Choral Works
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A powerful choral-orchestral setting of Dylan Thomas’s visionary poem, And Death Shall Have No Dominion moves between romantic lyricism and dramatic declaration. Written for upper-intermediate to advanced ensembles, it offers ceremonial breadth, expressive intensity, and a practical reduced-instrumentation version.
Instrumentation: treble voices, SATB chorus, and orchestra
Duration: 9 minutes
Difficulty: Upper intermediate to advanced
Text / Source: And Death Shall Have No Dominion by Dylan Thomas
Alternate version: organ, piano, trumpet, percussion, and children’s choir -
The Battle
A dramatic choral movement setting a poem by Thomas Hardy, The Battle combines martial rhythms, vivid choral writing, and an atmospheric piano part to portray the momentum and horror of war. The work is well suited for ensembles seeking compact, dramatically charged contemporary repertoire.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus, piano
Duration: 2.5 minutes -
A 15-minute cantata setting poems by Thomas Hardy, The Battle Cry (A Tragedy) reflects on the human cost of war through scenes of departure, battle, death, grief, and remembrance. Its varied choral textures make it well suited for programs centered on war, peace, literature, and moral reflection.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and piano; two movements a cappella
Duration: 15 minutes
Difficulty: varies by movement
Text / Source: poems by Thomas Hardy -
A Chart of a Small Sea
The opening song from Songs of Life, A Chart of a Small Sea sets poetry by Sara Teasdale in a lyrical, formally clear setting centered on identity and self-knowledge. Its flexible scoring makes it especially suitable for youth, school, community, and treble-voice ensembles.
Instrumentation: SATB and piano, or children's chorus or two treble voices and piano
Publisher: Alymar Publications -
The closing movement of The Battle Cry / A Tragedy, Coda is a brief, chromatic a cappella setting of Thomas Hardy that turns from battlefield tragedy toward a searching moral and spiritual question. Its exposed texture demands secure intonation, expressive restraint, and clear textual focus.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus a cappella
Duration: 1.5 minutes -
A romantic chamber work for violin and piano, Could You Dream What I Dream transforms material from Baxter’s opera Lily into a songful instrumental dialogue. Its lyrical character and clear contemporary tonal language make it well suited for violin recital and chamber music programs.
Instrumentation: violin, piano
Duration: 6+ minutes -
An intimate a cappella setting of Thomas Hardy, Drummer Hodge reflects on the innocence of a young soldier lost in war. Its exposed choral texture and brief soprano solo bring quiet dignity, grief, and remembrance to the text.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus a cappella, with short soprano solo
Duration: 2.5 minutes -
A folk-like theatrical chorus drawn from Baxter’s music for Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, Here Come the Reapers combines men’s voices with simple, rhythmic guitar writing. Its direct character evokes the workers in the fields and the outside world beyond the play’s enclosed domestic setting.
Instrumentation: men’s chorus, guitar
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The second song from Songs of Life, The House of Dreams sets poetry by Sara Teasdale in a lyrical, reflective choral setting that balances imagination with a sense of grounded reality. Its flexible scoring makes it especially suitable for youth, school, community, and treble-voice ensembles.
Instrumentation: SATB and piano, or children's chorus or two treble voices and piano
Publisher: Alymar Publications -
A moving choral work setting Ewart Alan Mackintosh’s 1916 poem of wartime remembrance, In Memoriam combines modal, folk-like melody with expressive restraint. Its quiet dignity and distinctive harp-and-piano color make it well suited for memorial programs and concerts exploring war, loss, and remembrance.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus, harp, and piano
Duration: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source: poem by Lieutenant Ewart Alan Mackintosh -
An uplifting choral work with text by Lisa VanAuken after C. P. Cavafy, Journey to Ithaca reflects on life as a journey of growth, hope, and discovery. Its folk-like melodic character, rondo form, and dramatic conclusion make it especially effective for collaborative choral programs.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus, children’s chorus, organ, and piano
Text / Source: text by Lisa VanAuken, based on a poem by C. P. Cavafy -
A concise four-minute setting of the Mass text, Kyrie combines formal clarity with expressive sacred character. Written for intermediate SATB chorus, the work alternates homorhythmic and polyphonic textures within a tonal language enriched by chromatic color.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus
Duration: 4 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source: Kyrie text from the Ordinary of the Mass -
A folk-like choral movement from The Battle Cry / A Tragedy, My Love’s Gone A-Fightin’ contrasts a dramatic piano introduction with the simple, innocent voice of a young woman whose lover has gone to war. Its direct melodic character gives the movement both sweetness and quiet poignancy.
Instrumentation: SA voices, piano
Duration: 3 minutes -
The closing song from Songs of Life, A Prayer sets poetry by Sara Teasdale in a warm, affirming choral setting centered on gratitude, love of life, and lived experience. Its lyrical directness and flexible scoring make it especially well suited for school, youth, community, and church ensembles.
Instrumentation: SATB and piano, or children's chorus or two treble voices and piano
Publisher: Alymar Publications -
A three-song choral cycle setting poems by Sara Teasdale, Songs of Life offers direct, expressive writing for SATB chorus or children’s chorus / 2 treble voices with piano. Its flexible voicing and lyrical style make it well suited for school, community, church, and youth choir programs.
Instrumentation: SATB and piano, or children’s chorus / 2 treble voices and piano
Duration: 7–8 minutes
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source: poems by Sara Teasdale -
A lyrical and powerful setting of Dame Edith Sitwell’s Blitz-era poem, Still Falls the Rain moves from darkness and intensity toward spiritual consolation. Written for SATB chorus and organ, the work is well suited for sacred concerts, Lenten programs, memorial observances, and themes of war, suffering, faith, and hope.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and organ
Duration: 7–8 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source:Still Falls the Rain by Dame Edith Sitwell -
A set of a cappella songs based on Renaissance poetry, Three Madrigals combines lyrical directness, clear musical architecture, and contemporary harmonic color. Commissioned by Western Maryland College, the set is well suited for chamber choirs, collegiate ensembles, and vocal groups exploring early English poetry.
Instrumentation: a cappella voices
Duration: 8 minutes
Publisher: North Star Music
Text / Source: anonymous Renaissance poems; The Silver Swan by Christopher Hatton -
A Christmas choral work for SATB chorus and piano, A Virgin Most Pure combines traditional warmth with fresh harmonic color. Its clear ABA design, lyrical opening material, and jazz-inflected middle section make it well suited for Christmas concerts, Lessons and Carols services, and seasonal choral programs.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and piano
Duration: 4–5 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source: words from various public-domain sources -
A dramatic choral setting of Stephen Crane’s bitterly ironic poem, War Is Kind contrasts public rhetoric with private grief. Its recurring refrain, sharp changes of mood, and clear dramatic pacing make it well suited for programs addressing war, loss, remembrance, social critique, or American poetry.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and piano
Duration: 6 minutes
Difficulty: Upper intermediate
Publisher: Alymar Publications
Text / Source: War Is Kind by Stephen Crane -
A romantic a cappella setting for SATB chorus, Wild Mountain Thyme draws on the traditional song while adding newly composed music for several verses. Its direct melodic character and warm choral resonance make it well suited for school, church, community, and chamber choirs.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus a cappella
Duration: 4 minutes
Difficulty: Moderately easy
Text / Source: traditional song text