The little road to Bethlehem (Michael Head) - Guildford Cathedral Choir (Barry Rose)
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Guildford Cathedral Choir, directed by Barry Rose:
Carol Service at Guildford Cathedral, 25 December 1973:
(Believed to have been composed in 1945-6. Text by Margaret Rose)
As I walked down the road at set of sun,
The lambs were coming homeward one by one.
I heard a sheepbell softly calling them,
Along the little road to Bethlehem.
Beside an open door as I drew nigh,
I heard sweet Mary sing a lullaby.
She sang about the lambs at close of day,
And rocked her tiny King among the hay.
Across the air the silver sheepbell rang.
"The lambs are coming home," sweet Mary sang.
"Your star of gold, your star of gold is shining in the sky.
So sleep, my little King, go lullaby."
As I walked down the road at set of sun,
The lambs were coming homeward one by one.
I heard a sheepbell softly calling them,
Along the little road to Bethlehem.
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Barry Rose and Guildford is my go to place to work out just what I want to aim for. We'll never achieve it but it's the best place to hear how to do it. He is a genius choir trainer and this carol demonstrates just how to achieve the mix, balance, dynamics and choral unity. Magic....thank you!
God bless Barry Rose. He took a gang of new singing boys in a new cathedral and turned them world class in just a few years. No he has not got the Oxbridge MA or an FRCO (and this has put some snobs noses out of joint) but I think he is the finest trainer of boys voices of the past 50 years or so.
I've heard many arrangements of this piece, and this is still the best; the control of the voices is near perfection, and the tempo is so gentle and measured. Thank you for uploading; this has brought me - and I am sure many others - much listening pleasure - blessings, Mike
Thank you for appreciating!
December 17, 2014 - Austin, Texas USA - Dear Guildford Cathedral Choir and Barry Rose, There are no words to express the beauty of this performance. It speaks for itself most eloquently. It brought deep joy to me this morning in Austin to feel such blessings as these that Jesus heaps upon us with such boundless generosity. Thank you and may you receive blessings equal to those you have sent to our troubled shores this Christmas season. Peace
This channel is all about sharing the beauty of music, so we're delighted to bring joy to anyone who listens. Peace on earth, and goodwill to all mankind!
Thank you so much. You make my heart ache with joy! Peace
Beautifully sung: this choir under the wonderful Barry Rose was superlative.
A forgotten or neglected piece in the US. It is great carol and so beautifully sung. Choral singing doesn't get any better than this. The pianissimo at the end is wonderful and in tune/on pitch. Barry Rose is one of the best. He gets the best singing from his choir(s).
Ed Heffron Yes, it's surprising it's not better known in the States. Still, if enough American listeners hear this track, that may change! Glad you enjoyed the performance so much.
+Ed Heffron We do it every year at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Newport, RI. Our adults and chorister trebles all know and love it well!
A favourite Carol, beautifully sung. Diction and projection are superb. Thank you.
I've been listening to several of these beautiful pieces starting from "There shall a star from Jacob come forth", which I didn't know before but am very glad to have discovered.
Somehow, almost the most moving thing of all is the snowy photograph...another time, another place, other souls, now known only to God. Thank you for posting :-)
You are alarmingly perceptive... Those were almost *exactly* the thoughts behind the choice of that image!! Glad you enjoyed the music, too, of course.
Ahhh This is one of my favorites. And here remarkably well interpreted, beautiful arrangement. Thank you.
Beautifully done ! Thanks for sharing and God bless.
Thank you!
So special...thanks for putting this here.
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it so much.
Yes, beautiful.
Felicity Nightingale Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful. :')
+S. V. Villano Thank you - glad you enjoyed it. Christmas carols aren't just for Christmas!
So moving. Recorded in the same year as "Selling England by the Pound" by Genesis. Somehow that works. For a completely different yet quite lovely take on this carol, check out Cassie and Maggie MacDonald of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Always interesting to put a performance into historical perspective!
A lovely performance. I first heard "The little road to Bethlehem" sung by a boy in 1954 at a school concert. Sixty years on Radio 3 played this performance on their Breakfast programme recently. The presenter said that the composer was Michael Head. Do you know when he composed this lovely tune?
Roy Baker Thank you for the kind words. We believe the piece was composed towards the end of WW II. The vocal score is ©1946. Michael Head died in 1976.
Actually was written by my great great aunt Margaret Rose. Michael Head composed the music.
How nice to hear a family connection! According to another YT channel, "Rose was inspired to write this lovely poem while watching flocks of sheep returning to their folds, at the call of the shepherd's bell, after a day of grazing on the hills of Essex." Does that sound right?
We think the words are beautiful, BTW.
I met Michael Head in about 1955/6. He was an adjudicator for many musical festivals, particularly in the north of England. One of our test pieces was “Little ships of Arcady” he was such an engaging and instructive adjudicator. There were other adjudicators who were also remembered with great affection, Herbert Howells was one if great note who took great delight in telling us that his daughter, the actress Ursula Howells, was being murdered twice nightly at the Grand Theatre in Blackpool, a few hundred yards from the Opera House where our competition was taking place, he was such a handsome man tall and elegant with such a presence. he composed a great deal of church music .They were wonderful times to look back on.