Chris Willcock
Encyclopedia
Christopher Willcock is an Australian Jesuit priest and one of the most prolific and frequently published Catholic composers of liturgical music. Willcock studied music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
(graduated 1974) and was ordained to the Priesthood
in 1977. He then pursued doctoral studies in sacramental and liturgical theology at the Institut Catholique de Paris
. In 1998 he won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
.
Collaborating with author and cartoonist Michael Leunig
, Willcock won the 2006 Classical Music Award for Choral or Vocal Work of the Year with Excerpts from his work titled Southern Star (his cycle of nine Christmas carols composed in collaboration with Michael Leunig). The carols are composed for 4-part adult voices, or 3-part children's voices and are accompanied by harp - reminiscent of Benjamin Britten's
A Ceremony of Carols
. Other major works have been performed in recent years by the Tallis Scholars
(May 2000) and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
(December 1998).
In 2006 he was the St Thomas More Chair of Jesuit Studies at the University of Western Australia
. He also gave the annual Slattery Lecture for the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia
.
In 2004 he was appointed by the Melbourne Chorale as their first composer-in-residence and that year they performed two new a cappella pieces, Etiquette with Angels (a setting of a poem by another Australian Jesuit, Andrew Bullen) and his Latin setting of the Psalm 50, Miserere
. The Melbourne Chorale also performed his John Shaw Neilson Triptych in late July 2004.
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
(graduated 1974) and was ordained to the Priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
in 1977. He then pursued doctoral studies in sacramental and liturgical theology at the Institut Catholique de Paris
Institut Catholique de Paris
The Institut Catholique de Paris, or the Catholic University of Paris, is a private university located in Paris, France. The institute was founded in 1875, under the name Université Catholique de Paris, by Maurice Le Sage d'Hauteroche d'Hulst....
. In 1998 he won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
Albert H. Maggs Composition Award
The Albert H. Maggs Composition Award is a commission-based Australian classical composition award given in order to "encourage and assist composers who might otherwise abandon their efforts for want of means"....
.
Collaborating with author and cartoonist Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig , typically referred to as Leunig, is an Australian poet, cartoonist and cultural commentator. His best known works include The Adventures of Vasco Pyjama and the Curly Flats series...
, Willcock won the 2006 Classical Music Award for Choral or Vocal Work of the Year with Excerpts from his work titled Southern Star (his cycle of nine Christmas carols composed in collaboration with Michael Leunig). The carols are composed for 4-part adult voices, or 3-part children's voices and are accompanied by harp - reminiscent of Benjamin Britten's
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
A Ceremony of Carols
A Ceremony of Carols
A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28, is a choral piece by Benjamin Britten, scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. Written for Christmas, it consists of eleven movements, with text from The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, by Gerald Bullett; it is in Middle English...
. Other major works have been performed in recent years by the Tallis Scholars
Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars are a British vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers.Formed in 1973 by their director Peter Phillips, they specialise in performing a cappella sacred vocal music written during the Renaissance by composers from all over Europe...
(May 2000) and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation .-Activities:...
(December 1998).
In 2006 he was the St Thomas More Chair of Jesuit Studies at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
. He also gave the annual Slattery Lecture for the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia
University of Notre Dame Australia
The University of Notre Dame Australia is a private Roman Catholic university established in 1989 in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle, . While the University of Notre Dame Australia has "strong collegial links" with the American University of Notre Dame located in Notre Dame, Indiana,...
.
In 2004 he was appointed by the Melbourne Chorale as their first composer-in-residence and that year they performed two new a cappella pieces, Etiquette with Angels (a setting of a poem by another Australian Jesuit, Andrew Bullen) and his Latin setting of the Psalm 50, Miserere
Miserere
Miserere may refer to:* Psalm 51, and its musical settings:** Miserere ** Miserere ** Miserere * Miserere by Zucchero* Plaza Miserere, a plaza in Buenos Aires...
. The Melbourne Chorale also performed his John Shaw Neilson Triptych in late July 2004.
Sacred music
- Akhmatova Requiem for soprano solo, strings and percussion is a poem cycle by the great 20th century Russian poet, Anna AkhmatovaAnna AkhmatovaAnna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
(1889-1966), - Etiquette with Angels
- Gospel Bestiary; commissioned for the Tallis Scholars, this is a poem by Andrew Bullen SJ set to music by Willcock.
- Miserere; a setting of the Latin psalm 50
- Missa Messina
- Songs of Prayer
- Psalms for Feasts and Seasons
- In the Peace of Christ, a collection of music for the funeral rites; and
- collections published by Oregon Catholic Press: God Here Among Us, In Remembrance of You, Your Kingdom Come, Sing We Now of Christmas, and Psalms for the Journey.
Secular and concert music
- John Shaw Neilson Triptych for a cappella choir
- Five Days Old, composed for choir and orchestra
- The Frilled Lizard for viola and harp
- Gallopping Goliards' composed for solo double bass
- Lines from Little Gidding for choir and organ
- Friday 3.30 for choir and string orchestra
- Plaint over Dili for oboe and harpsichord
- New Song in an Ancient Land