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Track(s) taken from CDA67650

The Nine Gifts

First line:
I bring you my body, darling dear
composer
Bob Chilcott (b1955)
2011; commissioned by the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington DC
author of text
Kevin Crossley-Holland (b1941)

Wells Cathedral Choir, Matthew Owens (conductor), Jonathan Vaughn (organ)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: June 2011
Wells Cathedral, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: April 2012
Total duration: 4 minutes 25 seconds

Cover artwork: Bowls. Charlie Baird (b1955)
 

Other recordings available for download

Choralis, Gretchen Kuhrmann (conductor), Todd Fickley (organ)

Reviews

‘Chilcott writes a tune of such beauty, one is totally beguiled. This disc of premiere recordings reveals the many sides of the composer. His skill, sincerity and practicality shine through … Matthew Owens coaxes scintillating performances from his choristers—it is a choir one would never tire of listening to’ (Choir & Organ)

‘There's plenty of fluid writing for the choir and two excellent soloists, whose interaction produces ravishing textures’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Chilcott's Requiem, mostly set to Latin texts, pays homage to its great predecessors yet has its own distinctive, serene, meditative quality, beautifully rendered by the mixed voices of Wells Cathedral Choir, Laurie Ashworth (soprano) and Andrew Staples (tenor)’ (The Observer)

‘This is music that is meant and deeply felt … Matthew Owens directs superlative performances from the choir, instrumentalists from the Nash Ensemble and organist Jonathan Vaughn. The engineering places us comfortably in that stunning building’ (International Record Review)

‘A lovely recording … this is a particularly gorgeous and uplifting work, delivered here with great sensitivity and eloquence. Owens ensures some crisp, immaculate entries, wonderful tonal purity and excitingly varied dynamics’ (The Oxford Times)
In 2008 the conductor Philip Brunelle asked me to write a piece for his church choir in Minneapolis, MN and sent me a book of poems by Kevin Crossley-Holland which included four beautiful Christmas texts. Over the following three years I set all of them for different choirs and we have recorded two of them for this disc. The first, Jesus, Springing, was written in 2010 for the choir of Harrow School. The second, The Nine Gifts, was written for J Reilly Lewis and the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington, DC in the same year. J Reilly Lewis, a deeply respected conductor in Washington and also a great supporter of Gretchen Kuhrmann and Choralis died suddenly in 2016, and the recording of this piece is dedicated to his memory.

from notes by Bob Chilcott © 2017

Other albums featuring this work

Chilcott: In winter's arms
Choralis, Gretchen Kuhrmann (conductor)
Studio Master: SIGCD512Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

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