Let all the world (2021)
(Version for SSAATTBB)

LET ALL THE WORLD

When the Choral Scholars of the South West of England approached me to write an anthem for their virtual evensong (due to lockdown conditions), I couldn’t resist. The event was to be used as a fundraiser for my favourite charity the Cathedral Choir’s Emergency Fund – sorely needed at a time when cathedral music was already in peril, from shortage of money. (Please do donate:  https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/cathedralchoirs)

They asked me to set George Herbert’s Antiphon (I) “Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing” and the biggest challenge for me has been trying to get the famous hymn setting out of my head. (I failed, as you will see from the church bell patterns in “My God and King.”) Set for AATTBB + AATTBB, I did manage to fulfil their request for plenty of solos, to go around. (There isa now an SATB + SATB version) They are accompanied by “we sing” in 12 different languages, including from those parts of the world that have been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. All my royalties from this piece will go to the Cathedral Music Trust.

The anthem is dedicated to Choral Scholars Everywhere and I am deeply grateful to Esmée Loughlin-Dickenson and her fellow Choral Scholars at Truro Cathedral for commissioning me. Also to John and Nigella Tyson, for generously supporting production costs.

RP, 12th June 2020