for SSATB unaccompanied This simple and exquisite miniature keeps the text, the fourth-century Latin Hymn to the Virgin Mary, at the fore, with instructions from the composer to accent the melodic lines according to word stress rather than position in the bar. The musical style is a fusion of old and new, with plainchant-like melodies and tonality set against expressively dissonant contemporary harmonies. Tota pulchra est was recorded by The Epiphoni Consort on the CD David Bednall: Sudden Light (Delphian, DCD34189)

for SATB and organ This radiant anthem explores the theme of light, with luminescent harmonies, a virtuosic organ part, and soaring vocal lines. The text is by Dr Marcus Tomalin, after Dante's Paradiso, and Bednall's word painting is highly effective. A compelling climax as the singers tell of the 'pure living light shining' falls away to a powerful unaccompanied moment, before the organ picks up a motif and develops it in a majestic interlude. This is a highly rewarding anthem for performer and audience alike. Pure Living Light was recorded by The Epiphoni Consort on the CD David Bednall:...

for SATB unaccompanied The Scholar is a sensitive setting of Robert Southey's poem that explores a man's kinship with the dead. With Bednall's characteristic metrical fluidity and effective word setting, this piece will provide a moment of quiet reflection in a concert programme.

for SSAA and organ, and optional brass ensemble and timpani Commissioned by Benenden School, Make We Merry is an eight-movement piece which sets texts from the 15th to 19th centuries to a variety of choral textures with a highly characterful accompaniment. A vast array of sentiments is depicted, from quiet expectance and gentle wonder to boisterous jubilation, and the different movements provide a wonderfully paced journey through these moods. The final movement brings back motifs from the opening and grows to a thrillingly climactic ending to this exciting Christmas concert work.

for SS and organ This movement from Make We Merry sets the words of the seventeenth-century Christmas text 'Sweet was the song' to a straightforward and lyrical solo line in the first soprano part, with an imitative second soprano part joining towards the end. The organ accompaniment gently underpins the tender vocal lines throughout.

Commissioned for the 40th birthday of the organist Paul Walton, Walton's Paean is a work of great verve, with compelling rhythms, exciting harmonies, and catchy melodies propelling the celebratory music forward. Through the boisterous excitement, legato passages emerge as the piece hurtles towards the resounding finale. There is also a little joke in the occasional references to the music of Paul Walton's namesake, William.

for SATB unaccompanied In this bittersweet pastoral setting Bednall's flowing melody lines are paired with the tender words of the contemplative First World War poet, Siegfried Sasson. The 5/4 metre lends a wistful whimsical feel to the music, allowing the piece to flow freely, whilst retaining the playful syncopation so familiar in folk music. The poem itself is a rare step outside Sassoon's typical First World War themes. Rather, Idyll describes a summer garden where he wishes to meet somebody, who, it seems, has passed away. A beautifully creative work offering heartache and warmth in...

This powerful piece, dating from 2010, shows off the full resources of any organ it is played on. Its driving rhythms and exhilarating, often bitonal, harmonies recall such French organist-composers as Langlais and Messiaen, and while there is often an improvisatory feel, the music is far from formless, and its carefully planned structure contributes crucially to its success.