Hilgrove Kenrick’s musical journey is the kind that makes perfect sense in hindsight. He started out as a Cathedral chorister in Birmingham, spent time playing jazz gigs around the West Midlands, and eventually landed in Worcestershire, where he’s been writing award-winning scores for film, TV, and video games. His work has been broadcast globally, racking up nominations and wins for Best Score along the way. But despite all the success in modern media, he’s never really left the choral world behind.
“With ‘Four Songs for Christmastime,’ Hilgrove Kenrick proves that tradition need not be preserved in amber to maintain its power.”
“Four Songs for Christmastime” is the second EP in Kenrick’s “Four Songs” series. Recorded live in Leominster Priory, a building that’s been standing for nine hundred years, these four pieces manage to feel both ancient and modern. There’s something special about hearing voices bounce off stone walls that have absorbed centuries of prayer and song.
Kenrick’s background in film and game scoring shows up in interesting ways. He knows how to pace things, how to build tension and release it, how to give listeners moments to breathe. The production has interesting harmonic choices that catch your attention, rhythmic shifts that keep things from getting predictable, and layers that reveal themselves when you listen again.
These pieces don’t shy away from their devotional roots, but they don’t require you to share a specific faith perspective to appreciate them. They work as meditation, as contemplation, as just beautiful music to sit with. Recording in Leominster Priory wasn’t just about getting good acoustics, though they certainly got those. It was about connecting these new compositions to a living tradition. It grounds the music in something tangible, something with history and weight.
If you’re tired of the same recycled holiday playlist every year, or if you’re looking for something with more substance than your average seasonal release, “Four Songs for Christmastime” is worth your time. Give it a listen, as you might find it is exactly what the season needed.
Muse Chronicle 
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