Bob Chilcott: The Voyage

Another winning collaboration between Bob Chilcott and author Charles Bennett, this work was commissioned by Age UK Oxfordshire as part of a project to highlight and combat loneliness. The singers assume the role of narrator, guiding the listener on a journey made by boat, with nine choral songs presenting their own stories within this larger excursion. The outer movements provide a watery framework with rippling figures and gentle choral waves. An air of nostalgia pervades My father’s boat and ‘What we did on our holiday’, while the central songs use naval and meteorological imagery to speak of some of life’s difficulties. Soliloquies between the choral songs highlight a variety of solo instruments, but these may be omitted if performing with piano.