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

[Beresford]

What struck me about this year's technical balance was that we had much less of the hissing snakes problem on the congregational stuff. In some past years The Serpent appears to have possessed the enitre congregation on every s, and my hunch is that it was poorly set up artificial reverb that was at the heart of this problem.

If the balance this year *is* a bit more distant it may well be that the reverb was backed off too, explaining the reduction in sibilance......

The whole sound - choir and soloists - sounded much more natural this year, probably for the reasons you mention.

[Alison]

Excellent soloist in A spotless Rose but something feels missing to me under Cleobury, it's all a bit swift and easy going, a tensionless affair.

To demonstrate balance, I always feel SC's same manner rather suits God rest you merry gentlemen.

[Petrushka]

Can't we get rid of those awful descants?:

Agreed, with the exception of the Willcocks descants which are so superb that no-one has come within miles of equalling, never mind bettering, them. We used to love them in my own choir boy days; splendid tunes in their own right and never, as someone has already said, losing sight of the main tune. For the rest, they sound pretty dreadful as if in competition with the tune instead of enhancing it. Willcocks was certainly a hard act to follow.

Excellent service yesterday and agree with those who have already noted the fine sound on Radio 4. The organ sounded spectacular through my system, real floor-shaking stuff when needed. The whole sounded much as if you were there.

[Ein Heldenleben]

To Caliban's excellent King's College Drinker's bingo now viewable on the presenter thread I would add - "the congregation remains stationary and silent during the closing Organ piece and responds with inappropriate but well- merited applause " - six shots .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The televised version contain a few variations on the Christmas Eve live broadcast. One of the alternative carols was Bob Chilcott's Shepherds' Carol. The bar lengths change between 2/4 and 3/4. I sang it in a choir I belonged to in North Yorkshire. The sopranos would stretch the 2/4 bars to equal the 3/4 bars, and the conductor didn't appear to notice. So when the tenors had a similar passage on the following page, they were reprimanded for rushing, even though they were the ones who were rhythmically correct.

So listening to KCC Choir, I was aghast to hear them stretching the 2/4 bars too. Maybe it's one of those passages, specified by a composer, but everyone ignores it - like the 10/8 bar in Memory from "Cats", or the big tune in Rhapsody in Blue.

[Nick Armstrong]

To Caliban's excellent King's College Drinker's bingo now viewable on the presenter thread I would add - "the congregation remains stationary and silent during the closing Organ piece and responds with inappropriate but well- merited applause " - six shots .

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...936#post654936

I especially enjoyed "descant causing local dogs to flock to Chapel"

[oddoneout]

Heard the R3 repeat today, and agree with the praise for the young lad's reading. I'm afraid I had a giggle at the Three Ships because the combination of pace and bounce made it sound to me all too similar to 'Here we go round the mulberry bush'....

[Alison]

Heard the R3 repeat today, and agree with the praise for the young lad's reading. I'm afraid I had a giggle at the Three Ships because the combination of pace and bounce made it sound to me all too similar to 'Here we go round the mulberry bush'....

[ocarina]

DracoM, your assertions don’t say much for the care Kings College shows its choristers or for the management/musicianship of Stephen Cleobury. I admire your sympathetic spirit but is it necessary? Is this informed, accurate, fair?

I don’t doubt they are busy but they may be thriving on that.

I for one really enjoyed the services from kings as ever. For me they strike a good balance of familiar and new - it doesn’t all suit me, but my tastes are esoteric and these are widely broadcast.

Dare I say it, I quite like some of Cleobury’s descants although prefer one of his alternative Once In Royals to this. I love the Willcocks descants and don’t doubt they will be around for a long time but I’m glad new ground is broken and we don’t get stuck with all the same settings every year. As Director of Music I think Cleobury is well within his rights and general precedent to do this (and he doesn’t need my/our blessing anyway!)

Hats off to the organ scholars. As a former cathedral organ scholar (opposite end of the spectrum!) and now approaching 40, I’m amazed that these young (getting younger, surely!) people can play with such calm, consummate professionalism and with such sparkling musicianship at this high profile service. Merry Christmas.

[jonfan]

DracoM, your assertions don’t say much for the care Kings College shows its choristers or for the management/musicianship of Stephen Cleobury. I admire your sympathetic spirit but is it necessary? Is this informed, accurate, fair?

