Dame Sarah Connolly (m-s, Mary), Neal Pritchard  (t, Evangelist), Neal Davies (b, Herod, Simeon), Choir of Merton College, Oxford, Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia / Benjamin Nicholas (dir)

Delphian ★★★★

How do you take a story 2,000 years old, now less cherished than it was, but representing what Rowan Williams called ‘the most important event in human history’ and retain its grandeur while still allowing that it happened to the simplest and most lowly? For this first recording of Bob Chilcott’s shining Christmas music, the original soloists from the 2019 premiere have been brought back.

Nick Pritchard’s Evangelist is a wonder, youthful but steward to an awe-filled secret; Sarah Connolly conveys Mary’s wonderment and even fear with grace and not a flutter of girlishness, while Neal Davies’s Herod stands as reminder that the world isn’t ready to love. Orchestrated with a light hand – especially round the Evangelist – and impeccably recorded in the Delphian manner, this is a Christmas must.

This review originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Choir & Organ magazine. Never miss an issue – subscribe today