ONWARD WE GO
Music by Thomas Hewitt Jones
Words by Canon Gordon Giles
The Children’s choir of St Stephen’s, Dulwich
Caroline Lenton-Ward, conductor, with Oliver Lallemant (piano), Jill Valentine (viola), Jernej Albreht (clarinet), Joe Downard (bass guitar)and Simon Hewitt Jones (violin)
The Children’s choir of St Stephen’s, Dulwich conducted by Caroline Lenton-Ward, sing this new nativity carol by Thomas Hewitt Jones with words by Gordon Giles. Written as a tuneful, warm and nostalgic tribute to the Christmas story, Onward We Go is scored for the children’s touchingly young voices with piano, electric bass and instrumentalists. The carol may be sung in procession in church or as part of a nativity play.
Thomas Hewitt Jones says “I have great fondness for St Stephen’s Dulwich, which played an important part in my formative musical education, and it is extremely fulfilling to write music for them and to see the next generations of young singers coming through.”
Caroline Lenton-Ward says, “The Choristers were delighted to record and film Onward We Go by Thomas Hewitt Jones, and enjoyed every second of the process and behaved like true professionals! Many of them are from the Kingswood Estate, a Southwark Council Housing Estate with very high levels of deprivation and a very high diversity of ethnic backgrounds. There is a wide ethnic, social, and religious mix, including Muslim twins who sing at the Sunday eucharist, and several choristers with special educational needs. The choir offers a safe space for children to sing and be creative, which is good for wellbeing as well as providing a musical education, which is often very poorly provided in schools due to funding cuts. Judging by the uptake so far, St Stephen’s seems to be filling this gap.”
Canon Gordon Giles says, “This carol was written in Rochester in the summer of 2023, to a tune that Thomas had more or less written. Thus the text evolved with the music, which is a delightful way of collaborating. The theme is that of children singing on their way to visit the manger, a happy band of little pilgrims wanting to show the new born king their love and to worship him. Their gift is simply to offer love. As the song progresses they draw nearer, passing the shepherds seeing the angels’ light, and the Kings (Magi) with their gifts, all of which are offered to Christ as loving tribute. After these three journeying verses, the children have arrived, and find that by bringing love, it is in fact the infant Christ who has called them so that he can show them his love. In giving they receive. This is the cause of faith, hope and joy which has called young and old into his kingly presence today, just as it always has done. It is the core of Christmas, that we give gifts of love, because we have received love.”
The score of Onward We Go is published by Stainer & Bell and is available in both printed and digital formats https://stainer.co.uk/shop/cn72/
