![]() Similar dexterity is demonstrated in two other extracts from the same composer’s carol cycle On Christmas Night, composed in 2010 for an American Choir. The warm organ tones and soothing unison melody of the opening piece by Bob Chilcott will not surprise the composer’s admirers – of which I am one – but the sudden appearance of a well-known carol as a skillful counterpoint to Chilcott’s own tune, probably will. This superb disc, very finely recorded, and with an excellent booklet containing all texts and translations, is not one of these. There’s nothing wrong with the kind of Christmas disc you’re likely to have playing in the background on Christmas morning, while you’re busy in the kitchen, doing, helping, maybe getting in the way, but generally with a small glass of something warming close to hand and possibly already wearing a paper had. Bob Chilcott magically superimposes traditional carols with entrancing new material, and no Vasari christmas would be complete without some close harmony swingle singing. Here, joyous and masterful 16th-century polyphony sits alongside eternally popular victorian carols, and exquisitely crafted settings by Howells and Walford Davies join works as recent as Gabriel Jackson’s the christ-child. The Vasari Singers’ annual carol concerts always provide a warming blend of traditional favourites and less well-known music from all periods and styles.
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