4 minute read
The Dawn of Grace: A New Album from Somerville College Choir
Songs of Change
The Somerville College Choir recording in Exeter College Chapel. Photo by Hugh Warwick
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Will Dawes is Somerville’s Director of Chapel Music and a member of the Grammynominated ensemble Stile Antico. He joins us here to tell the story of how our Choir recorded ‘The Dawn of Grace’, its first album in ten years and the first album by an Oxford college choir to feature only female composers.
Forgive my honesty, but I’m not the biggest fan of making recordings. It’s a high-stakes game requiring considerable time, effort, and expense. It’s also highly stressful: once you’ve begged and bribed everyone to commit to your three-day recording slot, you have to hope and pray no one gets ill and is on top form so you can capture the choir at their best. That said, when a choir peaks and a project materialises which you know will capture the attention of musicians and alumni around the world, you can’t say no. Suddenly, all the effort and grey hairs seem worth it.
That was the situation in which I found myself in Michaelmas 2021. Every rehearsal made it clearer that we had a special bunch of singers whose sound and energy we ought to capture for posterity. Just as importantly, we had struck upon a concept that we all felt would make us stand out in a marketplace flooded with repeat renditions of oft-sung Anglican choral works.
Our idea was to record a Christmas choral album, but using only pieces by women composers. Everyone agreed that the idea was interesting and potentially a first for Oxford. Even more importantly, it felt true to the spirit of our College and our Choir –speaking both to Somerville's history of female empowerment and our own reputation for singing some of the most diverse music at Oxford.
I spent the next few months investigating a huge number of potential composers and tracks to create a unique festive listening experience. The final programme we finally settled on was very exciting. With 20 works by women composers, including 11 world premieres and several composers working in nonliturgical traditions, it promised to infuse the timeless celebration of Christmas with new voices and energy. “Somerville College Choir is a leading performer of music by female composers. The sensitivity they have developed as a consequence enables Will and this talented group to move seamlessly from ethereal simplicity to a rich tapestry of harmonies. I am delighted that this progressive festive recording, ‘The Dawn of Grace’, will make the Choir's beautiful sounds widely available, so that more listeners can experience the musical joy of the season.”
In the new year, we received vital financial support from a long-standing friend of the Choir, Virginia Ross, which enabled us to set a recording date for just after Trinity Term. We duly met in Exeter Chapel while England roasted beneath the heatwave, thereby fulfilling one of the fundamental tenets of Christmas albums, which is that you should always record them in shorts and t-shirts with Christmas still a lifetime away. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. ‘The Dawn of Grace’ tells the story of Christmas with an openness and eclecticism that invites listeners of all faiths and none to celebrate the season’s themes of peace, goodwill and joy. It offers something to both the expert and casual listener, from reworkings of a Great Advent Antiphon (Pamela Decker’s ‘Veni, veni, Emmanuel’)
VIRGINIA ROSS (1966, International Studies)
to choral works that deploy layers of accumulating harmony to dramatize Advent’s progress from despair to joy (Abbie Betini’s ‘Behind the clouds’). English folkloric elements (‘Ivy, chief of trees’) sit alongside pieces that evoke the symmetry between faiths (Shruthi Rajasekar’s ‘Star of Rohini’), and there is plenty of room for classic Christmas treats, such as Janet Wheeler’s ‘Ding Dong Diggety!’ and Cecilia McDowall’s ‘Gaude et laetare’.
Advance notices on the album were good. But the real icing on the cake came in October, when we heard that ‘The Dawn of Grace’ had been selected as the Christmas Choice Album in the Christmas issue of BBC Music Magazine – a ringing endorsement of our work.
We have since performed parts of the disc in Charlbury, the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, and the stunning surrounds of London’s Temple Church. And yet, for me, ‘The Dawn of Grace’ always feels most at home at Somerville, where this pioneering concept was born. I would like to extend my deepest thanks to everyone who made it possible: to my brilliant and collaborative allies in the Choir; to Virginia Ross for recognising the potential of the project; to Adrian Peacock, Dave Rowell and Resonus Classics for making us sound so good; and to everyone out there who listens to ‘The Dawn of Grace’ this Christmas. We hope you enjoy it.
‘The Dawn of Grace’ is available to stream now from all major platforms. Hard copies are available to order via choir@some.ox.ac.uk or from the Lodge.
