Christmas Music
|
Let Christians all with joyful mirth
(1999) 
|
SATB, organ
Words: from an old church-gallery book First performed by the Elizabethan Singers of London in St James’s Church, Piccadilly in December 2001, this piece was showcased in the November 2008 edition of Organists’ Review |
[Maxim is] a composer who is a dab hand at capturing the essence of the carol tradition. [This piece is] practical, effective, easily scored for SATB (no divisi) with narrow ranges. There's potential for brightness and energy with a sparkling organ accompaniment. Rebecca Tavener (Organists' Review)
Let Christians all with joyful mirth has five unaccompanied verses with the same harmony (but different dynamics) before a contrapuntal refrain. The text is from a gallery carol book, and the skilfully composed music has the feel of an old carol. The organ accompanies the refrain, and tops and tails the piece. Stephen Patterson (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
Shakespeare’s Song of Winter
When icicles hang by the wall (secular) (2003) |
SATB
Words: Shakespeare First performed by the Giltspur Singers in Newham General Hospital |
|
Hurry to Bethlehem
(2005) 
|
SATB, organ upper voices, piano
Words by the composer First performed by the The Giltspur Singers in St Clement Danes, Strand, London |
Set to words by the composer, Hurry to Bethlehem is a great new Christmas work for any adventurous choir looking for something a little different. Written in a tonal and accessible style, there is effective word painting throughout, with each voice playing an important and significant contribution to the whole. There are few technical challenges but much to enjoy by performers and audiences alike. Recital Music
The two carol settings [All and Some and Hurry to Bethlehem] would make welcome additions to the Christmas repertoire of many church choirs. Both of moderate difficulty, they follow similar stylistic conventions. [...] Hurry to Bethlehem sets the composer's own words, and is a rather more energetic affair. Lyrics and music have a fresh directness bout them, and the accompaniment adds some moments of sparkle. The flexibility of version for unison/SATB and organ or piano is a welcome feature that should open this work to a wider range of choirs. Both [All and Some and Hurry to Bethlehem] would fit admirably in a typical carol service and provide some welcome variety from familiar favourites. Martin Clarke (Organists' Review)
Hurry to Bethlehem, with words written by the composer, gives a choice of organ and piano accompaniments (both given in full), and mixed choir and unison voicings with an optional descant for the latter. There are some nice harmonic sidesteps, a variety of vocal textures, and plenty of interest in the busy keyboard part. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
The Oxen
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock (secular) (2005) |
SATB
Words: Thomas Hardy First performed by The Giltspur Singers in The Temple Church, London Note: this piece is also listed under Secular Choral Music |
The Oxen is subtitled 'A Christmas Partsong' for unaccompanied SATB choir and successfully sets a most evocative and atmospheric Christmas text by Thomas Hardy. Composed in 2005 for the Giltspur Singers of London, there are musical challenges for each voice with effective and inventive colouring of the words. Christopher Maxim is a very successful composer of choral and vocal music writing works of character and distinction. Recital Music
Although the thought is a little unseasonal in the spring sunshine, I'm of the opinion that it's never to early to start thinking about music for the Christmas season. Christopher Maxim's unaccompanied SATB setting of Thomas Hardy's poem, The Oxen has done just that. The piece was composed for the London based chamber choir, The Giltspur Singers. The text is set with some sensitivity and [the composition] is remarkably compact at only 36 bars in length. The harmonic language is bold in places, never predictably pastiche, but within a tonal idiom, and the composer uses dissonance fairly sparingly. The composer shows his experience in writing for voices by exploiting a range of textures in a very effective setting. Warmly recommended for a confident choir. Andrew Wilson (Organists' Review)
|
|
Blake's Cradle Song
Sweet dreams, form a shade (2008) |
SATB with divisions
Words: Blake First performed by the Giltspur Singers |
Set to words by William Blake, this inventive and evocative work for unaccompanied mixed choir was written for The Giltspur Singers of London. Performable at Christmas, or at any time of the year, there is much of interest and to enjoy for any adventurous choir looking for music which both challenges and enthuses. Recital Music
From Sting to Benjamin Britten, Blake’s elusive words have inspired many composers in different genres, and this new setting is certainly worthy of a place among them. The idiom is a sort of Tavener-meets-Howells; an apparent simplicity covers a subtle responsiveness to the words and a beguiling fluidity of musical effect. There are a few tricky harmonic corners but the piece is written with an evident delight in musically shaped phrases that are rewarding to sing. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
All and some
Nowell sing we (2008) 
|
SATB
Composed for the 2008 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London |
The two carol settings [All and Some and Hurry to Bethlehem] would make welcome additions to the Christmas repertoire of many church choirs. Both of moderate difficulty, they follow similar stylistic conventions. All and Some sets a 15th-century macaronic text in a fairly understated manner. The simple refrain is imaginatively but subtly harmonised while the verses are to be sung either by soloists or sections in unison. [...] Both [All and Some and Hurry to Bethlehem] would fit admirably in a typical carol service and provide some welcome variety from familiar favourites. Martin Clarke (Organists' Review)
