Vocal and Choral music
Chronological listing. See also Christmas carols catalogue at the bottom of this webpage.
Rippled sands - five poems of Marie Overton (1968) Mezzo/piano
5 songs; duration: 12 minutes
Settings of poems by Marie Overton.
First perf: Sheilagh Bodden, soprano, and David Strauss, piano, Dublin Festival of 20th Century Music, 7 January 1970.
Settings of poems by Marie Overton.
First perf: Sheilagh Bodden, soprano, and David Strauss, piano, Dublin Festival of 20th Century Music, 7 January 1970.
RH pic: song cover
The Wind among the Reeds (1969) SSATB
3 poems by W.B. Yeats; duration: 8 minutes
Songs for Granny (1969) Any voice/piano
dedicated to John Skinner and David Strauss
dedicated to John Skinner and David Strauss
3 songs (graphic notation); duration: 5 minutes
Poems by Roger McGough.
First perf: Hilda Thompson, mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Bicker, piano,
Whiteabbey Music Club, Wilson Hall, Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church, Co. Antrim, 10 January 1977.
Poems by Roger McGough.
First perf: Hilda Thompson, mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Bicker, piano,
Whiteabbey Music Club, Wilson Hall, Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church, Co. Antrim, 10 January 1977.
As in their time (1969, rev. 1976) SATB
dedicated to Havelock Nelson
dedicated to Havelock Nelson
12 choral episodes for chamber choir; duration: 10 minutes.
Poem by Louis MacNeice.
First perf: Belgian Radio Chamber Choir, cond. Havelock Nelson,
8 June 1977.
UK première: BBC Radio 3, 17 October 1980.
RH pic: cover detail
Poem by Louis MacNeice.
First perf: Belgian Radio Chamber Choir, cond. Havelock Nelson,
8 June 1977.
UK première: BBC Radio 3, 17 October 1980.
RH pic: cover detail
The Tasking (1969) SSA/harp (optional)
dedicated to Jean Newman
dedicated to Jean Newman
3 songs; duration: 6 minutes.
Settings of poems by Siegfried Sassoon.
First perf: Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, Belfast Central Library, 29 December 1970.
Settings of poems by Siegfried Sassoon.
First perf: Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, Belfast Central Library, 29 December 1970.
Canzonets (1972) SATB
dedicated to John McDowell
dedicated to John McDowell
8 settings; duration: 5 minutes.
First perf: New Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, Harty Room, Queen's University, Belfast, 29 April 1972.
First perf: New Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, Harty Room, Queen's University, Belfast, 29 April 1972.
Free score available to download:
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David Byers Canzonets.pdf Size : 2043.952 Kb Type : pdf |
Night Song (1972) SATB
dedicated to An Chomhairle Ealaíon
dedicated to An Chomhairle Ealaíon
duration: 3 minutes
Words by Thomas Kinsella.
Words by Thomas Kinsella.
Cerises d'amour (1972) SSA or SSS
dedicated to Finchley Children’s Music Group
dedicated to Finchley Children’s Music Group
duration: 6 minutes
Settings of lines from various Elizabethan poets.
First perf: Finchley Children's Music group, cond. Richard Andrewes, St Giles Church, London, 15 November 1973.
Settings of lines from various Elizabethan poets.
First perf: Finchley Children's Music group, cond. Richard Andrewes, St Giles Church, London, 15 November 1973.
Preces & Responses (1975) SATB
dedicated to Norman Finlay
dedicated to Norman Finlay
Liturgical text; duration: 4 minutes.
First perf: Belmont Church Choir, St Peter’s Church, Antrim Road, Belfast, 23 November 1975.
First perf: Belmont Church Choir, St Peter’s Church, Antrim Road, Belfast, 23 November 1975.
Rhymes (1980) SATB
dedicated to the New Belmont Consort
dedicated to the New Belmont Consort
duration: 7 minutes.
Traditional text.
