Christmas

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a format of Christian worship service celebrating the birth of Jesus and traditionally followed at Christmas. The story of the fall of man, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols and hymns.

The format was based on an Order drawn up by E.W. Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury, for Christmas Eve 1880 in Truro. It has since been adapted and used by other churches all over the world. In the UK, the service has become the standard format for schools' Christmas carol services.

The most famous version is broadcast annually from King's College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve featuring carols by the famous Choir.

Contents 1 King's College, Cambridge 2 Order of Service 3 External link

King's College, Cambridge

The first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College, Cambridge was conceived by Eric Milner-White and held on Christmas Eve in 1918. The format did not differ substantially from the one known today. The service was first broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1928, and since the early 1930s has been broadcast live to many parts of the world on the BBC Overseas Service, as well as domestically on the Radio 4. It is estimated that each year there are millions of listeners worldwide. There is also a television broadcast in the UK (on BBC channels Two and Four), although that is pre-recorded in early or mid-December.

The service traditionally begins with the hymn Once in Royal David's City, with the first verse sung unaccompanied by a solo boy chorister, and ends with the hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The lessons are read by representatives of the college and of the City of Cambridge. The singing is divided into "carols", which are sung by the choir, and "hymns", sung by choir and congregation. Since 1982 the current Director of Music, Stephen Cleobury, has commissioned a new carol on behalf of the College for the Choir.

Order of Service

The Order of Service at King's College is always the same—the only thing that changes are which carols the choir sings, although some music is repeated from year to year. The following is from the service in 2005.

• Organ Prelude
  Processional Hymn: Once in Royal David's City
  Bidding Prayer
  Carol: "What sweeter music" John Rutter
  First Lesson from Genesis 3
  Carol: Remember, O thou man Thomas Ravenscroft
  Carol: Adam lay ybounden Boris Ord
  Second Lesson from Genesis 22
  Anthem: God so loved the world John Stainer
  Carol: In dulci jubilo arr. Robert Lucas de Pearsall
  Third Lesson from Isaiah 9
  Carol: Sussex Carol arr. Phillip Ledger
  Hymn: Unto us is born a son
  Fourth Lesson from Isaiah 11
  Carol: A tender shoot Otto Goldschmidt
  Carol: A spotless rose Herbert Howells
  Fifth Lesson from Luke 1
  Carol: Edi beo thu, Heuene Quene 13th century traditional
  Carol: Benedicamus Domino Peter Warlock
  Sixth Lesson from Luke 2
  Carol: Sweet was the song the Virgin sang Richard Blackford
  Carol: Tomorrow shall be my dancing day John Gardner
  Seventh Lesson from Luke 2
  Carol: Away in a manger John Tavener
  Hymn: While shepherds watched their flocks by night
  Eighth Lesson from Matthew 2
  Carol: Riu, riu, Chiu Mateo Fletcher the elder
  Carol: Be merry Stephen Cleobury
  Ninth Lesson from John 1
  Chorale: Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her Johann Sebastian Bach
  Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful
  Collect & Blessing
  Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
  Organ Postlude

External link

• King's Chapel's page about the service