Nine Lessons and Carols

Nine Lessons and Carols

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a format for a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus that is traditionally followed at Christmas. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir music.

The format was based on an Order drawn up by Edward White Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury but at that time Bishop of Truro, in Cornwall, for use on Christmas Eve (24 December) 1880. Tradition says that he organized a 10 pm service on Christmas Eve in a temporary wooden shed serving as his cathedral [1] and that a key purpose of the service was to keep men out of pubs on Christmas Eve.[2]

The original liturgy has since been adapted and used by other churches all over the world. Lessons and Carols most often occur in Anglican churches, but also in some Roman Catholic, Lutheran parishes, and Presbyterian institutions. However numerous Christian churches have adopted this service, or a variation on this service, as part of their Christmas celebrations. In the UK, the service has become the standard format for schools' Christmas carol services.

The best-known version is broadcast annually from King's College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve. It features carols sung by the famous Choir of King's College, Cambridge. Groton School of Groton, Massachusetts, has performed the festival longer than any institution other than King's, holding its first Lessons and Carols in 1928.

Contents

Service at King's College, Cambridge

King's College Chapel, photographed on 16 November 2006.

The first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge, was held on Christmas Eve in 1918. It was conceived by Eric Milner-White, the Dean of the College, whose experience as an army chaplain had led him to believe that more imaginative worship was needed by the Church of England. The order of service was adapted from the order created by Benson for Truro Cathedral 38 years earlier, based on an idea from the future Bishop of Edinburgh, George Henry Somerset Walpole.[3]

The music at the first service at King's was directed by Arthur Henry Mann, who was the organist from 1876 to 1929. The choir had 16 trebles as specified in statutes laid down by Henry VI, and until 1927 the men's voices were provided by choral scholars and lay clerks. Today, 14 undergraduates from the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, sing the men's parts.[3]

The service was first broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1928 and, except for 1930, has been broadcast every year since, even throughout World War II despite the stained glass having been removed from the Chapel and the lack of heating. For security reasons, the name "King's" was not mentioned during wartime broadcasts.[3] During the 1930s the BBC began broadcasting the service on its overseas programmes, and it is estimated that each year there are millions of listeners worldwide who listen to it live on the BBC World Service. Domestically, the service is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4, and a recorded broadcast is made on Christmas Day on BBC Radio 3.[3] In the USA since 1979, the broadcast has been heard live on public radio stations affiliated with American Public Media, and most stations broadcast a repeat on Christmas Day. From 1963, the service was periodically filmed for television broadcast in the UK.[4] Presently each year, a programme entitled Carols from King's which is pre-recorded in early or mid-December is shown on Christmas Eve in the UK on BBC Two and BBC Four. The programme is weighted more heavily in favour of carols sung by the choir, with only seven readings in total, not all of which are from the Bible.

Order of service

The format of the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols did not differ substantially from the one known today. The order of the lessons was revised in 1919, and since that time the service has always begun with the hymn "Once in Royal David's City".[3] These days the first verse is sung unaccompanied by a solo boy chorister. To avoid putting him under undue stress, the chorister is not told that he will be singing the solo until immediately before the service is to begin.[5]

The Nine Lessons, which are the same every year, are read by representatives of the college and of the City of Cambridge from the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible in the following order: a chorister, a choral scholar, a representative of Cambridge churches, a representative of the City of Cambridge, a representative of King's College's sister college at Eton, the Chaplain, the Director of Music, a fellow of the College, and the Provost of the College. The singing is divided into "carols" which are sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and "hymns" sung by the Choir and congregation. Since 1982 the current Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, has commissioned a new carol each year on behalf of the College for the Choir. The carols vary from year to year, although some music is repeated. The service ends with the hymn "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". The following is from the service in 2008.[6]

  • Organ Preludes
  • Carol: "If Ye would Hear the Angels Sing" – words by D. Greenwell; music by P. Tranchell
  • First Lesson from Genesis 3: 8–15; 17–19
  • Second Lesson from Genesis 22: 15–18
  • Third Lesson from Isaiah 9: 2; 6–7
  • Carol: "Nowell Sing We Now All and Some" – words and music medieval, edited by John Stevens
  • Hymn: "Unto Us is Born a Son" – words, 15th century Latin, translated by G.R. Woodward; music from Piae Cantiones arranged by David V. Willcocks
  • Fourth Lesson from Isaiah 11: 1–3a; 4a; 6–9
  • Sixth Lesson from Luke 2: 1; 3–7
  • Seventh Lesson from Luke 2: 8–16
  • Carol: "Illuminare Jerusalem" – words adapted from the Bannatyne manuscript in John and Winifred MacQueen, A Choice of Scottish Verse, 1470–1570 (1972); music by Judith Weir
  • Carol: "Glory, Alleluia to the Christ Child" – words, 17th century; music by A. Bullard

