, Sir Philip Sidney (Ring Out Your Bells) and Sir Thomas Wyatt (Hate Whom Ye List). | ||
| The Lizard Call | 2 1/2 minutes | The Lizard Call is a comical retelling of a piece of Persian history from the days of Ahuramazda (Zoroastrian deity). The Lizards are called to attack (and dine on) the magical fish protecting the Tree of Life. Musical antecedents include Elvis and Helter Skelter, I think. Fast pace, optional piano part. | ||
| The Love of a Soldier and a Marble Heart | 5 minutes | A pair of English Renaissance poems from New Lovelife Dances: "Ask Me No Reason" and "I Stood and Saw My Mistress Dance". Piano part reduced from original 4-hand piano. Full Perusal Score of 'I Stood ...' (PDF) | ||
| Lullaby for Christmas | 3 minutes | Beautiful original manger song with a twist, comparing the tears of the baby Jesus to the tears of Mary at the cross. Available for organ or piano with violin solo, and for string orchestra accompaniment. | ||
| O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose | 3 minutes | From the New Lovelife Dances. Whimsical, powerful setting of this familiar text. | ||
| Piano | 5 minutes | Written for ECCO, the High School chorus of Piedmont Choirs, Bruce C. Lengacher, conductor. A setting of the poem by D. H. Lawrence, requires a good pianist and conductor, with not-too-difficult choral parts that sound far harder than they are. Parts for solo voices. | ||
| Sing for the Morning's Joy (Hymn to St Cecilia) | 3 minutes | Another beautiful poem, this by Ursula Vaughan Williams. Effective organ part, moderately difficult choral parts. Poem used by permission of copyright holder Albion Music, Ltd. | ||
| Soft, Oh Soft | 2 1/2 minutes | Christmas Carol with King Herod shouting in the middle. SSA or SATB, strings with optional flute and handbells. | ||
| Two Poems by Robert Burns | 5 minutes | From New Lovelife Dances, with piano accompaniment reduced from 4 hands to 2 hands. "A Red, Red Rose" and "John Anderson, My Jo". | ||
| Two Renaissance Poems | 4 minutes | Two of the Lovelife Dances, with piano accompaniment reduced from 4 hands to 2 hands, and paired for an effective expression of the earthy and sensual power of the English renaissance. Texts by Sir Philip Sidney (Who Is It That This Dark Night) and John Donne (You Lovers). | ||
| This Great Nation | 4 minutes | A large scale chorus from the story of Moses; a setting of one of Moses' clever rhetorical shifts: he praises the people of Israel for their wisdom and understanding, then reminds them to use that wisdom to follow the moral laws he has taught them and to teach their children to follow the laws. | ||
| Two English Satires | 4 minutes | A combined edition of Pentamic Iambeter and The Oubit, texts by Charles Kingsley and John Donne. Optional piano. | ||
| Weep, Weep Ye Woodmen | 3 minutes | An easy men's chorus. Setting of an anonymous poem from around 1598, attributed to Munday, and telling of the death of Robin Hood. TB, piano. | ||
| Why Hast Thou Dealt Ill With Thy Servant | 3 minutes | Moses seeking strength and perseverance and courage from God. Much unison, and very limited ranges, but effective and powerful. TTB, piano. | ||
| a cappella works | ||||
| Alleluia | 5 minutes | Grand a cappella chorus perfect for many occasions. Good concert closer. Innovative optional accompaniment provides tonal and rhythmic support without doubling modal notes (thirds of major triads, etc). A chorus can sing with pure tuning even while accompanied by an equal-temperament keyboard. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Danny Boy | 3 minutes | From the Requiem, 2007. Arrangement for mixed chorus of this sad but beautiful folk melody. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Sea Fever | 3 1/2 minutes | Setting of John Masefield's famous poem, "I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by." School commission. | ||