First perf: New Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, 9 May 1980, Cork International Choral Festival. Commissioned by the Cork International Choral Festival.
Traditional text.
First perf: New Belmont Consort, cond. David Byers, 9 May 1980, Cork International Choral Festival. Commissioned by the Cork International Choral Festival.
Colours (1981, rev.1985) Mezzo/piano
dedicated to Daphne Arlow and Philip Hammond
dedicated to Daphne Arlow and Philip Hammond
4 songs to poems by Joseph Campbell; duration: 5 minutes.
Sketched at Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan, in 1981.
Sketched at Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan, in 1981.
Mortality's Eclipse (1988) Mezzo/piano
4 songs; duration: 4 minutes
Latin texts from Helen Waddell’s Medieval Latin Lyrics, Constable, 1929.
First perf: Daphne Arlow, mezzo, Philip Hammond, piano, BBC Studio Lunchtime Concert,
St Valentine's Day, 14 February 1988.
Latin texts from Helen Waddell’s Medieval Latin Lyrics, Constable, 1929.
First perf: Daphne Arlow, mezzo, Philip Hammond, piano, BBC Studio Lunchtime Concert,
St Valentine's Day, 14 February 1988.
This is the third of these four Irish love songs.
Mortality's Eclipse iii.mp3
Out of the hat (1997) SATB
dedicated to Linda Montgomery and the Sullivan Singers
dedicated to Linda Montgomery and the Sullivan Singers
Texts - various; duration: 2 minutes.
Written for the Sullivan Singers, conductor Linda Montgomery (dated 2 February 1997), and sung in the final of the UTV School Choir of the Year Competition - which they won, March 1997.
Written for the Sullivan Singers, conductor Linda Montgomery (dated 2 February 1997), and sung in the final of the UTV School Choir of the Year Competition - which they won, March 1997.
Byers Out of the Hat.mp3
Nativity Dances (1998) SATB
dedicated to Linda Montgomery and the Sullivan Singers
dedicated to Linda Montgomery and the Sullivan Singers
Text - Anon; duration: 2 minutes.
Written for the Sullivan Singers, conductor Linda Montgomery (dated 11 October 1998), and sung in BBC Northern Ireland’s Sing Carols, December 1998.
Written for the Sullivan Singers, conductor Linda Montgomery (dated 11 October 1998), and sung in BBC Northern Ireland’s Sing Carols, December 1998.
RH pic: Programme cover for the concert featuring On the pathless ocean, 12 April 2012.
Strange Hells (2014) SATB/solo cello See Programme note.
Texts - Frederic Manning; Francis Ledwidge; Ivor Gurney. Duration: 10 minutes.
Completed on 17 July 2014, Strange Hells was commissioned by the Ulster Youth Choir with funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Small Grants Programme, a programme awarded through the National Lottery.
The first performance by the UYC, conductor Greg Beardsell, and cellist David McCann, took place in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Friday 8 August 2014.
A second performance was given on 01 November 2014 in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, as part of the Festival of Remembrance.
Completed on 17 July 2014, Strange Hells was commissioned by the Ulster Youth Choir with funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Small Grants Programme, a programme awarded through the National Lottery.
The first performance by the UYC, conductor Greg Beardsell, and cellist David McCann, took place in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Friday 8 August 2014.
A second performance was given on 01 November 2014 in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, as part of the Festival of Remembrance.
Also a Christmas Carol nearly every year since 1967 ...
The PDF on the right contains a complete listing of my Christmas carols (1967-2024):
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A Catalogue of Carols (2025) by DB.pdf Size : 304.632 Kb Type : pdf |
This short clip is a verse of the 1981 carol. Christmas Night sets words from the late 16th century by Hugh MacCawell, Archbishop of Armagh in 1626. It’s sung here by the Choir of St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, conducted by Jonathan Gregory who commissioned it.
Christmas Carol 1981.mp3
Read about the 2017 carol and see the card and carol here.