The idea for this piece came from a conversation/argument with a friend about which hymn tunes are 'bangers' (yes I'm aware how nerdy this is). I loved that we had very different but equally passionate opinions and so I decided to compose something which used two of our favourite tunes as the source material. 

The result was a light-hearted and exciting piece, radically different in tone from the original melodies, and as occasionally ludicrous as the conversation that inspired it.

For the purists, there is also a version for Organ.

Two-Tune Toccata

Three songs inspired in different ways by thinking about the environment. 

I wrote Beauty as a teenager; this is somewhat rewritten but the main tunes are the same, as are about 50% of the words. The other two songs were written after it was pointed out to me by Hazel Watson of Watson and Lockett commented on the dearth of folk music engaging with the ecological crisis. I set myself the challenge of writing a song that plays on folk tropes but accidentally wrote two. 

Recording and mixing aren't my fortes. I could spend ages trying to get these better, without achieving much, so I've posted them in rough and ready form as demos, because it's the songwriting I really want to share.

Carbon Kings demo

My 'Extinction Calypso' (words and music) orchestrated by John Cameron for Singing Allowed, conducted by Judith Sheridan.  

05. Extinction Calypso Final Mix.mp3

Conker Fight

"A Charm For Safe Crossing"
 CC Jennifer Vena Wood Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Lyrics:
middle part: I want to survive, I want to survive, I will survive, this crossing.
high part: All that I feel, is just feeling, I will survive, this crossing.
low part: Those that survived, and those that died, help me survive, this crossing

If you feel alone: https://livethroughthis.org

If you are in crisis, call the trans lifeline +1-877-565-8860, or the national suicide prevention hotline (988).

A Charm For Safe Crossing

Playing around with last verse arrangement for organ

Puer Nobis Unto Us a Boy is Born (Last Verse)

No Nos Moverán/We Shall Not Be Moved

"A Prayer of St. Anselm," is a setting of a text by St. Anselm of Canterbury (in English translation from the original Latin). This recording 2017 by the Caritas Chamber Choir, Benedict Preece directing - from their CD, 'A Caritas Collection 2017'

A Prayer of St. Anselm

Music by Chris Hutchings, lyrics by David Ervin
See http://choirsforclimate.com to download the full score for free. Please use this music to raise funds or awareness for environmental causes.

A special thank you to all the singers who recorded this in isolation over June 2020:  Sam Perlo-Freeman, Matthew Vernon, Clive Whitburn, Paddy Bayley-Woodburn, Chris Hutchings, Gordon Thornett, Stephanie Strachan (soloist), Jamie Lynn Webster, Sally Jaquet, Vallerie Being, Emma McMillan, Gill Barlow, Lorna Ellis and Catherine Siddall.

Oh God, send Lazarus to cool my burning tongue.
Oh God send Lazarus, I’ve lived too large too long.
Send Lazarus, although I’ve scorned him for so long.

Oh God, send Lazarus ‘cross chasm dark and wide
Oh God Send Lazarus, to ev’ry heart confide;
Send Lazarus to set their fateful ways aside.

But why, my friend, should they hear Lazarus’s song?
Oh why, my friend, when they’ve heard crying for so long?

They’ve heard...
Moses and the prophets
Ocean level’s rising
And warming by the day
Moses and the Prophets
Flooding and tsunamis
And coral reef decay
Moses and the prophets
Melting of the tundra
Pandemic and disease
Moses and the prophets
Fires ever burning
and smoke upon the breeze
And no one ever, really sees.

Moses and the prophets
Hurricane destruction,
With loss of human life.
Moses and the Prophets,
Coastal devastation,
And relocation strife.
Moses and the prophets
Weather out of season,
Drought, polluted air.
Moses and the prophets
Habitat depletion,
Extinction and despair.
And no one ever seems to care.

Oh God, send Lazarus to cool my burning tongue.
Oh God send Lazarus, I’ve lived too large too long.
Send Lazarus,
Although I’ve scorned him
All along.

Send Lazarus

Summer will come again (20th Dec. 2020)

Chris Hutchings is a Scottish composer based in Edinburgh, specialising in works for choir. His works have been performed by the National Youth Choir of Scotland, New London Singers, Cappella Nova, Scottish Voices, the Edinburgh Quartet, Daniel's Beard, Pure Brass, and a wide variety of professional and amateur groups around the world. He has received commissions from several groups in the UK and USA. Recent prizes include the Murau Music Festival Composition prize in 2019, Kantos Choir's composition prize in 2021, and winning the City of Oxford Choir's  "Breaking Ground" competition in 2025.

For more details, see http://www.hutchingsmusic.co.uk for details of upcoming performances, score samples, free arrangements, and more recordings.

Videos, many with scores, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx7ao4fKMuVXVz0la0r0VrQ/