Percy Dearmer and Martin Shaw, collaborators on The Oxford Book of Carols, shared a strong dislike for sentimental 19th-century music, with Shaw comparing Victorian hymn tunes to 'overripe bananas'.
Composer Biography
Ralph Vaughan Williams initially declined to edit the music for The English Hymnal, but was persuaded when told the job would go to Henry Walford Davies, a contemporary whose musical ideas he disliked.
Cultural Impact
The year 1928, when The Oxford Book of Carols was published, also marked the first broadcast of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge, which became a global phenomenon.
Performer Biography
The Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, featured on this recording, is composed of professional singers who also perform with leading consort groups like The Sixteen and the Monteverdi Choir.
Historical Context
The Oxford Book of Carols, published in 1928, was a significant publication that helped define the Christmas carol repertoire in the decade before World War II.
Album & Artwork
This recording, titled "An Oxford Christmas," is a companion to a previous album, "A Vaughan Williams Christmas," released in 2016.
Composition History
The Oxford Book of Carols (OBC), from which most of these arrangements are taken, was the idea of Reverend Percy Dearmer, a high-church Anglican liturgist who believed music was central to Christian worship.
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