Watch a performance - http://youtu.be/PNwH0nFl1n4

These anthems were composed between January 18th and February 9th 2012.

The idea came from Judith Shawe who contacted me via my Griffmusic page on Facebook and asked me if I would consider composing an Easter setting for her pupils. She sent me five short poems on Easter themes by Anne Murphy, a member of the congregation at her church.

I chose to set all five texts as five short movements. I started with text number 5, "Our Lord is Risen", and the motif I composed for the opening of this setting became the basis for the entire work. All five anthems are, in essence, variations on this motif.

Each anthem can be performed as a separate piece or the whole work could be performed as one continuous piece if preferred.The "Prelude" should only be performed if the work is performed in its entirety. If performing "Come Easter Now To Us" as a ’stand alone’ anthem start from bar 21 on page 7. The accompanist should play the ossia bar in this case.

Use of alternative (small) notes: a) at the end of "Come Easter Now To Us" the baritone may choose to sing an octave lower rather than singing falsetto in unison with the soprano and alto b) in "Risen Christ, Empty Tomb" if one voice prefers to sing the alternate notes due to the tessitura then the other voice should also sing the alternate notes c) in "Our Lord is Risen" the baritone may choose the lower Ab rather than sustaining a high Eb at a low volume. The D at the end should be less problematic as it is ff

I wrote a blog documenting the composition of this work from receiving the texts to completing the final draft. Follow my progress at www.music-in-progress.blogspot.com