Looking toward the choir stalls in King's
photo by the author
As always, the service begins with "Once in royal David’s city". This carol has opened the service at King's since 1919. Other than this carol and the final two hymns "O come, all ye faithful" and "Hark! The herald angels sing" (which are also sung every year) there are no repeats of any of the music sung in the 2008 service.
An encore of a relatively new carol appears after the Bidding Prayer: "Ding dong! merrily on high" arranged by Mack Wilberg. Peter Stevens, the senior organ scholar at King's, arranged the organ part. This carol was first performed in 2007 when it was immediately before the ninth lesson. Mack Wilberg is the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
This is the third consecutive year that the Bidding Carol has been a recent composition. Prior to this sequence, the bidding carol had been a somewhat more established piece of the repertory.
After the first lesson is "Jesus Christ the apple tree" by Elizabeth Poston. This carol has only been performed in this location in recent memory, and was last sung in 2004.
The carol "Adam lay ybounden" often is sung after the first lesson and it has been sung as the second carol after this lesson since 1998. The setting of this carol text is most popularly the unaccompanied one by Boris Ord (Director of Music at King's 1929-1957) or the accompanied setting by Peter Warlock. Philip Ledger (Director of Music 1974-1982) who immediately preceded the current Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, is the composer of this year's carol. Ledger's setting was last sung in 2000.
Robert Lucas Pearsall's arrangement of "In dulci jubilo" remains popular. It is sung this year immediately after the second lesson. This is is the sixth time it has been sung in the last ten years.
"One star, at last" by Peter Maxwell Davies was commissioned for the service in 1984. It has not been sung in recent years, though it was recorded on the King's College Choir's "On Christmas Night", a 2-CD compilation of these commissioned carols.
After the third lesson we encounter one of several carol treatments by David Willcocks (Director of Music 1957-1973). Having paid homage to Willcocks successor, Philip Ledger, it is particularly fitting that Cleobury include a number of pieces of music by Willcocks this year as he will celebrate his 90th birthday less than a week after the service.
After Willcocks's "Sussex Carol", Cleobury interrupts his rotation the hymns prior to the fourth lesson ("Unto us is born a Son", "It came upon a midnight clear", "O little town of Bethlehem") with "God rest ye merry, gentlemen".
After the fourth lesson follows that famous medieval trio "There is no rose". A medieval carol was also sung last year, but prior to that one had not been heard since 2000.
Jan Sandström's transcendent treatment of Praetorius's "Det är en ros utsprungen" for 12 voices (3 SATB choirs) follows. The work was first performed at this service two years ago.
After the fifth lesson is sung:
Mary’s Magnificat by Andrew Carter. This video dates from 1995, but I am only aware of the carol being sung at this service in 2004.
In 2004, the carol was preceeded with one by Cleobury. Here a different Cleobury carol "Joys Seven", perhaps my favorite of his carol treatments, follows.
The carols after the Sixth lesson, "Infant holy" and "Il est né," are both Willcocks arrangements. Stephen Cleobury's setting of "Infant holy" was sung last year.
This year's commissioned carol, "The Christ Child" by Gabriel Jackson follows the seventh lesson.
This year the composer Gabriel Jackson has used G K Chesterton's 'The Christ Child Sat On Mary's Lap' as the text for his carol. Gabriel is a leading composer of choral music who has written pieces for the BBC, the Tate Gallery and the National Centre for Early Music.He said: 'While writing the piece I was thinking all the time about the wondrous space that is the King's Chapel, the special atmosphere of the service, the acoustic of the building, and the unique sound of the King's choir in that building. Now that it is finished I cannot wait for Christmas Eve, to be there in the Chapel at King's and to hear my piece quietly take its place in the age-old rite, as Stephen and his choir work their magic once again.'
The hymn "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" follows. Interestingly, "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" (see above) when it was sung, occupied this post.
Two classics follow the eighth lesson: "In the bleak midwinter" by Harold Darke and "Personent hodie" by Gustav Holst. Darke was Boris Ord's substitute during the war (1940-1945). "In the bleak midwinter" was last sung in 2003; "Personent hodie" was last sung in 1998.
The service ends in the traditional manner. The second organ postlude is Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol by George Baker.
Labels: Christmas, Gabriel Jackson, King's College (Cambridge)
Before we preview the 90th service in its entirety, let's check in with yesterday's predictions:
The service will begin with "Once in Royal David's City"
True, it does.
The Peter Warlock setting of "Adam lay ybounden" will be the second carol after the First Lesson
We were close. It's the Ord setting instead
Pearsall's "In dulci jubilo" will follow the Second Lesson
We were close again. It's the Praetorius version.
After the third lesson will be sung the hymn "Unto us is born a Son"
True.
There's a good bet that Howells's "A spotless Rose" will make an appearance after the Fourth Lesson
Yes, that bet is a winner.
The commissioned carol, by Dominic Muldowney, will likely follow the Fifth Lesson
True.
After the the Seventh Lesson, the hymn will likely be "God rest ye merry, gentlemen"
True, it is "God rest ye merry, gentlemen".
Now, a preview of the service as a whole.
The carol after the Bidding Prayer is "If ye would hear the angels sing" by Peter Tranchell. It seems that this carol was just made available by the Church Music Society this year, as it bears a copyright date of 2008. You can view the first page of this carol [PDF - 74 KB] from Oxford University Press.
After the First Lesson appears "Remember, O thou man" by Thomas Ravenscroft. This has become popular as of late, being in three of the last four services. From here we are thrown a curve with the Boris Ord setting of "Adam lay ybounden". We predicted yesterday that this would be Peter Warlock's composition due to a seven year alternation between the two pieces. This slot of the service is the only one to remain completely unchanged from last year.
