Rhiannon Randle

Rejoice!

Rejoice! is a Christmas carol full of pure and unbounded joy. Here the bells ring out with the help of sharply accented reverberating chords, and richly crafted contrapuntal passages recall Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratoium as well as modal turns by Herbert Howells. In many ways, this Christmas carol can also be seen as a tribute by a veteran chorister to the joy of singing carols from the rich Christmas classical repertoire for choirs. The musical material of the main melody is taken from the Cantus Planus for Christmas Day, Viderunt Omnes, transformed into an unabashed declamation of joy with a contrasting central section reflecting the more intimate and fervent aspects of the mystery of Christmas: the righteousness and salvation of God revealed to mankind through the coming of Christ.