Voicing: Treble Voices

Recording of “Old Man Platypus” from ‘Animals Noah Forgot’ (Set 1)

Recording of “Flying Squirrels” from ‘Animals Noah Forgot’ (Set 1)

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

Recording of “Weary Will” from ‘Animals Noah Forgot’ (Set 2)

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.

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

Recording of SATB version of Black Swana from “Great Southern Spirits” by The Australian Voices, released in 1994.

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.

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!

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.

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

Arrangement for SAB choir. For SA arrangement, contact admin@mortonmusic.com.

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.

Listen to Ground Zero here!

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).

Hullayha (pronounced ‘Hull-ay-ha’) for SA divisi choir a cappella or accompanied (by optional percussion, String Orchestra or Full Orchestra). The soulful opening gradually transforms into abundant joy. All the melodies are very ‘singable’ & supported by sustained drones which ‘birth’ out of the melody line.

Available in SATB voicing here.

A humorous look at the monkey and turtle who go looking for bananas and get shot! Suitable for children of all ages! Only available within the collection of Island Songs (available in SATB and SA voicings).

The SATB version is for unaccompanied choir. The treble version  has a piano accompaniment.

(The musical example is for mixed voices, from Great Southern Spirits by The Australian Voices. Released: 1994.)

An easy but effective strophic song emphasizing community. “Come my brother, come my friend, wait, wait in the deep”.

This piece is available as a part of the Island Songs set (available in SATB and SA voicings). The SATB version is for unaccompanied choir. The treble version  has a piano accompaniment.

(The musical example is for mixed voices)

A beautiful song of travel and love. This is a lovely arrangement of a Torres Strait Island song. Only available within the collection of Island Songs.

This piece is available as a part of the Island Songs set (available in both SATB and SA voicings). The SATB version is for unaccompanied choir. The treble version  has a piano accompaniment.

(The musical example is for mixed voices, from Great Southern Spirits by The Australian Voices. Released: 1994.)

Three songs from the Torres Strait Islands to the north of Australia. Comprises Monkey and Turtle, Trade Winds and Morning Tide. Good for use in classrooms or with choirs at elementary or high school level.

The SATB version is for unaccompanied choir. The treble version  has a piano accompaniment.

(The musical examples are for mixed voices, from Great Southern Spirits by The Australian Voices. Released: 1994.)

Monkey and Turtle:

Trade Winds:

Morning Tide:

An SATB version can be found here.

La La Land is the third piece in a collection of four pieces for treble voices and piano. It is available in SA and SSA 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.

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.

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.

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.

An Australian interpretation of a traditional English folksong. Appropriate for various groups but particularly suitable for women’s voices. SSAA unaccompanied.

The demonstration recording is:
Once I Had A Sweetheart, trad. arranged Mark Puddy: Perth Modern School (Western Australia) Schola Cantori, 2006.

Australia’s most iconic choral work to date, and featured on the Hollywood film Boychoir. This version is for SA divisi choir a cappella. There is also a treble voice version of the score for choir and an accompaniment for cello only.

Commissioned (in the SATB version) for Graeme Morton’s high school choir, the work can be performed by choirs of modest training, and yet has made it all the way to Chanticleer, and other professional groups, such is its broad appeal.

Accompaniment available for Full Orchestra or Concert Band, String Orchestra or Cello Ensemble.

Recording by The American Boychoir · Fernando Malvar-Ruiz · Sarah Hopkins

A highly imaginative choral piece for SSAA choir and piano. In it a young child who lives in the dry central Australian outback and has never seen rain dreams of what it would be like to be in a thunderstorm. The work eventually becomes a sort of rain dance with chanting of “Wandjina”, an Australian Aboriginal rain spirit.

Recording by Gondwana Voices, January 2013 at Verbrugghen Hall (Conservatorium of Music in Sydney).

The first of the Ancient Cries set; Rainbird begins with a dramatic and evocative piano introduction and includes some Australian aboriginal words as well as aleatoric sounds.

A  short song by Sarah Hopkins in a vibrant, joyful style. This is a combined score that can be used by either treble or mixed voices. The work divides into seven parts but many parts use sustained single tones so a choir of reasonable ability can perform the work. SA or SATB a cappella (or accompanied by any treble ensemble).

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carl Crossin writes that the brief given to him in the commission of this work was that the song be “uplifting and life affirming” – and that it certainly is. A wonderful piece for secondary choir.

“Rise” is also available for SATB voicing.

The composer arranged the text using both his own verses in English and traditional Australian words. The latter have a sonorous quality and also match the theme of the song. The result is a work with a distinct Australian flavour which paints a visual image of the Australian outback. SSAA unaccompanied.

Listen to Sky Song on Spotify or Apple Music.

Talking to my Shoe is the first piece in a collection of four pieces for treble voices 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.

The recordings are by the Australian Boys Choir conducted by Noel Ancell.

This poignant piece, written for the Seymour College Chamber Singers, is based on the poem by the same name by Robert Frost. The text tells of a traveller who comes across a fork in the road and decides to take the road less travelled – a moving reflection on life’s decisions. Composer Carl Crossin’s decision to include violin adds a further element of emotion to an already very stirring piece. Highly recommended.

Three simple carols for women’s or children’s choir using the medieval texts Terly Terlow, When Christ Was Born of Mary Free and I Sing of a Maiden. The recordings below feature the Brisbane Chamber Choir.

(i) Terly Terlow

The old English text discusses the shepherds and the music suggests the sound of shepherds’ pipes.

(ii) When Christ was Born of Mary Free

The second song of the three also discusses the shepherds and the song of the angels.

(iii) I Sing of a Maiden

This one page piece is a hauntingly beautiful setting of the medieval text. For the most part in two parts, it divides into three at the end. Highly recommended!

Three Christmas Spirituals includes the following pieces for treble voices; also available for mixed voices.

Go Tell it on the Mountain;

There’s a Star in the East; and

The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy

These three simple arrangements of some of the best-loved Spirituals are suitable for youthful voices of all ages. While specific to the Christmas Season, the narrative element in these texts make them appropriate for church or concert performance throughout the year.

Underpants Anthem is the second piece in a collection of four pieces for treble voices 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.

The recordings are by the Australian Boys Choir conducted by Noel Ancell.

A wonderfully uplifting piece with solos throughout, We Are The Future is highly recommended for youth choir. With text adapted from year 8, Brighton Secondary Student, Paris Maddern’s poem “The Future”, this joyous piece for SATB or SSA choir carries a strong, youthful voice and sings of their hope for the future, and their role in it.

“And I cry at the glowing blaze of disaster in this world

Yearning to reshape it, let goodness be unfurled

Perhaps I am not good enough

Perhaps my strength exceeds me,

The world will see me.”

“We Are The Future” is also available in SATB voicing.

A delightful choral piece for junior choristers aged six to nine. The three stanzas of this song feature graceful singable lines in a classical style. Highly recommended for a choir’s first competition.

A graceful setting of the Robert Louis Stevenson poem for young children.

(The performance is by the Brisbane Birralee Voices Junior Choir)