Rounds and Canons

I've written many rounds and canons for my choirs to sing over the years. I've created teaching videos for some of these, and some have audio recordings of more developed arrangements associated with them – these can all be found here.

If you would like to access more of my rounds, scores, rehearsal tracks and backing tracks are available as Resource Packs on ChoirCommunity. I currently have three small collections for sale on the site, Rounds 13 – Four Rounds on the Theme of Hope, Rounds 14 – Four Rounds with a Winter Theme, and Rounds 15 – Four Christmas Rounds.

Score Video Audio Notes / Origin of Words Difficulty
Blue Team Video Audio An excerpt from a poem of the same name by Dr Ellen Storm, a paediatrician working for the NHS. The poem was featured in These Are the Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS, edited by Deborah Alma and Dr Katie Amiel, and published by Fair Acre Press. 3
Children's Ward Video Audio An excerpt from a poem by Iora Dawes, a medical social worker in the NHS (published in These Are the Hands). 3
Comrades Video Audio Another NHS round, with words borrowed from a poem by Eilidh Urquhart, Junior Doctor (published in These Are the Hands). 2
Each Slow Dusk Audio Based on a quote from Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen. The audio track is performed by KT6 Vocal Group. 1
The Fifth of November Video English folk poem about Guy Fawkes Night. 1
The Goose and Common Audio English folk poem about the enclosure of the common lands. 3
Hope Is the Thing Video Audio Words from a poem by Emily Dickinson, "Hope" is the thing with feathers. The associated media for this round features a performance by MoJo Virtual Choir (with additional instrumentation by Monica Rabino). 2
I Heard a Bird Sing Audio Based on Hope, a poem by Oliver Herford. 2
Jabberwocky Audio An excerpt from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. The audio is performed by Quaggy Community Choir. 1
Kindness Is Like Snow Audio Words commonly attributed to poet/artist/philosopher Kahlil Gibran. 2
Loveliest of Trees Video Audio An Easter-themed round. The lyrics are taken from first verse of Loveliest of Trees, a poem from A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad. 2
Music Makers Audio Based on a famous quote from Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. The audio is performed by Quaggy Community Choir. 1
Only the Cleaner Video Audio As with all my NHS rounds, this was featured in the anthology These Are the Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS. The words are derived from a poem of the same name by Ashleigh Condon, an NHS domestic assistant. 1
Only When It's Dark Video Audio Based on words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. 1
The Oxen Audio An excerpt from a poem by Thomas Hardy. The words refer to a Wessex legend, which holds that cattle kneel in homage every Christmas Day at the exact time of Jesus' birth. 2
Rippling of Rivers Video Based on a quote by American naturalist Henry David Thoreau: "He who hears the rippling of rivers in these degenerate times will not utterly despair." I wrote this round for my choirs to learn during Mental Health Awareness Week 2021. 3
Song of the Witches Video A spooky round based on a well known rhyming couplet from Shakespeare's Macbeth. 2
This Crisp Winter Air Audio A quote from the book, Winter Sunshine, by American naturalist, John Burroughs. The accompanying audio for this round was performed and recorded by Lyn Young of Cartmell Shepherd Choir. 3
Those Who Wish to Sing Video Audio A Swedish proverb. 1
Winter Song Video The first few lines of the poem of the same name by Wilfred Owen. 2
The Woods Video Audio From a poem by Robert Frost, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. 1
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