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Lament |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. Lament is a piece for mixed choir and cello. The text comes from the 17th-century oratorio ‘Jephte’ by Giacomo Carissimi. The words are those of anguish, for Jephte promised to sacrifice the first thing he laid eyes upon if he returned victorious from war. He fulfilled this vow, even though this happened to be his only daughter.
The recording is of the Brisbane Chamber Choir, for whom the piece was written. The cellist is Gwyn Roberts.
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Lament |
SATB divisi choir a cappella or accompanied (by optional Tubular bell & String Orchestra). Originally part of a 30 minutes work Childers Shining which helped bring healing to a community after a fire tragedy caused the loss of 15 lives, this work was written to bring healing, transformation and upliftment.
Lament (MM2020) SATB divisi a cappella or accompanied.
Recording: from ‘Childers Shining’~ music by Sarah Hopkins
Performed by massed community choir with the Bundaberg Youth Orchestra conducted by Robert Rotar.
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Lamentation of Jeremiah (from Three Motets after Victoria) |
The second of Joseph Twist’s “Victoria Triptych” this piece quotes from Victoria’s Lamentation, adding new modern elements clothed in a rich, plaintive harmonic language. Suitable for concert and liturgical use, and making musical references to Victoria’s Lamentations throughout. Available in the set of Three Motets after Victoria, linked here – not available singly.
To listen to Lamentation of Jeremiah on SoundCloud, click here. |
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Leave Her Johnny |
An arrangement of a folk song about sailors and the sea. Simple yet delightful, this piece is written for piano and solo flute accompaniment. |
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Lent Prose – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Lent Prose is a sacred piece, suitable for low intermediate choirs and is arranged for SATB voices and organ; duration 6 mins. This piece was written for and performed by Holy Trinity Fortitude Valley at their Lenten Concert in April 2025. |
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Let Evening Come (Treble) |
This piece is based on the text of award-winning American poet Jane Kenyon’s poem by the same name, which contemplates the end of the day, and alludes to the parallels in life and death. With a quiet, reflective beginning, listeners are transported to the peaceful countryside in the late afternoon. Voice parts in turn bathe the listener in rays of light as they “shine through the chinks in the barn”. The piece culminates in an affirming declaration – “let evening come, as it will, and don’t be afraid. God does not leave us comfortless.” The recording above is performed by the Brisbane Chamber Choir (2011), directed by Graeme Morton. This recording is of the SATB version, also available for purchase. |
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Let Evening Come SATB |
This piece is based on the text of award-winning American poet Jane Kenyon’s poem by the same name, which contemplates the end of the day, and alludes to the parallels in life and death. With a quiet, reflective beginning, listeners are transported to the peaceful countryside in the late afternoon. Voice parts in turn bathe the listener in rays of light as they “shine through the chinks in the barn”. The piece culminates in an affirming declaration – “let evening come, as it will, and don’t be afraid. God does not leave us comfortless.” The recording above is performed by the Brisbane Chamber Choir (2011), directed by Graeme Morton. |
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Living Shells (SAA and handbells) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Living Shells is a peaceful work for high-school-aged and community choirs that exists in multiple voicings – SSA and piano, SAB and piano, SSATB and piano, SSATB a cappella and uniquely, for SAA and handbells choir. Experience the joy and serenity of a stroll along a sun-drenched golden beach and rock pools, and discover all the small creatures that bask in the warmth of the Australian coastline. |
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Living Shells (SAB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Living Shells is a peaceful work for high-school-aged and community choirs that exists in multiple voicings – SSA and piano, SAB and piano, SSATB and piano, SSATB a cappella and uniquely, for SAA and handbells choir. Experience the joy and serenity of a stroll along a sun-drenched golden beach and rock pools, and discover all the small creatures that bask in the warmth of the Australian coastline. |
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Living Shells (SSA) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Living Shells is a peaceful work for high-school-aged and community choirs that exists in multiple voicings – SSA and piano, SAB and piano, SSATB and piano, SSATB a cappella and uniquely, for SAA and handbells choir. Experience the joy and serenity of a stroll along a sun-drenched golden beach and rock pools, and discover all the small creatures that bask in the warmth of the Australian coastline. |
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Living Shells (SSATB a cappella) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Living Shells is a peaceful work for high-school-aged and community choirs that exists in multiple voicings – SSA and piano, SAB and piano, SSATB and piano, SSATB a cappella and uniquely, for SAA and handbells choir. Experience the joy and serenity of a stroll along a sun-drenched golden beach and rock pools, and discover all the small creatures that bask in the warmth of the Australian coastline.