Commissioned carols and organ postludes

Year Titles Authors
1983 In Wintertime[citation needed]
(When Thou wast born in wintertime)
Words: Betty Askwith
Music: Lennox Berkeley
1984 One Star, at Last[citation needed]
(Fix on one star)
Words: George Mackay Brown
Music: Peter Maxwell Davies
1985 Illuminare Jerusalem[7] Words: adapted from the Bannatyne manuscript in John MacQueen; Winifred MacQueen (1972), A Choice of Scottish Verse, 1470–1570, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN 0571095321 .
Music: Judith Weir
1986 Nowel, Nowel, Holly Dark[citation needed] Words: Walter de la Mare
Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
1987 What Sweeter Music Can We Bring[8] Words: Robert Herrick
Music: John Rutter
1988 The Birthday of thy King[citation needed]
(Awake, glad heart, get up, and sing!)
Words: After Henry Vaughan
Music: Peter Sculthorpe
1989 Carol of St. Steven[citation needed] Words: Adapted from W. Sandys' Christmas Carols
Music: Alexander Goehr
1990 Богородице Дево, радуйся[9]
(Rejoice, O Virgin Mary)
Words: the Orthodox Liturgy (in Russian)
Music: Arvo Pärt
1991 A Gathering[citation needed] Words: Lancelot Andrewes
Music: John Casken
1992 Swetë Jesu[citation needed] Words: Anonymous, 13th Century
Music: Nicholas Maw
1993 Christo Paremus Cantica[citation needed] Words: Anonymous, 15th Century
Music: Diana Burrell
1994 The Angels[citation needed]
(Should you hear them singing among stars)
Words: John V. Taylor
Music: Jonathan Harvey
1995 Seinte Marie Moder Milde[citation needed] Words: From a 13th-century manuscript in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge
Music: James MacMillan
1996 Pilgrim Jesus[citation needed]
(Iesus! Christus! In the manger of my body)
Words: Kevin Crossley-Holland
Music: Stephen Paulus
1997 The Fayrfax Carol[10] Words: Early Tudor, anonymous
Music: Thomas Adès
1998 Winter Solstice Carol[11] English words and music: Giles Swayne
Latin words: Magnificat antiphon for Christmas Day
1999 On Christmas Day to My Heart[12] Words: Clement Paman
Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
2000 The Three Kings[13] Words: The Three Kings (1916) by Dorothy L. Sayers
Music: Jonathan Dove
2001 Spring in Winter[7] Words: C. Smart, from Hymn &c: The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Music: John Woolrich
2002 The Angel Gabriel Descended to a Virgin[14] Words: 15th–17th century
Music: Robin Holloway
2003 The Gleam[15]
(Not yet shepherds the gilded kings)
Words: Stephen Plaice
Music: Harrison Birtwistle
2004 God would be born in thee[16][17]
(Lo, in the Silent Night a Child in God is Born)
Words: Angelus Silesius
Music: Judith Bingham
2005 Carol: Away in a Manger[8] Words: 19th century
Music: John Tavener
Organ postlude: Improvisation on "Adeste Fideles"[8] Francis Pott
2006 Carol: Misere' Nobis[18]
(Jesu of a Maiden Thou wast Born)
Words: a version of a medieval English carol
Music: Mark-Anthony Turnage
Organ postlude: Recessional on "In the Bleak Midwinter"[18] Lionel Steuart Fothringham
2007 Carol: Noël (Now comes the dawn)[9]
(Stardust and vaporous light)
Words: Richard Watson Gilder
Music: Brett Dean
Organ postlude: Sortie on "In Dulci Jubilo"[9] David Briggs
2008 Mary

(The Night when She First Gave Birth)[6]

Words: Bertolt Brecht, translated by Michael Hamburger
Music: Dominic Muldowney
2009 The Christ Child[19] Music: Gabriel Jackson[20]
2010 Offerings they brought of gold Music: Einojuhani Rautavaara[21]

Attendance of the service in person

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held on Christmas Eve at King's College Chapel is primarily intended for the City of Cambridge and members of the general public.[22] There are about 650 seats in the Chapel for the service, most of which are in the Ante-Chapel;[23] seats in the Choir are largely reserved for College members and their guests.[22]

The demand for seats always exceeds the number available. Members of the public are admitted to the College through the main gate on King's Parade from 7:30 am (though some start queueing the night before),[24] and each person is given an information leaflet which must be retained and shown to the duty porter for re-entry if he or she desires to leave the queue temporarily. People joining the queue before 9:00 am will usually gain admission to the Chapel, but this is not guaranteed. Porters monitor the number of people joining the queue, and once there are as many people as there are seats available, the others are advised that it is unlikely they will be able to attend the service.[22] Members of Collegium Regale (the Choral Scholars of King's College Choir) usually sing Christmas carols to entertain the people who are queueing.

A limited number of seats are available for people unable to queue due to disability or illness. Application for such seats must be made by 31 October to the personal assistant of the Dean of King's College.[22]

The doors of the Chapel are opened at 1:30 pm and the public allowed to find their seats.[22] As the service is broadcast live, at the request of the BBC it begins a little after 3:00 pm and not exactly on the hour.[9] It concludes at around 4:30 pm[22] or 4:45 pm[23] at the earliest.

Service at Groton School

It is thought that Twining Lynes, the first organist and choirmaster of Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, USA, heard one of the earlier services and instituted it at Groton ten years later, in 1928. It has been presented yearly at Groton since that time, meaning that it has taken place for 82 years. All five of the organists at Groton have been involved with the service – Twining Lynes until 1941, Edward Gammons until 1973, Daniel Hathaway from 1974 through 1976, Craig Smith from 1976 through June 2005, and Michael Smith since July 2005.

Groton gives three annual performances of the festival. The first performance is open to residents of the town of Groton and generally closed to students of Groton School. The second service is a performance for alumni and friends of the school. The final performance generally falls on the evening before the School's Christmas break, and is attended by all students and many faculty.

The readings are the same from year to year and service to service. The readers, with two exceptions, change with each performance. The final reading is always delivered by the Headmaster of Groton School, currently Richard Commons. For the second and third services, the penultimate reading is presently delivered by former Headmaster Bill Polk. The remaining readings are given by selected students (who may be choristers), current and former faculty, and alumni.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols". bbc.co.uk. 16 December 2005. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2005/12/16/faith_nine_lessons_feature.shtml. 
  2. ^ Alex Webb (24 December 2001), Choir that sings to the world, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1703517.stm .
  3. ^ a b c d e Nine lessons and carols: History of the service, King's College Chapel, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/history.html, retrieved 2008-03-09 .
  4. ^ History of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, King's College, Cambridge, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chapel-services/nine-lessons/history.html, retrieved 2010-12-25 .
  5. ^ Peter Kingston (21 December 2007), "The world's greatest carol event", The Guardian (EducationGuardian), http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2231099,00.html .
  6. ^ a b (PDF) A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2008, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2008, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/assets/1/1d/Nine_Lessons_and_Carols2008.pdf, retrieved 2008-12-25 . For the songs sung in earlier years, see "List of carols performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel, Cambridge".
  7. ^ a b Nine Lessons and Carols 2001, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2001, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2001/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  8. ^ a b c (PDF) A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2005, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2005, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2005/NineLessonsCarols2005.pdf, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  9. ^ a b c d (PDF) A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2007, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2007, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/assets/7/7c/Nine_Lessons_and_Carols_2007.pdf, retrieved 2007-12-24 .
  10. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1997, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1997, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/1997/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  11. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1998, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1998, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/1998/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  12. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1999, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1999, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/1999/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  13. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2000, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2000, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2000/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  14. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2002, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2002, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2002/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  15. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2003, King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 2003, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2003/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  16. ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2004, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2004, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2004/, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  17. ^ In addition, a carol entitled Starry Night O'er Bethlehem with words by Anne Willcocks and music by David Willcocks was also specially written for the service.
  18. ^ a b (PDF) A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2006, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2006, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/2006/NineLessonsCarols2006.pdf, retrieved 2008-01-01 .
  19. ^ OUP Choral News E-mail October 2009, 9 October 2009 .
  20. ^ (PDF) Oxford Music Now, Oxford University Press, Spring 2009, p. 5, http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/music/OMN33.pdf, retrieved 16 May 2009 .
  21. ^ Boosey & Hawkes - Performance Calendar, http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/calendar/perf_results.asp, retrieved 24 October 2010 .
  22. ^ a b c d e f Nine Lessons and Carols, King's College Chapel, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/ninelessons/index.html, retrieved 2008-03-10 .
  23. ^ a b The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, King's College, Cambridge [information leaflet], King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2007 .
  24. ^ See, for instance, Neil Hallows (22 December 2006), Queuing for King's, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6202751.stm .

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