Customer Reviews

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To the other fine and informative reviews here, I would add the following. Though the Festival service and the recording are 80% musical, the "lessons", which are brief scripture passages given moving dramatic readings by college personnel, are the backbone of the Festival and the riverbed through which the carols flow. There is a chronological order to the lessons, beginning in Genesis, and each musical selection is tied to the reading which preceded it. This synthesis makes listening to this CD a very spiritual experience that transports one well beyond what is felt listening to other recorded compilations of carols.

The music is primarily drawn from traditional British Christmas repertoire. Well-known British composers over centuries and King's College's organists and music directors over the past century wrote or arranged most of the selections. Several texts are in Olde English or Latin. Three recent compositions are here, too, but the first priority of the Festival director is clearly the tradition and the history of this service and of Christmas in England. There is nothing, however, "musty" about this CD. The tempi are modern and sprightly where indicated, and the performances are transcendent. The Choir of King's College, directed by Stephen Cleobury, consists of 35 young men chosen by highly competitive audition, and they are among the finest choral ensembles in the world. A superb pipe organ played by Benjamin Bayl is the only supplement to the voices.

The sound of the recording is a major improvement from radio broadcasts and earlier (now out-of-print) releases of this service. For this CD, the four-and-a-half hymns in which the congregation sings with the choir were recorded during services in December 1998. The balance of the recording was made in the same chapel in July 1999, without the congregation present, so the coughing and shuffling heard during live broadcasts and earlier live recordings is happily absent. The only small problem is that the reverberating acoustics of the chapel, though gorgeous, make many lyrics difficult to discern. Keep the booklet handy. Highest recommendation.

This is the first full recording of the complete Christmas Eve broadcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols ever to be made available. Previous recordings from as far back as 1949 have focussed on the music (because of the limitations of the recording media of the times), but here is the entire service, including opening and closing prayers and lessons drawn from the Old and New Testaments, read by the Dean of the Chapel, members of King's College, its choir, its related institution at Eton, and members of the community in Cambridge.

The service has been heard on public radio stations throughout the United States since 1979 (I know; I produced the first and a number of subsequent broadcasts).

The choir of men and boys traverses repertoire well known by those who have listened to the live broadcasts, and although that particular sound is still somewhat unfamiliar to American ears, for many of us the quality of the singing, along with the quality of the acoustic of the chapel make for an unforgettable experience.

If the broadcast has become one of your holiday traditions, this recording will be a handsome addition to your collection of music of the season.

Over the years, I have heard the service on the radio and heard many recorded versions. This CD is the best I have found. It is a joy from start to finish. I might not make it to Cambridge for Christmas, but I will enjoy the music for many years.

So put the CD in the player, press play, and close your eyes. All is quiet. It is 5 PM on Christmas eve. Out of the silence a soft low song comes, "Once in royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed..." A very special night has begun...

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, has secured a definite place in history with the annual Ceremony of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve, observed in a similar way by countless churches all over England and beyond but never in such a traditional manner. This is by no means the first recorded example of King's Choir singing carols- indeed, since Boris Ord was its director, the choir has frequently been on the record shelves during the Christmas season. This latest release from EMI presents us with the service as held at the turn of the new century- mostly recorded live at services in 1998 and 1999, it captures all the traditional Prayers and Lessons read by those appointed since the service was first composed over a century ago (and for fans of the choir in general, that means a rare chance to hear the speaking voices of choristers and choral scholars as well as that of Stephen Cleobury himself).

As for the music... well, of course there are the old familiar strains of "Once in Royal David's City," "O Come, all ye faithful" and "Hark, the herald angels sing" with full organ and congregation joining in. There are certainly familiar and traditional carols from long ago ("Gabriel's Message") or from other lands (as in the mediaeval Spanish carol "Riu Riu Chiu"). We also get a sample of the more recent custom of having a brand new carol commissioned every year- the most famous of these are of course by former King's alumni Judith Weir ("Illuminare Jerusalem") and Thomas Ades ("The Fayrfax Carol") as well as the piece that kicked this custom off (John Tavener's incomparable "The Lamb"). Throughout all, the choir is on good form, although the trebles seem more robust and "reedy" than they have in other recent recordings. It's also a minor pity that the entire programme couldn't be fitted onto one CD, although the producers have obviously done their best to split the programme in two without overly disrupting its flow.

