Full Catalogue

COMING SOON

This piece is a part of the Sacre Australis series, which will be released in June 2023

Graeme Morton’s A Red, Red Rose beautifully captures the romance of Scottish poet, Robert Burns’ text of the same title. Heart wrenching harmony and union of voice and strings evoke the poignancy of the text – And I will love thee still my dear, til all the seas gang dry. Til all the seas gang dry my dear, and the rocks melt with the sun; and I will love thee still my dear, while the sands o’ life shall run.

A stunning piece for SATB voices with viola or violin and an excellent addition to your concert programme.

Scan or click the QR code below to hear a recording of Red, Red Rose by the Brisbane Chamber Choir.

For your convenience, both the viola and violin parts are attached separately below, free of charge.

A Red Red Rose – Viola

A Red Red Rose – Violin

The Australian National Anthem. Can also be sung with unison voices.

An arrangement for treble voices is available also: https://mortonmusic.com/archives/catalogue/advance-australia-fair

The Australian national anthem, arranged for SSA voicing.

SATB arrangement available also: https://mortonmusic.com/archives/catalogue/advance-australia-fair-3

This carol for Christmas manages to combine several opposing concepts. It mentions the traditional winter cold of Christmas and the summer heat which is part of the Australian Christmas experience. It also combines “scat” syllables in a style which is definitely Classical. This piece can be sung by any church or college ensemble which sings the standard repertoire of Christmas. Highly recommended!

Combines the traditional music and text of the Australian folk song Andy’s Gone With Cattle with the American folk song He’s Gone Away. Would suit a high school choir.

Six unison songs with piano using poems by Banjo Paterson. Sing in set 1 about The Mountains, Old Man Platypus, Flying Squirrels, and in set 2, Weary Will, White Cockatoos and Frogs in Chorus. These texts first appeared in 1931 in a collaboration between Banjo Paterson and artist Normal Lindsay (of Magic Pudding fame). Their book proposes that Australian animals are so different from animals elsewhere that perhaps they refused to go into the Ark with Noah in the great flood. Fun to sing – fun to listen to.

The sound files are provided by Noel’s own choir, the Australian Boys Choir. The accompanist in the Animals is Charlie Sdraulig

Six unison songs with piano using poems by Banjo Paterson. Sing in set 1 about The Mountains, Old Man Platypus, Flying Squirrels, and in set 2, Weary Will, White Cockatoos and Frogs in Chorus. These texts first appeared in 1931 in a collaboration between Banjo Paterson and artist Normal Lindsay (of Magic Pudding fame). Their book proposes that Australian animals are so different from animals elsewhere that perhaps they refused to go into the Ark with Noah in the great flood. Fun to sing – fun to listen to.

Recordings of two of the pieces are provided by Noel’s own choir, the Australian Boys Choir. The accompanist in the Animals is Charlie Sdraulig.

Another Australian work with that characteristic “Orlovich sound” – fresh, buoyant, vital and energized, but without weight and drama. It is always clean on the palate. The sample recording is by the National Youth Choir of Australia.

COMING SOON

This piece is a part of the Sacre Australis series – releasing in June 2023.

This piece by Andrew Schultz is set to text which the composer adapted from Ovid, Metamorphoses, Bk XV:176-198, “Pythagoras’s Teachings: The Eternal Flux.” The text discusses the flow of time, comparing it to the endless flowing of waves. Similarly, the music flows endlessly, never static, with each chord almost seamlessly transforming into the next across long, legato, phrases. A wonderful piece for concert, and highly recommended.

Suitable for elementary or high school use. The score is a blueprint which simply indicates basic material with which the choir can work. The choir and conductor are encouraged to make major decisions concerning their performance and the result is lots of fun!

From the Torres Strait Islands north of Australia’s Cape York comes a beautiful song which depicts the progress of the ship Black Swana as it glides across the sea. Recording from “Great Southern Spirits” by The Australian Voices, released in 1994.

An arrangement in treble voicing is also available: Black Swana SSAA

From the Torres Strait Islands north of Australia’s Cape York comes a beautiful song which depicts the progress of the ship Black Swana as it glides across the sea.

An arrangement in SATB voicing is also available: Black Swana SATB

“Dolphins” are the subject of this highly energetic and rhythmic piece.

