Charles Wood
Charles Wood is remembered for Anglican church music that still fills cathedral and parish services: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis settings, anthems, and carol arrangements that gave Renaissance tunes fresh English life.
His work with priest-poet George Ratcliffe Woodward helped put older melodies back into English worship, including Christmas favourites still sung from the Cowley books. Anthems such as Hail, gladdening light and O Thou, the Central Orb stay in regular use; the accompanied pieces often carry warm, sturdy organ writing beside carefully chosen texts. He also wrote songs, part-songs and eight string quartets, the later ones coloured by Irish folk melody and dance rather than pure Brahmsian models.
Compositions by Charles Wood appear on
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The Choir of Ormond College, directed by Douglas Lawrence, presents a varied selection of twenty-eight Christmas carols. Familiar favourites sit beside Bach and Pachelbel organ pieces and twentieth-century settings.
Ding Dong Merrily on High
A baker's dozen of well-loved traditional Christmas carols featuring children's and men's voices. Recorded in the magnificent acoustics of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.