1918 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, King's Cambridge

[Nick Armstrong]

Very interesting to be able to see and read the service booklet for the first ever FNLC at King's, 100 years ago, released by the College on their website:

https://www.kingscollegerecordings.com/1918-a-festival-of-nine-lessons-and-carols/

The date, six weeks after the Armistice, brings home the powerfully moving significance of the 'another shore' paragraph of the Bidding Prayer.....

Interesting too to be reminded that it started with a 'Ding-dong', not a 'Once in royal'.

[ardcarp]

Thanks for posting that, Calibs. There's a few carols there which we don't seem to hear these days. Also, the words of the Magnificat have received the 'metric' treatment, i.e. turned into verses which scan and rhyme.. This was in the days of A.H. (Daddy) Mann who was organist at KCC for oer 50 years.

An old friend of mine who died some time ago now was a Kings choral scholar from 1927 and took part in the first ever radio broadcast.

[mopsus]

I notice also that the final lesson wasn't the opening of St John's Gospel.

[cloughie]

Very interesting to be able to see and read the service booklet for the first ever FNLC at King's, 100 years ago, released by the College on their website:

https://www.kingscollegerecordings.com/1918-a-festival-of-nine-lessons-and-carols/

The date, six weeks after the Armistice, brings home the powerfully moving significance of the 'another shore' paragraph of the Bidding Prayer.....

Interesting too to be reminded that it started with a 'Ding-dong', not a 'Once in royal'.

Took them 40 years to latch on to a Cornish idea - par for the course I suppose.

[Keraulophone]

Took them 40 years to latch on to a Cornish idea

Quite so, cloughie.

Bishop Benson felt that a carol service would tempt Truro's townsfolk out of public houses for a sing-song in his temporary 'cathedral shack' while the cathedral was being built.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/nov/29/truro-nine-lessons-carols-christmas-history

https://soundcloud.com/truro-cathedr...ns-with-carols - N.B. Much of the music from 1880 sounds very staid compared to today's lively repertoire.

[Nick Armstrong]

Took them 40 years to latch on to a Cornish idea - par for the course I suppose.

We be a bit zlow out east 'ere

[oddoneout]

Quite so, cloughie.

Bishop Benson felt that a carol service would tempt Truro's townsfolk out of public houses for a sing-song in his temporary 'cathedral shack' while the cathedral was being built.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/nov/29/truro-nine-lessons-carols-christmas-history

https://soundcloud.com/truro-cathedr...ns-with-carols - N.B. Much of the music from 1880 sounds very staid compared to today's lively repertoire.

This featured tonight on Howard Goodall's BBC4 programme about carols. A good bit of exposure for the Truro forces - my goodness they know how to sing don't they?

[cloughie]

This featured tonight on Howard Goodall's BBC4 programme about carols. A good bit of exposure for the Truro forces - my goodness they know how to sing don't they?

Very interesting K. Bishop Benson should have used the local resources although I would think Merritt had not written very much by 1880, and in any case he may not have liked the idea of using Methodist repertoire! Hark the Glad Sound slotted in very well in the 9 Lessons I took part in on Monday evening at the Lizard Wynwallow Church! Will you be going to the Diaspora at the Cathedral on Thursday evening? I must check out the HG programme on iPlayer - I enjoyed his conversation last week's R4 programme with Joanne Harris.

[Wolsey]

If you missed it, here is Jeremy Summerly's Gresham lecture: Carols from King's: A Centenary Celebration

[Nick Armstrong]

If you missed it, here is Jeremy Summerly's Gresham lecture: Carols from King's: A Centenary Celebration

Thank you very much for this link

[BBMmk2]

Thank you for this, Cali. I never knew the history of this marvellous event. Thank you.

[Keraulophone]

If you missed it, here is Jeremy Summerly's Gresham lecture: Carols from King's: A Centenary Celebration

Thank you, Wolsey. It almost feels like being at the lecture.

Jeremy Summerly contributes in similar vein to Truro Cathedral Choir's sung 1880 reconstruction on the Regent Records DVD+CD that I've already provided links to in this forum. Truro's 1880 licencing laws had the pubs close at 10pm, which is apparently why Bishop Benson began his new service at that time. However, the infamous public house lock-ins that persist in these parts to this very day, extended drinking time way into the early hours!

[kernelbogey]

...Hark the Glad Sound slotted in very well in the 9 Lessons I took part in on Monday evening at the Lizard Wynwallow Church!

How intersting to read, Cloughie. I know the church (and of course the beach) really well. It's always looked a bit windswept inside - so good to hear of a service there!

[Keraulophone]

Will you be going to the Diaspora at the Cathedral on Thursday evening?

Sounds interesting - I might well go, at least to some of it. A rare day without cathedral choir rehearsal - phew.

https://www.trurocathedral.org.uk/whats-on/carols-from-the-cornish-diaspora

[Vox Humana]

If you missed it, here is Jeremy Summerly's Gresham lecture: Carols from King's: A Centenary Celebration

Very informative. Thanks for that, Wolsey. However, Summerly is quite wrong in calling it an enhanced Evensong. As I have mentioned before, the service was modelled on Matins for nine-lesson feasts (such as Christmas) in the Sarum Use. This was a time of great interest in reviving the traditional English liturgical rituals and of research into the Use of Sarum which was the authority for that ritual.. The first volume of Francis Procter and Christopher Wordsworth's important edition of the Sarum Breviary had appeared only the previous year; Benson had known Wordsworth since 1866 and the two were close friends. Anyway, that's why the Truro service had nine lessons, each preceded by a benediction (lifted straight from Sarum Matins) and followed by music (here carols instead of the responds of Sarum) and why the readings are read by people in ascending order of seniority. I have also just noticed that Benson's opening preces end after the Gloria Patri (no "Praise ye the Lord"). That's yet another Sarum thing.

As for the dynamics in the hymns, I would think it very likely that in the 1880s a greater percentage of the middle classes would have had enough musical education to understand these than would be the case today. Hymns A&M soon became replete with them and I seem to recall Kingsley Amis taking a potshot at them in Lucky Jim.