Nativity is a cantata which recounts the story of the birth of Christ with the use of two interlocking types of text: the Tilethatchers Play from the York Cycle of Mystery Plays; and a selection of Christmas poetry by the Welsh metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan. The Tilethatchers play dramatises the scene of the Nativity, and consists of an extended dialogue between Mary and Joseph, who here are represented by mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists. Three poems by Henry Vaughan, sung by the choir, are interspersed throughout the cantata and reflect on the action. The piece as a whole imagines the diverse emotions of the characters while attempting to capture the joy of the Christmas story.

Nesbit has adopted a very original approach, not least in his selection of texts, which means that Nativity is far from being “just another” Christmas piece…The writing for the choir is consistently interesting…Nativity is a most attractive and imaginative score and I like the originality of Nesbit’s concept. (John Quinn, MusicWeb International, November 2024)

There’s a real timeless quality to this music. (BBC Music Magazine, November 2024)

Nesbit’s compositional skill is innovative and original; it is certainly pleasing and melodic. (Andrew Palmer, Yorkshire Times, 6^th December 2024)

Nesbit’s musical style bridges the chronological gap between his texts and the present day most effectively (Europadisc, December 2024)

The result has the aura of something that Britten might have created…but here, Nesbit brings a bracingly contemporary modernism in that his music is lyrical and melodic…And Nesbit writes music which is far from plain recitative, he has the gift of writing apparently simple music, for just baritone, harp and horn, say, where the vocal line hardly moves yet in the hands of the performers here, creates something rather special. Nativity is quite a compact piece, yet within it Nesbit brings a remarkable expressive range to the fore. (Planet Hugill, December 2024)

This new album is doing for me what we perhaps all need at this time of year – bringing back the wonder of the Christian manger birth in a different way and removing the cliché of tired and often repeated settings of the Christmas story. It’s different – a very unusual take on the Nativity, in terms of both the recently composed music and the ancient words set – and sometimes slightly on the weird side. It’s also doing this with attractive, unusual and economic forces – two vocal soloists in the first work, mixed choir and sometimes horn and harp. Nativity also has an unusual structure, consisting of chorus, recitative, scherzo, lullaby, then another of each of these sections followed by a final chorus, in which the horn writing is again unusual, with its long repeated notes and sometimes cheeky asides, muted in one short section. Using low voices for the solo parts – here mezzo Angharad Lyddon and baritone Benedict Nelson – gives the work extra gravitas. The choice of instruments – french horn and harp – is also very significant, as they are highly contrasting and used in a way that strongly reinforces how the music here resonates with its ancient texts. (Keith Bramich, Classical Music Daily, 19^th December 2024)

Recording with Angharad Lyddon, Benedict Nelson, Martin Owen, Anneke Hodnett and The Chapel Choir of King’s College London conducted by Joseph Fort available on Delphian Records.