1. Under the Greenwood Tree

A setting of Amiens’ song from As You Like It.  Set in a lilting G modal/major tonality, the three verses are employed strophically.

2. O Mistress Mine

A setting of the clown’s song from Twelfth Night. This song was part of the incidental music written for a production of Twelfth Night at Ward Freman School, Buntingford, in December 1980.  Taken from Act 2, Scene 3, it is wistful and juxtaposes an Eb major/minor tonality. The piano accompaniment plays a dominant role in conveying the atmosphere, developing and imitating material from the vocal line.

3. Come away death

A setting  of Feste’s song from Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 4, part of the incidental music written for a production of Twelfth Night at Ward Freman School, Buntingford, in December 1980. The two verses, in an appropriately wistful mood, are set strophically, rising a tone from D to E modal minor. The piano enhances the emotional atmosphere with melodic development and enhancement throughout.

4. It was a lover and his lass

A setting for baritone and piano of the pages’ song from As You Like It.  The four verses are set strophically in a modal D minor. The piano accompaniment varies two ideas: the first, using ostinati semiquavers, evokes a 16th-century secular style; the other, using syncopated quavers, returns to a more modern mood with hints of jazz rhythm and harmony. The final verse amalgamates the two styles of accompaniment.

5. Blow, blow thou winter wind

A setting of Amiens’ song from As You Like It.  Set loosely in a modal D minor, this song has an underlying ironic mood that pervades the seemingly upbeat nature of the text.

The second verse concludes ambiguously in G – neither major nor minor.