Bob Chilcott, ‘contemporary hero of choral music1‘ celebrates his seventieth birthday on 9th April 2025. Born in Plymouth and raised in Watford, he was a boy chorister at King’s College Cambridge and subsequently spent several years as a member of the King’s Singers during which time he also provided them with arrangements
He left The King’s Singers and since 1997 he has been a full time composer albeit while managing to squeeze in a fair bit of Choral conducting, workshops and so much more.
One way to get to know a composer is through his music, and Strathaven Choral will be doing that on Sunday 11th May at St Ninian’s in Stonehouse when we sing Bob Chilcott’s ‘Gloria’. Another way to find out about the man is by what he says. I start off a few quotes by words which will resonate with every singer:
everything is all about breathing2
On singing in a choir:
to stand up and be part of something and be happy with who you are and and I love that dynamic of all sorts of different people coming together and they sing together as one2
Anyone who has sung in a choir and and found their part to consist of only two notes sung to ‘ah’ or ‘mm’, will appreciate Bob’s thoughts on arranging for choirs:
one of the key things about any choral work is the way that you actually construct the vocal lines so that the singer who is singing that line feels good about singing the line2.
Details of Chilcott’s extensive music catalogue can be found at his publisher https://global.oup.com/academic/category/arts-and-humanities/sheet-music/composers/chilcottb/?cc=gb&lang=en
About the Gloria
Published in 2015, Chilcott wrote this piece to mark the end of his time as composer-in-residence for Choralis in Washington DC. he took as his model for the work Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Chilcott’s four-movement setting of the Latin Gloria comprises the driving ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’ featuring syncopated rhythms. the tender yet majestic ‘Domine Deus’ leading into the lyrical ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’, with interweaving melodic lines that express the solemnity of the text and finally, the dancing ‘Quonium tu solus sanctus’ keeps singers on their toes with its upbeat tempo and lively cross-rhythms, culminating in exultant ‘Amen’s for a suitably exhilarating ending.