Bob Chilcott – The Shepherd’s Carol – SATB Choir (2000)
“For my money, this is the most beautiful modern carol there is.”– John Rutter
Bob Chilcott initially found recognition as a singer, firstly as a chorister at King’s, before performing as a tenor in the renowned vocal ensemble The King’s Singers from 1985-1997. Chilcott left full-time singing in the late 1990s to concentrate on his career as a composer, of choral music in particular, and conductor. His work is often cited as accessible yet interesting and has crossed the entire spectrum of choral music-making from amateur choirs and children’s groups all the way through to professional ensembles such as the BBC Singers (of whom he is the Principal Guest Conductor).
The Shepherd’s Carol is a wonderfully atmospheric telling of the nativity story from the perspective of the Shepherds. The text was originally thought to be anonymous but is now credited to Clive Sansom (1910-1981). The piece begins with sopranos singing a poignant yet simple melody line alone. They are joined by the altos who provide a gentle, supporting backdrop of sound on the word ‘calm’. The tenors take over the initial melody line before the basses join in, providing a ‘drone’ on the word silence.
The full choir comes together around the half way point of the piece to sing the text ‘there was a star, Lady’. This section continues Chilcott’s characteristic use of added chords to create a rich and colourful climax on the words ‘Oh a voice from the sky, Lady’. Chilcott also utilises several changes in time signature here to accommodate and emphasise certain key parts of the text. The changing meter, although quite tricky to comprehend on the page, creates a real sense of flexibility and emphasises the natural ebb and flow of the music effortlessly.
The expressive high point of the piece then begins to recede to the calm and gentle material of the opening section, combining the delivery of the text with gentle humming to bring the piece to a gentle and subdued ending.
