Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Isaac’s original work 'Two Shakespeare Songs’ won first prize in the Release the Song category of Guildhall Young Artists (GYA) composition competition, RELEASE 2026.
Isaac, from Junior Guildhall, says: "These two songs are both from Shakespeare comedies. ‘Sigh No More’, from Much Ado about Nothing, bemoans the fickleness and falsehood of men and advises women nevertheless to remain ‘blithe and bonny’. I have conveyed this sentiment using a relatively slow harmonic rhythm and meditative, serene arpeggiando chords. In contrast, ‘It Was a Lover and His Lass’, from As You Like It, presents the joy of love and marriage in a pastoral, bucolic setting filled with springtime birdsong, reflecting the essence of the play as a whole. I have expressed this musically using both trills and canon to imitate birdsong, and using capricious, playful melodies and harmonies. Although I have composed every note myself, the attached audio file was created using NotePerformer and Cantai, a new ‘plug-in’ vocal sample library for Dorico, which ‘sings’ the correct (or almost correct!) text using artificial intelligence."
The category judge for Release the Song was Matthew Sheeran, composer, orchestrator, and arranger.
Find out more about GYA here: gsmd.ac.uk/study-with-guildhall/children-and-young-people/guildhall-young-artists
Isaac’s original work 'Two Shakespeare Songs’ won first prize in the Release the Song category of Guildhall Young Artists (GYA) composition competition, RELEASE 2026.
Isaac, from Junior Guildhall, says: "These two songs are both from Shakespeare comedies. ‘Sigh No More’, from Much Ado about Nothing, bemoans the fickleness and falsehood of men and advises women nevertheless to remain ‘blithe and bonny’. I have conveyed this sentiment using a relatively slow harmonic rhythm and meditative, serene arpeggiando chords. In contrast, ‘It Was a Lover and His Lass’, from As You Like It, presents the joy of love and marriage in a pastoral, bucolic setting filled with springtime birdsong, reflecting the essence of the play as a whole. I have expressed this musically using both trills and canon to imitate birdsong, and using capricious, playful melodies and harmonies. Although I have composed every note myself, the attached audio file was created using NotePerformer and Cantai, a new ‘plug-in’ vocal sample library for Dorico, which ‘sings’ the correct (or almost correct!) text using artificial intelligence."
The category judge for Release the Song was Matthew Sheeran, composer, orchestrator, and arranger.
Find out more about GYA here: gsmd.ac.uk/study-with-guildhall/children-and-young-people/guildhall-young-artists
