Shepherd's Pipe Carol

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"Shepherd's Pipe Carol"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Written1966
Published1967 (1967)
Genre Christmas carol
Composer(s) John Rutter

The "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" is a modern Christmas carol composed by John Rutter. Rutter composed the carol whilst he was an undergraduate at university in 1966 with it being published a year later at the behest of David Willcocks. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" was composed by John Rutter in 1966 when he was studying as an undergraduate at Clare College at the University of Cambridge. [1] [2] Rutter stated that he believed his inspiration for writing it came from when he sang as a boy soprano during the opera " Amahl and the Night Visitors " and heard pipe music as the title character headed for Bethlehem with the Biblical Magi. [3]

The carol was first performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, conducted by Rutter at a Christmas concert. [2] A few days later, David Willcocks, the director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, requested a copy of the manuscript, and he made calls to Oxford University Press for it to be published [4] and to EMI for it to be recorded. [2] It was Rutter's first composition to be published. [5] Rutter and Willcocks later formed a publishing partnership and helped to compile the Carols for Choirs series of hymnals from the second edition for the Church of England. [6]

Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, choirs in the Baltic states reportedly circulated photocopies and faxes of the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" to be sung as a sign of resistance to Soviet control. [3] [7]

Lyrics and score

The lyrics of the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol", set after the annunciation to the shepherds, are in third person about a shepherd boy playing pipe music on the way to Bethlehem. [8] The boy later states in the carol that he will perform his music for the baby Jesus when he reaches the stable where the Star of Bethlehem was located. [8] The music is scored for SATB and organ or small orchestra. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 Rutter, John (9 December 2005). "All together now". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 White, Michael (16 December 2017). "The Composer Who Owns Christmas". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  3. 1 2 Green, Andrew (2001). "Shepherd's Pipe Carol (Rutter) - from CDA67245". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  4. ↑ Rutter, John. "Remembering David Willcocks 1919–2015" . Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  5. ↑ Classical Music (2010-11-29). "World of John Rutter, composer and conductor". Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  6. ↑ "RUTTER: Requiem / Anthems". Naxos Records . Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  7. ↑ "I'm not in the business of making artistic claims for myself". BBC Music Magazine. Vol. 3, no. 1–6. BBC. 1994. p. 42. ISSN   0966-7180.
  8. 1 2 "John Rutter – Shepherd's Pipe Carol Lyrics". Genius Lyrics. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  9. ↑ Shepherd's Pipe Carol - John Rutter. John Rutter Anniversary Edition. Oxford University Press. 18 June 2015. ISBN   978-0-19-340740-4 . Retrieved 2018-12-10.
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