Christopher Willcock (born 1947) is an Australian

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest and composer of liturgical music.

Life

Willcock studied music at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

(graduated 1974) and theology in Melbourne with the Jesuit Theological College, a member college of the

United Faculty of Theology The United Faculty of Theology (UFT) was a recognised teaching institution of the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1969 as an informal association of theological colleges and ceased operating in December 2014. The U ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1977. He then pursued doctoral studies in sacramental and liturgical theology at the

Institut Catholique de Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...

. In 1998, he won the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

's Albert H. Maggs Composition Award. Collaborating with cartoonist and artist 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 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 ''A Ceremony of Carols'', Op. 28 is an extended choral composition for Christmas by Benjamin Britten scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. The text, structured in eleven movements, is taken from ''The English Galaxy of Sho ...

''. Other major works have been performed by the

Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble established in 1973. Normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers, they specialise in performing ''a cappella'' Religious music, sacred vocal ...

(May 2000) and the

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestr ...

(December 1998). In 2006 he was the St Thomas More Chair of Jesuit Studies at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. He also gave the annual Slattery Lecture for the School of Philosophy and Theology at the

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (known simply as Notre Dame; ; French language, French for 'Mary, mother of Jesus, Our Lady') is a Private university, private Catholic university with campuses in Perth, Sydney and Broome, Western Austr ...

. In 2004 he was appointed by the

Melbourne Chorale Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known as ...

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 Psalm 50, '' Miserere'' (considered Psalm 51 in some versions of the Bible). The Melbourne Chorale also performed his ''

John Shaw Neilson John Shaw Neilson (1872–1942) was an Australian poet. Slightly built, for most of his life he worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Road ...

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 Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

(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

Notes

References

Willcock on Australian Composer biography

details on the United faculty of theology website

External links

Willcock biography
(archived)
Jesuit Theological College
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Willcock, Christopher 1947 births 20th-century Australian classical composers 21st-century Australian classical composers APRA Award winners Australian classical composers Australian expatriates in France Australian Jesuits Australian male classical composers Catholic University of Paris alumni Living people Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Winners of the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award 20th-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian male musicians