Julian Mörth: New Composer in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop

We are pleased to introduce a new composer in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop: Julian Mörth. Born in Rotterdam and raised in Mainz, this composer and choir conductor enriches our sheet music shop with many choral works -- from sacred music and Christmas pieces to demanding English-language compositions. Three of them are available for free.

About Julian Mörth

Julian Mörth was born in Rotterdam in 1990 and grew up in Mainz. From an early age, he received comprehensive musical training at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in piano, clarinet, and voice. He also studied composition with Gerhard Fischer-Münster and Cord Meijering. This was followed by a Bachelor's degree in Piano at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz under Prof. Karin Germer and Prof. Andrzej Pikul, as well as a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts under Prof. Florian Lohmann and Prof. Vassilis Christopoulos.

Julian Mörth has been composing since the age of nine. His body of work now comprises over 150 pieces spanning all genres -- from piano music and chamber music to orchestral works, choral-symphonic works, and operas. He has received multiple international awards for his compositions, including at the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco Composition Competition and the International Carol Composition Contest of the Brazos Valley Chorale in Texas. His works have been performed in the USA, Mexico, England, and South Korea.

In addition to his compositional activities, Julian Mörth is active as a choir conductor. Since 2017, he has directed the Ebersheimer Chamber Orchestra, and in 2019 he founded the chamber choir "Mörth Singers". Since 2022, he has led the Main-Taunus Chamber Choir in Bad Soden, and since 2024 the Protestant Church Choir Zornheim. He also works with additional ensembles on a project basis, including the Rhineland-Palatinate State Youth Choir and the NEO Choral Academy.

The Works in the Sheet Music Shop

Currently, 13 works by Julian Mörth are available in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop. The range extends from short, easily singable pieces to demanding compositions with complex rhythms and harmonies.

Sacred Choral Music

Ubi caritas was written in 2019 for the Onomatopoetikon Darmstadt and premiered by the Mörth Singers under the direction of the composer. The piece is characterised by a single motif introduced by the soprano at the beginning, which then runs through all voices. The beginning and end express humility in the presence of God, while in the more animated middle section, the joy of Christ's love takes over.

Ave maris stella (2014) stands out through its exceptionally frequent time signature changes, which follow the text and its accentuation. This gives the piece a special pulse -- irregular yet organic. The closely set, recurring theme and the fact that the bass rarely sings the root note lend the work a floating character.

Laudate Dominum (2011) is stylistically modelled on a Renaissance motet. The first part consists of a theme that is fugued through all voices. A homophonic middle section contains a distant quotation of the composer's Ave Maria. The second part is a true four-voice fugue and strongly contrasts with the first part in rhythm, tempo, and harmony.

Gaudete (2013) was created for the CroPatria Choir Festival in Croatia and won the silver medal in the associated composition competition in 2014. Characterised by contrary rhythms in all voices, the piece is meant to sound like a crowd calling out wildly and rejoicing at the birth of Jesus. Towards the end, the original 15th-century Gaudete motif takes over and culminates in a homophonic climax.

Christmas Music

O magnum mysterium (2015) is a Christmas piece with relatively simple harmony and continuous four-part writing, making it well suited for amateur choirs as well.

Am Abend vor Weihnachten is a small but delightful Christmas piece with some not-to-be-underestimated mediant turns, but otherwise easy to sing. It is available for free in the sheet music shop.

Es kommt ein Schiff geladen adds another setting of this beloved text to the Christmas repertoire.

English-Language Choral Works

There will be rest is a setting of a text by Sara Teasdale, Julian Mörth's favourite poet, inspired by Frank Ticheli's work of the same name. The composition captures the poem's hope of finally finding peace among the stars -- a peace the poet never found during her lifetime.

The immortal spirit (2020) is based on the poem "Dawn" by Frederick George Scott. The piece begins with whispers, from which the main motif slowly develops. This motif wanders through all voices in various variations, inversions, and augmentations, creating a wave-like movement. A soprano solo floats above a pedal chord in the middle section before the piece disappears into the choir's whispers.

Lullaby for the Earth was inspired by the film "Interstellar" and combines excerpts from poems by Sara Teasdale with the poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas. At the heart of the piece, lullabies for the Earth in different languages and keys sound above a choral ostinato -- a moving work about the transience of our planet.

The Tyger (2023) was created for Julian Mörth's final concert in his Master's in Choral Conducting and is a setting of the eponymous poem by William Blake. A relentlessly pulsing 5/4 metre represents the threat of the tiger, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for humanity and its destructive power. In the fourth stanza, all voices come together in a common, hammering rhythm that fans out into an increasingly dissonant chord. A demanding work for advanced ensembles.

Pieces for Church Services

Herr, deine Güte reicht so weit is a simple but beautiful piece suitable for almost any church service. It is available for free in the sheet music shop.

Try for Free

Three works by Julian Mörth are available for free in the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop: Am Abend vor Weihnachten, Peace flows into me (a light, short piece set to a text by Sara Teasdale, well suited as an encore) and Herr, deine Güte reicht so weit. These free pieces offer a great opportunity to get to know Julian Mörth's compositional style.

With Julian Mörth, the Chorilo Sheet Music Shop gains a versatile composer whose works range from easily accessible church service pieces to demanding compositions for advanced ensembles. His international recognition and practical experience as a choir conductor flow into each of his works -- music written by someone who knows exactly how choirs work and sound.