Olivia Sparkhall (b. 1976)
Choral composer; Conductor; Singing tutor
Works published by MoV
Dona nobis pacem (SATB)
Lux Aeterna (SSSSSS & harp or piano)
Gabriel's Message (S & T solos, SAT/B & piano)
Dona nobis pacem (SATB)
In 2018 Cappella Nova held a competition inviting women composers to submit a score for an a cappella work setting the text ‘dona nobis pacem’. The winning piece was to be performed alongside Robert Carver’s Mass, L’Homme armé. Sparkhall’s composition was short-listed in the competition. Carver was the only British composer to base a Mass-setting on the medieval European ‘pop’ song L’Homme armé. In light of this, Sparkhall took the ‘dona nobis pacem’ from Carver’s Missa L’Homme armé as a literal starting point. The piece is enveloped in the soundworld of Carver, whilst embracing more contemporary choral sounds, to give a sense of it being as much about the ‘here and now’ as a homage to the past. Dona nobis pacem is suffused with direct quotations from the medieval song L’Homme armé, albeit in a harmonic language which is at once contemporary whilst also harking back to the parallel harmony of the distant past.
Dona nobis pacem (SATB)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 1 and as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the buttons below.
Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Lux Aeterna
(SSSSSS & harp or piano)
Lux Aeterna was commissioned by Louise Stewart for the 2018 Salisbury International Women’s Day service. The première was given by an inter-generational choir comprising Godolphin Vocal Ensemble and a specially-convened group of women of Salisbury’s churches singing the plainchant line. Conceived to be a companion piece to Carol J. Jones’s All shall be well, Lux Aeterna reflects on the near-death visions of Julian of Norwich by juxtaposing the ethereal qualities of some contemporary sacred music with the music we know would have been familiar to Julian and her contemporaries. Using the original plainchant Lux Aeterna melody (from the Requiem Mass) as an intonation, reminiscent of the opening of All shall be well, along with the notes of the Lydian mode (the mode in which the Lux Aeterna is set), I have attempted to reimagine the sounds associated with Julian’s fourteenth century voice in the twenty-first century. (Olivia Sparkhall)
Translation: May light eternal shine upon them, Lord:
With your saints for ever, for you are merciful.
Eternal rest give to them, Lord:
And let perpetual light shine upon them, with your saints for ever,
For you are merciful.
Lux Aeterna
(SSSSSS & harp or piano)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 2 and as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the buttons below.
Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Gabriel's Message
(S & T solos, SAT/B & piano)
Gabriel’s Message is suitable for inclusion during Advent and also on the Feast of the Annunciation and on other Marian Feast Days. An alternative harp part is available from the composer.
Gabriel's Message
(S & T solos, SAT/B & piano)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 3 and as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the buttons below.
Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Olivia Sparkhall (b. 1976)
Olivia Sparkhall is a multi award-winning choral composer and conductor, based in Hampshire, England. She belongs to a long tradition of choral composer-conductors whose practice is informed by vocal pedagogy and an understanding of the capabilities of the voice. This research-informed work has been widely lauded, praising the juxtaposition of contemporary harmony and chant-like melodies, the ethereal writing, and the effectiveness of her compositions to move the listener.
In-demand as a composer and an arranger, Olivia works closely with her commissioners to create bespoke works that both fulfil the brief, and delight choir and audience alike! Alongside her composing career, Olivia delivers singing workshops for children and adults, lectures in voice pedagogy (specialising in vocal health), adjudicates music competitions, and is a singing tutor for classical and musical theatre performers. Olivia’s compositions have been performed internationally, broadcast on BBC radio and television, and recorded by Chandos and Resonus Classics. Much of Olivia’s oeuvre is sacred and performed within the liturgy at cathedrals and churches worldwide, most commonly at Evensong and Eucharist services, as well as in concerts given by chapel and chamber choirs. Olivia is always thrilled to attend and support as many such performances as her schedule allows.
©OS for MoV 2025