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

The words for "Where are my unnumbered days?" are by Mohamed Assaf, a Syrian refugee who now lives in England, and were written soon after his arrival in England at the age of 12. They are also published in England: Poems from a School (published by Picador; edited by Kate Clanchy, Mohamed’s teacher). Thank you to Kate and Mohamed for giving me permission to use this heartbreaking text.

Once, I lived in a beautiful town;
Once, I owned a beautiful house,
with a grand garden full of flowers,
and I was prince of it all. Once,
I lived in a house with a name;
And now, I am just a number.

Nations talked to nations
and robbed me of myself.
They made me
a number among millions.

But my rights have no number.
My home had no number.
I could not count the petals of the flowers.
My childhood in the garden
had no limits on it.

Take me back to my country
and I can show you the numbers.
The numbers who suffer.
The quantities of beauty.
The fallen flowers.

Mohamed Assaf

This performance is by the Wicker Park Singers of Chicago, who selected this piece in their 2019 call for scores. This was recorded at their "Journey to Begin" concert in April 2019, conducted by Mark Tomasino. (The piece also won the Murau International Music Festival call for scores in Austria a couple of weeks later.)

The score for this piece is *free* with the understanding that it should be used to raise funds or political awareness for refugees and immigrants. For example, you could take a collection in aid of a refugee charity at the concert.

Also performed in London in August 201 9 as part of a #choirsagainstracism Come and Sing fundraiser, and by Harlequin Chamber Choir in London in November 2019.

For more information and to download the score, see http://www.hutchingsmusic.co.uk/choirsagainstracism/unnumbered-days/ .

Where Are My Unnumbered Days - Wicker Park Singers

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/

Where Are My Unnumbered Days - Wicker Park Singers

hutchingsmusic

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