Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College: Looking back at 2023 Commissioned Composer: Cheryl Francis-Hoad

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College: Looking back at 2023 Commissioned Composer: Cheryl Frances-Hoad

In 2023, Cheryl Frances-Hoad was commission by King's College, Cambridge for the new carol for their Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. As we have followed her career for a while now, we announced at the time that Francis-Hoad's selection was well deserved.

Cheryl Frances-Hoad was born in Essex. She received her musical education at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, and Kings College London.

In 2015, BBC Radio 3 chose Francis-Hoad for its ‘Composer of the Week’ (Five under 35). The composer won the BBC Lloyds Bank Composer of the Year award at the age of 15! She was also the winner of The RPS Composition Prize, The Mendelssohn Scholarship, and three Ivor Novello (formally BASCA) British Composer Awards (for Psalm 1 and Stolen Rhythm in 2010, and Scenes from the Wild in 2022). 

In 2016, Frances-Hoad also was one of the first recipients of the PRS Composer's Fund Awards.

Her residencies include Leverhulme Musician in Residence (at the University of Cambridge Psychiatry Department, 2008), Rambert Composer in Residence (2012/13), Opera North/Leeds University Cultural Fellow in Opera Related Arts (2010/12), Visiting Research Fellow in the Creative Arts at Merton College Oxford (2021/2) and Visiting Fellow at Keble College Oxford (2022). 

Frances-Hoad's carol was "The Cradle", first performed by The Choir of King's College, Cambridge on 24th December 2023 as part of the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge, conducted by Daniel Hyde with organist Paul Greally and broadcast on BBC Radio and Minnesota Public Radio.

The King's College website says, "The Cradle is a setting of an English translation by Robert Graves of an anonymous seventeenth century Austrian text.

I wanted to set myself the challenge of writing a gentle carol, and it took many attempts to come up with something that I hope is catchy yet not clichéd, and heartfelt yet not syrupy. The vivid imagery of this anonymous seventeenth century Austrian text in an English translation by Robert Graves was a joy to set, and I hope my music conveys both the intimacy and the glory of the poem.

I was absolutely delighted when Daniel Hyde asked me to write a carol for this year's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols: I have looked forward to finding out who wrote the new carol every year since I was a little girl, and always dreamed that one day it would be me! 

Cheryl Frances-Hoad

        King’s Director of Music, Daniel Hyde, added:

    “Cheryl’s carol is a masterpiece in understatement, hauntingly beautiful and so carefully written for         the current generation of King’s College Choir.  We greatly look forward to singing The Cradle on         Christmas Eve.”

In 2024, the composer was selected as the Oriel College, Oxford Visiting Fellow in Music and Composer in Residence at the Musikdorf Ernen Festival, Switzerland. Frances-Hoad was a co-judge in the Sir David Willcocks Carol Composition Competition 2024.

A fuller biography can be found at the composer's website. We compiled a list of her Christmas works which is neither complete nor exhaustive:

Of her Christmas work:

"There is no rose" (1995)

Winner of the Bach Choir Carol Competition, premiered at the Royal Albert Hall during their Christmas Concert, 1995.

SATB

The Snow Woman: I. Allegro moderato (2007)

Commissioned by Natalia Lomeiko and premiered at the Orangery, Holland Park, April 2008.

"Shamanism provides the imaginative spur for the solo violin piece The Snow Woman (2007), which was composed as an encore piece for Natalia Lomeiko to play after concerto performances. The inspiration here was a Siberian folk-tale, Tynagirgin and Gitgilin, about two giants and a young shaman in search of a wife. The giants make repeated attempts to kill the young man, but twice he outwits them through his ability to change shape - into a mosquito, or a hawk - and eventually he is able to summon up the sea itself to drive them away and take the giants' wife for his own."

            -- Description from Wise Music Classical

Nunc Dimittis(Even You Song) (2000)

Premiered at Peterborough Cathedral on 16 February 2017, as part of Even You Song by Peterborough Cathedral Choir conducted by Steven Grahl, with David Humphreys (organ).​

"Good Day, Sir Christemas!" (2015)

Commissioned by BBC Music Magazine for the 2016 Christmas Issue. Premiered by Sansara (filmed performance for BBC Music Magazine).

"The Promised Light of Life" (2015)

Commissioned by Opus Anglicanum and premiered by the group at the Haslemere Museum, 12th December 2015. 

"This Time is Born a Child" (2014)

SATB

Written for En Bethlehem, the Cadenza Music Carol Book in 2015.

Bogoroditse Devo (2019)

SATB

Commissioned by Steve Chevis in loving memory of Barbara Chevis for Sonoro's Choral Inspirations Project.

