Hodie!
Christmas music for boys’ voices and harp
The Schola Cantorum of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
Zita Silva (harp) Richard Watkins (horn) Scott Price (Director)
The Schola Cantorum of The Cardinal Vaughan School has just released a new recording of Christmas music for boys’ voices and harp. This beautiful collection of music, performed with Portuguese harpist Zita Silva, includes Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, John Rutter’s Dancing Day, and shorter works by contemporary composers Richard Allain, Owain Park and Errollyn Wallen. There are also two new arrangements created for the recording - the popular Welsh Lullaby, Suo Gan, and a new version by Jonathan Rathbone of The Twelve Days of Christmas, for which the boys are joined by renowned horn player Richard Watkins.
Much of the music on this recording was prepared during the Lockdowns of the past eighteen months. The boys worked tirelessly on Zoom learning the notes, so that when schools reopened and they were allowed to sing together again, some of the work in the preparation had been done. It is in that sense a recording that has emerged from the restrictions – chorister ‘bubbles’ and so forth - and is a testament to the ingenuity of the boys and their determination to keep singing no matter what the restrictions and challenges. It is especially rewarding that something so positive has emerged from this period of such difficulties.