Rounds 14 – Resource Pack

I hope you enjoy these Winter Rounds! Here are a few performance notes…

The rehearsal tracks are vocal recordings, usually with accompaniment.  The looped backing tracks, which exist for all rounds except The Woods (which has been written to be sung a cappella), are around three minutes of accompaniment only.  These should give you plenty of time to complete the songs in your own way.

The piano part – where present – is a suggestion only.  Choir leaders might like to extemporise their own accompaniment using the chords provided, or omit it entirely.

Sometimes, I suggest an ending. However, in reality, it is down to the conductor’s discretion as to how to bring each round to a close. You might, for example, like to tail off gradually, letting each part finish independently. Alternatively, you could try having everyone finish together, but on different parts – it’s totally up to you.

This resource pack contains all the scores, learning tracks and backing tracks in one download.

Kindness Is Like Snow

Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.

There is a consensus on the internet that this lovely quote owes its existence to the great writer, philosopher and visual artist, Kahlil Gibran. However, despite conducting extensive research, I was unable to verify its precise origin. If anyone has any information on this subject, I’d be delighted to hear it!

Only When It’s Dark

I know, somehow, that only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.

These words are an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech, popularly known as I’ve Been to the Mountaintop. The quote is actually something of a collaborative effort, being a paraphrase of earlier sentiments expressed by historians Charles Beard and Thomas Carlyle. I was inspired to write this round due to a desire to engage with the global protests that took place in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

The Woods

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This will be familiar to many singers and musical directors as the last verse of Robert Frost’s classic poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, written in 1922. I’ve written this round in the key of F, but feel free to put it down a semitone or two if your altos complain about the high notes – and your tenors (singing an octave lower) don’t mind!

This Crisp Winter Air

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.

This wonderful, wintry imagery comes from Winter Sunshine, by American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs, published in 1875.