Contemporary Choral Carols
Three of these exciting new additions to the Boosey & Hawkes Contemporary Choral series feature familiar Christmas texts in striking new settings. Becky McGlade's new setting of Christina Rossetti's much-loved poem In the bleak midwinter is one of quiet stillness punctuated by gentle dissonances. The music follows the natural rhythm of the words, resulting in frequent changes of bar-length. Will Todd's new setting of See amid the winter’s snow for upper voices captures the timeless nature of the poetry with a gentle and expressive sound. The beauty of the language of There is no rose of such virtue led Paul Spicer to "set the words with richly warm harmony and to temper that with gently imitative refrains."
Philip Moore's All this time features a less well-known text from the 16th century and was written for the two unequal chapel choirs of Harrow School, where it received its premiere in 2012. For his Christmas Carol Robin Holloway sought "unhackneyed texts", producing a tapestry of lines from several centuries. Holloway's music has its own wider references. Christmas Carol is dedicated to Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge where it was premiered in 2002.
