'Twas in the year

George Benjamin's motet 'Twas in the Year was first performed by the Choir of King's College Cambridge in 1980. A 7-minute setting of a prophetic vision from the Book of Isaiah for SATB choir and organ, it opens with the austere clarity of an unaccompanied tenor solo. As more voices join its textures grow in complexity before a climactic unison, after which the solo tenor of the opening returns. A perfect carol for Advent and Christmas, for intermediate level choirs.