World Carols for Choirs (SSA)

Susan Knight is Founder and Artistic Director of the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir and Festival 500. She is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, lecturer, keynote speaker, and advocate, and has served in executive position within provincial and national music and educational organizations.Bob Chilcott has become one of the world's most widely performed composers and arrangers of choral music. His compositional output reflects his wide taste in music styles and his commitment to writing music that is both singable and communicative.He has been involved in choral music most of his life he was a chorister and then a choral scholar in the choir of King's College, Cambridge, and was a member of the British vocal group The King's Singers for whom he made a number of popular arrangements of well-known songs from all genres.As well as being a full-time composer he is also a highly acclaimed choral conductor. He has been privileged to conduct many choirs all over the world. He is Principal Guest Conductor of The BBC Singers and in 2019 he was appointed Principal Conductor of Birmingham University Singers. His music has been widely recorded by many choirs and groups including The King's Singers, Tenebrae, and The BBC Singers.

Volumes such as this fill a valuable gap in the market. The international dimension also makes of them a labour of love for the editing team. Twenty-nine composers from 27 countries, each writing a carol in his or her own language (and I counted 20 different languages!) with most carols needing their own alternative text in English and a phonetic pronunciation guide - it hardly bears thinking of! Such projects do not seem to daunt the team at OUP, however . . . However, there is also music reflective of American spirituals, African praise songs and Latin rhythms, to name just a few of the world traditions that should make of this volume a stimulating source book for choir directors.

• Looys parats (The light of glory) - Armenia ; An Australian Christmas - Australia ; Oi Bethleem! (O Bethlehem!) - Basque Country, Spain ; Omnes nu laet ons gode loven (Now Let Us All Praise God) - Belgium ; Acalentando Jesus (Sleep, little Saviour) - Brazil ; The Huron Carol - Canada ; Notre divin Maitre (Our master, Lord Jesus) - Canada (Quebec) ; Cantemos a Maria (Let us sing to Mary) - Dominican Republic ; Nuud ole, Jeesus, kiidetud (Now blessed be thou, Christ Jesu) - Estonia ; On lapsi syntynyt meille (A Son to us is given) - Finland ; Vieux Noel pour les Tout-petits (Awake, awake!) - France ; Nikolauslied (St Nicholas Song) - Germany ; Pastoral (Angels Bright) - Hungary ; Jol (Who lies a-sleeping?) - Iceland ; Oigbhean a chanaim (I sing of a maiden) - Ireland ; The Divine Image - Japan ; Ju nashuhtdah (Jesus is born) - Korea ; Sudrabina lietins lija (See the silver rain is falling) - Latvia ; Indigo I - New Zealand ; Amuworo ayi otu nwa (For unto us a child is born) - Nigeria ; Det hev ei rose sprunge (A spotless rose) - Norway ; Tance-lamance w cudownej stajence (Joyous Dances) - Poland ; Susa ninna - South Africa ; Ett Nyfott Barn (A Newborn Child) - Sweden ; Auf, ihr Hirten, von dem Schlaf (Wake up shepherds from your sleep) - Switzerland ; Sussex Carol - UK ; Jesus, Jesus, rest your head - USA ; Who is the baby? - USA ; Ananay, nanay (Christmas Carol) - Venezuela