British composer Bob Chilcott is in the running to become heir to John Rutter with his limpid, well-wrought, harmonically restricted choral pieces drawn on a variety of sources. That's a lucrative niche, and Chilcott is positioning himself well: if you like Rutter, you'll probably like Chilcott. His style is distilled down to its essence with this collection of carols, all composed between 2007 and 2013. Chilcott resets some familiar texts (try O Little Town of Bethlehem, track 12), which given the variable relationship ...
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British composer Bob Chilcott is in the running to become heir to John Rutter with his limpid, well-wrought, harmonically restricted choral pieces drawn on a variety of sources. That's a lucrative niche, and Chilcott is positioning himself well: if you like Rutter, you'll probably like Chilcott. His style is distilled down to its essence with this collection of carols, all composed between 2007 and 2013. Chilcott resets some familiar texts (try O Little Town of Bethlehem, track 12), which given the variable relationship between text and music in general worship music in the past is really not a bad idea; listeners will hear the very familiar texts afresh. Silent Night (track 19) is modified only in the harmonic setting, and elsewhere there are novel choices of texts, not least the use of an Emily Dickinson poem in the midst of the hymn O magnum mysterium (track 22). Perhaps the biggest attraction here is the work of the British chamber choir Commotio. Chilcott came up through the King's College Choir,...
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