Shirley Ratcliffe
Choir & Organ
April 2016

This is an easy-listening CD. Chilcott's music always has instant appeal and the same can be said of his arrangements. Of the 22 tracks here, only five are original pieces, written in the same easy-going, sometimes jazz-influenced idiom—think of the early days of the King's Singers. In many ways this is a retrospective of Chilcott's secular work covering several decades, and there is nothing here to rock the harmonic boat. For me there is a lack of variety in this particular programme, but where there is humour these excellent singers bring it off. And offshoot of the choir Tenebrae, Tenebrae Consort perform with impeccable professionalism under director Nigel Short.