Lo! The Desert-Depths Are Stirr'd (2020)

Commissioned by the Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge

(SATB and Harp Version)

The Tym is All Ronne (2016)

SATB

For Dominic Peckham and The London Oriana Choir at Christmas. Commissioned as part of the five 15 project championing women composers.

Other works include:

There Is No Rose of Such Virtue (2020), Chester Music Ltd (World), String Trio

Gaude et Laetere (2016) SSATBB, Commissioned by the Marian Consort and premiered at the Kendal Midday Concert Club, Kendal Town Hall, 2nd November 2016.

Lordings, Listen To Our Lay (2017), SATB, Commissioned by the Musicians' Company and premiered at their Carol Service at St Michael’s Cornhill, London on 13th December 2017 by the Choir of St Michael’s conducted by Jonathan Rennert.

Photo above is from the King's College website by Pamela Davis Kivelson. Take down upon request.

2024: Christmas Carols Blog: New and Future

2024: Christmas Carols Blog: New and Future

by R. Rojas

I am always amazed how fast the Christmas season goes. We are currently in Epiphanytide, the post-Holiday blues has set in. It never ceases to amaze me how much new fantastic music comes out during the festive season.

Usually during this time, I'm in a race with the BBC to listen to music before they take it down. Usually, BBC 3 will keep shows posted for 30 days, which is most inconvenient for us carols fans, as there are many gems they play during the holiday season. As I write this, I’m scurrying to finish a Composer of the Week Series called “Ralph Vaughn Williams Christmas” which ran the week before Christmas on Radio 3.

Minnesota Public Radio keeps their holiday programing up year-round. After I finish listening to all the BBC shows, I finish what I had not listened to on MPR. Other shows I listen are the various carol services, from advent to Epiphany that churches and colleges post on their YouTube channels. 

I also give a listen to the various classical, choral, and early music podcasts that may have had a Christmas music episode. I also finish the Celtic Christmas Music Podcast that has several episodes during the season.

It usually about this time I also explore the pop world. It's an ugly world to venture into, but sometimes one will find a pop Christmas gem. However, most will be sad efforts.

I also try to see what jazz items came out during the holiday, since I only catch a sporadic few during the actual season. Gregory Porter’s album has gained a lot of traction. I’m currently listening to it.

I'm working on a post on Cheryl Frances-Hoad, as she was the commissionee* for 2023’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge.

I also started writing a post on the Christmas music of William Lloyd Webber. I'm also tackling a post on cinematic suites, which are suites of music from the scores of Christmas films. I do plan to write a State of the Christmas carol, which I have ignored the last few years. My post on Elizabeth Poston is still a work in progress and I think I may have gone down a rabbit hole. I hope that it's not a hole belonging to the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. 

 

When I originally started my "Christmas Music of" series, I had thought to use the list of commissionees from King's College's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Two things came up though. One, if I were to use this list, I would ignore the composers before the 1980s that composed a host of Christmas work. Second, the list is largely British and male. For this reason, I decided to flip flop with one post on a woman composer and one post on a male composer, exploring their Christmas work. I admit, though I'm American, I still have a bias to composers from the U.K., but I'll work to balance that. 

 

Last year, I had planned to review every album I put in our new Christmas albums list. Sadly, I did not one. This is the year though. Then again, I cannot possibly purchase every album, so review copies are always appreciated. Physical copies are requested, but digital MP3 with PDF liner notes are also appreciated. To get your recording reviewed, email me at christmascarolblog@gmail.com.

 

There is always a tradition in Latin American of scholar publishing a scholarly piece in an academic journal of some type, then watering down that piece for publication in a non-academic magazine.

In that way, the masses, so to say, can also appreciate it also. Any academic who may want to publish an article on are blog are always invited. I am always looking for collaborators on this blog, whether they are persons who can submit posts on subject, or guest bloggers who can post now and then.

 

I'm also open to composers who may want to write a quick post. Feel free to use us to promote your work. Shameless self-promotion is always welcome. Composers interested in an email interviews with me regarding your Christmas work, feel free to contact me at the email below. 

 

I'm still astonished that there is not a yearly conference on the Christmas carol. I'm anxious to start the conversation with other carols fanatics. I imagine it as one a somewhat academic and lax academic side. If you are interested, feel free to email me Ray Rojas at christmascarolblog@gmail.com.

I've also wanted begin some type of forum. I feel listservs are passé, I though I've enjoyed many academically topic listservs since the advent of the Internet. Facebook group? Maybe. Again, feel free to email me to brainstorm.

 

Happy New Years and I hope for new Christmas music in 2024. I have already been contacted about two new recording, one forthcoming this June, and one released this month (January 2024).

*To describe the composer whom King's College has commissioned for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, I use the term "commissionee." I know it has a baseball, or elected official feel, however, it's used for lack of a better term. King's College would be the "commisioner." Not the best term, but I'll run with it for now.