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

[Petrushka]

When I was in our church choir (1960s/70s) Christmas carols and hymns were most definitely NOT sung until Christmas Day itself. Our Nine Lessons and Carols was always the first Sunday after Christmas. I suppose it was this that had me so surprised at St John's Advent Service taking place before Advent had even started. No-one seems to care much about something like the liturgical year these days.


I shall be in Lichfield Cathedral for their 9 Lessons on Christmas Eve.

[cloughie]

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.

How very strange - I always thought it was an Advent thing.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

How very strange - I always thought it was an Advent thing.

So did I.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

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

All the punctuation would have to be omitted, and the readings would be heard over the carols.

[Dafydd y G.W.]

How very strange - I always thought it was an Advent thing.

Originally designed as a "popular" service to keep the people of Truro out of the pubs on Christmass Eve, and later adapted for use at King's.

Or, to be liturico-pedantic, not on Christmass Eve, but on Christmass Day, which begins with the First Evensong/Vespers of the Feast some time in the afternoon/evening of 24th December. The secular day may not change until midnight, but the liturgical one has already changed, which is why it is liturgically appropriate to have Christmass lessons and carols when King's does (but on the third Sunday of Advent or any other earlier day).

[cloughie]

Y

Originally designed as a "popular" service to keep the people of Truro out of the pubs on Christmass Eve, and later adapted for use at King's.

Or, to be liturico-pedantic, not on Christmass Eve, but on Christmass Day, which begins with the First Evensong/Vespers of the Feast some time in the afternoon/evening of 24th December. The secular day may not change until midnight, but the liturgical one has already changed, which is why it is liturgically appropriate to have Christmass lessons and carols when King's does (but on the third Sunday of Advent or any other earlier day).

Yes I know it was conceived by Archbishop Benson,and first performed on Christmas Eve - at 10.00 pm it would maybe have pulled a few people in from the Barley Sheaf at the back of the Cathedral. At the time the Cathedral was being developed from St Mary's Church which was on the site of the Cathedral.

[DracoM]

Well........that Once in Royal SC descant.......crikey. Why?
And on R4, where on earth are the microphones???

[Ein Heldenleben]

That young chorister gave the first reading some welly. Blimey ---like Larry Olivier . Excellent ....

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Well........that Once in Royal SC descant.......crikey. Why?
And on R4, where on earth are the microphones???

Was this his third attempt?

[Nick Armstrong]

That young chorister gave the first reading some welly. Blimey ---like Larry Olivier . Excellent ....

Great stuff! Talk about fear of the Lord.... Just right.

Well........that Once in Royal SC descant.......crikey. Why?
And on R4, where on earth are the microphones???

Yes the descant seems to have become a regular fixture - it's pretty horrible.

But I've been thinking that for the first time in years, they've got the microphone placement dead right, not the merciless close focus of recent years, a realistic representation of being there, with proper bloom around the sound. (I'm on the Radio app on the iPad feeding the hifi via Airport Express - sounds terrific).

It's a pity that the KCC website appears unable to take the strain and the booklet linked in my #5 above isn't accessible at the moment.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

SC's descents seem to be almost universally abhorred. Why does he put himself and us through it? I blame Philip Ledger, wrote a few descents of his own (which were rather good), so SC may have thought he was expected to do the same. But as DracoM says: Why?

[cloughie]

Very mixed bag of performances - We Three Kings was dreadful!

[DracoM]

Boys seemed pretty stretched at the top, verging on a sustained screeching over massive fff organ / congregation.
BUT in their defence, by this time in the term, those kids have pretty well had it, the number of services they will have sung in, recorded in exhausting TV sessions etc.

What is good to know is how much other foundations have learnt from the format, how they have developed better structures, repertoire. KCC have become IMO fatally stuck in quick-setting concrete on this one. I do not envy them, nor their DoM.

[mercia]

That young chorister gave the first reading some welly. Blimey ---like Larry Olivier . Excellent ....

yes, it crossed my mind he was auditioning for Henry V. I hope Eve and the serpent felt suitably admonished.

[subcontrabass]

We Three Kings was dreadful!

I thought it was very entertaining - a beautiful "send up" of a piece of musical and religious rubbish.