A rollicking piece for a good high school choir. Bullock teams were an important form of early transport for heavy loads in Australia and each one was driven by a “bullocky” – a pioneer of great character. Requires a skilled pianist.

Recording from “Our Time And Place” by St Peter’s Chorale, directed by Graeme Morton, released in 1997.

This is the fourth title of Songs of Passage, the work which includes Ngana. “Ceduna” means “waterhole”. The music includes “boxes” of material for singers to work through as well as traditionally scored sections. Commissioned by Graeme Morton’s St Peters Chorale.

An energetic and exuberant paean on an Easter text by sixteenth century German writer, Michael Weisse. The music bowls along in changing meters from 4/4 to 7/8, 6/8 and 2/4. The choral parts are often in rhythmic unison or doubled by the keyboard, so the music is memorable and easy to sing by choirs of all abilities. There is a great balance between the asymmetry of the rhythm and the repetition of sections. The accompaniment lies “under the fingers” and is easily accessible to most church accompanists. This piece is suitable for any part of the Easter season, but particularly for Easter Sunday. Its dance like character also makes performance possible in choral programs outside religious services.This simple and vital anthem solves the problem of finding Easter music that is vibrant and energetic rather than grand and triumphant. If your choir likes John Rutter’s Easter music you may also like this piece, which makes references in the keyboard part to the well-loved hymn tune commonly sung to the same text.

This recent work by Australian composer/choral conductor Graeme Morton is an energetic and highly rhythmic setting of this familiar Catherine Winkworth translation of a sixteenth-century German hymn text.  The frequently changing meters from 4/4 to 7/8 to 6/8 add syncopation and rhythmic energy, a fitting complement to this joyful text.
The melody is memorable, and the composer has creatively, yet subtly alluded to the familiar Easter hymn tune Lyra Davidica in the instrumental introduction and interludes. Aside from some moderate rhythmic challenges, the choral writing is quite accessible, and range and tessitura are easily within the reach of the average church or high school choir. The accompaniment, while best suited to the organ can also be performed on the piano.  
This piece is suitable for the season of Easter and would make a great anthem for Easter Sunday for those churches that choose not to prepare works with brass ensemble. Highly recommended. (Review in the American Choral Director’s Association Journal)

Erratum – In bar 57 the bass part should be 2 b-naturals followed by 2 b-flats, as in bars 27, 78, 106.

An Australian interpretation of a traditional English folksong that is a good companion piece to Once I Had A Sweetheart. SA and piano.

Demonstration Recording:
Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies, trad. arranged Mark Puddy: Gulf Coast Youth Choir, Florida, Conducted by Lynne Gackle, 2001

The arrangement of a traditional song comes from Michael Tyack and George Torbay, and was commissioned by the New South Wales department of Education and Training. Arranged for SA and piano, it is a welcome addition to the repertoire for school or community performance.

This piece owes much to Henry Purcell since it uses Ruth Watson Henderson’s lovely paraphrase of “Come Ye Sons of Art”. The music is simple (in 2 parts), with metre changes that always follow the flow of text and underpinned by constant eighth notes in the accompaniment. The piece is energetic and vibrant and makes an excellent start to a program or bracket for your choir.

Also from Songs of Passage, “coraparena” means “flat place”. The writing is easy to sing though it contains some chord clusters. Commissioned by Graeme Morton’s St Peters Chorale.

An evocative setting of Tennyson’s text. Suitable for high school, community and church choirs.

A lovely setting of this beloved text by Mary Frye, which speaks comfort as it were, beyond the grave. For unaccompanied SATB choir, Joe Twist wrote it for Graeme Morton and the National Youth Choir of Australia. Highly recommended.

The text of this piece is taken from the Evening Prayer of St Augustine, which asks for the protection and love of God whilst we are asleep, before calling for a blessing upon those who are suffering. While an a cappella performance is preferred, the minimal accompaniment gives harmonic support and can be used if desired in rehearsal or performance.

A delightful, joyous piece imbued with a sense of wonder throughout, Carl Crossin’s Everyone Sang is a fantastic addition to any concert programme. Incorporating birdsong with piano, cello and voices, this is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, and sure to be a great success. Highly recommended!

