Carols for Choirs
Covers of the original editions of
Carols for Choirs |
|
| Editor | Sir David Willcocks, Reginald Jacques & John Rutter |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Sheet Music - Religious |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
|
Publication date
|
1961 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 360 |
| ISBN | (Vol 1) |
| Website | Carols for Choirs on OUP.com |
Carols for Choirs is a collection of vocal scores, predominantly of Christmas carols and hymns, first published in 1961 by Oxford University Press. It was edited by Sir David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques, and is a widely used source of carols in the British Anglican tradition and among British choral societies. A second volume was published in 1970, edited by David Willcocks and John Rutter, and the collection is now available in five volumes. A compendium edition was published later. In addition to music for Christmas, the collection also offers works that are suitable for other Christian festivals such as Advent and Epiphany.
The books contain the most commonly performed carols and their harmony arrangements, with descants from the editors (mainly Willcocks) which have become the de facto standard descants for these tunes in the Anglican communion in the UK. Most of the arrangements were originally written for use by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge or the Bach Choir in London.
Carols For Choirs was originally launched by the organist and music editor at Oxford University Press Christopher Morris. Whilst working at St George's, Hanover Square, he realised that church choirs lacked a definitive book of Christmas carols, and felt that a single book would be more convenient than using separate pieces of sheet music and hymn books. Under his direction, the first book of Carols for Choirs was commissioned. To edit the collection, Morris enlisted David Willcocks, Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, and Reginald Jacques, conductor of the Bach Choir. The book was published in 1961, containing new arrangements of traditional carols, but it also popularised pieces by modern composers such as William Walton, Benjamin Britten, Richard Rodney Bennett, William Mathias and John Rutter.Carols for Choirs was an instant success and became OUP Music Department's best-selling title, with over a million copies being sold. OUP were keen to commission a second volume, but after the death of Jacques in 1969, a new editor had to be found to support Willcocks, and an undergraduate at Cambridge University, John Rutter, was recruited. Carols for Choirs 2 was published in 1970.
...
Wikipedia