Little Jazz Mass

for SATB, piano, and optional bass and drum kit ad lib.A highly original and effective concert setting of the Latin Missa brevis in which the various movements embrace a variety of jazz styles. The characterful piano accompaniment can be played as written or serve as a guide, and bass and drums can join in ad lib. The bass part is available on sale (ISBN 978-0-19-335655-9). Also available in an SSA version.

Chilcott's is a remarkable achievement in that he has written music that is approachable but never sugary, and jazz-infused but in no way irreligious. Doubtless there will be some who will consider a Jazz Mass inappropriate for liturgical use, but that number will surely diminish upon hearing either of Chilcott's . . . The Kyrie from the Little Jazz Mass and the Agnus Dei from the Nidaros Jazz Mass is where to start if you need to be convinced of this genre., Chilcott's Little Jazz Mass employs a creative and engaging musical language right from the start . . . The writing is largely intuitive and straightforward, although singers will have to be prepared for plenty of stylish jazz crunch-chords . . . Highly recommended for choirs of mixed-ability upwards., There are plenty of highlights . . . from the Gloria's opening swing bass and final dramatic cut-off to the concluding moody, bluesy Agnus. Although ostensibly a concert piece, it wouldn't take a huge leap of imagination to see this work in a liturgical context, while the piano part is so well written that effective performance requires only a moderate level of improvisational skill, if any., As an ex-singer himself (in both King's College Chior and the King's Singers), Bob Chilcott knows what works vocally. You can hear this particuloarly in A Little Jazz Mass, where he perfectly fits the words of the Latin text to the whippy, upbeat syncopations of the Kyrie and Gloria . . . The work could have easily been kitschily condescending but actually works excellently.

Bob Chilcott has become one of the world's most widely performed composers and arrangers of choral music. His compositional output reflects his wide taste in music styles and his commitment to writing music that is both singable and communicative.He has been involved in choral music most of his life he was a chorister and then a choral scholar in the choir of King's College, Cambridge, and was a member of the British vocal group The King's Singers for whom he made a number of popular arrangements of well-known songs from all genres.As well as being a full-time composer he is also a highly acclaimed choral conductor. He has been privileged to conduct many choirs all over the world. He is Principal Guest Conductor of The BBC Singers and in 2019 he was appointed Principal Conductor of Birmingham University Singers. His music has been widely recorded by many choirs and groups including The King's Singers, Tenebrae, and The BBC Singers.