Festival of Nine lessons and Carols 24th / 25th Dec 2010

[DracoM]

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Live on R4 24th Dec 3 p.m. // Recording on R3 25th Dec 2 p.m.

Once in royal David's city (descant Cleobury)
Bidding Prayer read by the Dean
This is the truth sent from above (arr Vaughan Williams)
First lesson: Genesis 3: 8-19 read by a Chorister
Adam lay ybounden (Ord)
A Virgin most pure (arr Cleobury)
Second lesson: Genesis 22: 15-18 read by a Choral Scholar
In dulci jubilo (arr de Pearsall)
If ye would hear the angels sing (Tranchell)
Third lesson: Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7 read by a Representative of the Cambridge Churches
Sussex Carol (arr Ledger)
God rest you merry, gentlemen (arr Willcocks)
Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11: 1-3a, 4a, 6-9 read by a Representative of the City of Cambridge
A tender shoot (Goldschmidt)
Det är en ros utsprungen (arr Sandström)
Fifth lesson: Luke 1: 26-35, 38 read by the Master over the Choristers
Hymne à la Vierge (Villette)
Sunny Bank (Hurford)
Sixth lesson: Luke 2: 1, 3-7 read by the Chaplain
Mariä Wiegenlied (Reger)
The holly and the ivy (arr Nixon)
Seventh lesson: Luke 2: 8-16 read by the Director of Music
While shepherds watched (descant Cleobury)
Illuminare, Jerusalem (Weir)
Eighth lesson: Matthew 2: 1-12 read by the Vice-Provost
Christmas Carol (Rautavaara - first performance, commissioned by King's College)
Ding! dong! merrily on high (arr Wilberg)
Ninth lesson: John 1: 1-14 read by the Provost
O come, all ye faithful (arr Cleobury)
Collect and Blessing
Hark! the herald angels sing (descant Willcocks)

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

Organ Scholar: Ben-San Lau
Director of Music: Stephen Cleobury

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I see Willcocks has hung on to the Hark, the Herald descant for the second year running. :)

[DracoM]

AND we have another outing for the Sandstrom / Praetorius combination, and Christmas Carol by Rautavaara.

In that acoustic, they should sound well, particularly the former.

[Simon]

I see Willcocks has hung on to the Hark, the Herald descant for the second year running. :)

Thank heavens for that. The massive criticism from all quarters two years ago must have done the trick. Though I notice we still have SC's "improvements" for Once and While. And is his "arrangement" of O Come something new to look forward to or did we have it last year?

Good to see something new from Rautavaara: he rarely disappoints, IMO.

[mercia]

I notice from Radio Times that the Christmas Day repeat is scheduled to last 2 hours, or is that usual?

[BBMmk2]

That rather long!! I have to be careful here(my father is a Queen's man!!)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Thank heavens for that. The massive criticism from all quarters two years ago must have done the trick. Though I notice we still have SC's "improvements" for Once and While. And is his "arrangement" of O Come something new to look forward to or did we have it last year?

Good to see something new from Rautavaara: he rarely disappoints, IMO.

The Hark the Herald descant is probably the weakest of the 3 Cleobury ones, so it's a fair compromise. Sadly, the rather good Ledger ones seem to be erased from history.

[DracoM]

Incidentally, I see from St Thomas Fifth Ave NYC webiste that they sang the same Praetorius/Sandstrom piece twice today. If you can, listen to the afternoon performance.

[David Underdown]

That rather long!! I have to be careful here(my father is a Queen's man!!)

Do you mean he went to Oxford, or that he was a Queens' man? (the Cambridge college is associated with two queens.)

[BBMmk2]

Do you mean he went to Oxford, or that he was a Queens' man? (the Cambridge college is associated with two queens.)

Queen's College, Cambridge!!

[Wolsey]

Queen's College, Cambridge!!

You missed David Underdown's point which alluded to the apostrophe. The Cambridge college is Queens', not Queen's. Simples!

[Stanley Stewart]

In which case I'm sure he will insist that the apostrophe in Queens' is placed after the s - and preferably without exclamation marks after Cambridge.

[Anna]

Festival of Nine Carols means to me: Peeling sprouts and carrots for the next day, boiling up giblets (ditto), windows steaming up and getting all sentimental, which is traditional. Accompanied by a glass of Shiraz. Don't we all love it? And who cares how many Queens have how many apostrophes?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And who cares how many Queens have how many apostrophes?

I do, for one. I remember some kind person on the BBC messageboard explaining why the apostrophe is not where you would expect it to be. (Lynne Truss )

[Anna]

I do, for one. I remember some kind person on the BBC messageboard explaining why the apostrophe is not where you would expect it to be. (Lynne Truss )

Eats, shoots and leaves!