Carols for Choirs is 50 Years Old!

Celebrating 50 Years of ‘Carols for Choirs’ 

OUP are proud to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Carols for Choirs 1.

Edited by Reginald Jacques and David Willcocks and published in 1961, Carols for Choirs 1 soon became an integral part of every Christmas concert and service across and one of the best-selling carol anthologies of all time. The book’s concept of uniting under one cover all the material that a choir would need for their event was unique at the time and due to its huge success, was followed in 1970 by Carols for Choirs 2, edited by Willcocks and John Rutter (Jacques having died in 1969). Volumes 3, and 4 followed, with 100 Carols for Choirs joining the series in 1987.As the series grew and flourished the Carols for Choirs volumes could be seen throughout the Christmas season in every choir stall and concert folder.

 “The impact of Carols for Choirs cannot be exaggerated. The first green book appeared when I was at school, and we used it without question both at school and at church. It was the carol book – in fact, the only carol book”

Ralph Allwood

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Carols for Choirs 1 OUP are publishing a new volume in this ground-breaking series: Carols for Choirs 5. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780193373563.do

Carols for Choirs 5continues the tradition of providing a complete resource for choirs from Advent through to Epiphany; containing brand new accessible carols and new arrangements of well-loved carols with alternative descants and harmonies both for the choir and the congregation.

All the carols in Carols for Choirs 5 are by living composers, showcasing the very best established and new names in choral composition today, both in the UK and world-wide.

Event:

Carols for All, led by Paul Leddington Wright, will take place in Coventry Cathedral, UK on Saturday 10th December, to celebrate the Carols for Choirs series and showcase the new volume.

 

For further information or a more in-depth history of the series please contact:

Griselda Sherlaw-Johnson

Choral Promotion Specialist

Music Department

Oxford University Press

Gt Clarendon St

Oxford OX2 6DP

UK

tel. +44 (0)1865 355068

email.