Melissa Dunphy

Commissioned by Stainer and Bell for the collection Gregoriana, compiled and edited by Anna Lapwood.

Twelve chant-based organ pieces by contemporary women composers, for liturgical and concert performance.

Compiled and edited by Anna Lapwood.

Embracing a project close to her heart, trailblazing organist, conductor and broadcaster Anna Lapwood has commissioned and curated a collection of outstanding original pieces by women composers. Following the example of Jeanne Demessieux’s classic 12 Chorale Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes, Gregoriana unites fresh currents of musical imagination with the timeless qualities of plainsong.

Spanning the church year from Advent through to All Souls’ Day, but equally suited to liturgical use or recital programming, these works cast new light on much-loved melodies, refracting a bright spectrum of modern styles from established and emerging voices through the prism of traditional chant. With items ranging in difficulty from around Grade 5 to Grade 8 standard, Gregoriana will inspire young players especially, its breadth of idiom presenting a wide range of technical discoveries too. Notes on the individual titles, and Anna Lapwood’s thoughts on performance, provide timely practical guidance. Above all, Gregoriana invites organists to explore a treasury of uniquely stimulating repertoire, while also encouraging composers to enrich it further by writing for this most magnificent of instruments.

CONTENTS
Rorate Caeli (Melissa Dunphy)
Flourish on Adeste Fideles (Zanaida Stewart Robles)
Star Fantasy on Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam (Kristina Arakelyan)
Light, Revealing (Grace-Evangeline Mason)
Trio on Attende, Domine (Sarah MacDonald)
Ubi Caritas (Julie Ainscough)
Rejoice! Fantasia on Victimae Paschali Laudes (Rhian Samuel)
Veni, Creator Spiritus (Cecilia McDowall)
O Lux Beata Trinitas (Amy Summers)
Prelude on Pange Lingua (Kerensa Briggs)
Sanctus from Orbis Factor (Dobrinka Tabakova)
In Paradisum (Ghislaine Reece-Trapp)

Performances

• 08 Mar, 2024: Alison Howell at St. John's Church, Keynsham, England
• 22 Dec, 2023: Aaron Shilson at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales
• 10 Dec, 2023: David Simon at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica, Toronto, Canada
• 04 Dec, 2023: Stephan Casurella at Clergy and Staff-Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati, OH
• 03 Dec, 2023: Ruben Valenzuela at All Souls' Episcopal Church, San Diego, CA
• 03 Dec, 2023: David Simon at Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto, Canada
• 03 Dec, 2023: Steven R. Lawrence at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Salem, VA
• 03 Dec, 2023: Thomas Wilhelm at Katholische Kirche St. Nikolaus, Bad Vilbel, Germany
• 03 Dec, 2023: Ryan Tibbetts at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA
• 02 Dec, 2023: Christos Theel at Frauenfriedenskirche, Frankfurt, Germany
• 28 Nov, 2023 - 30 Nov, 2023: Evie Perfect at Clare College Chapel, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
• 21 Mar, 2023: Emily Ballentine Erb at St. David's Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA

Awards

• New Publication of the Year 2022 (a part of Gregoriana, Anna Lapwood's anthology of new compositions for Organ) 2022