Following the Second Lesson are Philip Ledger's "Angels from the realms of glory", last sung in 2006, and Praetorius's "In dulci jubilo", last sung a decade ago.
After the dramatic prophecy of the Third Lesson are the medieval carol "Nowell sing we now all and some", last sung in 2000, and the hymn "Unto us is born a Son", last sung in 2005. This hymn selection upholds our theory that Stephen Cleobury has decided to rotate this hymn with "It came upon a midnight clear", last sung 2006, and "O little town of Bethlehem", sung last year. If this theory proves correct, 2008 marks the beginning of the fourth cycle, and the hymn will be next sung in 2011.
Following the Fourth Lesson will be sung "The Lamb" by John Tavener, last heard in 2001, and Herbert Howells's "A spotless Rose", last enjoyed in 2005.
After the Fifth Lesson are the Marian carols. First, Lennox Berkeley's "I sing of a maiden". Berkeley was the first to be commissioned by the college to write a carol specifically for this service in 1983. The last of his carols to be sung was "Look up sweet Babe" which appeared after the Eighth Lesson in 2003. To the best of our knowledge, his "I sing of a maiden" has not been previously sung in this service. The 30-second preview in the iTunes store is enticing.
Next comes the commissioned carol by Dominic Muldowney: "The night when she first gave birth". Muldowney's compositional pedigree is right for this honor. He has studied composition with Jonathan Harvey, who wrote 1994's brooding "The Angels", and Harrison Birtwhistle, who wrote 2003's shimmering "The Gleam". The last commissioned carol to appear after the Fifth Lesson was Robin Holloway's "The Angel Gabriel" in 2002. No commissioned carol has not been sung as the second carol after the Fifth Lesson in at least eleven years.
With the reading of the Sixth Lesson Jesus is born, and he is urged to sleep with Ralph Vaughan Williams's "Wither's Rocking Hymn". Vaughan William's "This is the truth" appears frequently after the first lesson, but this is the first time another work of his will be sung in recent memory. The 50th anniversary of Vaughan Williams's death was commemorated by the King's College Choir throughout this calendar year. This is followed with the 1987 commission, "What sweeter music" by John Rutter, last sung as the bidding carol in 2005. Rutter's "Virgin's Cradle Hymn" was heard last year.
After Stephen Cleobury reads the Seventh Lesson, the choir will sing his arrangement of the Polish carol "Infant holy, Infant lowly". Though this arrangement has not been sung in the past eleven years (and is possibly new), Cleobury has programmed one of his settings every year since 1998. They most often follow the Fifth Lesson, and this will be the first that his arrangement will be sung in the period after his reading. "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" will be the hymn, which was last sung in 2004.
With the Eighth Lesson, the three kings from the east arrive, and the third carol to be commissioned by the college, the first by a female composer, Judith Weir's "Illuminare Jerusalem" is sung. Then, the carol introduced after last year's Bidding Prayer, Alan Bullard's "Glory to the Christ Child", brings the bulk of the service to a rousing finish.
Labels: Christmas, King's College (Cambridge), Muldowney
After a couple good years of early PDF release online, the King's College site has not delivered the goods we were hoping for this year . . . yet.
That being said, there's no time like the present for idle speculation.
We at Sinden.org predict the following:
The service will begin with "Once in Royal David's City", just as it has since 1918. (odds: 4,328,752 to 1)
The Peter Warlock setting of "Adam lay ybounden" will be the second carol after the First Lesson. A setting of this text has occupied this position every year since 1998. Since 2001, the settings have alternated between Warlock and Boris Ord. If the pattern holds, 2008 would appear to be a Warlock year.
Pearsall's "In dulci jubilo" will follow the Second Lesson most likely as the second carol. We could be wrong on this, but a setting of this text has been sung after the Second Lesson in seven out of the past eleven services (63.6% of the time). Six of those (85.7%) been composed by R. L. de Pearsall; the remaining setting was by Michael Praetorius.
Other possible locations for "In dulci jubilo" would be after Eric Milner-White's bidding prayer, the Third Lesson, or the Sixth Lesson.
After the third lesson will be sung the hymn "Unto us is born a Son". Starting in 1999 Stephen Cleobury seems to have begun a three-year pattern of hymns at this point, the other two hymns being "It came upon a midnight clear" and "O little town of Bethlehem". This year, the cycle begins again at the beginning. Or, if this trend was a coincidence, we may have no idea what we're talking about.
There's a good bet that Howells's "A spotless Rose" will make an appearance after the Fourth Lesson. The piece last appeared in 2005. Although a three-year "spotlessless" interval would not be unheard of as one occurred from 2002-2004.
A carol mentioning "rose" in the first line has been included at this point in the service at every service in recent memory, including an "A spotless Rose" setting by Philip Ledger, a former Director of Music at King's.
Notably, this Howells carol-anthem is the only one his his to appear in the service recently. The other two Howells has composed are "Here is the little Door" and "Sing lullaby".
The commissioned carol, by Dominic Muldowney, will likely follow the Fifth Lesson, as we have previously reported.
The carols after the Sixth Lesson seem to have the most variability. In the past eleven years, only one carol has been repeated, Roxanna Panufnik's "Sleep little Jesus".
After the the Seventh Lesson, the hymn will likely be "God rest ye merry, Gentlemen", but it could also be "While shepherds watched their flocks by night". We find the latter choir unlikely since it would mark the fourth year in a row this hymn would be sung. These two hymns seem to be the only two possibilities at this point.
Labels: Christmas, Howells, King's College (Cambridge)
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