A delightful, joyous piece imbued with a sense of wonder throughout, Carl Crossin’s Everyone Sang is a fantastic addition to any concert programme. Incorporating birdsong with piano, cello and voices, this is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, and sure to be a great success. Highly recommended!

Without Churchill’s gifts of oratory, would the Allies have prevailed in World War Two? His speeches resonate these many decades later.  This choral work, Finest hour, takes its music very explicitly from Churchill’s own composition – the melody and rhythm contained within his spoken intonation. The choir simply reproduces this melody and frames it in harmony, enhancing perception of what is already there though perhaps unnoticed. It is hoped that the music also heightens the emotions of this stirring speech.

The conductor listens to a click track through earphones (it’s preferable that these are worn discreetly, and should be either in-ear earbuds or, ideally, bone conduction headphones where available, as these leave the ear free to listen). The work may be performed with video or audio; in both cases, the audio track contains the click track on the left channel and the speech on the right channel. The left channel should be sent only to the conductor’s headphones, and the right channel to front-of-house loudspeakers. It’s possible to perform the piece with a very simple speaker setup, such as using a single speaker placed amongst the singers.

Pieces by Stephen Leek, Michael Knopf, Kent Farbach, Robert Davidson and Mary Mageau on Australian themes. Publication was sponsored by the Australian National Choral Association.

A delightful set of rounds for students in lower primary grades and upwards. These can be interpreted in the traditional way but Chris suggests many contemporary possibilities for each round. This publication includes a licensing agreement for copying within a single institution.

An energetic rhythmic Gloria with alternative texts for Christmas and general use.

Demonstration Recording:
Gloria In Excelsis, Mark Puddy: Gulf Coast Youth Choir, Florida, Conducted by Lynne Gackle, 2001

Uses the traditional text in a new and exciting setting for four-part chorus. Brass parts are available from the distributor.

The third and final piece in Ancient Cries, this “pelican dance” has caught the imagination of young and adult treble choirs the world over. Wonderfully rhythmic with stunning climaxes and interesting vocal sounds. It is also not very difficult. A “must perform.”

The recording is by Young Voices of Melbourne, directed by Mark O’Leary.

Stanhope’s piece was written 1999. The text by Michael Dransfield, partly autobiographical, explores personal change and the inevitability of things being forgotten. Aimed at a top treble choir (children or women) although the individual parts themselves are not difficult.

A lively rhythmic Hodie in a mild twentieth-century style. Would suit high school college or church choirs in Christmas presentations or carol services. The recording is by Collegium Musicum directed by Margaret Pride.

The third of Joseph Twist’s “Victoria Triptch”. Suitable for concert use, and liturgically especially at Christmas.

The recording (below) is by the Choir of St James Church, King Street, Sydney. A pronunciation guide is also here.

Victory, mankind! Because against all of hell, The crying of a tender child ensures our glory.

Available in the set of Three Motets after Victoria, found here – not available singly.

Simple voice parts, yet a powerful piece with a powerful message surely more necessary now than ever before. This piece brings together many cultural influences from the “earth tribes” – Native American, African, Celtic, Aboriginal and Mongolian as well as the music of nature herself – birdcalls and flowing streams.SA divisi a cappella or accompanied.

An ideal song for Festivals & whole school performances including massed choirs. SA divisi a cappella or accompanied (by Small Ensemble or Concert Band, Orchestra, String Orchestra or Cello Ensemble).

Demonstration Recording: Montclair State University Singers directed by Dr. Heather J. Buchanan from the 2012 ACDA Eastern Division Conference.

Simple voice parts, yet a powerful piece with a powerful message surely more necessary now than ever before. This piece brings together many cultural influences from the “earth tribes” – Native American, African, Celtic, Aboriginal and Mongolian as well as the music of nature herself – birdcalls and flowing streams.SATB divisi a cappella or accompanied.

An ideal song for Festivals & whole school performances including massed choirs. SATB divisi a cappella or accompanied (by Small Ensemble or Concert Band, Orchestra, String Orchestra or Cello Ensemble).

Also available in SA voicing here.

Honour The Earth As Your Mother is very atmospheric and is one of Sarah Hopkins most well known works.