"This is a highly attractive disc on which very appealing music is performed to the highest of standards ... Nick Pritchard gives a subtle and beautifully light-toned performance. Working with the excellent harpist Olivia Jageurs, Pritchard sings the narration with a delightful intimacy which draws the listener right in. At certain points they’re joined by flautist Chloe Vincent. When that happens the pure, silvery sound of the flute adds a lovely extra dimension to the texture ... Dame Sarah Connolly has the role of Mary; luxury casting indeed ... there’s no doubting Connolly’s expressiveness... Anyone who has heard the Merton College choir previously will know that their standards are always exceptionally high; that’s the case in this performance, too. Nichloas shapes the music with great care and his choir delivers a touching performance. Bob Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio made a very positive impression on me when I first heard it; the opportunity to hear it again and to appreciate it at greater leisure has strengthened that impression. The work is accessible, attractive and very sincere. It’s also very well constructed ... This excellent premiere recording will surely heighten awareness of this expertly crafted and attractive score ... "

John Quinn - MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

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"A new Christmas Oratorio. When was the last time we had one of those? ... It’s a mighty undertaking to compose a new addition to that select canon, but today’s Recording of the Week shows Bob Chilcott to be a real contender ... The Oratorio proper begins with the warm sounds of brass quintet (drawn from the Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia) and organ. I admit that when I saw the track-listing I was wary - it’s always wise for composers to think twice before deciding that the world definitely needs theirsettings of texts that have been immortalised in someone else’s - but somehow, when those first rich chords came in to set up the opening hymn Lo! How a Rose, e’er blooming(perfectly blended and mellow, as the brass are throughout), I knew it was going to be alright ... Much of Chilcott’s music conveys a sense of comfort and reassurance, that his music is intended (as Bach said of his Goldberg Variations) to “refresh the spirits” ... the fundamental warmth and wholesomeness of Chilcott’s music is enough to thaw the entire [cover] scene from the inside out"

RECORDING OF THE WEEK - 4 December 2023

"From Schütz, JS Bach and Charpentier onwards, many composers have drawn inspiration from the Christmas narratives contained in the St Luke and St Matthew Gospels. Bob Chilcott’s 2019 retelling adds a diverse selection of 16th- to 20th-century poetry to the biblical texts to create a rich, coherent tapestry ...Benjamin Nicholas draws a well-rounded and confident performance from his Merton choristers. They make the most of the luscious possibilities of the double-chorus Pear Tree Carol that helps to fill up the disc. The most outstanding contribution comes from Nick Pritchard, who takes the tenor’s traditional role as evangelist or narrator. Always accompanied by the harp, his engaging, passionate delivery is crystal-clear and a great bonus. The brass ensemble is sparingly employed (and is all the more effective for it), providing stalwart support for the bass solo passages and the final verses of the hymns. This is certainly an enriching addition to a niche repertory; it would make a perfect programme partner to Finzi’s Christmas scena In terra pax ... Juicy harmonies abound in the delicious Welcome, all wonders in one sight!, which rounds off this enjoyable album, the perfect tonic for the excesses of the approaching festive season"

One of the strengths of this oratorio lies in the narrative from Luke, given to the Evangelist – Nick Pritchard, here as at the premiere – whose mellifluous, quiet tale-telling adds lyrical narrative in between organ-accompanied hymns and new carol settings ... Chilcott uses the Evangelist, and Olivia Jaguers’s accompanying nimble harp, to give us those moments of rapt stillness that mark that certain Christmas magic, and also to change the flow amidst some lovely settings – particularly ‘A Carol to the King’ ... .The sweet harmonies of Chilcott’s ‘Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree’ and ‘The Pear Tree Carol’ bookend the Oratorio, the latter followed by his jazz-inflected ‘Welcome All Wonders’"

"Bob Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio – a bold title, pitching high – was premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in 2019, and this recording reunites the soloists from that occasion (Nick Pritchard, Sarah Connolly and Neal Davies) with the choir of Merton College, Oxford under Benjamin Nicholas. It is structured a bit like a Bach passion, with an Evangelist (Pritchard, in earnest storyteller mode) getting through the narrative, amid solo meditations and hymns for the choir ... the hymns were for me the big success: “Shepherds in the field abiding” and “Thou whose almighty word” are glorious, singable numbers with soaring descants. I also welcomed the opening track, a setting of “Jesus Christ the apple tree” for upper voices, which will hopefully eclipse the inexplicably popular Elizabeth Poston version, whose appearance can mar any carol concert"

Twelve of the year's best seasonal recordings 2023

"A gorgeous new festive release by a terriffic composer and top tier artists"


ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Hear an exclusive interview with Bob Chilcott