Christmas cantata Hodie by Ralph Vaughn Williams
Today, Radio Romantica is filled with the Christmas cantata ‘Hodie’, or ‘This Day’, by Ralph Vaughn Williams. He wrote this big piece in 1954 for the famous Three Choirs Festival that takes place in Worcester Cathedral every year. The piece is a pillar in the English choir tradition. In ‘Hodie’, all of the aspects of this large tradition come together. It is festive music for an important day on the liturgical calendar. At the start, you’ll hear fanfares and an exited choir, after that you’ll be immersed by, for example, modest Biblical narratives by a children’s choir. In today’s episode, you’ll hear a performance by the girls of the St. Catherine’s School from Bramley, it’s an elite education programme with an internationally renowned choir school. This performance alternates with Christmas poems, like Songs and Lullabies performed by singing soloists and an orchestra. For the big chorales and the hymns, a many-voiced adult choir shows up, in this case, it’s the Guildford Choral Society. What a celebration it will be!
Tracklist:
- Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hodie (This Day)
Janice Watson, soprano, Peter Hoare, tenor and Stephen Gadd, baritone,
Guildford Choral Society, St. Catherine School Choir, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton.