Kate Green takes a look at the musical legacy of Sir David Willcocks through his book Carols for Choirs.
The Carols for Choirs series ‘changed the whole sound of Christmas for everybody who sings,’ says the composer and choral conductor Sir John Rutter.
And Sir John should know. He edited the second, third and fourth books with Sir David Willcocks, who had already attracted attention for creating soaring, singable descants that lifted the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, where he was director of music from 1957 to 1974 (see more below about the choir).
When Willocks took on the famous annual service, the trebles in the choir only sang one descant, to While Shepherds Watched. Sir David decided to increase the count, writing them for Hark the Herald Angels Sing, ‘which ends in a blaze of glory’, O Come All Ye Faithful and more, all of which Oxford University Press was keen to publish.
‘[Descants] offered a chance to brighten up the Christmas hymns,’ Sir David once said in an interview. ‘It can be so miserable if you’re in the congregation and somewhere opposite is somebody who can’t sing the tune properly and goes down to the bottom when the notes go too high to sing at the correct pitch. A descant covers up that sort of thing!’
Not everyone was keen, however: Sir David replied to one complainant pointing out that even Bach wrote descants.
Sir David Willocks
Sir David (1919–2015), a hugely inspiring, entertaining choirmaster who demanded rhythm, punchy diction and brightness of sound, was of the opinion that listeners of the Nine Lessons wanted tunes they could hum along to, rather than complicated harmonies: ‘I think most people listen to that service while they’re putting up the holly or stirring the soup. I don’t think people sit there wrapped in devotion. They listen while other things are going on.’
Who are the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge?
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge — pictured at the top of this page — was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 and is regarded as one of the world’s finest choral groups.
It comprises the conductor (currently Director of Music Daniel Hyde), 16 choristers aged 9 to 13 — who are educated on scholarships at King’s College School — and 14 choral scholars who are undergraduates at the university. There are also two organ scholars.
The choir sings six days a week at services in the Chapel — a duty which was its original purpose almost 600 years ago. The choir’s most celebrated performance, however, is their annual ‘A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols’, traditionally held on Christmas Eve in King’s College Chapel. It was introduced in 1918 and is broadcast to millions of people around the world; you can see a list of the choir’s upcoming concerts at kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/listen/choir-concerts