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Living Shells (SSATB and piano) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Living Shells is a peaceful work for high-school-aged and community choirs that exists in multiple voicings – SSA and piano, SAB and piano, SSATB and piano, SSATB a cappella and uniquely, for SAA and handbells choir. Experience the joy and serenity of a stroll along a sun-drenched golden beach and rock pools, and discover all the small creatures that bask in the warmth of the Australian coastline. |
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Lo, There Is Light! |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. Combines the text of Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning with two verses of Australian bush poet “Banjo” Paterson’s Sunrise on the Coast. Excellent Christmas piece. This work was commissioned in 1996 by The Harvard University Choir.
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Look, There are Dark Hands – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Look, There are Dark Hands is an exciting work for medium to advanced high school aged SATB a cappella choirs. From the set of works called “Once on a Mountain”, this award-winning piece was composed for the infamous St Peters Lutheran College Chorale for their first tour of Tasmania, Australia’s most southern state. Here, spectacularly beautiful landscapes are paired with the markings of the original owners of the land through paintings that have survived in hidden caves. This work features some of the first ever inclusions of harmonic-overtone singing in Australian compositions and rapid and complex time signature changes. |
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Losing the Plot (SA) |
A collection of four pieces for treble voices and piano. Click the links below to view purchasing information.
Composer Paul Stanhope writes: Losing the Plot is a collection of songs for children’s voices and piano with texts by Michael Leunig. They were written as a follow up to my earlier cycle of Leunig pieces called Songs of Innocence and Joy for treble voices and chamber orchestra. The first of these pieces, Talking to My Shoe was commissioned and premiered by the Sydney Children’s Choir as part of their 15th anniversary in 2004. The remaining three songs in the cycle were commissioned by the Network of Treble Ensembles (NoTE) which includes Brisbane Biralee Voices, Gondwana Voices,Young Adelaide Voices and Young Voices of Melbourne. All the songs in this set are tinged with an exuberant sense of the absurd, but as usual with Leunig’s texts, there are many layers of meaning and often twists in the tale. The songs are written for upper-primary to high-school aged treble voices mostly in unison and two parts. In two songs—Talking to My Shoe and La–La Land—the choir splits into three parts, but only in a couple of short passages. A more difficult version of this piece also exists with the voices divided into three parts. Permission should be sought from Penguin Books Australia before re-printing any of the texts. The recordings are by the Australian Boys Choir conducted by Noel Ancell. |
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Losing the Plot (SSA) |
A collection of four pieces for treble voices and piano. Click the links below to view purchasing information.
Composer Paul Stanhope writes: Losing the Plot is a collection of songs for children’s voices and piano with texts by Michael Leunig. They were written as a follow up to my earlier cycle of Leunig pieces called Songs of Innocence and Joy for treble voices and chamber orchestra. The first of these pieces, Talking to My Shoe was commissioned and premiered by the Sydney Children’s Choir as part of their 15th anniversary in 2004. The remaining three songs in the cycle were commissioned by the Network of Treble Ensembles (NoTE) which includes Brisbane Biralee Voices, Gondwana Voices,Young Adelaide Voices and Young Voices of Melbourne. All the songs in this set are tinged with an exuberant sense of the absurd, but as usual with Leunig’s texts, there are many layers of meaning and often twists in the tale. The songs are written for upper-primary to high-school aged treble voices mostly in unison and two parts. In two songs—Talking to My Shoe and La–La Land—the choir splits into three parts, but only in a couple of short passages. A more difficult version of this piece also exists with the voices divided into three parts. Permission should be sought from Penguin Books Australia before re-printing any of the texts. The recordings are by the Australian Boys Choir conducted by Noel Ancell. |
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Lost the Plot (SA) (Losing the Plot) |
Lost the Plot is the fourth piece in a collection of four pieces for treble voices and piano. It is available in both SA + piano, and SSA + piano voicings. Composer Paul Stanhope writes: Losing the Plot is a collection of songs for children’s voices and piano with texts by Michael Leunig. They were written as a follow up to my earlier cycle of Leunig pieces called Songs of Innocence and Joy for treble voices and chamber orchestra. The first of these pieces, Talking to My Shoe was commissioned and premiered by the Sydney Children’s Choir as part of their 15th anniversary in 2004. The remaining three songs in the cycle were commissioned by the Network of Treble Ensembles (NoTE) which includes Brisbane Biralee Voices, Gondwana Voices,Young Adelaide Voices and Young Voices of Melbourne. All the songs in this set are tinged with an exuberant sense of the absurd, but as usual with Leunig’s texts, there are many layers of meaning and often twists in the tale. The songs are written for upper-primary to high-school aged treble voices mostly in unison and two parts. In two songs—Talking to My Shoe and La–La Land—the choir splits into three parts, but only in a couple of short passages. A more difficult version of this piece also exists with the voices divided into three parts. Permission should be sought from Penguin Books Australia before re-printing any of the texts. The recordings are by the Australian Boys Choir conducted by Noel Ancell.
