In 2019, on a balmy August evening, in Gloucester Cathedral, Bob Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio had its premiere at the Three Choirs Festival, with the Cathedral Choirs of Gloucester, Worcester, and Hereford under the baton of Adrian Partington. The three principal soloists were Neal Davies (Evangelist), Dame Sarah Connolly (Mary), and Nick Pritchard (Herod and Simeon). In his review of the performance for Seen and Heard, John Quinn praised the oratorio as “attractive and sincere,” and predicted that it would “swiftly be a success on both sides of the Atlantic.” In its review of the festival, Church Times described the “vivid” performance as a “palpable success,” adding that the work “is both fluent and varied—and utterly new.” It is a further testament to the success of the premiere that this Christmas work was so warmly received in the height of summer.
In November of 2023, a recording of Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio was released on the Delphian Records label. In addition to making the album available on compact disc, the label has also provided access to it on the internet via an array of different official streaming channels. This 2023 recording of the oratorio, under review here, features the choir of Merton College, Oxford under the direction of Benjamin Nichols, with the three principal soloists from the 2019 Three Choirs Festival premiere all reprising their roles for this studio album. The soloists each came in for especial praise in reviews of the premiere, and the recording once again showcases their exceptional talents.
In the Christmas Oratorio, Chilcott interweaves traditional hymns and carols (such as the opening “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming”) alongside new material; but he also interweaves traditional music alongside new themes of his own composition, thereby presenting a new work that nevertheless feels intimately situated within the Christmas tradition. Indeed, so familiar were the words that audiences at the premiere were able to sing along at various points in the performance. The “Magnificat,” for instance, features the choir singing the text in the traditional Latin plainchant, whilst the composer has given Mary her own melody, with words sung in English. In another example—the hymn “Thou whose almighty word,” which follows the “Magnificat”—Chilcott sets an established hymn (by John Marriot) to a hymn tune of his own devising (“Bowen,” in this case). Here and elsewhere, this approach yields ample rewards not only because of the familiarity of the texts but also because of the excellence of the compositions, which fit naturally alongside the other components of the oratorio.
Chilcott has given careful attention to the compositional structure of the work. The choral pieces are of the highest quality. Likewise, they are here performed to the highest standard, with the quality of the choir on display in moments of warm, a capella splendour, as in “Shepherds in the field abiding” and “As with gladness men of old.” Moreover, the solo compositions are delicate, but nevertheless attentively constructed. The role of the Evangelist is always accompanied by the harp (exquisitely played by Olivia Jageurs), often performing a two-note rising, two-note theme, which the liner notes describes as “almost like a news alert.” The effect is delicate, never intrusive, and hints at the Evangelist’s role in spreading the Good News—a task in which the oratorio is itself engaged. This delicateness is mirrored by the lilting, bird-flight quality of the flute solo, performed with the most admirable lightness of expression by Chloe Vincent. It summons up the image of the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
Beyond the excellence of the compositions and the performance, the recording demonstrates a similar degree of care with regard to quality and presentation. At no point do the choir, soloists, or music come across as in any least way unbalanced or striving against one another. The lyrics are clearly expressed and the tonality of the recording remains warm; there is neither the muddiness nor the excess of crispness which can occasionally blight recordings which move seamlessly between soloists and choral ensembles accompanied and unaccompanied. In addition, the acoustics of the recording setting have been tuned so well that it is hard to imagine how they could be improved. This reviewer has, at times during listening, thought the somewhat vast nature of the soundscape might be a little too great, a little too reverberating, for a work of such intimate moments, but this is truly hair-splitting in search of something that could be improved.
Finally, Stephen Pritchard’s liner notes are detailed, informative, and clearly written. In some places, they add significantly to the interpretation and reception of the music (such as in observing the two-note harp motif for the Evangelist), and this reviewer is indebted to them for those insights. Moreover, the notes also make especial mention of Bob Chilcott’s early career performance as the “Pie Jesu” soloist on the legendary 1968 recording of Faure’s Requiem under David Wilcocks. For those who have not had the pleasure of experiencing that definitive recording, the liner notes may hopefully prove no small inspiration to learn why it is so highly—and justly—esteemed.
In closing, additional mention should be given to the setting of the “Nunc dimittis,” Simeon’s song sung by the bass-soloist with a gentle choral support that swells into glory at the words, “a light to lighten the gentiles.” This setting, of a traditional text, is one of the most affecting that this reviewer has yet heard and deserves singling out for warm praise. In addition, the concluding hymn, “A great and mighty wonder,” which sees a modified return of the “Partington” hymn-tune featured earlier in the oratorio, is performed so admirably, and with such soul-stirring warmth from the horn section, that it will resonate in the ears of the sensitive listener long after the CD has been returned to its case. Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio is thus alike to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in seeming old and yet new, traditional and yet contemporary. It is a work both for our time and for all times, and one that should rightly feature at many glorious Christmas concerts to come.
