Set to words by the Estonian poet Doris Kareva Our flags are wafting in hope and grief is a humanist anthem to the power of conviction and community in times of social turmoil.
Rigwreck sets a text by poet Pierre Joris on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Frequent vocal divisions a wide range of dynamic expression spoken lines and powerful word-painting highlight the poem's emphasis on humanity's responsibility for the natural world and make this piece an exciting challenge for choirs.
Rhythm and Blues is in two movements: the first is mainly fast and rhythmic with featured solos for the baritone soprano and alto saxophone; the second which begins with an unaccompanied monody for the tenor is largely slow and melancholy.
Utilizing the standard 3 movement sonata outline Jackson employs a variety of textures to great effect in this piece. In the first movement alone the music employs homophonic unison canonic and monophonic textures. The work is technically demanding and moves through a variety of moods and tempos.
for SSAATB unaccompanied This short expressive piece sets a fifteenth-century penitential poem of great fervour. Jackson alternates a refrain in a simple plainsong style with more passionate homophonic verses to powerful effect.
Not no faceless Angel is a beautifully reflective work. The themes of loss and love are articulated through expressive melodic lines and touching imagery.
Commissioned by King's College Cambridge for the 2009 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols this beautiful carol sets a well-loved text by G. K. Chesterton. With Jackson's trademark luscious harmonies alongside gentle changes in metre and mode this piece would make an ideal introduction to Jackson's music for mixed choirs.
To Music is a jubilant anthem set to a poem by Robert Herrick ('To Music - A Song'). Commissioned by the BBC to mark Stephen Cleobury's 60th birthday celebrations in 2009 the work perfectly captures the exultant mood of the text extolling the virtues of music.
Gabriel Jackson's setting of this anonymous 16th century text was commissioned by the BBC and first performed by the BBC Singers at Canturbury Cathedral in October 2000. The music is written for a large triple chorus (SSSAAATTTBBB) with divisions.
This work presents two contrasting yet coherent motets: The joyful 'Confirma hoc Deus' with its jubilant melismatic motif; and the solemn 'Factus est' which features aleatoric sequences set against metred music to emphasise a reflective manner of worship.
Gabriel Jackson's In The Half-Light Of Dusk for SATB unaccompanied. In this unaccompanied setting of Thomas A. Clark's poem Jackson beautifully conjures up the atmosphere of the onset of nightfall. Featuring a wide range of rhythms textures and dynamics this is a striking and complex piece with highly imaginative word setting.
This atmospheric piece sets a text by Christina Rossetti. The first stanza is for sopranos only with expressive chromatic lines evoking the 'darkness' and 'chillness' of the text. The music flowers into four parts for a sumptuous second stanza with rich harmonies and flowing melismas.
Gabriel Jackson's O Sacrum Convivium for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied. Composed for the Feast of Corpus Christi this setting has a poise and beauty rare in choral music. Jackson uses the full sonic opportunities offered by the divided scoring moving effortlessly from controlled meditation to ecstatic fervour all delivered with absolute belief and clarity.
Gabriel Jackson's But Let My Due Feet Never Fail for SATB (with divisions) and Organ. This anthem sets a descriptive passage from Milton's Il Penseroso that sees the poet ask for guidance as he enters the 'studious Cloysters pale'. Jackson sensitively sets the words in homophonic and melismatic passages that build to a glorious climax for both Choir and Organ on 'And bring all Heav'n before mine e…
Gabriel Jackson's All Shall Be Amen for unaccompanied SATB choir (with divisions). First performed by the Choir of St Luke's Episcopal Church Evanston Illinois in 2016 this powerful motet sets a reflective text by Augustine of Hippo. Connoisseurs of Jackson's music will recognise the hallmarks of his highly accessible style: inventive harmony that is largely diatonic but never plain and textu…
Commissioned by the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music this short work sets the Eucharistic hymn by Thomas Aquinas. It starts with an expressive rhythmic soprano line and finishes with a calm homophonic passage.
Yes I Am Your Angel by Gabriel Jackson for SATB unaccompanied.The text for this imaginative and effective piece by Gabriel Jackson is a response to Allen Ginsberg's A Supermarket in California by Latvian poet K rlis V rdi Å¡ translated here by Ieva LeÅ¡inska. As in Ginsberg's poem the initial setting is a supermarket depicted with vivid imagery such as 'a weary shrivelled apple' before the a…
Exile Meditations by Gabriel Jackson for SATB soloists or choir unaccompanied.This powerful work is a sequence of meditations on loss and longing of fear and of hope by turns contemplative and dramatic. The narrative is made up of a selection of poems by four exiled Latvian writers from the group known as the Hell's Kitchen Poets and present-day displaced persons from Palestine and Syria. The te…
A work on the subject of pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela To The Field Of Stars features a variety of texts on the nature of travel and worship.Underpinned by evocative Cello and Percussion lines Jackson's strong Choral writing offers fragments of spoken lines and unexpected melodic twists while a refrain recurs in a new musical guise after each movement. The piece reaches its climax in th…
Gabriel Jackson's O Quam Gloriosum for SATB and Organ. Written for the 20th Anniversary of Norwich Cathedral Girls' Choir this setting of the well-known All Saints Day text juxtaposes flowing melodic lines in the sopranos with rich homophonic passages each bringing the text to the fore. The Organ plays a prominent role providing gentle undulating accompaniment as well as fanfare-like exclamati…
This is a joyful work for organ and trumpet. Jackson employs a sectional structure contrasting celebratory clamorous writing with moments of intimacy and reflection.