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Lost the Plot (SSA) (Losing the Plot) |
Lost the Plot is the fourth piece in a collection of four pieces by Paul Stanhope. It is available for SSA and piano, as well as SA and piano. Composer Paul Stanhope writes: Losing the Plot is a collection of songs for children’s voices and piano with texts by Michael Leunig. They were written as a follow up to my earlier cycle of Leunig pieces called Songs of Innocence and Joy for treble voices and chamber orchestra. The first of these pieces, Talking to My Shoe was commissioned and premiered by the Sydney Children’s Choir as part of their 15th anniversary in 2004. The remaining three songs in the cycle were commissioned by the Network of Treble Ensembles (NoTE) which includes Brisbane Biralee Voices, Gondwana Voices,Young Adelaide Voices and Young Voices of Melbourne. All the songs in this set are tinged with an exuberant sense of the absurd, but as usual with Leunig’s texts, there are many layers of meaning and often twists in the tale. The songs are written for upper-primary to high-school aged treble voices mostly in unison and two parts. In two songs—Talking to My Shoe and La–La Land—the choir splits into three parts, but only in a couple of short passages. A more difficult version of this piece also exists with the voices divided into three parts. Permission should be sought from Penguin Books Australia before re-printing any of the texts. |
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Lullaby |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. This gentle piece expresses the the feelings of Mary as she reflects on the child she has borne. She feels affection for the sweet young babe she holds in her arms. Yet there is also wonderment and awe, as she understands his true nature and grapples with what the future holds for him. These are feelings similar to what any mother would have for her child. A mothers love is a universal theme. It can be understood by people of all faiths and creeds. Therefore, this piece, while sacred, can be sung in secular contexts as well as in services.
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Lullaby (Treble) |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. This gentle piece expresses the feelings of Mary as she reflects on the child she has borne. She feels affection for the sweet young babe she holds in her arms. Yet there is also wonderment and awe, as she understands his true nature and grapples with what the future holds for him. These are feelings similar to what any mother would have for her child. A mother’s love is a universal theme. It can be understood by people of all faiths and creeds. Therefore, this piece, while sacred, can be sung in secular contexts as well as in services. A version of this piece is also available in SATB voicing here. The recording below is by the University of Queensland Chamber Singers, 2022, conducted by Graeme Morton. Watch the full score preview video here!
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Lux Aeterna |
Though written in an advanced idiom, this work was commissioned and first performed by Graeme Morton’s St Peters Chorale, a leading high school choir in Australia. The composer writes, “musically, this work has been much influenced by Renaissance choral music…my aim above all things was to draw upon a tradition of writing that is solemn, richly spiritual but ultimately life-affirming”. Listen to Lux Aeterna here! |
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Magnificat (Opus 79) |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. Magnificat (Opus 79) was composed over the summer of 2008-2009. The work is an a cappella setting of the Latin Vulgate text and was written in response to a commission from the Sydney Chamber Choir. Marked ‘Calm and gentle – with flow’ the score carries an inscription from Emily Bronte’s poem of creativity, Last Lines, “No coward soul is mine.” The first performance of Magnificat, was given by the Sydney Chamber Choir conducted by Graham Abbott at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, 6 September 2009. Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Nunc Dimittis (Opus 89) is sold separately and was written in 2011 in response to a commission from the Brisbane Chamber Choir who had already performed Andrew Schultz’s Magnificat and wanted to have Nunc Dimittis to perform with the earlier work. The setting of the text parallels the dramatic flow of the original text, The Song of Simeon. The work moves from a world of clouded uncertainty through exultation and revelation to a final passage of transcendent simplicity and tranquillity. Marked ‘Flowing’ the Nunc Dimittis is similar to Magnificat in the tempo and meter (3/2) and in the ebb and flow between four and eight part vocal writing. |
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Mater Dolorosa |
New to Morton Music – digital copies are now available from RSCM Music Direct (UK) via the Other Countries link. The original SATB version of Mater Dolorosa was composed for conductor Jillian McGregor and the Corinthian Singers of Adelaide for a Good Friday concert in the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Radford Auditorium in April, 2011. The work was subsequently revised and expanded (SSATBarB) in 2013, and was premiered by Adelaide Chamber Singers – conducted by Carl Crossin – at the Musica Sacra a Roma in Rome, Italy in July 2013. Mater Dolorosa is a setting of the first four stanzas of the 13th century Marian hymn Stabat Mater Dolorosa, a much longer poem which expresses Mary’s sorrow as she stood at the foot of the cross witnessing her son’s death by crucifixion.
