Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Chapel of King's College, Cambridge

[DracoM]

Nine Lessons and Carols
Chapel of King's College, Cambridge
[ 3 p.m. R4 Sunday, 24th Dec 2017 / Rpt R3 25th Dec @ 2 p.m. ] ]

Hymn: Once in Royal David's City (desc. Cleobury)
Bidding Prayer read by the Dean
In the bleak mid-winter (Darke)
First lesson: Genesis 3: 8-19 read by a Chorister
Adam's Fall (Richard Elfyn Jones)
Love came down at Christmas (Morris Arr. Cleobury)

Second lesson: Genesis 22: 15-18 read by a Choral Scholar
How shall I fitly meet thee? (J.S. Bach)
I saw three ships (Arr. Ledger)

Third lesson: Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7 read by a representative of the Cambridge Churches
Illuminare, Jerusalem (Judith Weir)
O little town of Bethlehem (Arr. Cleobury)

Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11:1-3a, 4a, 6-9 read by the Chaplain
A spotless rose (Howells)
The Lamb (Tavener)

Fifth lesson: Luke 1: 26-38 read by a member of College staff
Gabriel's Message (Arr. Pettman)
The Linden Tree Carol (Arr. Cleobury)

Sixth lesson: Luke 2:1-7 read by a representative of the City of Cambridge
Carol Eliseus (Huw Watkins - Commission (world premiere))
Away in a manger (Arr. Willcocks)

Seventh lesson: Luke 2: 8-16 read by the Director of Music
Can I not syng but hoy? (Francis Jackson)
God rest you merry, gentlemen (Arr. Willcocks)

Eighth lesson: Matthew 2:1-12 read by the Vice-Provost
We three kings of Orient are (Arr. Neary)
The Magi's Dream (Whitbourn)

Ninth lesson: John 1:1-14 read by the Provost
O come, all ye faithful (Arr. Willcocks)
Collect and Blessing
Hark! The herald angels sing (desc. Cleobury)

Organ voluntaries:
In dulci jubilo (BWV 729) (Bach)
Prelude and Fugue in B major (Dupré) [broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Day only]

Organ scholar: Henry Websdale
Director of Music: Stephen Cleobury

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jr627

From BBC website:
The College has performed a newly written carol at the famous Christmas Eve service A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols every Christmas since 1983.
This year's carol is by Welsh composer Huw Watkins, who studied at King's as an undergraduate and is now Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music. It is a setting of part of the welsh Plygain carol Carol Eliseus, chosen by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Of the setting, Watkins writes:
"As a non-Welsh-speaking Welshman, I was also thrilled and slightly daunted when Stephen Cleobury suggested a Welsh text. My mother (a native speaker) has helped me with the sounds and stresses of the words, and I feel like setting this language has unlocked an indefinable Welshness in my music. I wanted to write something pure and somehow artless."


NB: note transmission time on R3 is 2 p.m. on 25th Dec.

[mercia]

the Howells and Tavener seem to be almost permanent fixtures now. I like the other Howells carol-anthems just as much but perhaps they can't be fitted in as part of the chronological story (?)

[Vox Humana]

the Howells and Tavener seem to be almost permanent fixtures now. I like the other Howells carol-anthems just as much but perhaps they can't be fitted in as part of the chronological story (?)

Weir's Illuminare seems to figure pretty regularly too.

[mercia]

the Howells and Tavener seem to be almost permanent fixtures now. I like the other Howells carol-anthems just as much but perhaps they can't be fitted in as part of the chronological story (?)

sorry, that's terrible English. I meant "don't fit in" or "can't be included".

[Nick Armstrong]

Nine Lessons and Carols
Chapel of King's College, Cambridge
[ 3 p.m. R4 Sunday, 24th Dec 2017 / Rpt R3 25th Dec ] ]

...

Service booklet available here

[ardcarp]

Weir's Illuminare seems to figure pretty regularly too.

Good. Excellent piece.
On the subject of Howells, surely Here is the Little Door would fit in to the narrative? A very touching piece, IMO.

[Sir Velo]

Service booklet

For one paralysing moment, I thought the ubiquitous bearded buffoon was now writing the programme notes....

[Nick Armstrong]

For one paralysing moment, I thought the ubiquitous bearded buffoon was now writing the programme notes....

[cloughie]

Very different to King's which I always look forward to listening but yesterday evening I took part in a candlelit 9 lessons in a rural church on the Lizard peninsular. I was in a small choir assembled for the event with four rehearsals over the last month. The feedback was that we created a good sound and it was really good to part of it. Very much what Advent and Christmas should be about!

[Nick Armstrong]

Very different to King's which I always look forward to listening but yesterday evening I took part in a candlelit 9 lessons in a rural church on the Lizard peninsular. I was in a small choir assembled for the event with four rehearsals over the last month. The feedback was that we created a good sound and it was really good to part of it. Very much what Advent and Christmas should be about!

I'm going to a similar event at a tiny but very old and beautiful church in a Leicestershire village on Friday evening - went last year, it was great. Drinks and food in the Hall after not bad either, all very feudal!

[underthecountertenor]

Nice to see a nod to Francis Jackson in his 101st year.

[cloughie]

I'm going to a similar event at a tiny but very old and beautiful church in a Leicestershire village on Friday evening - went last year, it was great. Drinks and food in the Hall after not bad either, all very feudal!

Enjoy Cali, it'll get your Christmas under way!

[BBMmk2]

Oh I love this service. Not Christmas until you have heard this!

[W.Kearns]

I'm going to a similar event at a tiny but very old and beautiful church in a Leicestershire village on Friday evening - went last year, it was great. Drinks and food in the Hall after not bad either, all very feudal!

How wise, liturgically speaking, to have the Nine Lessons so close to the great feast, rather than a whole week in advance (which is what my parish did.)

[ardcarp]

Until a few years ago, Wells Cathedral's carol service was on Boxing Day as the establishment didn't approve of Christmas carols before Christmas. It was a lovely occasion. But I guess it's a bit much to expect choristers (not to mention lay and ordained vicars) to stay over nowadays.