Christmas Carols

[Padmachou]

Hi everyone !

I know some of you have attended Christmas concerts or Services, and some have shared videos on social medias. I was thinking, why not have a place here where we can share, so that everyone can benefit from it ? Since the pandemic, there are a lot of streamed "Nine lessons and Carols", but not all of them are very good quality. I am struggling myself to find good ones.

I hope it could be a useful topic every year in December, sorry if it is something that already exists, I could not find it.

Here is one I enjoyed :



(Thanks Filiarheni for sharing it in the first place)

[Celt]

Nice idea, off the top of my head only one comes to mind. Temple Church singing Ceremony of Carols.



However, I am bound to stumble over others. Last year was AMAZING with everything online. Many have shifted back to in person services but I still expect there to be more than pre-pandemic.

[j8000]

Westminster Abbey will be live-streaming two services this year. The video players will appear on the following pages when it's time, and the services will remain available to watch until January:

Midnight Mass from 11pm on the 24th: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey ... night-mass

Service of Lessons and Carols from 6pm on the 23rd: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey ... rols-abbey

[Surpinto]

Chichester Cathedral

[filiarheni]

I know some of you have attended Christmas concerts or Services, and some have shared videos on social medias. [...] I hope it could be a useful topic every year in December, sorry if it is something that already exists, I could not find it.

It does exist ... there you go. Last Sunday I opened the same topic at Libera-Welt, how funny! (And there's one about Choral Evensong now as well.)

The above St. Bartholomew the Great service (with a reverend who was fun to listen to ) is a wonderful one for the fantastic singing and the visual presentation in one of the most impressive churches I have ever seen. The building, the interior, the lighting ... I felt warm and kind of sheltered, when I visited there (I needed to go there several times, as it attracts me so much), and can only recommend to have a look. And of course it has a Libera history, a fact which makes it especially special.

An advent service I particularly enjoy is this one as of 29th November, 2020, by Merton College Choir. It contains plenty of beautiful music right from the organ prelude until the end. "The Lord at first did Adam make" has a fancy arrangement, which has me come back to it again and again.

Prelude: Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen (Op. 122, No. (Johannes Brahms)
Hymn: Come, thou redeemer of the earth (descant: John Scott)
This is the truth from above (Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Robinson)
The Lord at first did Adam make (Trad. arr. M. Nicholas)
Hymn: Hark! a herald voice is calling
Hosanna to the Son of David (Orlando Gibbons)
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (Elizabeth Poston)
Hymn: Hark what a sound
There is no rose (John Joubert)
Hymn: O come, O come, Emmanuel (arr. Stephen Cleobury)
O Emmanuel (Eriks Ešenvalds)
Magnificat (Collegium Regale) (Herbert Howells)
Hymn: Lo! he comes with clouds descending (descant: John Scott)
Organ Voluntary: Prelude in B minor BWV 544 (J.S.Bach)

[Luckdragon]

[Luckdragon]

Christmas Concert
Slovak Philharmonic, Bratislava Boys Choir
https://stream.filharmonia.sk/video/?v=KS202112181900

2021-12-18_23-47-29.jpg (235.06 KiB) Viewed 897 times

2021-12-18_23-47-29.jpg (235.06 KiB) Viewed 897 times

[Padmachou]

Chichester Cathedral

Thanks Surpinto, I really enjoyed this one !

It does exist ... there you go. Last Sunday I opened the same topic at Libera-Welt, how funny! (And there's one about Choral Evensong now as well.)

Now this is a very funny coincidence And an other funny coincidence is that while you posted this message, I was listening to Merton's College's Christmas Carol Service from this year
Here you go, it's not my favourite so far, but I can not NOT share it, the story behind is a sign.

[j8000]

St George's Chapel, Windsor:

[filiarheni]

The Windsbacher concert posted above by Luckdragon is a very beautiful one with wonderful music and a great sound.

A special surprise for me was the fascinating rendition of "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen"! That's a song sung and played absolutely always here, in each service and each concert; I've heard it all my life and am pretty much bored with it. But this?! Spherical and meditative, gentle-breeze singing. Really new.

Set list with personal recommendations in blue:

00:12 | Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit
03:48 | Brass: Das Volk, das im Finstern wandelt
07:04 | O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf
09:07 | O nata lux
13:31 | Adventskyrie – Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
18:16 | O magnum mysterium (Villette)
21:42 | O-Antiphon | O Radix Jesse
25:48 | Und unser lieben Frauen Traum
28:12 | Magnificat
35:24 | Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen
41:38 | Brass: Sirenensong
46:45 | O-Antiphon | O clavis
49:23 | Nun sei willkommen, Herre Christ
53:12 | Freu dich Erd und Sternenzelt
55:15 | Kommet, ihr Hirten
57:49 | Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier
1:01:10 | O-Antiphon | O Oriens
1:05:15 | Preis sei Gott im höchsten Throne
1:08:12 | In dulci jubilo
1:10:40 | Brass: Elegy from Suite Impromptu
1:13:45 | O-Antiphon | O Immanuel
1:18:32 | Lux Aurumque
1:22:10 | Speech of DoM Martin Lehmann
1:23:30 | O du fröhliche

[filiarheni]

And another beautiful Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, New York, as of 19.12.2021.

New to me and lovely:

All this night shrill chanticleer (Richard Dirksen)
No Small Wonder (Paul Edwards)
Ave Maris Stella (Matthew Martin)