A Festival of Lessons & Carols featuring Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols

Please join us for our annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, a beloved Advent tradition from England wherein God’s word is proclaimed and contemplated in word and song: a special sequence of readings, prayers, choral anthems, and congregational carols. This year, we present Britten's iconic and celebratory Ceremony of Carols - beloved for its exquisite beauty, intelligence and pure sentiment. A Ceremony of Carols consists of eight polyphonic settings; these eight carols are bookended by statements of the Gregorian chant “Hodie Christus Natus Est” ("Christ is born today"), and midway through the set is an astounding interlude for harp solo that features this same plainchant tune. The carols themselves show a remarkable diversity of styles, from the jubilant exultations of “Wolcum Yole” and “Deo Gracias,” to the pastoral and lyrical “There is no rose” and “Balulalow,” to the martial urgency of “This Little Babe” and its ever-expanding canon. The piece is one haunting, vibrant, gorgeous, lovely, and meditative whole, marked by concision of composition and a rich, sophisticated harmonic palate.

Also check out other Festivals in Winchester.