ROBERT CHILCOTT

"Perhaps the most gifted choral writer at work today, Chilcott has a talent for spiritual melody that nods neither to the American midwest nor the English pasture. His title song, commemorating Marconi’s first transmission, is infectiously singable, irresistibly memorable. Lovelier still is The Lily and the Rose. A century from now, womens’ choirs will still be singing it."     *****

Norman Lebrecht

"Like John Rutter before him, Bob Chilcott worked tirelessly during his Cambridge student days with fine ‘local’ groups. As a member of the King’s Singers and subsequently as a freelance composer, Chilcott has forged a convincing, unashamedly accessible synthesis of musical languages, drawing freely on jazz, folk and classical elements in his choral pieces. The works here, for upper voices and jazz trio, are beautifully sung by The Sirens and superbly handled by Signum’s production team. Making Waves, with its Morse code riff, sonorous harmonies and plaintive soprano solo line, has all the makings of a Classic FM hit."     *****

Andrew Stewart

“If you don’t yet know Chilcott, this is a great place to start; you are likely to be surprised and delighted, for here is an ‘accessible’ modern composer with a strongly individual voice and, at his best, the power to move deeply.”

Gwyn Parry-Jones
 

"Some welcome new repertoire for sopranos and altos here from a contemporary hero of British choral music, Bob Chilcott. Perhaps the most intriguing in this rewarding and diverse collection for young voices, deftly sung by the Sirens, is the discs title track ’Making Waves’, written for two youth choirs to sing simultaneously on either side of the Atlantic, linked only by a telephone line a piece commissioned to mark the centenary of Marconi’s first trans-oceanic wireless transmission. The hugely talented Iain Farrington accompanies with characteristic taste and charm."

Stephen Pritchard