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. The music of All and Some is delightfully straightforward: the full choir sings a refrain with rhythms (if not harmonies) suggestive of earlier music; solo or unison voices take it in turns to sing the verses. The 15th-century words, ‘Nowell sing we, both all and some’, have a palindromic rhyme scheme where verses 1 and 5 match, as do 2 and 4. Each verse starts with a Latin phrase that is taken from Christmas Day vespers or Mass. It would be a good choice if something is needed to cut through the sentiment of other carols. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
The Jolly Shepherd
Can I not sing but Hoy? (2009) 
|
SATB, solos, organ
Commissioned by Duncan Atkinson for the choir of St Margaret’s, Lee, and premièred by them in December 2009. The piece has been performed by various other choirs, including the City of London Chamber Choir, and broadcast on BBC Radio from Derby Cathedral The choir of St Margaret's Lee recorded the piece on their 2014 disc The Road to Bethlehem, with Simon Daniels at the organ 
|
Written in 2009, this is a setting of a sixteenth-century anonymous text 'Can I not sing but "Hoy"?' by the organist and composer Christopher Maxim. It is scored for SATB choir and organ -- with some divisi and short solo passages tor tenor and soprano. The parts will all lie within the range of an enthusiastic and skilled parish church choir, and the lively organ parts sits well under the hands and can work for most instruments without difficulty. Containing some of the much-loved features of Christmas choral music of the last 50 years -- the rapidly shifting bar lengths, the rustic dancing tempo, a Tuba opportunity and some reflective solo work -- this carol setting would be enjoyable for choir and congregation alike. The harmonic style of the verses offers some originality with hints of Mathias and Rutter. Again, it strikes a good balance between accessibility and challenge. Christopher Maxim clearly understands what works well for choirs and organists and this publication should provide a new possibility for the upcoming Christmas season. Claire Hobbs (Organists' Review)
|
|
With merry heart
(2009) |
SATB
Composed for the 2009 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew’s, Bethnal Green, London |
|
Rorate Coeli
(2010) |
SATB (with divisions)
Words: William Dunbar (c.1465-1530) First performed by the Giltspur Singers in St Clement Danes, Strand, London in December 2010 |
|
A little child there is yborn
(2010) 
|
SATB
Composed for the 2010 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew’s, Bethnal Green, London. The première performance was given by a choir formed of members of the church congregation plus some guests |
These two contrasting a cappella carols [The World's Desire and A Little Child there is Yborn] show Maxim’s versatility and assured vocal writing. [...] ‘A Little Child there is Yborn’ [...] sets a more familiar text in sprightly fashion, with frequent alternation between 7/8 and 9/8 time. Rather more harmonically adventurous than ‘The World’s Desire’, this will suit a choir well-used to singing unaccompanied and that will not be daunted by some chromatic challenges. Martin Clarke (Organists' Review)
A little child there is yborn mixes 7/8 and 9/8 time signatures, each verse culminating in a rising series of Alleluias. The vocal lines would be gratifying to sing. The tempo direction ‘Piacevole’ suggests a relaxed feeling, despite the rhythmic bounce – but an intensification of Alleluias after the last verse provides a strong and effective finish. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
Benedictus
(2012) |
SATB, baritone solo, organ
Words: Book of Common Prayer Composed for the 2012 Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green Note: this piece is also listed under Sacred Music / Morning Canticles |
|
Ad Cantus Leticie
(2013) 
|
SATB
Composed for the 2013 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew’s, Bethnal Green, London |
A refreshing setting of a medieval Christmas carol, Christopher Maxim continues his series of motets for the worship service and concert. Sprightly “alleluias” begin and end each verse, with the Latin text set with modal harmonies in between. Paraclete Press
|
|
I Sing of a Maiden
(2014) 
|
SATB
Composed for the 2014 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's Bethnal Green, London |
A beautiful addition to the carol repertoire, this well-known text gets an intimate, lyrical setting that is immediately attractive. Paraclete Press
I sing of a Maiden [is] an easy carol for which the composer offers options for performance a semitone or tone higher in pitch. The opening direction of soave says it all. Maxim has thought very carefully about the text and (practical again) shows very clearly where he wants the tenors to differ in word-stress from the rest of the choir. […] here's a good teaching moment for all amateur choral tenors. Rebecca Tavener (Organists' Review)
Christopher Maxim’s approach to I sing of a maiden has the same sort of sensitivity to the words as found in Patrick Hadley’s much-loved setting – restrained, beautiful and attractively understated. Even the ‘Mother and maiden’ climax is marked ‘ma dolce’. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
The Song of Anna
So God is made man (2015) |
SATB
Words: Adey Grummet Composed for the 2015 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London |
|
Gloria!