New Christmas releases are always a bit of a hit-and-miss affair as there's bound to be something on them that's been done (and done to death) before. This release, however, stands apart from most others. One wonders, though- will we be treated to another version of this programme some years from now, so that we might see the service well into the new century?

Do yourself a favor and buy this CD - even if you don't think you like Christmas music. People stand in line for hours to hear the Choir of King's College's annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and when you hear this recording, you will understand why. Rarely does a choir sound quite as pure, smooth, and "together" as they do on this recording. The selection of music is wonderful. You get a few traditional favorites like "O Come All Ye Faithful", recorded live with the choir and the congregation singing along (I thought this would annoy me but it really doesn't - it only makes me feel the spirit of the ceremony even more). You also get plenty of wonderful choir-only pieces that you've probably never heard before unless you're a big cathedral music enthusiast. It all begins, of course, with a single choirboy singing the first verse of "Once in Royal David's City". It's impossible for me to pick an absolute favorite from this recording. I find "The Fayrfax Carol" by Thomas Ades to be particularly haunting and beautiful. Vaughan Williams' "The Truth from Above" is also very, very lovely. And how could you not enjoy "Up! Good Christen folk, and listen"? There is also Ord's short, but beautiful, "Adam lay ybounden". I like all of these pieces in and of themselves, but I think having them sung so expertly and sweetly by the choir makes me like them even more.

To top it all off, you get about 20 minutes worth of readings and prayers recorded live at the service, interspersed among all of the music. I suppose this could be seen as the recording's only drawback (people talking), but I think it makes the recording much more authentic as a representation of the world-famous service. The readings make the recording more than just a musical experience, but a complete Christmas experience - which is what the ceremony is supposed to be. Besides, if you really hate the talking, that's what the skip button is for.

Go ahead and buy this -- you'll be very glad you did.

Friends and I spent Christmas 1998 in England and were able to be at King's for this wonderful service. It's imposible to describe the feelings that came over us when the silence fell over the congregation and the lone choirboy begin to sing "Once in Royal David's City". It sent chills up my spine to sit in that beautiful chapel and hear the service, and this CD brought it all back to me with a purity I never expected. Buy this CD. It's an incredible recording!

As pointed out above this CD records not merely a musical performance of anglican hymns, but a service of Christian worship in a storied location on a holy occasion, the eve of Christmas day. As such it will not be to everyone's taste; there are no "sermons" but there are prayers and lessons. For me the setting of the hymns within an authentic context of worship amplifies their power and beauty. As a Christian and a choral singer for over 30 years I listen to this recording year round for its spiritual quality as well as its splendid singing.

A DIVINE DISC FOR THE DEVOUT!

Listening to this one and one-half hour recording is one way to experience the meaning of Christmas. It must be a joy for those who can attend such a service as the "Festival of nine-lessons and carols". To hear the beautiful voices of the King's College Choir and their marvelous organist, Benjamin Bayl. This is all under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, and provides a treat for music lovers everywhere.

The carols are related directly to the scripture readings that tell the Christmas Story in its entirety, all read skillfully by various people involved in the program. They are not lengthy, but quite to the point. The related carols are varied as to composer and mood, running the gamut from the traditional to the more recent such as : 'The Truth from above'(Vaughan Williams)-'Illuminare,Jerusalem' (Judith Weir)- and 'The Lamb' (John Tavener). The soloists include:Edward Moore (treble)-Thomas Bullard (baritone)-Adrian Kelly (tenor)-Edward Harries (treble)-and Julian Perkins (baritone). All sang well as did the entire choir.

The English sound, that is boy sopranos and male altos, appeal to me personally and show up very well in this particular group. It's all quite emotional and very moving, especially to those who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. I've had this disc for several years, and would not think of celebrating Christmas without listening to it several times during the season.

A holiday classic. It has been a tradtion in our family for years. This is the first time I've seen it available on CD. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

A great experience combining Christmas carols with the reading of Holy Scripture (the lessons). It's a beautiful Christmas worship service in the Anglican tradition. I highly recommend it.

In our age when thing change so fast, it's good to know that some great traditions continue. This recording is one of them.