Bob Chilcott St John Passion

SATB and soloists (soprano, tenor, and two baritones), with organ or small ensemble Chilcott's mighty setting of words from the Gospel of St John is a dramatic yet optimistic retelling of the Passiontide story. As with Bach's great Passion settings, the role of the Evangelist is taken by the tenor soloist, who provides a melodious narrative throughout the work, in arioso style. The words of Jesus and Pilate are performed by solo baritones. Within the narrative, the SATB chorus becomes a crowd or a group of soldiers, commenting on the story in short outbursts, although the larger role of the choir is to perform the four meditations and five hymns that support the story. For the meditations-two of which include soprano solos-Chilcott has selected English poems from the 13th to the early 17th centuries.The five well-known hymn texts are set to new, original melodies, which are also intended for performance by an audience or congregation.

DESCANT SOPRANOS 81 22 f

DESCANT SOPRANOS 81 22 f 4. Were the whole realm of na - ture mine, That were a pre - sent far too ALL OTHER VOICES f 4. Were the whole realm of na - ture mine, That were a pre-sent far too small; f 26 small; Love so a - maz - ing, so di - vine, De-mands my Love so a - maz - ing, so di - vine, De-mands my soul, my life, my ff 29 rit. soul, my life, my all, my life, my all. ff all, de - mands my soul, my life, my all. rit. ff for online perusal only Processed in England by Enigma Music Production Services, Amersham, Bucks. Printed in England by Halstan & Co. Ltd, Amersham, Bucks.

BC159 Chilcott’s mighty setting of words from the Gospel of St John is a dramatic yet uplifting retelling of the Passion story. As with Bach’s great settings, the role of the Evangelist is taken by a tenor soloist, who provides a melodious narrative throughout the work, in arioso style; the words of Jesus and Pilate are performed by solo baritones. Within the narrative, the SATB chorus becomes a crowd or a group of soldiers, commenting on the story in short outbursts, although the larger role of the choir is to perform the four meditations and five hymns that support the story. For the meditations—two of which include soprano solos—Chilcott has selected English poems from the 13th to the early 17th centuries. The five wellknown hymn texts are set to new, original melodies, which are also intended for performance by the audience or congregation. At once devotional and passionate, touching and austere, this work is a very personal response to St John’s account of Christ’s suffering—and a masterwork of dramatic storytelling. has been involved with choral music all his life, first as a chorister and then a Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. Later, he sang and composed music for twelve years with the King’s Singers. His experiences with that group, his passionate commitment to young and amateur choirs, and his profound belief that music can unite people, have inspired him both to compose full-time and, through proactive workshopping, to promote choral music worldwide. Have you tried? Salisbury Vespers (ISBN 978–0–19–336395–3) Requiem (ISBN 978–0–19–336696–1) Jubilate (ISBN 978–0–19–355827–4) Canticles of Light (ISBN 978–0–19–343288–8) For more details about Bob Chilcott and his music, please contact Oxford University Press, Music Department. Cover image: © iStockphoto.com/petekarici 1 www.oup.com