Wednesday 1 April 2015 at 7:30pm
Sherborne Abbey

With Conductor Paul Ellis and Organist Simon Clarkson

Presented as part of Holy Week worship in the Abbey, this twenty-first century setting of the Passion according to St John was written for Wells Cathedral in 2013 by one of today’s most popular choral composers, Bob Chilcott. Written for choir, soloists and organ, it lasts about an hour, including congregational hymns.

Chilcott’s setting of words from the Gospel of St John is a dramatic yet optimistic retelling of the Passiontide story. As with Bach’s great Passion settings, the role of the Evangelist is taken by the tenor soloist, who provides a melodious narrative throughout the work. Within the narrative, the chorus becomes a crowd or a group of soldiers, commenting on the story, along with performing meditations that support the story, which are settings of English poems from the 13th to the early 17th centuries.There are five Passiontide hymns for the congregation to join in with, all well-known hymn texts, but set to new, original melodies.