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Alexander Richard William L'Estrange (born 7 April 1974) is an English composer of choral music and music for television and an arranger for vocal ensembles. He is also a jazz musician (piano and double bass), choral workshop leader, presenter of children's concerts and was a jazz examiner and trainer for ABRSM.
Born in Bristol, L'Estrange grew up in Oxford and attended New College School, during which time he was a member of New College Choir as chorister and soloist. [1] He was then educated at Lord William's School , and then at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. He read Music at Merton College, Oxford, gaining a First Class Honours Degree. He is married to professional musician Joanna Forbes L'Estrange with whom he has two sons, Toby and Harry. [2]
L'Estrange's flagship work Zimbe! Come sing the songs of Africa! (2008) [3] established his name as one of Britain's most popular living choral composers, receiving 150 performances worldwide within its first five years. Scored for SATB adult choir, unison children's choir and jazz quintet, the music is a fusion of African song and jazz. With the same scoring, Ahoy! Sing for the Mary Rose (2013) [4] is a fusion of Tudor songs and sea shanties, commissioned to commemorate the opening of Portsmouth's state-of-the-art museum which houses the hull of King Henry VIII's warship, the Mary Rose . Zadok rules – hallelujah! (2013) was commissioned by the Hanover Band to celebrate sixty years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. [5] Based on Handel's coronation anthems, the piece is scored for SATB adult choir, unison children's choir and Baroque orchestra and the text traces all of Britain's monarchs from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II. Song Cycle – vive la vélorution! (2014) is a choral work comprising songs (both original and arranged) about cycling and the great outdoors, performed in York Minster at the opening of the Tour de France in 2014. [6] His Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy which won the Music Teachers Award for Best Classical Educational Initiative, was commissioned by the United Learning group and premiered in November 2017. [7] The following year came his next large-scale works, this time in collaboration with his wife, Joanna Forbes L'Estrange. Freedom! The power of song (2018), commissioned by Salisbury Choral Society, was premiered by Salisbury Community Choir in November 2018. Other large-scale choral works include And the stones sing and Let all the world in every corner sing. [2]
Choral anthems with organ include Lute-book lullaby and Tune me, O Lord. In 2016 the professional chamber choir Tenebrae recorded an album of L’Estrange’s sacred and jazz inspired choral works, called “On eagles’ wings". Unaccompanied choral anthems include Love comes quietly, My song is love unknown, Oculi Omnium, Epiphany Carol (runner-up in the St Paul's Cathedral commission competition 2013) and Prayers for peace, three settings of the prayers God be in my head, Lighten our darkness and The Lord's prayer. Choral pieces suitable for children's choirs include Irish blessing, Go forth in peace and This is our world. Most of L'Estrange's compositions are published by Faber Music. [8] however since 2018 some of his more recent works have been self-published through his own record label Andagio.
L'Estrange's output as a songwriter includes three settings for solo voice and piano of poems by Shelley, Tennyson and Byron entitled Love's philosophy: She walks in beauty, Now sleeps the crimson petal and Love's philosophy are on the ABRSM singing syllabus. [8] He has also written a one-woman musical, in collaboration with author Michelle Magorian, called Hello life! and several jazz originals recorded on the album New things to say by his jazz ensemble L'Estranges in the Night. [9]
L'Estrange is consultant editor and chief arranger for the Choral Basics series, published by Faber Music. [8] He has arranged for vocal ensembles including The Swingle Singers, The King's Singers, amarcord, Voces8 and Tenebrae. L'Estrange wrote all of the arrangements for and produced Great American Songbook , the album released in 2013 by The King's Singers. [10]
L'Estrange composed the theme tune and incidental music for the BBC's CBeebies programme Magic Hands (2012), [11] recorded by his sons, Toby and Harry L'Estrange. He also writes for the production music company Audio Network with his music featuring on such television programmes as The One Show , Grand Designs and Antiques Roadshow . [8]
Recordings of arrangements and original compositions by Alexander L'Estrange
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A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
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"Personent hodie" is a Christmas carol originally published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a volume of 74 Medieval songs with Latin texts collected by Jacobus Finno, a Swedish Lutheran cleric, and published by T.P. Rutha. The song book had its origins in the libraries of cathedral song schools, whose repertory had strong links with medieval Prague, where clerical students from Finland and Sweden had studied for generations. A melody found in a 1360 manuscript from the nearby Bavarian city of Moosburg in Germany is highly similar, and it is from this manuscript that the song is usually dated.
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A virtual choir, online choir or home choir is a choir whose members do not meet physically but who work together online from separate places. Some choirs just sing for the joy of the shared experience, while others record their parts alone and send their digital recordings, sometimes including video, to be collated into a choral performance. There may be a series of rehearsals which singers can watch online, and their performance recordings may be made while watching a video of the conductor, and in some cases listening to a backing track, to ensure unanimity of timing. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 inspired a large growth in the number of virtual choirs, although the idea was not new.
Joanna Forbes L'Estrange is a British singer, composer and choir director.
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