| Young Jesu Sweet | 3 minutes | Setting of an archaic Christmas hymn by the Wedderbun brothers (16th century). Intended to be sung a cappella in just intonation. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Ave Regina Coelorum | 4 minutes | Latin text, chorus a cappella. Written, as with many other recent choral works by William Copper, to offer singers the opportunity to sing modern works in the pure tuning of just intonation. Full Perusal Score (PDF) | ||
| Stabat Mater | 8 minutes | Major choral work for full chorus a cappella; also with orchestra or double quartet (strings and winds). | ||
| Sea Love | 1 1/2 minutes | Setting of a poem Charlotte Mew, beginning "Tide be runnin' the great world over"; the other part of the School Commission. | ||
| The Love of a Soldier and a Marble Heart | 5 minutes | A pair of English Renaissance poems from New Lovelife Dances: "Ask Me No Reason" and "I Stood and Saw My Mistress Dance". Optional keyboard part. | ||
| Ask Me No Reason | 3 minutes | A letter from Sir John Falstaff to Mistress Page, from Shakespeare's comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor. From New Lovelife Dances, and also published as part of "The Love of a Soldier and a Marble Heart". | ||
| I Arise from Dreams of Thee | 3 minutes | SSATB Setting of a romantic dream and death poem by Shelley. | ||
| O Magnum Mysterium | 3 minutes | The mystery and sacrament of Christmas. Traditional Latin text, renaissance polyphony with modern dissonant exultant ending. | ||
| Prelude XXII / The Two April Mornings | 3 minutes | Setting of a poem by William Wordsworth to a prelude by J. S. Bach from the Well-Tempered Clavier, with meaningless expressive syllables emphasizing and heightening the sad tale of a father's love for his dead daughter. The music can't be better and the poem is marvelous. The result of combining them??? Unusual, anyway, and a lot of fun to sing this kind of Bach. | ||
| Water, Water Everywhere | 2 1/2 minutes | From the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the sea farer becalmed in the doldrums. Third of the Sea Songs, opus 74, new fall 2002. | ||
| A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea | 2 1/2 minutes | Words from a Sea Chantey attributed to Allan Cunningham, the fourth and last Sea Song. New fall 2002. | ||
| The Grey Squirrel | 2 minutes | TTBB pre-World War I ironic poetry: the squirrel, who is "not all he should be", and the keeper, who is a Christian and loves his enemy, which shows the squirrel is not one of those. | ||
| Holy Holy | 1 minute | Brief lovely introit or postlude for children's chorus. Original text paraphrase of Sanctus translation. SA, a cappella | ||
| Sanctus | 2 1/2 minutes | Meditative Latin setting for men's chorus a cappella. Sustained lines, slow changing harmonies, and a celestial tenor melody on top. Alternate setting for choir of men and boys includes a part for cambiata (changing voice). | ||
| works for children's chorus | ||||
| Paris, July 1914 | 3 minutes | "One must die for one has known them. Die of the unsayable blossom of their smile. Die of their soft hands. To die of women." Ranier Maria Rilke SA, Piano | ||
| Young Orpheus | 3 minutes | An invocation of Orpheus by a child trying to bring a friend back to life. SA, strings or piano. | ||
| Lullaby for Christmas | 3 minutes | Beautiful original manger song with a twist, comparing the tears of the baby Jesus to the tears of Mother Mary at the cross. Available SSA or SATB, with piano, organ, or strings. | ||
| The Face of the Waters | 3 minutes | Taken from Genesis, where God "broods" over the face of the waters early in creation. Highly rhythmical setting for children's chorus, with some optional music for dance movements. SSA and piano. | ||
