Three new music videos for January 2020

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Music: Joanna Forbes L’Estrange & Alexander L’Estrange

Words: Joanna Forbes L’Estrange

For Upper Voices + piano

Published by Faber Music [ link: http://www.fabermusicstore.com/Winter-Songs-0571541372.aspx ]

“This delightful set of seasonal songs is the perfect addition to any choral programme for youth or upper voice choirs celebrating the end of the year! Each song has a powerful message to convey, melodies are beautifully created and very singable, and audiences will enjoy the jazzy style and approachable harmonies.
I recommend these songs to all choirs looking for accessible, contemporary and imaginative repertoire.”  Ben Parry, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain

Love came down at Christmas (SATB carol) - performed by legendary vocal group The Swingles!

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Need a new carol for Christmas? Short of rehearsal time? Prefer SATB unaccompanied? Try this: Words by Christina Rossetti, music by the "the added 9th of British choral music", Alexander L'Estrange. Published by Faber Music - www.fabermusicstore.com - and available here www.alexanderlestrange.com/christmas.

Performed and recorded here on the "Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy” album by The Swingles

Get in the Christmas spirit with a performance of Wassail! this December. There are sixteen to choose from!

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This December Wassail! Carols of comfort and joy is being performed no less than sixteen times by choirs across the UK and in the USA and Austria. Click here to go to our performance pages and find a performance near you. There’s nothing better to get you into the Christmas Spirit! If you don’t know the piece, click on the video below and watch Alexander introducing his award-winning cantata.

"We will remember them" (live at Cadogan Hall with the Military Wives Choirs)

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As Remembrance Sunday approaches, here’s a video of Joanna Forbes L'Estrange & Alexander L'Estrange's beautiful song “We will remember them" commissioned, recorded and performed here by the Military Wives Choirs, live at London's Cadogan Hall in 2019.Email admin@alexanderlestrange.com

To sing it with your choir, sheet music is available at www.alexanderlestrange.com/sheet-music. You'll find versions for SSA & piano (as heard here), SATB or S/A/Men. Optional band parts (rhythm section, trumpet and strings) are also available on request.

ASK about part-learning tracks for SSA version as well! Via our contact form

It's Tour de France time! Why not try "Song Cycle - vive la vélorution!" with your choir?

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SONG CYCLE - VIVE LA VELORUTION is a sequence of entertaining songs about the BICYCLE and the joys of CYCLING (8 originals and 2 arrangements of existing songs). It contains a wide variety of musical styles including jazz, musical theatre, barbershop, pastiche Victorian Music Hall and folk. The “vive la vélorution!” strapline is intended to evoke the Tour de France for which the piece was commissioned.

Freedom! The Power of Song - out now!

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We are delighted to announce the arrival of the latest piece in the popular series for SATB chorus, unison children’s choir and instrumental quintet: Freedom! The Power of Song was jointly composed by Alexander L’Estrange & Joanna Forbes L’Estrange to mark four important historical landmarks: 100 years since the end of WW1; 100 years since some women first won the right to vote; 50 years since American Civil Rights movement; 25 years since the Baltic Revolution. This powerful new work celebrates the important role communal singing has played throughout history, bringing people together in solidarity at times of upheaval, struggle and change.

The piece comprises original songs by Alexander and Joanna as well as arrangements of classic songs such as We shall not be moved, We shall overcome and How can I keep from singing? It promises to bring the whole community together in a joyous and heartfelt celebration of the power of song.

The piece was commissioned by Jeremy Backhouse for Salisbury Community Choir which premiered on 3rd November 2018 in Winchester Cathedral.

Vocal Score and recording both available from www.alexanderlestrange.com/freedom

Monday 21st January is Martin Luther King Day.

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The third Monday of January each year is a US holiday named Martin Luther King Day. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968.

The third Monday of January each year is a US holiday named Martin Luther King Day.

King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

The Civil Rights Movement is just one of the the themes of Alexander and Joanna L'Estrange's new choral work "Freedom! The Power of Song!". Choirs and primary school children will be introduced to classic peaceful protest songs made famous by MLK and his supporters: We shall not be moved - Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around - We shall overcome - I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom - This little light of mine

More information about "Freedom! The Power of Song" can be found at www.alexanderlestrange.com/freedom

Freedom! The power of song has its premiere

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The latest in the series of exciting, accessible 40-min community choral works by Alexander L’Estrange (this time with Joanna Forbes L’Estrange) had its premiere on 3rd November 2018 at Winchester Cathedral. Here’s what conductor Jeremy Backhouse says about  “Freedom! The Power of Song":

We are delighted to announce the arrival of the latest piece in the popular series for SATB chorus, unison children's choir and instrumental quintet. Available from alexanderlestrange.com Freedom!

Brand new publication: Freedom! The Power of Song

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We are delighted to announce the arrival of the latest piece in the popular series for SATB chorus, unison children’s choir and instrumental quintet:

Freedom! The Power of Song was jointly composed by Alexander L’Estrange & Joanna Forbes L’Estrange to mark four important historical landmarks in 2018: 

100 years since the end of WW1; 100 years since some women first won the right to vote; 50 years since American Civil Rights movement; 25 years since the Baltic Revolution 

This powerful new work celebrates the important role communal singing has played throughout history, bringing people together in solidarity at times of upheaval, struggle and change. The piece comprises original songs by Alexander and Joanna as well as arrangements of classic songs such as We shall not be moved, We shall overcome and How can I keep from singing? It promises to bring the whole community together in a joyous and heartfelt celebration of the power of song.

Order your copy of the vocal score HERE 

The piece was commissioned by Jeremy Backhouse for Salisbury Community Choir who gave the world premiere on November 3rd 2018 in Winchester Cathedral.

New L'Estrange choral music for Remembrance Sunday

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New from husband and wife composing team Alexander & Joanna L'Estrange, here are two new choral works perfect for your Remembrance Sunday (November 11th) services, commemorations and musical events: 'Red is the colour' (from 'Freedom! The Power of Song') - for SATB/piano 'We will remember them' (from the Military Wives Choirs album "Remember") - for SSA/piano (optional bugle/trumpet and strings/rhythm section parts available on request).

New Remembrance Day music is now available to buy from our website. Red is the colour (from Freedom! the Power of Song) and We will remember are perfect for Remembrance Sunday.  Click below to listen to excerpts and buy the sheet music from our webshop.  

Go to the sheet music shop

Winner of Best Classical Music Education Initiative, sponsored by Classic FM

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We are delighted to announce that Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy has won the Music Teacher Award for Best Classical Music Education Initiative 2018. (Pictured: Alexander L’Estrange with his award). Huge thanks to Catherine Barker and all at United Learning for commissioning the piece and to all of the thousands of school children who performed it last Christmas. If you’d like to programme it with your choir this Christmas, click here to find out how.

New piece in the pipeline...

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Meanwhile, Alexander is busy composing the next piece in his series of 40-minute choral works for SATB choir, unison children’s choir and jazz quintet. The commission comes from Salisbury Community Choir, a thriving amateur choir with over 150 members, and will receive its world premiere this autumn in Winchester Cathedral, conducted by Jeremy Backhouse.