William Byrd (1543-1623)
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth our Queen
Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth our Queen (2022)
ORA Singers/Suzi Digby
Available by streaming only
HARMONIA MUNDI [6]
Though these two pieces have been released as individual digital singles it is logical to consider them together, for reasons which will become clear.
Suzie Digby and the ORA Singers have made it one of their USPs – another is superb singing - to marry in their programmes, music of the sixteenth- and early seventeenth centuries together with new pieces inspired by those polyphonic masterpieces. So, it’s entirely natural that they should celebrate of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II by following their tried and trusted formula.
What more fitting a model could they have than the piece which William Byrd wrote in honour of Queen Elizabeth I? To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II, Suzi Digby invited Bob Chilcott to set the same text to music.
Byrd’s original was composed in the 1570s. The text, which comes from Psalm 21, is simple, clear in intent and effective:
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth
our Queen to rejoice in thy strength.
Give her her heart’s desire
and deny not the request of her lips;
but prevent her with thine everlasting blessing
and give her a long life
even for ever and ever. Amen
The music, which is in six parts (SAATTB), is stately and dignified in character – the ORA Singers capture that perfectly. As is usual with this group, the polyphonic lines are beautifully balanced against each other. The expansive ‘Amen’ glows.
Bob Chilcott’s piece is set for a cappella SATB choir. In a note that I’ve read on the ORA Singers website he reflects that he sang the Byrd piece many times during his own singing career. Indeed, he says that “This music feels like coming home to me, with its warmth, its security and its constancy”. His music, though, is in no way a Byrd pastiche. Two arresting chords (for the words ‘O Lord’) open the setting and recur a couple of times. For the most part, the music is light on its feet, fluent and joyful. It’s noticeable that Chilcott’s writing makes good use of the upper registers of the vocal parts, so the textures are always light and airy. Where Byrd sets the ‘Amen’ to broad musical lines, Chilcott continues to use the dancing, nimble music that has strongly featured in this short piece. It’s a most attractive setting, expertly performed here, and I think it makes an excellent foil for and contrast with the Byrd.
Each of the singles is accompanied by a music video of the performance
concerned, filmed in the Queen’s House, Royal Museums, Greenwich. Though the performances are as yet only available in this format I hope that Suzi Digby will consider including both of them in one of the ORA Singers’ future albums.
These two short performances by one of the UK’s finest chamber choirs are a fine musical celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
John Quinn
