Customer Reviews

Festival of Lessons & Carols

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Since I originally bought this CD 5 or 6 years ago, it has been one of my Christmas favorites. Some CDs you play at your Christmas party for your friends, you play "A Festival of Lessons and Carols" when you are alone and not distracted with other activities. It is a wonderfully contemplative CD. The Choir of King's College Cambridge opens the CD with "Once in royal David's city," a lovely quiet piece of music which shows of the acoustics of the chapel, the quality of the english choristors and boys choir. After this hymn they continue with a prayer, then another hymn. They alternate hymns with lessons or prayers which makes listening to this CD an almost religious experience.

This is a shortened version of the service heard around the world every Christmas Eve, but not less valuable for that. The length is just right for casual or even serious listening (Stephen Cleobury has recorded the whole service on 2 CDs). The Ledger years don't get as much notice as the Willcocks or Cleobury years. It may be that it was simply too difficult to follow Sir David Willcocks. But the Choir is a living institution, and Philip Ledger and the choir are first rate in this recording of Lessons and Carols. Some details from your Oxford Book of Carols are different. Ledger wrote some of his own descants, and also arranged some of the carols. The service as a whole is simply magic, and you won't notice a missing lesson or carol. I wrap presents to this on Christmas Eve. Or take this out in July, turn down the air conditioning, and let it rip.

This was my grandmother's absolute favorite Christmas record. She was English and it reminded her of her traditional Anglican upbringing. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to transform themselves to another time and place. If you close your eyes you can imagine yourself in a beautiful English cathedral.