The Wedding at Cana‘Miracle Package’
£500.00
Description
The Miracle Package
from £500 (approx. US$650) includes:
Offer ends 31 January 2027
To enrol today, use the ‘Add to basket’ button above and complete your transaction.
If you would prefer to pay by bank transfer or cheque, email andyberry@hawesmusic.com and we can supply the relevant details.
After your payment has been received, we will send the details you need to access the performance scores and rehearsal resources.
*Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Timpani, Harp, Strings (min. 2.2.2.2.1)
1supplied as a PDF; up to a maximum of 100 copies per choir; additional copies to be purchased at a discounted cost of £10 / $15 ea.
2supplied as PDFs for a one-time performance. For multiple performances, prices available on request.
3maximum duration: 60 mins
4discount will allow those individuals wishing to use the rehearsal resources to purchase at $30 instead of the usual $50.
About The Wedding at Cana
The Wedding at Cana was Patrick’s first ever sizeable composition. Written during the second half of 1989, it was the result of a commission from Joy and Ken Whitehead who were parents of a music scholar at Pangbourne College in Berkshire, where Patrick was a teacher of Music and English. He had written a few solo piano pieces and songs which had been performed at school concerts but never imagined embarking on a large-scale work like this. The commission was for the Pangbourne Choral Society which was flourishing under its director Bob Barsby, and the singers wholeheartedly welcomed the arrival of a new composition (which was originally expected to be ten to fifteen minutes in length but finally emerged as a dramatic cantata lasting about an hour!).
Patrick’s brother Andrew suggested the subject of the Wedding at Cana and skilfully adapted the text of St John’s gospel into ten separate movements, three of which were Andrew’s own poetic reflections. Patrick spent most of the summer of 1989 at the piano of a deserted music school in the College grounds and had a life-changing experience, not only musically but in terms of my Christian faith. Bringing Christ’s first miracle to life – as well as setting the words of Christ and his mother Mary – helped to provide the foundations of a deep faith which has grown and intensified over the years. There is inevitably a youthful innocence about this work. It is totally free of any kind of pretension, and is quite simply the expression of a young man’s faith through a spontaneous and natural grasp of Western musical language. Performers should approach The Wedding at Cana in this light, never trying to analyse or be over-expressive. All that is needed is that the choir and soloists tell this magnificent story with honesty and integrity, reflect on its implications for mankind and help audiences to come to “believe in Him”.
The Waters of Love from The Wedding at Cana :
Learning resources
Choir of the Earth
In early 2026, the excellent Choir of the Earth – with whom Patrick has worked numerous times – began a 7-week choral course to learn, sing and record Patrick’s newly revised version of The Wedding At Cana. As part of ‘The Miracle Package‘, choirs will receive access to all the rehearsal materials Choir of the Earth created including:
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Pre-recorded one-hour full choir rehearsals, led by Musical Director, Ben England BEM
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Sectional rehearsals focused on your voice part (soprano, alto, tenor or bass)
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Rehearsal tracks recorded by the fantastic Fieri Consort
Choir of the Earth’s innovative learning tools mean you will learn this stunning music in a depth normally not possible with any other work.
Check out this video which explains more about the materials on offer >
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Patrick has teamed up with Soundslice to produce a set of fantastic interactive and personalised practice materials for The Wedding at Cana.
Learn and perfect every movement using high-quality interactive tools – this is choral music as you have never practised it before!
Each movement features a moving score synced to professionally recorded audio tracks for each split line of the Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass parts, plus solo movements.
You are in control:
🎼 Show or hide each line of the score independently
🎧 Hear just your part or create your own balance: mute or reduce the volume of the other voice parts or accompaniment to suit your preferences
🔁 Loop tricky sections
🐌 Slow things down without affecting the guide singer’s pitch
