look what I made – Page 6 – The Artsy Honker

Sweet Spirit, Comfort Me

Byartsyhonker September 1, 2014 0 Comments

I wrote this in 2012 for a competition at St Paul's. Clerical error on my part meant I wasn't even in with a chance! But I am happy with what I wrote. Thanks to Matthew Curtis I now have a recording on YouTube: You can download the audio from Soundcloud and the sheet music from the Choral Public Domain Library. In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress, And when I my sins confess,...

Pied Beauty — recording

Byartsyhonker August 17, 2014 0 Comments

@pmphillips suggested this text to me when I was looking for something a bit creation-y for a unison/2-part community songbook. I didn't set it for that project, but instead in SATB. It's short and sweet, and might be suitable for an introit at a Harvest Evensong or similar. I'm pleased to be able to offer a demo recording of this, both at Soundcloud (where you can download the recording) and,...

Christ Has No Body Now on Earth But Ours

Byartsyhonker August 5, 2014 0 Comments

I wrote this in 2009 for the Rev Dr Catherine Dowland Pillinger. Before she was ordained she was the Head of Student Services at Trinity College of Music. She was a great support to me while there, and I wanted to thank her in a way appropriate to her new role. I agonised over the text: I had no desire at that stage to call myself Christian, but I also saw clearly that her care for the students...

Postcard 5

Byartsyhonker July 30, 2014 0 Comments

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...

Postcard 4

Byartsyhonker July 28, 2014 0 Comments

Love (III)

Byartsyhonker July 27, 2014 0 Comments

At St Andrew's Leytonstone we had the final service of our much-loved parish priest, Fr Duncan, this morning. I've interrupted the Song Cycle pilgrimage to come back and play. He is retiring and we will all miss him loads. I wanted to do something special for this service, so I asked him for a favourite poem. When he said "Love bade me welcome" by George Herbert, I was delighted; and I had...

Postcard 3

Byartsyhonker July 9, 2014 0 Comments

I walked in darkness: recording with video

Byartsyhonker July 3, 2014 2 Comments

I'm very pleased to be able to offer this video: Enjoy! If you'd like to sing this in your choir, the sheet music is available online for free. You have to print it yourself though! If you want to hear more, as soon as my pledges on Patreon reach $70 per new work, I'm going to commission a recording of Christ has no body now on earth but ours.

I Am

Byartsyhonker June 29, 2014 0 Comments

I wrote this, like "The Message of the Wind", for the Nicola Dando Choral Composition Prize. The judges didn't choose it but I still like it. The poem, written by John Clare, seems to have a few different versions of the fifth line in the first stanza. I set the one that I was given for the competition: "Like shades in love and death's oblivion lost", which rhymes with the final line of the poem;...

Postcard 2

Byartsyhonker June 1, 2014 0 Comments

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique melody by me on it. Here's the second one. You could call it a Purple...