Edward Nesbit: Nativity The Choir of Kings College London & Joseph Fort

• Edward Nesbit (b. 1986): Nativity:
• 1 Nesbit: Nativity: I. So Stick up Ivy and the Bays 04:23
• 2 Nesbit: Nativity: II. All-wielding God in Trinity 03:06
• 3 Nesbit: Nativity: III. God will us Guide 01:14
• 4 Nesbit: Nativity: IV. Now in my Soul Great Joy Have I 03:48
• 5 Nesbit: Nativity: V. How Kind is Heaven to Man! 01:51
• 6 Nesbit: Nativity: VI. Ah, Lord God, What the Weather is Cold 03:34
• 7 Nesbit: Nativity: VII. Say, Mary Daughter, What Cheer with Thee? 03:27
• 8 Nesbit: Nativity: VIII. Now, Lord That is all this World Shall Win 04:47
• 9 Nesbit: Nativity: IX. Peace? And to all the World? 06:13
• Drop down, ye heavens:
• 10 Nesbit: Drop down, ye heavens: I. Be not wroth very sore 02:58
• Wycliffe Carols:
• 11 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: I. Be ye comforted 02:20
• 12 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: II. In to plain ways 02:23
• 13 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: III. Thy light is comun 01:30
• 14 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: IV. The shining of thy rising 01:34
• 15 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: V. Forsooth a little child 01:12
• 16 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: VI. The watches of the night 04:15
• 17 Nesbit: Wycliffe Carols: VII. Make joy withoutforth enough 00:54
• Drop down, ye heavens:
• 18 Nesbit: Drop down, ye heavens: II. We have sinned 02:57
• Metaphysical Songs:
• 19 Nesbit: Metaphysical Songs: I. Awake, glad heart! 05:53
• 20 Nesbit: Metaphysical Songs: II. The Shepherds 04:29
• Drop down, ye heavens:
• 21 Nesbit: Drop down, ye heavens: III. Comfort ye 02:50
• Four Christmas Lyrics:
• 22 Nesbit: Four Christmas Lyrics: I. At a sprynge-wel under a thorn 01:25
• 23 Nesbit: Four Christmas Lyrics: II. Byhalde merveyles! 01:36
• 24 Nesbit: Four Christmas Lyrics: III. Balulalow 01:31
• 25 Nesbit: Four Christmas Lyrics: IV. Abowt the fyld thei pyped full right 02:50
• Total Runtime 01:13:00

Info for Edward Nesbit: Nativity

The Choir of King’s College London follow up on their first recording of Edward Nesbit’s sacred choral music, named a Gramaphone Editor’s Choice in 2022, with Nativity, a programme of Christmas music written by the composer over the last ten years: a joyful celebration that places Nesbit at the heart of the thriving British choral scene.

At the heart – but slightly to one side too. In a crowded field, Nesbit’s voice is distinctive. Expect much more fast-paced music than is the norm, an abundance of musical references to the classical canon, and frequent touches of humour. With their young, zestful performances, Nesbit’s music benefits from his close collaboration with the choir and its director Joseph fort.

Angharad Lyddon, mezzo-soprano
Benedict Nelson, baritone
Anneke Hodnett, harp
Martin Owen, horn
The Choir of King’s College London
Joseph Fort, director

Joseph Fort
is a conductor and musicologist based in London. Since 2015 he has been College Organist & Director of the Chapel Choir, and Lecturer in Music at King’s College London, which role he took up immediately upon the completion of his PhD at Harvard University.

Joseph's performances with the Choir of King’s College London have been recognised as ‘English choral singing at its best’ (Choir & Organ), ‘a performance of astonishing intensity and musicality’ (Gramophone), and ‘superbly drilled’ (The Guardian). His expansive discography with Delphian Records has received considerable critical acclaim, including Editor’s Choice and the ‘best new classical albums’ lists in Gramophone. Recent orchestral conducting includes Britten Sinfonia, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Hanover Band and the London Mozart Players. He also directs the acclaimed professional choir of St Paul’s Knightsbridge.

Joseph’s academic research focuses on eighteenth-century music and dance. He is currently completing a monograph on Haydn and minuets. He has published in the Eighteenth-Century Music journal, and has chapters in books with Cambridge University Press and Leipzig University Press. His chamber arrangement of The Cloud Messenger by Gustav Holst is published by Stainer & Bell.

The Choir of King’s College London
is one of the leading university choirs in England, and has existed since its founding by William Henry Monk in the middle of the 19th century. The Choir today consists of some thirty Choral Scholars reading a variety of subjects. The Choir’s principal role at King’s is to provide music for Chapel worship, with weekly Eucharist and Evensong services offered during term, as well as various other services. Services from the College Chapel are regularly broadcast on BBC Radio. The Choir also frequently sings for worship outside the university, including at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

In addition, the Choir gives many concert performances. Recent festival appearances in England include the Barnes Music Festival, London Handel Festival, Oundle International Festival, St Albans International Organ Festival, Spitalfields Festival, and the Christmas and Holy Week Festivals at St. John’s Smith Square. In 2017 the Choir joined forces with Britten Sinfonia to give the UK premiere of Samuel Barber’s The Lovers (Chamber Version) at Kings Place, the performance described in The Times as ‘sung beautifully, the voices judiciously blended’. The Choir tours widely, with destinations including Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Nigeria and the USA. In 2017 it served as Choir-In-Residence for the northeast convention of American Guild of Organists and Royal Canadian College of Organists in Montreal.

The Choir has made many recordings, and enjoys an ongoing relationship with Delphian Records. Recent recordings include the German Requiem of Johannes Brahms in its 1872 English-language setting, praised as ‘utterly uplifting’ (Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale), ‘an intimate, highly charged performance’ (Stephen Pritchard, The Observer), and the Masses for Double Choir by Kenneth Leighton and Frank Martin, described as ‘a performance of astonishing intensity and musicality’ (Marc Rochester, Gramophone), and ‘a colourful performance . . . Joseph Fort’s superbly drilled Choir of King’s College London singing with shedloads of oomph’ (Graham Rickson, theartsdesk.com). More recent releases include Gustav Holst’s The Cloud Messenger, in a new chamber version by Joseph Fort.

Following some twenty years under the leadership of David Trendell, the Choir has been directed by Dr Joseph Fort since 2015.

Booklet for Edward Nesbit: Nativity