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Midsummer Noon – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Midsummer Noon is a movement from a set of works titled “Voices of a Land”. Originally written for the St Peter Choral of St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane, the work exists in several voicings and is suitable for high school aged, youth and community choirs. Set to the evocative text by Australian poet Charles Harper, the music captures the stillness of the Australian bush and the freshness and colour of the bush birds and the fluttering of insects. |
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Mind |
The recording above features the St Peter’s Chorale, directed by Kathryn Morton. |
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Missa di Angelis – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Angelis is suitable for low intermediate choirs and is arranged for SATB a cappella voicing; duration 7 mins. This piece was arranged in 2024 for Holy Trinity Fortitude Valley and was the Winner of the Choral Composition Competition in Celebration of the Sesquicentennial of St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, Toronto (Canada) in November 2024. It has also been performed as part of Masses at Holy Trinity Fortitude Valley in March 2025. |
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Missa di Cantibus et Choreis (ATB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Cantibus et Choreis is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for ATBarB, ATB, SATB, SSATB, and TTBarB; duration is 10 mins. This piece was written in 2022 and performed numerous times as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace. |
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Missa di Cantibus et Choreis (ATBarB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Cantibus et Choreis is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for ATBarB, ATB, SATB, SSATB, and TTBarB; duration is 10 mins. This piece was written in 2022 and performed numerous times as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace. |
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Missa di Cantibus et Choreis (SATB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Cantibus et Choreis is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for ATBarB, ATB, SATB, SSATB, and TTBarB; duration is 10 mins. This piece was written in 2022 and performed numerous times as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace. |
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Missa di Cantibus et Choreis (SSATB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Cantibus et Choreis is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for ATBarB, ATB, SATB, SSATB, and TTBarB; duration is 10 mins. This piece was written in 2022 and performed numerous times as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace. |
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Missa di Cantibus et Choreis (TTBarB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa di Cantibus et Choreis is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for ATBarB, ATB, SATB, SSATB, and TTBarB; duration is 10 mins. This piece was written in 2022 and performed numerous times as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace. |
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Missa Lumina – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa Lumina is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate and high intermediate choirs and is voiced for SA and organ; duration is 11 mins. This piece was written for All Saints Wickham Terrace and performed as part of Mass at All Saints in May 2024. |
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Missa Mariae – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa Mariae is a sacred piece, suitable for professional or high intermediate choirs and is voiced for SSAATB and organ; duration is 18 mins. This piece was written in 2022 for All Saints Wickham Terrace and performed as part of Mass at All Saints Wickham Terrace in September 2022 and November 2024.
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Missa Scriptum Cito – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa Scriptum Cito is a sacred piece, suitble for intermediate choirs and is voiced for SATB a cappella; duration is 8 mins. This piece was written in 2022 for All Saints Wickham Terrace and performed numerous times by the St Stephen’s Cathedral Choir in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. |
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Missa Simplex – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of John Rotar’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Missa Simplex is a sacred piece, suitable for intermediate choirs and is voiced for SATB a cappella; duration is 8 mins. This piece was written for All Saints Wickham Terrace and performed as part of Masses at All Saints in September 2024.
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Myoon-Myoon |
The second of the Ancient Cries set, this introspective slow work in 5/8 allows a choir to showcase a beautiful tone. The title means “red earth” and evokes the landscape of Australia’s geographical center. An SSA version is also available here. |
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Naga (SSAA) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Ngana is perhaps the most famous of Leek’s compositions and is sung across the globe. Ngana is a traditional word for shark and the textures and images of this highly energetic work capture the rippling colours of the Great Barrier Reef and all that live in the waters there. The work is voiced for the following – SATB a cappella, SSAA a cappella, SSA a cappella and TTbarB a cappella. |
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Ngana (SATB) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details.
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Ngana (SSA) – Morton Music Exclusive |
New Release – One of Stephen Leek’s exclusive digital releases directly through Morton Music – email admin@mortonmusic.com for details. Ngana is perhaps the most famous of Leek’s compositions and is sung across the globe. Ngana is a traditional word for shark and the textures and images of this highly energetic work capture the rippling colours of the Great Barrier Reef and all that live in the waters there. The work is voiced for the following – SATB a cappella, SSAA a cappella, SSA a cappella and TTbarB a cappella. |
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Ngana (SSAA) |
Ngana (from Songs of Passage) by Australian composer Stephen Leek strikingly captures the driving energies, rhythms and vivid colours of the island seascape that is to be found around the north-eastern tip of Australia. Constructed of simple canonic figurations and ostinatos, Ngana uses as its source an indigenous Australian text which calls to the shark (ngana) and the fish (mangana) and welcomes (yah) them to the translucent blue waters (lina) around the reef. Ngana is the first of five Songs of Passage, each named after a traditional Australian place. These pieces project the choral colours and texture for which Leek has become renowned. Songs of Passage was commissioned in 1994 by the St. Peters Chorale, Brisbane, Australia and its Director, Graeme Morton. Ngana is part of The Australian Voices Series published by Morton Music. |