John Duggan

La Ballade De Jesus Christ

The Novello New Choral Series is an inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers, offering pieces for all types of choirs, including sacred and secular works from simple, four-part settings to more expansive, yet accessible, repertoire in an exciting variety of styles. This collection is perfect for choirs looking to broaden their repertoire and explore some of the best new music around.

Born in 1963, John Duggan was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral and studied music at Oxford. Whilst still a boy he dreamed of writing in the choral tradition of Victoria, Tallis and Palestrina. His vocal music has delighted both singers and audiences across Europe and the USA. He has written for a number of choirs including Commotio, Westminster Cathedral Choir, the Hildegard Choir and Sospiri, and has received commissions from the Edington Music Festival, Crossover Intergenerational Dance Group, Oxford Youth Dance and The Oxford-Grenoble Association. He composers regularly for film and dance, and performs as a singerand choral director whilst working as a recording engineer and producer.

La Ballade de Jesus Christ is an arrangement of a French carol from the seventeeth century or earlier. The tune is well known as the hymn Let all mortal flesh keep silence from The English Hymnal, and this arrangement was commissioned in 2007 by the Oxford choir, Sospiri, for their CD of Christmas music, Videte Miraculum. The text - a miniature morality tale - has a simple, almost childlike quality to it and this is reflected in the shimmering harmonies and soft, fleeting dissonances, presenting the story as a bitter-sweet fairy tale.