David Hill and The Bach Choir bring choral classics to Boston
Rutland-based Grammy-winning conductor David Hill is on a mission to help save our British choral music tradition - and his next stop is Boston’s St Botolph’s Church with The Bach Choir.
Choral conductor and Musical Director David Hill MBE recently argued in The Telegraph that choral music in Britain is in danger of losing its pre-eminence. The cause? The woeful decline of music education in schools, and the perceived privilege surrounding choral music. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that he’s right. In more than 50 percent of state-funded primary schools, music is not taught throughout key stage three. There’s been a 45% drop in students taking A Level music between 2013 and 2023, too. The closure of a number of high-profile choirs such as St John’s Voices (from Cambridge’s St John’s College) and a near-miss for The BBC Singers has further demonstrated the need to support grass roots singing.
Choral music captures the momentous spirit of big occasions such as the King’s Coronation, but is also equally at home when heard in football and rugby stadiums, in churches and in school assembly halls. It’s a tradition we should be proud of, which is why Hill is doing his utmost to preserve it in his current roles as Musical Director of The Bach Choir and as a Trustee at the Cathedral Music Trust. His credentials prove he’s up to the task - he’s previously won Grammy and Gramophone awards and held roles at Yale Schola Cantorum and The BBC Singers amongst others.
Some might not realise how ubiquitous choral music is in British culture. Many could hum tunes like Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Handel’s Hallelujah and Carols like O Come All Ye Faithful without knowing them by name. Hill explores this at length in The Bach Choir’s recent podcast, Change Your Tune, where he breaks down choral music’s most famous works and highlights where you might know them from. Most people know choral music far better than they think they do, which is where The Bach Choir’s upcoming concert at St Botolph’s Church on Saturday 6 July comes in. It features a number of choral classics by British composers that many will know, and will serve as a great introduction to it for those who don’t consider themselves fans.
The Bach Choir: Choral Classics will feature David Hill, organist Philip Scriven and The Bach Choir singing some of the finest pieces of choral music around from predominantly British composers. Triumphant works like I Was Glad (heard at HM The King’s Coronation, who is patron of The Bach Choir) will be heard alongside pieces by Elgar, Parry and a number of works from The Bach Choir’s previous Musical Director, Stanford. French composer Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine also features, which can be heard in Babe, the 1995 film starring James Cromwell. Hill and The Bach Choir are very excited at the prospect of singing at the Boston Stump specifically:
“I’m relishing the prospect of conducting in the gorgeous St Botolph’s Church, which is a venue that I’ve heard much about but have not had the pleasure of performing in before. I know that Philip Scriven and The Bach Choir’s singers share this sentiment. This programme of choral classics featuring a host of wonderful British composers will hopefully be the perfect match for the famous acoustic of St Botolph’s.”
David Hill