Advent Lessons and Carols
On Sunday evening, December 13, 2009 at 6:00 p.m., Christ the King Church will continue preparations to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord with a service of Lessons and Carols. The choirs and instrumentalists of the congregation will enhance this liturgy of scripture readings, congregational hymns, prayers, and anthems. The service will last only one hour and is the perfect activity to counter-balance the hustle and bustle of December. Nursery care is provided.
At this year’s Lessons and Carols, the primary musical work to be featured will be Daniel Pinkham’s Fanfares. This four-movement work for tenor solo, mixed chorus, organ, brass, and percussion was first composed in 1975 for the 100th anniversary of the Reading (Pennsylvania) Choral Society. The movements are settings of biblical texts, the first two movements from Isaiah, and the last two movements from the Psalms. Daniel Pinkham was one of the leading American composers of the twentieth-century, having served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music and as Music Director of the historic King’s Chapel in Boston. Pinkham died in 2006.
The service of “lessons and carols” was developed in the late 19th century by Bishop E. W. Benson for Truro Cathedral, and then later adapted for King’s College, Cambridge in 1918. The original format included nine scripture readings and Christmas carols for use on Christmas Eve. Since 1918, the service has been adapted for Advent, substituting Advent hymns. This service was the inspiration for Benjamin Britten’s celebrated work, Ceremony of Carols. At Christ the King Church, the service is adapted further to include seven readings of scripture with musical responses of choral anthems and congregational hymns.
Last updated:
2009-12-08