I don’t doubt they are busy but they may be thriving on that.

Hats off to the organ scholars. As a former cathedral organ scholar (opposite end of the spectrum!) and now approaching 40, I’m amazed that these young (getting younger, surely!) people can play with such calm, consummate professionalism and with such sparkling musicianship at this high profile service. Merry Christmas.

Well said Ocarina. The organ playing was magnificent and showed off the newly restored instrument to stunning effect.
I agree with the above plaudits for all the singing, and a good mixture of new and familiar carols. The engineering was out of the BBC’s top drawer. I do wish, however, in Once in Royal, that SC uses the Mann harmony in the opening two lines as well as in lines three and four. The even crotchets in bar one, in the ATB, make for a more stately progression for a processional.
The first lesson put the fear of God in me never mind Adam.
At our Nine Lessons I gave one of our basses, and his treble nine year old daughter, a choice between them of the first lesson or the Shepherds. He thought the Genesis a bit racy for his daughter so she read about the shepherds whom she said were greeted by a ‘miltitude of the heavenly host.’

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Dare I say it, I quite like some of Cleobury’s descants although prefer one of his alternative Once In Royals to this.

In the end, it's always going to be down to personal taste. His earlier descents may be slightly less bad, but even after years of familiarity, the effect was much the same, i.e. "Please make it stop".

I love the Willcocks descants and don’t doubt they will be around for a long time but I’m glad new ground is broken and we don’t get stuck with all the same settings every year.

I don't think anyone's saying this. Philip Ledger's descant for Once in Royal is possibly finer than Willcocks's, going for simplicity, rather than SC's rambling complexity.

As Director of Music I think Cleobury is well within his rights and general precedent to do this (and he doesn’t need my/our blessing anyway!)

Of course he has the "right", but he also has the responsibility to use his position wisely.

[jonfan]

Ledger and Willcocks cornered the market in Christmas descants and have never been seriously challenged. I’m glad Ledger is ranked nowadays on a par with Sir DW. When I first introduced them in the early 80’s I had a serious insurrection amongst the sopranos who demanded the Willcocks be reinstated. Ledger has a beautiful unaccompanied third verse harmony in O little town but retained the Armstrong last verse descant, which is a classic. Let’s face it, SC just isn’t very good at descants though he has the right to have a go. I felt sorry for the trebles who had to scale a top B in the opening hymn.

[Keraulophone]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=REy_bS1j2vY

Ledger in action in 1978, for those who missed this from the Eton CE thread. Choir on good form, perhaps sounding more mature than today.

[Y Mab Afradlon]

Let’s face it, SC just isn’t very good at descants though he has the right to have a go.

And apart from Joys Seven his arrangements are not on a par with both his predecessors either. We must cut him some slack for commissioning some carols that have now become firm favourites such as the sublime Chilcott Shepherds Carol and the superb Illuminare Jerusalem by Judith Weir although some have fallen on stoney ground.

With SJC celebrating his 70th birthday next year thoughts surely will turn soon to what his successor will do?

[BBMmk2]

DracoM, your assertions don’t say much for the care Kings College shows its choristers or for the management/musicianship of Stephen Cleobury. I admire your sympathetic spirit but is it necessary? Is this informed, accurate, fair?

I don’t doubt they are busy but they may be thriving on that.

I for one really enjoyed the services from kings as ever. For me they strike a good balance of familiar and new - it doesn’t all suit me, but my tastes are esoteric and these are widely broadcast.

Dare I say it, I quite like some of Cleobury’s descants although prefer one of his alternative Once In Royals to this. I love the Willcocks descants and don’t doubt they will be around for a long time but I’m glad new ground is broken and we don’t get stuck with all the same settings every year. As Director of Music I think Cleobury is well within his rights and general precedent to do this (and he doesn’t need my/our blessing anyway!)

Hats off to the organ scholars. As a former cathedral organ scholar (opposite end of the spectrum!) and now approaching 40, I’m amazed that these young (getting younger, surely!) people can play with such calm, consummate professionalism and with such sparkling musicianship at this high profile service. Merry Christmas.

Well said! Completely agree with you. I thought the care and attention to detail was of the highest standard as ever. Stephen Cleobury is a very good incumbent of this hallowed post, imo. I missed hearing the Sir David Willcock's arrangement of O Come all ye Faithful, with those descants. That's my only quibble.