| Love the Lord | 3 minutes | Moving somber/sweet psalm paraphrase, "Love the Lord, who hath lifted my darkness...", leading to the dance of God's mercy and love. Vocal parts for children's chorus are challenging to sustain in music and rhythm but not difficult in range or pitch. SA, piano or string orchestra. | ||
| Holy Holy | 1 minute | Brief lovely introit or postlude for children's chorus. Original text paraphrase of Sanctus translation. SA, a cappella | ||
| works for men's chorus | ||||
| Weep, Weep Ye Woodmen | 3 minutes | An easy men's chorus. Setting of an anonymous poem from around 1598, attributed to Munday, and telling of the death of Robin Hood. TB, piano. | ||
| Why Hast Thou Dealt Ill With Thy Servant | 3 minutes | Moses seeking strength and perseverance and courage from God. Much unison, and very limited ranges, but effective and powerful. TTB, piano. | ||
| Stay Yet Awhile | 3 minutes | TTBB. From Lovelife Dances, with piano accompaniment reduced from 4 hands to 2 hands. An excerpt from Shelley's Adonais, a slow dance of an elegy for a lost loved one. | ||
| Sanctus | 2 1/2 minutes | Meditative Latin setting for men's chorus a cappella. Sustained lines, slow changing harmonies, and a celestial tenor melody on top. Alternate setting for choir of men and boys includes a part for cambiata (changing voice). | ||
| works for women's chorus | ||||
| Oh No, We Never Mention Him/Her | 3 minutes | SSA, piano. From New Lovelife Dances. May be sung as "Never Mention Him" or "Never Mention Her", depending on the focus of your chorus or concert, and on how you choose to interpret the phrase, "gayest of the gay". Text by early 19th century poet Thomas Haynes Bayley. | ||
| O, Swallow, Swallow | 2 1/2 minutes | SSA One of the loveliest of the Lovelife Dances. The only setting for female voices alone, with piano 4 hand accompaniment reduced to piano 2 hands. | ||
| Two Lovers | 3 1/2 minutes | SA, piano 4 hands. From New Lovelife Dances. Novelist poetry by 19th century writer George Elliot (pen name for Marian Evans), following a pair from first love to final re-assertion of love. | ||
| America, One and Many | 3 minutes | Patriotic song, original words. Strong melody sounds as though it should be part of our heritage, but it is entirely original and strikingly unique. Available SSA, SATB, and SSAATBB. | ||
| Work | Type, Accompaniment | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 - 2 | ||
| Pie Jesu | Unison Treble with Soloist, Piano or Organ | 2 minute |
| Holy Holy | SA (Children) a cappella | 1 minute |
| Grade 2 | ||
| Young Jesu Sweet | SATB a cappella | 2 1/2 minutes |
| America, One and Many | SATB, piano (orchestra, string orchestra, concert band) | 3 minutes |
| Young Orpheus | SA strings or piano | 3 minutes |
| Songs from the Book of Knowledge, Volume 1 | SA, piano | 15 minutes |
| Grade 3 | ||
| The Animal Fair | SATB piano | 3 minutes |
| Birds | SATB, piano optional | 3 minutes |
| Confession | SATB organ | 2 minutes |
| Join Me in the Jumping | SATB or SSA, strings | 2 1/2 minutes |
| The Oubit | SATB, piano | 3 minutes |
| Sea Fever | SATB, a cappella | 3 1/2 minutes |
| A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea | SATB, a cappella | 2 1/2 minutes |
| Grade 4 | ||
| Sea Love | SATB, a cappella | 1 1/2 minutes |
| Water, Water Everywhere | SATB, a cappella | 2 1/2 minutes |
| Lullaby for Christmas | SSA or SATB, strings, keyboard, or a cappella | 3 minutes |
| Soft, Oh Soft | SATB or SSA | 2 1/2 minutes |
| Goe and Catch a Falling Starre | SATB, piano | 3 minutes |
| Two English Satires | SA, piano optional | 4 minutes |
| The Grey Squirrel | TTBB, a cappella | 2 minutes |
| Ave Maria | SATB, vln, horn, piano | 3.5 minutes |
| Weep, Weep Ye Woodmen | TB, piano | 3 minutes |
