Carols from Chelsea

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Under the meticulous direction of William Vann, their reading of Howells’s A Spotless Rose is, well, spotless, while John Rutter’s Dormi, Jesu is saved from schmaltz and sung with the sweet,... — The Guardian, 18th December 2016 More…

Release Date: 28th Oct 2016
Catalogue No: SOMMCD0161
Label: Somm
Length: 71 minutes

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Gruber, F: Stille Nacht (Arr. D. Cashmore for Choir)

Work length3:45

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Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Gauntlett: Once in Royal David's city

Work length4:36

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Eloise Irving, James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Vaughan Williams: 8 Traditional English Carols: No. 6, Truth Sent from Above

Work length2:54

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Thomas Stoddart
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV729 'In dulci jubilo'

Work length3:03

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James Orford

Howells: A Spotless Rose

Work length3:19

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Angus McPhee
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Byrd: O magnum mysterium

Work length5:46

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Rosemary Galton, Clara Kanter, Jonathan Beatty
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Rutter: Dormi, Jesu

Work length5:35

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James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Pott: Hodie Christus natus est

Work length2:49

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Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

trad.: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

Work length3:12

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James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Warlock: Benedicamus Domino

Work length1:24

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Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Brahms: 11 Chorale Preludes, Op. 122: No. 8, Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen

Work length3:32

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James Orford

Darke: In the Bleak Midwinter

Work length4:51

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Helen Ashby, Jonathan Beatty, James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

trad.: Ding dong! merrily on high

Work length2:06

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James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Adam: O Holy Night (Arr. for Voice, Choir & Orchestra)

Work length5:42

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Eloise Irving, Edward Hughes, James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Ireland: The Holy Boy

Work length3:07

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James Orford

Head, M: The Little Road to Bethlehem

Work length3:38

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Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

trad.: O little town of Bethlehem

Work length3:36

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James Orford, William Vann
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Anderson, Leroy: Sleigh Ride

Work length3:09

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James Orford

Gardner, John: Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, Op. 75 No. 2

Work length2:14

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James Orford
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

Berlin, I: White Christmas (Arr. J. Clements for Choir)

Work length3:39

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George Hatton
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
William Vann

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SOMM celebrates Christmas this year with Carols from Chelsea, a delicious offering from the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea under their Director, William Vann. The Royal Hospital, founded in 1682 by Charles II, is the home of the iconic Chelsea Pensioners, who are all retired soldiers of the British Army. The Chapel Choir sings for the Sunday morning Matins service in the Royal Hospital’s Wren Chapel during the year, but in December provides the music for carol services and other Christmas-themed events almost every day. This recording showcases some of the Choir’s most cherished carol repertoire, alongside solo organ music performed by the Royal Hospital’s Organ Scholar, James Orford, and a very special performance with Chelsea Pensioner George Hatton. George is known for his occasional singing in the Chelsea Pensioners’ Club in the evening, and during December he has been known to join forces with the choir for a song or two. It was one of those moments that gave them the idea to record something with him on this album and the last track, White Christmas, could hardly have ended the disc more joyously! This is the first professional recording George has ever made. And, at the age of 88, it gave him great pleasure to sing with such a wonderful choir. Many of the Royal Hospital’s carol services begin with Franz Gruber’s spine-tingling carol Stille Nacht, an especially moving carol to hear in the original German, given its celebrated performance in the trenches on Christmas Day, 1914. Once in Royal David’s City is the first of three carols that are usually sung with the full congregation, opening with the famous solo that captures the mood of Christmas like nothing else. In between that and Irving Berlin’s wonderfully un-wintry White Christmas, performed here in a new arrangement by Jim Clements, we hear mostly the work of English composers, from the Renaissance-era genius William Byrd to the contemporary composers Francis Pott and John Rutter. British organist Thomas Trotter’s arrangement of Leroy Anderson’s light-music classic Sleigh Ride leads us into John Gardner’s thrilling setting of the old text Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day, the side drum part played on one of the Royal Hospital’s beautifully decorated instruments.

Reviews

18th December 2016

Under the meticulous direction of William Vann, their reading of Howells’s A Spotless Rose is, well, spotless, while John Rutter’s Dormi, Jesu is saved from schmaltz and sung with the sweet, gentle grace it deserves.

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