A Not-So-Silent Christmas
As frankly ridiculous as it feels, it is now November and that means the winter season is moving from “nearly upon us” to “happening”.
(It’s a cliché of the tallest order, but this year really has whizzed by. We can all blame the repetition of working primarily from home for at least some of that, right?)
I was really pleased to be part of the National Youth Choir’s partnership with Choir & Organ magazine this year, which has seen six new works for choir or organ (fittingly) composed by NYCGB’s current and past composers from their development scheme.
As my piece was scheduled to be in the November 2021 issue, a Christmas theme was proposed and immediately accepted. I have long been a keen carol singer, thanks in large part to carol services in Canterbury Cathedral with the Kent College school choirs and community carol singing in Canterbury city centre on Christmas Eve, rousingly accompanied by the Salvation Army Band. But as yet I hadn’t composed a Christmassy piece, and was very glad to have the opportunity to do so.
The most moving aspect of Christmas carols for me is the image of the mother and child. Carols that focus on this always bring a catch to my throat; though not a practising Christian myself, I have a mother who I love very, very much and that bond really is something transcendental.
The resulting new piece, Christmas Silence, is very gentle and warm, lullaby-esque with a nod to classic descants in the final verse. It’s a setting of the eponymous poem by Margaret Deland, which I knew as soon as I read it would be perfect for the sort of atmosphere I was wanting to capture.
You can view a perusal score here, and listen to a recording by NYCGB below:
You can also read an interview between me and Matthew Power in the November 2021 issue of Choir & Organ, where we talk about Christmas Silence and my composing and musical career more generally.
Performances of Christmas Silence are already scheduled for December 2021!
Premiere: 11th December, online as part of Voces8’s Live from London festival; sung by the National Youth Chamber Choir as a spotlight performance in The King’s Singers concert (above)
Live premiere: 16th December, in London; performed by the Whitehall Choir, conducted by Joanna Tomlinson
How wonderful it is to be able to consider singing together at Christmas again – to share music and laughs and mulled wine.
I am always partial to some pretty Christmas lights…