Some shepherds on the hills one night (2015) |
Unison voices, piano
Words by the composer |
|
The Darkest Midnight
(2016) |
SATB
Words: adapted from Fr. William Devereux (fl. 1728) Composed for the 2016 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London |
|
Hark! hark! glad tidings charm our ears
(2017) 
|
SATB, organ
Words: derived from an American hymn (pre-1813) and the Benedicite Composed for the 2017 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London |
Hark! Hark! Glad Tidings Charm Our Ears [is] a Christmas piece in which the composer sets a pleasing mash-up of an early American hymn with the Benedicite. It's very jolly, with sparkling trumpety organ passages and fun dialogue between choir and accompaniment. Its energetic 6-8 dances everyone along and listeners will be beguiled and impressed without realising that it's easier than it sounds. Rebecca Tavener (Organists' Review)
Hark! Hark! Glad tidings charm our ears is a setting of words from a Southern Harmony hymn combined with verses from a metrical version of the Benedicite, with a refrain ‘Our God is born’. It is a joyous, dancing piece, easy to learn and effective in performance. Stephen Patterson (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
The Linden Tree Carol (arrangement)
(2017) 
|
SATB
Arrangement of an old German tune Words: G. R. Woodward Composed for the 2017 Giltspur Singers Christmas Concert |
|
The World's Desire
The Christ-Child lay on Mary's lap (2018) 
|
SATB
Words: G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) Composed for the 2018 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green, London |
These two contrasting a cappella carols [The World's Desire and A Little Child there is Yborn] show Maxim’s versatility and assured vocal writing. ‘The World’s Desire’, a setting of a poem by G.K. Chesterton, is a particularly fine miniature. Maxim mirrors the text’s taut structure in this sparsely beautiful musical response. The initial line of each couplet is set for different voice combinations (S, SA, TB, SATB), to which SATB (with occasional divisions) responds with a restrained homophonic phrase. The harmony makes imaginative use of chromatic alterations to create a tonal ambiguity that matches the text well, while each individual vocal line in straightforward and largely undemanding in terms of range. This would be an effective choice for a carol service or midnight mass. Martin Clarke (Organists' Review)
Chesterton’s poem The World’s Desire (starting ‘The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap’) is given a simple but sensitive setting by Christopher Maxim. With minor/major fluctuations and a compound-time lilt, it has the feeling of a folk carol. James L. Montgomery (Church Music Quarterly)
|
|
Love Came Down at Christmas
(2019) |
SATB, organ
Words: Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) Composed for the 2019 Christmas Carol Service at St Matthew's Bethnal Green, London |
|
Moonless Darkness
(2019) |
SATB
Words: Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) Composed for the 2019 Giltspur Singers Christmas Concert |
|
Virga Jesse floruit
(2020) |
SATB
Words: Latin Composed for the 2020 Service of Lessons and Music for Advent at St Matthew's Bethnal Green, London |
|
I saw a stable
(2021) |
SATB
Words: Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861-1907) Composed for the 2021 Christmas Carol Service at St Mary Magdalene's, East Ham, London |
|
Christmas Day
Nature's decorations glisten (2022) |
SATB, organ
Words: Christopher Smart (1722-1771) Composed for the 2022 Christmas Carol Service at St Mary Magdalene's, East Ham, London |
|
Welcome all wonders in one sight
(2022) |
Unison voices, organ
Words: Richard Crashaw (1612-1649) Composed for Christmas Eve 2022 at St Mary Magdalene's, East Ham, London |
|
Sleep, holy Babe
(2023) |
SATB
Words: Edward Caswall (1814-1878) Composed for the 2023 Christmas Carol Service at St Mary Magdalene's, East Ham, London |
