Applications of interest for the next Yule Songs project have now closed.
Call out to all singing groups in the East of England:
We are looking to work with a wide range of choirs in 2023/4 on an exciting new project to create new non-religious winter anthems.
Christmas-focused music is not for everyone, and P|arts is aiming to collaborate with singing groups to create a repertoire of new non-religious Yule Songs. We will work with each group to create a song from their own thoughts and ideas…a song that can also be shared for other groups.
You might be a school choir or a WI group. You might be parents who get together to sing with their babies, or a SATB choir with a full concert programme every year. Maybe you wassail the apples or sing for health, maybe you sing by ear or learn every line from the dots. However you sing and make music we’d love to hear from you.
What are Yule Songs?
The seasonal repertoire in winter is dominated by carols and a lack of non-religious songs can jar with some singers and groups, and make them feel marginalised. Your singing group may feel the need for non-religious pieces to balance the carols or, if you draw singers from a non-Christian faith-group, you may feel it inappropriate to sing the Christmas standards. We hope Yule Songs may provide you with an alternative means of marking winter.
Who are P|arts?
P|arts is a collaboration between Graham Palmer, writer, and Jenni Pinnock, composer. Graham and Jenni have worked toegther on a number of projects, and are both passionate about community education and engagement through the arts. It’s hoped through this project we will not only help increase the number of secular winter songs available for singing groups, but also help inspire and educate groups about the writing and compositional processes involved in creating new work.
How do we see the project working?
After some initial conversations, Graham and Jenni will hold a workshop with your group (either at one of your rehearsals or online!) to brainstorm ideas for your new Yule Song, perhaps creating snippets of text or melody. We’d then disappear off, add a few spices then mull them till a new Yule Song emerges for you to premiere in a wintery concert!
What can the Yule Songs be about?
That’s up to you! They could be about the crunch of frost under your feet, winter skies, togetherness over the festive seasons, anything to do with winter! The important thing is that they start with you.
What happens after we’ve sung our Yule Song?
You’re welcome to perform it as much as you’d like! Once premiered, Yule Songs will be made available online as free digital copies (in a variety of accessible formats) for other choirs to perform.
We aren’t a traditional choir. Can we join in?
Absolutely! We want these pieces to be created and premiered by a whole range of singers. We especially want to ensure we involve a diverse range of music makers in the initial phase of the project. Please fill in the form to register your interest!
Our choir is SA/SATB/mixed voices/a very unorthodox mix! Will we be suitable for the project?
In short – yes! The aim is to make every Yule Song accessible to as many singers as possible by having as many arrangements available as possible. The initial work will be arranged specifically for your group before we create the other arrangements.
If we fill in the form will we definitely be included in the project?
We will only be able to work on a limited number of Yule Songs across 2023 and 2024 (funding dependent) so we can’t guarantee that we can work with everyone. If we have far more interest than spaces we might arrange some informal conversations with groups to help us work out who to collaborate with. However, once premiered, all the new Yule Songs will be available to all!
Why is this only open to groups in the East of England?
We are only opening up this opportunity to choirs in East of England purely from a travel and organisation point of view. If the initial phase of the project is successful we may expand it further across the country- watch this space!
Will this opportunity cost us anything?
Taking part in the Yule Songs project shouldn’t cost you anything other than your usual rehearsal and performance costs (the workshop can take place as part of a usual rehearsal if you want). The cost of p | arts’ time and the physical score copies will all be covered by funding.
If you want any further information, have any questions or just want to have a chat about the project please send us an email to info@ p-arts.co.uk .
Examples of Jenni and Graham’s work
On Youtube you can listen to The Devil and the Draper/Sidney Powell’s Shindy, text by Graham Palmer and setting by Jenni Pinnock.
You can also listen to Making A Good Impression, written by King James Academy’s Boyz Choir with p | arts.
Click here for a Soundcloud playlist including a few more of Jenni’s choral works.