| Blessed the Gift | SATB, organ | 3.5 minutes |
| Communion for the New Covenant | SATB + S, organ | 3-4 minutes |
| Why Hast Thou Dealt Ill With Thy Servant | TTB, piano | 3 minutes |
| Love the Lord | SA, strings or piano | 3 minutes |
| O Magnum Mysterium | SATB, a cappella | 3 minutes |
| Flow Forth, Abundant Tears | SSAB or SATB, piano | 3 minutes |
| The Life, Ministry and Example (Sacred Life #4) |
SATB, organ or piano | 3 1/4 minutes |
| Advent (Sacred Life #1) | SATB, organ or piano | 3 minutes |
| This Great Nation | SATB, piano | 4 minutes |
| O Swallow, Swallow | SSA, piano | 3 minutes |
| Sanctus | TTBB +T or SCTBB, a cappella | 2 1/2 minutes |
| Lovelife Dances | SATB, piano 4-hands | 25 minutes |
| Grade 5 | ||
| And the Lord Delivered Him | SATB, piano | 2 minutes |
| The Lizard Call | SATB, piano optional | 2 1/2 minutes |
| Crucifixion (Sacred Life #5) | SATB, organ or piano | 4 1/2 minutes |
| I Can See the Lord | SATB + S, piano | 4 minutes |
| I Arise from Dreams of Thee | SSATB, a cappella | 3 minutes |
| Sing for the Morning's Joy (Hymn to St Cecilia) | SATB, organ or a cappella | 3 minutes |
| Moses Facing Jordan | SATB + TB, orchestra or keyboard reduction | 60 minutes |
| Stabat Mater | SATB, chamber orchestra or keyboard reduction | 8 minutes |
| Two Lovers and Oh No | SA/SSA, piano | 6 minutes |
| English Romantic Poems | SSA (#1), SATB (#2), piano | 4 minutes |
| New Lovelife Dances | SATB, piano 4-hands | 28 minutes |
| Ask Me No Reason | SATB, a cappella | 3 minutes |
| It Was a Lover and a Lass | SATB, piano 4 hands | 4 minutes |
| The Love of a Soldier and a Marble Heart | SATB, piano optional | 5 minutes |
| O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose | SATB, piano | 3 minutes |
| Prelude XXII / The Two April Mornings | SATB, a cappella | 3 minutes |
| Knights of Troubled Love | SATB, piano | 4 minutes |
| What Thou Seest When Thou Dost Wake | SATB, piano 4 hands | 2 minutes |
| Two Renaissance Poems | SATB, piano | 4 minutes |
| Grade 6 | ||
| Two Poems by Robert Burns | SATB, piano | 5 minutes |
| Dinggedicht-Fugen (Three Rilke Fugues) | SATB, piano | 8 minutes |
Start with these works if you do not know them yet:
The Oubit by William Copper (3', not difficult, SATB and piano)
or Birds by William Copper (3', not difficult, SATB and piano)
or Lovelife Dances by William Copper (25', moderately difficult, SATB + piano 4 hands)
Then try the Sea Songs. For more ambitious exposure, try Stabat Mater for Chorus and Orchestra.
For women's chorus, try O Swallow, Swallow one of the English Romantic Poems (taken from Lovelife Dances).
For the truly adventurous, commission a new work, or inquire about sponsoring a work already begun but not yet completed (same as a commission, but the work is already begun and the cost is much, much less). Mr. Copper usually has a pile of in-progress works, presently including a Magnificat for Chorus and Orchestra and a Mysteries of Light Mass and an a cappella choral work for children's choir with mixed adult choir ("Uphill", text by Rossetti). A few more specific suggestions follow.
For a college chorus: Lovelife Dances, New Lovelife Dances, Sea Songs, Ask Me No Reason, Prelude XXII, Two Poems by Robert Burns, It Was a Lover and a Lass, Two Renaissance Poems.
For a high school chorus: The Oubit, Goe and Catche a Falling Starre, Piano, Flow Forth Abundant Tears, Knights of Troubled Love.
For a community chorus: Birds, Lovelife Dances, Ask Me No Reason, It Was a Lover and a Lass, New Lovelife Dances, Magnificat.
For a church choir: Magnificat, Stabat Mater, Confession, Communion for a New Covenant, Blessed the Gift.
Copper Music Publications
Hartenshield Group Inc
2314 Ridgeway Road
Wilmington DE 19805
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