![]() The quiet heart by June Collin-with words by James Morgan-has all the charm and immediate familiarity of a folk song, but was written in 1968 for musicians of the Salvation Army, with whom we have collaborated on numerous occasions. His work, The Shepherd’s Carol, was written for the Choir of King’s College in 2001, and specially adapted for us in 2018. Another former Cambridge student (and tenor in The King’s Singers from 1985 to 1997) is Bob Chilcott. Our opening track, Balulalow, by the esteemed composer and conductor James Burton, sets a medieval English text, and was written whilst he was still a student at Cambridge University. This third layer of works in Christmas Carols with The King’s Singers comprises compositions by British composers over the last 100 years, many of which have become fixtures of Christmas carol services around the world. We chose these ancient single-line melodies to offer some balance to the rich harmony in other tracks by more recent composers. Qui creavit caelum is a macaronic carol (using both Latin and English in alternation) that dates from the early 15th century in the Benedictine nunnery of St Mary, in the north-English city of Chester. The original plainchant melody first appears in a Swiss manuscript from c990AD, but it had likely been in circulation for a long time by then. Hodie is the Magnificat antiphon for Christmas Day in the Catholic plainchant tradition, and is famously included as the start and end of Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. Alongside these anonymous carols sit two ancient melodies with anonymous roots: Hodie Christus natus est (Christ is born today), and Qui creavit caelum (He by whom the heavens were made). In other cases, such as the beautiful Italian carol Dormi, dormi (Sleep, sleep), arranged by Guy Turner, we have sought out newer arrangements to fit our forces perfectly, whilst maintaining all the character of the original song. Also from our library came the English carol Gabriel’s message arranged by Edgar Pettman, and Gaudete, arranged by our founding bass Brian Kay. Many of these tracks were great arrangements already in our music library, such as the two Catalan folk songs, La filadora (The spinner) and Nit de vetlla (A night of watching), both arranged by Goff Richards. These are songs based on the Christmas story, but whose origins are in traditional melodies passed down anonymously through folk traditions across the world. We hope that these tracks will be known to many listeners, perhaps even well enough for you to join in! They also form the backbone to this album, which then draws in strands from lots of different parts of our library, all united by that magical atmosphere of festive wonder.Īs well as Christmas music written for church services, it was important to us to capture a flavour of what we call ‘Christmas folk music’. Less familiar perhaps, but also belonging to that great sacred choral canon are Tomás Luís de Victoria’s motet O magnum mysterium (O great mystery) and Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, which was composed by King’s College’s legendary Director of Music (and mentor to our forebears in The King’s Singers) Sir David Willcocks. These include Once in royal David’s city, Ding dong! merrily on high and O little town of Bethlehem. Dotted throughout the album are several of the most famous English church carols, which take the six of us right back to our earliest singing days, and which also reflect our group’s heritage at King's College, Cambridge. This selection of music covers everything from contemporary choral gems and folk songs through to well-loved carols. ![]() In Christmas Carols with The King's Singers, we wanted to bottle that frosty, moonlit, fireside Christmas wonder and pour it into our sound. ![]() Christmases as a child were a time of magic and mystery: from the drama of the biblical nativity story, through to the excitement of Father Christmas’ visits and the excitement of hoping for snow in December, the season always seemed to hold a sense of wonder-and its music captures this unlike anything else can. For the six of us, festive carols and songs are part of the soundtracks of our lives and have been since childhood. Even if you’re not vocally-inclined, choral music still lies at the heart of many people’s Christmases. If you are a singer of any kind-be that in a church choir, as a soloist, in a professional group, or if you simply like a singsong in the shower or after a glass of wine-the chances are that Christmas music is in your blood.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |