Nine Lessons and Carols
Nine Lessons and Carols | |
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![]() A service of Nine Lessons in 2010 at St. George's School, Rhode Island, US | |
Genre | Religious service/Anglican church music |
Venue | Christian churches worldwide, notably King's College Chapel, Cambridge |
Inaugurated | 24 December 1880 |
Founder | Edward White Benson |
Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve in England. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings or lessons from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir anthems.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Edward_Benson.jpg/170px-Edward_Benson.jpg)
Although the tradition of Nine Lessons and Carols is popularly associated with
The Choir of the Cathedral will sing a number of carols in the Cathedral on Christmas Eve, the service commencing at 10pm. We understand that this is at the wish of many of the leading parishioners and others. A like service has been instituted in other cathedral and large towns, and has been much appreciated. It is the intention of the choir to no longer continue the custom of singing carols at the residences of members of the congregation.
—Royal Cornwall Gazette, 20 December 1878[2]
Two years later, the Right Rev.
Benson's son, A. C. Benson, later recalled:
My father arranged from ancient sources a little services for Christmas Eve, nine carols and nine tiny lessons. They were read by various officers of the church, beginning with a chorister and ending, through different grades, with the bishop.
— A. C. Benson, [6]
Bishop Benson was appointed
In 1916, a service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; the institution celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Lessons and Carols in 2016.[7]
Notably in 1918, the Rev. Eric Milner-White the new dean of King's College, Cambridge, introduced the service to the college chapel, taking advantage of the established choral tradition of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. It proved highly successful, and began an annual tradition — albeit with some alterations to Benson's original format from 1919 onwards. The BBC began to broadcast the service on the radio from 1928 and on television from 1954, establishing Carols from King's as the most popular and widely recognised presentation of the service.[8][4]
In North America, the Lessons and Carols tradition spread to other US and Canadian institutions. In 1928, organist and choirmaster Twining Lynes, introduced the service to Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, after being inspired by services in England.[9]
In Canada, the Festival of Nine Lessons and carols is done multilingually at Bishop's College School, Quebec, with the nine lessons read in nine languages or dialects.
In December 2013, Truro Cathedral staged a reconstruction of Bishop Benson's original 1880 Nine Lessons with Carols Service which was attended by a congregation of over 1,500 people.[5]
Service at King's College, Cambridge
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Kings_College_Chapeljh.jpg/220px-Kings_College_Chapeljh.jpg)
The first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at
The King's College service was immensely successful, and the following year Milner-White made some changes to Benson's original format, notably introducing the tradition of opening the service with a solo treble singing "
Broadcasting of the service
The popularity of the service was established when the service began to be broadcast by the
Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College was first televised by BBC Television in 1954, conducted by the director of music, Boris Ord.[12][13]
Since the Second World War, it has been estimated that each year there are millions of listeners worldwide who listen to the service 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.[10] In the US, a 1954 service was put into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2008.[14] The broadcast has been heard live on public radio stations affiliated with American Public Media since 1979, and most stations broadcast a repeat on Christmas Day. Since 1963, the service has been periodically filmed for television broadcast in the UK.[15] Presently, each year a programme entitled Carols from King's is pre-recorded in early or mid-December then 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.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the service was conducted, for the first time, without a congregation.[16][17] The service did not take place live, but instead a pre-recorded service produced by King's College was broadcast at the usual time.[18] It was the first time since 1930 that the service had not been broadcast live.
Order of service
The format of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has not changed substantially since 1918. The order of the lessons was revised in 1919, since when the service has always begun with the hymn "
The nine lessons, which are the same every year, are read by representatives of the College and of the city of Cambridge using the text of the
- Organ preludes
- "Fantasia in C, BK 25" – music by William Byrd (c. 1540−1623)
- 'La vierge et l'enfant' from "La Nativité du Seigneur" – music by Olivier Messaien (1908−1992)
- "Prelude in D, BuxWV 139" – music by Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637−1707)
- 'Les anges' from "La Nativité du Seigneur" – music by Olivier Messaien
- "Prelude and Fugue in G, BWV 550" – music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685−1750)
- "In dulci jubilo, BuxWV 197" – music by Dieterich Buxtehude
- Processional hymn: "Once in Royal David's City" – words by Cecil Frances Alexander (1818−1895); melody ('Irby') by Henry Gauntlett (1805−1876); harmonised by Arthur Henry Mann (1850−1929); descant by Philip Ledger (1937−2012)
- Bidding prayer, concluding with the Lord's Prayer
- Carol: "Out of your sleep arise and wake" – words, anonymous 15th century English, modernised by Eleanor Parker; music by Robin Nelson
- First lesson from Genesis 3: 8–15, 17–19 (read by a chorister of King's College)
- Carol: "Adam lay ybounden" – words, 15th century English, modernised by Edith Rickert (1871-1938); music by Matthew Martin
- Second lesson from Genesis 22: 15–18 (read by the Chaplain of King's College)
- Carol: "Illuminare Jerusalem" – words, 16th century Scots, modernised by Eleanor Parker; music by Judith Weir
- Third lesson from Isaiah 9: 2, 6–7 (read by a member of the King's College staff)
- Carol: "O Radiant Dawn" – words from Liber Usualis, based on Isaiah 9:2; music by James MacMillan
- Hymn: "O Little Town of Bethlehem" – words by Phillips Brooks (1835−1893); melody ('Forest Green'), English traditional; arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872−1958); descant by Thomas Armstrong (1898−1994)
- Fourth lesson from Isaiah 11: 1–4a, 6–9 (read by a representative of Eton College)
- Carol: "King Jesus hath a garden" – words and music, traditional Dutch; translated by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848−1934); arranged by Stephen Cleobury (1948−2019)
- Carol: "A Spotless Rose is Blooming" – words, 14th century German, translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827−1878); music by Philip Ledger
- Carol: "Gabriel's Message" – words by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834−1924); music, Basque carol, arranged by David Willcocks (1919−2015)
- Carol: "Come all you faithful Christians" – words, English traditional; music by Christopher Robinson
- Sixth lesson from Luke 2: 1–7 (read by the Mayor of Cambridge)
- Carol: "Sir Christèmas" – words, 15th century English; music by William Mathias (1934−1992)
- Hymn: "The First Nowell" – words and melody ('The First Nowell'), Cornish traditional; arranged by David Willcocks
- Seventh lesson from Luke 2: 8–16 (read by the Director of Music of King's College)
- Carol: "The Cradle" – words, 17th century Austrian, translated by Robert Graves (1895−1985); music by Cheryl Frances-Hoad (commissioned for the 2023 service)
- Eighth lesson from Matthew 2: 1–12 (read by the Vice-Provost of King's College)
- Carol: "The Christ-Child lay on Mary's lap" – words, 'A Christmas Carol' by G. K. Chesterton (1874−1936); music by John Rutter (written in memory of Stephen Cleobury)
- Carol: "Procedenti puero" – words, 15th century English; music by Peter Warlock (1894−1930)
- Ninth lesson from the Gospel of John 1: 1–14 (read by the Provost of King's College)
- Hymn: "O Come, All Ye Faithful" – words, translated by Frederick Oakeley (1802−1880), William Thomas Brooke (1848−1917), et al.; melody ('Adeste, fideles') by John Francis Wade (1711−1786); arranged by David Willcocks; descant by Daniel Hyde
- Hymn: "
- Hymn: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" – words by Charles Wesley (1707−1788), et al.; melody ('Mendelssohn') by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809−1847); descant by David Willcocks
- Organ voluntaries
- "In Dulci Jubilo, BWV 729" – music by Johann Sebastian Bach
- 'Dieu parmi nous' from "La Nativité du Seigneur" – music by Olivier Messaien
- "
Commissioned carols and organ postludes
The table below shows the new carols commissioned by King's College, Cambridge, since 1983.
Year | Title of carol | Author/source and composer |
---|---|---|
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[22] | Words: Adapted from the Bannatyne Manuscript[23] 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[24] | 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 William Sandys Music: Alexander Goehr |
1990 | Богородице Дево, радуйся[25] (Rejoice, O Virgin Mary) |
Words: 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: 13th century manuscript in the library of 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[26] | Words: Anonymous, early Tudor Music: Thomas Adès |
1998 | Winter Solstice Carol[27] | Words: English translation of the Magnificat antiphon for Christmas Day Music: Giles Swayne |
1999 | On Christmas Day to My Heart[28] | Words: Clement Paman Music: Richard Rodney Bennett |
2000 | The Three Kings[29] | Words:Dorothy L. Sayers Music: Jonathan Dove |
2001 | Spring in Winter[22] | Words: Christopher Smart Music: John Woolrich |
2002 | The Angel Gabriel Descended to a Virgin[30] | Words: 15th–17th century Music: Robin Holloway |
2003 | The Gleam[31] (Not yet shepherds the gilded kings) |
Words: Stephen Plaice Music: Harrison Birtwistle |
2004 | God Would be Born in Thee[32][33] (Lo, In the Silent Night a Child in God is Born) |
Words: Angelus Silesius Music: Judith Bingham |
2005 | Away in a Manger[24] | Words: 19th century Music: John Tavener |
2006 | Misere' Nobis[34] (Jesu of a Maiden Thou Wast Born) |
Words: English mediaeval carol Music: Mark-Anthony Turnage |
2007 | Noël (Now Comes the Dawn)[25] (Stardust and Vaporous Light) |
Words: Richard Watson Gilder Music: Brett Dean |
2008 | Mary (The Night When She First Gave Birth)[35] |
Words: Bertolt Brecht, translated by Michael Hamburger Music: Dominic Muldowney |
2009 | The Christ Child[36] | Words: G. K. Chesterton Music: Gabriel Jackson[37] |
2010 | Christmas Carol (Offerings They Brought of Gold) | Words: Einojuhani Rautavaara, translated by Hanni-Mari and Christopher Latham Music: Einojuhani Rautavaara[38] |
2011 | Christmas Hath a Darkness | Words: Christina Rossetti Music: Tansy Davies[39] |
2012 | Ring Out, Wild Bells | Words: Alfred, Lord Tennyson Music: Carl Vine[40] |
2013 | Hear the Voice of the Bard | Words: William Blake Music: Thea Musgrave[41] |
2014 | De Virgine Maria | Words: 12th-century Latin, translated by Ronald Knox Music: Carl Rütti |
2015 | The Flight | Words: George Szirtes Music: Richard Causton[42] |
2016 | This Endernight | Words: Anonymous c. 1400 Music: Michael Berkeley[43] |
2017 | Carol Eliseus | Words: Welsh Music: Huw Watkins[44] |
2018 | O Mercy Divine | Words: Charles Wesley[45] Music: Judith Weir[46] |
2019 | The Angel Gabriel | Words: Sabine Baring-Gould Music: Philip Moore[47] |
2020 | No new commission[48] | |
2021 | There is no Rose | Words: 15th century Music: Cecilia McDowall[49] |
2022 | Angelus ad Virginem | Words: Mediaeval Music: Matthew Martin[50] |
2023 | The Cradle | Words: Anonymous, 17th century Austrian, translated by Robert Graves Music: Cheryl Frances-Hoad[51] |
Organ postludes have also been commissioned in certain years, as shown in the table below.
Year | Title of postlude | Composer |
---|---|---|
2005 | Improvisation on " Adeste Fideles"[24]
|
Francis Pott |
2006 | Recessional on "In the Bleak Midwinter"[34] | Lionel Steuart Fothringham |
2007 | Sortie on " In Dulci Jubilo"[25]
|
David Briggs
|
Attendance at the service
Attendance at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held on Christmas Eve is now by ticket only, many of which are allocated by public ballot; standby tickets are also made available to those who applied for in the ballot.[52] Owing to the service's popularity, demand for seats greatly exceeds the number of tickets available. In previous years, when tickets were available at the door, some people began queuing the night before,[53] but now only those with standby tickets are permitted to stand in the queue.[52]
See also
- Anglican church music
- List of carols at the Nine Lessons and Carols, King's College Chapel
- 100 Years of Nine Lessons and Carols
References
Citations
- ^ Dibble 2017, p. 399.
- ^ "Christmas at the Cathedral". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Falmouth. 20 December 1878. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ Alex Webb (24 December 2001), "Choir that sings to the world", BBC News.
- ^ a b c Gray, Christopher (29 November 2013). "How Truro created Christmas musical history". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Nine Lessons and Carols". www.trurocathedral.org.uk.
- bbc.co.uk. 16 December 2005.
- ^ "100th Annual Service of Lessons and Carols | Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9781405108997.
- ^ "Spiritual Life at Groton". Groton School. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Nine lessons and carols: History of the service, King's College Chapel, retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ^ "In the Chapel: Carols". King's College Cambridge. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Humphreys, Garry (20 May 2012). "The Choir of King's College, Cambridge made world-famous by Boris Ord". www.semibrevity.com. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ISBN 9781473530515. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ Metzler, Natasha (9 June 2009). "New National Recording Registry entries announced". Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ History of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, King's College, Cambridge, retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ "Carols from King's". BBC. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Carols from King's to be sung in empty chapel for first time in a century". The Guardian. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Radio to broadcast recorded version of Christmas Eve service". King's College Cambridge. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ Peter Kingston (21 December 2007), "The world's greatest carol event", The Guardian (EducationGuardian).
- ^ "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 2004". King's College, Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- List of carols performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel, Cambridge".
- ^ a b Nine Lessons and Carols 2001, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2001, archived from the original on 9 December 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ISBN 0-571-09532-1
- ^ a b c A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2005 (PDF), Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2005, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2006, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ a b c A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2007 (PDF), Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011, retrieved 24 December 2007.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1997, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1997, archived from the original on 28 September 2006, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1998, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1998, archived from the original on 13 August 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 1999, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 1999, archived from the original on 16 December 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2000, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2000, archived from the original on 8 August 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2002, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2002, archived from the original on 17 November 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2003, King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 2003, archived from the original on 25 December 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Nine Lessons and Carols 2004, Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 2004, archived from the original on 17 January 2008, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, 2006 (PDF), Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, 24 December 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2007, retrieved 1 January 2008.
- List of carols performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel, Cambridge".
- ^ OUP Choral News E-mail October 2009, 9 October 2009.
- ^ Oxford Music Now (PDF), Oxford University Press, Spring 2009, p. 5, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011, retrieved 16 May 2009.
- ^ Boosey & Hawkes - Performance Calendar, retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, Order of Service, 2011 (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012, retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, Order of Service, 2012 (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2013, retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ Commissioned carol sets Blake poem to music, retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ Richard Causton composes 2015 commissioned carol, retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ Michael Berkeley composes Christmas commissioned carol, retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ New Christmas Eve carol announced, retrieved 9 December 2017[permanent dead link].
- ^ http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/chapel/9lc_order_of_service_2018.pdf%7Caccess-date=15[permanent dead link] December 2018
- ^ "News".
- ^ "King's commissions a new carol for Christmas Eve".
- ^ Interview with Daniel Hyde > 'The Irregular Christmas'; BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2020, p 35
- ^ "King's announces commissioned carol for Christmas Eve".
- ^ "Christmas Religious Programming on the BBC 2022". Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ King's College, Cambridge, "King's commissions a new carol for Christmas Eve", 28 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ a b King's College, Cambridge, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Attending in Person. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ Hallows, Neil (22 December 2006). "Queuing for King's". BBC News. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
Sources
- Dibble, Jeremy (2017). "Music and Anglicanism in the Nineteenth Century". In Rowan Strong (ed.). The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume III: Partisan Anglicanism and its Global Expansion 1829-c. 1914. Vol. III. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-108462-1.
Further reading
- JSTOR 966672.
- Barnett, Laura (9 December 2006), "My week: Stephen Cleobury", The Daily Telegraph (Weekend)[dead link].
External links
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