Francis Faux
The Magic of Christmas (2025)The Magic of Christmas is a festive choral piece with lyrics by Theresa Faux, capturing the warmth, wonder, and joy of the season. From twinkling lights and carol singing to cozy gatherings around the tree, the music reflects the magical feelings that make Christmas special - a celebration of friendship, charity, and shared memories.
Paige Halliwell
The Way of the Wind (2025)The Way of the Wind sets a poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne, discovered in a seaside gift shop in Cornwall. The piece captures the poem’s serene atmosphere with a folk-style melody, evoking nostalgia as memories drift away “along the wind.” Repeated quavers in the piano suggest the passage of time, while tonal shifts and musical surprises mirror life’s fleeting, unforgettable moments of pain, hope, and love.
Will Todd
Lux Aeterna
(2024)Lux Aeterna is a luminous piece for SATB choir, composed by Will Todd for the Lucis Choir’s 10th anniversary celebration at Bath Abbey, featuring the Bristol Ensemble at the premiere. Beginning with an ethereal soprano solo, the music gradually unfolds, reaching a powerful, climactic moment before receding to a serene conclusion. Harp and strings weave rich textures that illuminate the text, evoking the promise of life everlasting.
Bernard Hughes
Hear my Heart Sing
(2024)Hear My Heart Sing is a fast and exciting piece for SATB choir with divisi, commissioned by Lucis and premiered in 2024. It celebrates the joy of singing together, through imagery and rhythms connected with the beating human heart. The text is by Helen Eastman, capturing the trochee rhythm of words like ‘singing’, ‘living’ and ‘loving’. The piece was nominated for Best Choral Composition in the 2025 Ivor Classical Awards.
Francis Faux
Ring out the Bells
(2023)Ring Out the Bells is a vibrant carol which was premiered by Lucis at St Luke's Church, Bath in 2023, with words by Jamila Gavin. Energetic and celebratory, the piece bursts with festive spirit, while a cappella passages in the middle of the piece offer a serene reflection on the peaceful Nativity scene.
Francis Faux
I've Been in the Storm So Long
(2022)I’ve Been in the Storm So Long was premiered by Lucis Chamber Choir at St George’s Bristol in 2022 and is a setting of a powerful African-American spiritual. The music blends rhythmic drive with quiet moments of introspection, building toward a final section that feels almost breathlessly exciting, embodying a rallying cry against life’s hardships.
Francis Faux
Lully, Lulla
(2021)Lully, Lulla was performed by Lucis at their 2021 Christmas concert in Bath Abbey during Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon installation. Opening with a lyrical soprano solo, the music reflects both the intimacy of the Virgin Mary rocking her child to sleep and the underlying sorrow for the children threatened by Herod’s decree.
