A Lullaby Carol: Christmas at Christ Church Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Steven Grahl & Benjamin Sheen

• William Walton (1902 - 1983): Make we joy now in this fest:
• 1 Walton: Make we joy now in this fest 03:48
• Elizabeth Poston (1905 - 1987): Jesus Christ the Apple Tree:
• 2 Poston: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree 03:13
• Simon Preston (1938 - 2022): There is no rose:
• 3 Preston: There is no rose 03:06
• Giles Swayne (b. 1946): Magnificat:
• 4 Swayne: Magnificat 04:10
• Piers Connor Kennedy (b. 1991): A Spotless Rose:
• 5 Kennedy: A Spotless Rose 04:06
• William Walton: All this time:
• 6 Walton: All this time 01:43
• Judith Weir (b. 1954): Drop down, ye heavens, from above (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw):
• 7 Weir: Drop down, ye heavens, from above (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw) 01:54
• Traditional: I Saw Three Ships (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw):
• 8 Traditional: I Saw Three Ships (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw) 02:50
• Away in a Manger (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw):
• 9 Traditional: Away in a Manger (Arr. for Choir and Organ by David Maw) 03:29
• George Baker (b. 1951): Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol:
• 10 Baker: Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol 05:02
• David Maw (b. 1967): Lullay, lullay, litel child:
• 11 Maw: Lullay, lullay, litel child 04:31
• Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930): Benedicamus Domino:
• 12 Warlock: Benedicamus Domino 01:31
• Piers Connor Kennedy: little tree:
• 13 Kennedy: little tree 02:10
• Epiphany:
• 14 Kennedy: Epiphany 02:10
• Franz Xaver Gruber (1787 - 1863): Silent night! Holy night! (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Stephen Darlington):
• 15 Gruber: Silent night! Holy night! (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Stephen Darlington) 03:12
• Steven Grahl (b. 1979): O nata lux:
• 16 Grahl: O nata lux 02:18
• Judith Weir: Illuminare, Jerusalem:
• 17 Weir: Illuminare, Jerusalem 02:23
• Francis Pott (b. 1957): Improvisation on Adeste, fidelis:
• 18 Pott: Improvisation on Adeste, fidelis 06:19
• Spiritual: Glory to the newborn King (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Robert L. Morris):
• 19 Spiritual: Glory to the newborn King (Arr. for Choir and Organ by Robert L. Morris) 02:35
• Peter Warlock: Bethlehem Down:
• 20 Warlock: Bethlehem Down 04:36
• Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b. 1980): Good Day, Sir Christemas!:
• 21 Frances-Hoad: Good Day, Sir Christemas! 02:11
• Total Runtime 01:07:17

Info for A Lullaby Carol: Christmas at Christ Church

The resounding refrains of The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford reverberate throughout A Lullaby Carol: Christmas from Christ Church, a rich tapestry of traditional and contemporary works celebrating the choir's musical heritage, particularly from the 20th and 21st centuries. Highlights include the melodically and rhythmically rich "Make we joy now in this fest" and "All this time", by Sir William Walton, one of Christ Church's most famous alumni; John Rutter's modern masterpiece "Hymn to the Creator of Light" and Simon Preston's timeless "There is no rose". There are also two settings by former Organists of Christ Church: Stephen Darlington's arrangement of "Silent Night", and his successor Steven Grahl's setting of "O nata lux".

The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, is delighted to present this collection of Christmas music. It is a collection of traditional and contemporary works, celebrating the choir’s rich musical heritage alongside its commitment to new music. The album begins with Make we joy now in this fest, written by one of Christ Church’s most famous sons, Sir William Walton. Like his other carol on the album, All this time, it is a vibrant expression of the strophic carol form. Elizabeth Poston’s Jesus Christ the Apple Tree follows, offering a moment of reflection in its simplicity.

Francis Pott’s Improvisation on Adeste, fideles is an inventive reimagining of the familiar Christmas carol. David Maw, a distinguished lecturer in music at Christ Church, offers similarly fresh and bold settings of I Saw Three Ships, Away in a Manger, and Lullay, lullay, litel child.

This recording features three settings by recent Organists of Christ Church: Simon Preston’s There is no rose, Stephen Darlington’s arrangement of Silent night! Holy night!, and my own setting of O nata lux. Judith Weir’s iconic responses to Advent- and Christmas-tide texts, Robert L. Morris’s Glory to the newborn King, and George Baker’s exhilarating Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol have proved to be firm favourites in the Christ Church repertoire.

A former Lay Clerk of the choir, Piers Connor Kennedy’s evocative carols A Spotless Rose, Epiphany and little tree, are each marked by his lyrical and harmonic sophistication. Works by Peter Warlock, who studied at Christ Church, sit alongside Giles Swayne’s Magnificat, written for this choir in 1982. Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s setting of Good Day, Sir Christemas! brings our programme to a fitting conclusion. (Steven Grahl)

Benjamin Sheen, organ
Christ Church Cathedral Choir Oxford
Steven Grahl, direction

The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
founded 500 years ago, holds a distinctive place within the great English choral tradition. Unlike all other collegiate and cathedral choirs, it serves both an Oxford college and a diocese. The choir is revered for the vibrancy of its sound and its artistic flexibility, performing early and contemporary music with equal skill. Over the years the choir has provided a perfect platform for singers to progress to other award-winning choral groups such as the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, The King’s Singers, The Tallis Scholars and The Cardinall’s Musick as well as to solo careers in oratorio, opera and musical theatre. On recent tours, in addition to performing its own programmes, the choir has worked intensively alongside local community choirs in Portugal, Jamaica, Bermuda, China and the USA, culminating in successful and memorable joint concerts. Christ Church Cathedral Choir boasts a legacy of ground-breaking recordings which have excited the critics and the listening public for over thirty years. The astonishing versatility of this choir gives them a strong media profile, featuring in more than fifteen documentaries in the last ten years.

Benjamin Sheen
was Sub-Organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford from 2020-2023. Hailed as a “brilliant organist” by the New York Times, he is the 2013 winner of the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize in the inaugural Longwood Gardens Organ Competition, and that same year received Second Prize and the Jon Laukvik prize at the St. Alban’s International Organ Competition. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and the Juilliard School, is a prize- winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and the 2011 recipient of the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medal. As a concert organist, Mr. Sheen has performed throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Singapore, and South Africa. He has also made concerto appearances with the Auckland Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City. Before returning to the UK in 2020, he spent eight years at the famed Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue in New York City as Associate Organist and as Acting Director of Music after the death of John Scott in 2015. Since January 2023, Mr. Sheen has served as Director of Music at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Steven Grahl
was Director of Music and Tutor in Music at Christ Church, Oxford 2018-2023, during which time he was also an Associate Professor of Music at Oxford University, and Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford. Steven served as Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral from 2014 to 2018, where he was responsible for training the Cathedral Choir, and for the re-pitching of the Hill Organ, on which instrument he recorded a solo CD. Peterborough Cathedral Choir’s recording of Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s EvenYouSong, made under Steven’s direction, was released to critical acclaim in December 2017. Steven was an interpretation finalist in the International Organ Competitions at St Albans (UK) in 2011, and in Dudelange (Luxembourg) in 2013, and completed his term as President of the Incorporated Association of Organists in 2019. He is a prize-winning graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, and the Royal Academy of Music, gained the top prizes in the FRCO examination, and is also a holder of the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medallion. In 2010, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Booklet for A Lullaby Carol: Christmas at Christ Church