In their very first release for Warner Classics,the BBC Singers present Carols Revisited: Christmas with the BBC Singers, a contemporary reinvention of beloved Christmas carols and songs.
Carols Revisited is a collection of beautiful, brand-new choral settings of the nation’s favourite Christmas music. The programme includes five much-loved carols alongside an extraordinary new version of Band Aid’s legendary pop anthem, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’, for choral voices.
One of the six BBC Performing Groups and the nation’s only full-time professional choir, the BBC Singers are known for representing the best in contemporary choral performance in the UK. They have premiered multiple compositions from world-famous composers, including Benjamin Britten, Judith Weir, Laura Mvula, and Michael Tippett, since their foundation in 1924, and will celebrate their centenary next year.
After finishing a busy 2023 BBC Proms season, which saw the group perform at both the First and Last Nights, they captured this recording at their home in Maida Vale studios. All of the songs were co-produced and arranged by conductor James Morgan and Juliette Pochin.
In these original arrangements, The Singers draw on the innate spirituality of choral plainsong, harking back to the carols’ hymnal origins, whilst simultaneously bringing these songs into a modern sound world. Each piece is accompanied by a delicate piano solo part, helping to strengthen a sense of the musical old and new.
Carols Revisited is available on all good streaming platforms on 3 November.