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Philip Lawson
Philip Lawson was born in Sussex and studied composition with Wilfrid Mellers at York University. After graduating, he moved to London where he sang with the BBC Singers, the Taverner Choir, The Sixteen and all the major cathedral and church choirs. During this time he and the other members of his early music vocal group Quodlibet reached dizzy heights when they were hired by ITV’s "Game for a Laugh" to sing while skydiving from 13,000 feet in full evening dress. The music? The Ave Maris Stella from Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.
In 1982 he moved to Salisbury to be a Lay Clerk in the cathedral choir, and Director of Music at a local prep school, and took over the running of Gard Books, a business dealing in new and secondhand music. In 1993, Philip was chosen to replace Simon Carrington in The King’s Singers, and has since toured many countries and made many recordings with the group. Philip is primarily a composer of church music, but also of school shows, jazz arrangements for the dance band of which he was once the pianist, and arrangements for The King’s Singers. Noted works include a Jazz Mass for the Millennium celebrations in Salisbury Cathedral, and several commissions for American choirs.
Philip lives in a village near Salisbury with his wife Lizzie and their three daughters, Sophie, Amy and Georgia.
How Sweet The Sound
Composer: Virginia Harmony, 1831
Arranger: Philip Lawson
Author/Lyricist: John Newton
Voicing: SATB, double choir
Released: January 2017
Difficulty: Medium
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What a refreshing setting of such a well-loved hymn. This "Amazing Grace" was originally written for the King's Singers and a women's choir. It can now be performed in numerous configurations, antiphonally, in the round, or concert formation. Regardless, it is mesmerizing! Medium in difficulty for high school, college, community and church choirs.
If Ye Love Me
Composer: Philip Lawson
Author/Lyricist: John 14: 15-17
Voicing: SATB
Season: Pentecost
Released: March 2004
Difficulty: Medium
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Philip Lawson is one of the ''King's Singers'' as well as an established composer with numerous firms. This popular John 14 text has the musical flow of a renaissance motet and the presence of a 21st century English choral anthem. You will want to find a resonate hall, like a cathedral, to enjoy the graceful harmonic twists in this anthem
O Be Joyful In The Lord
Composer: Philip Lawson
Author/Lyricist: Psalm 100
Voicing: SATB
Season: Thanksgiving
Released: March 2004
Difficulty: Medium
Philip Lawson spends most of his days traveling the world and singing with the famous ''King's Singers.'' Fortunately he is able to find time to apply his compositional skills between concerts. The Psalm 100 text is elevated with a series of enthusiastic meter changes and engaging harmonic confrontations. The originality of the setting brings fresh meaning to this time-honored text.
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