12 Carols for Christmas, No. 4: Puer nobis - Richard Rodney Bennet
This beautiful, gentle carol was on my short list for this year. And my ears perk up every time I hear it now.
Given, not lent,
And not withdrawn—once sent,
This Infant of mankind, this One
Is still the little welcome Son.
New every year,
New born and newly dear,
He comes with tidings and a song,
The ages long, the ages long;
Even as the cold
Keen winter grows not old,
As childhood is so fresh, foreseen,
And spring in the familiar green—
Sudden as sweet
Come the expected feet.
All joy is young, and new all art,
And He too, Whom we have by heart.
Alice Meynell (1847–1922)
12 Carols for Christmas, No. 2: The Lamb - John Tavener
Today’s carol has a very special place in the history of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge.
In his first year as director of music at King’s, Stephen Cleobury did not commission a new carol, but he did direct one. The Lamb had premiered only two days earlier at Winchester Cathedral, where it likely would have been directed by Martin Neary.
But I think the experience of hearing a brand-new carol, and such a good one at that, helped establish the idea of commissioning a new carol for each year's Christmas Eve service at King's. Cleobury began the commissioning process the following year, in 1983, with “In Wintertime” by Lennox Berkeley.
12 Carols for Christmas, No. 1: Song of the Nuns of Chester
Merry Christmas to you, dear reader!
To celebrate this twelve-day Christmas season, I am posting twelve carols that I am particularly enjoying so that they might be duly celebratory and edifying for all of us.
First up is the Song of the Nuns of Chester. This mysterious medieval carol broke through the noise for me this year. Then I stumbled on this interesting and compelling arrangement by Paul Halley (which begins the video below):
Halley writes:
'Song of the Nuns of Chester' derives from a fifteenth-century manuscript containing the Processional of St Mary's, Chester, a medieval nunnery of which nothing now survives. This version of the song was arranged by Paul Halley for the University of King's College Chapel Choir for the concert series "A King's Christmas' in 2016. Sung in procession with handbells, the text and tune alternate between Tenors and Basses, and Sopranos and Altos, with a semi-chorus of antiphonal voices offering the 'Lully lu' text almost as a showering from heaven. This work presents a very medieval sounding and atmospheric choral procession, used as an introit in a liturgical setting or to open a concert, which can easily segue into a carol or hymn.
St. John's College, Cambridge - Advent Carol Service from, 2025
Sinden.org maintains two carol service spreadsheets, one for the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Christmas at King's College, Cambridge, and one for the slightly less famous Advent Carol Service at St. John's College, Cambridge.
After a couple years with rather radical changes, it was nice to see the service settle back to a more familiar rhythm. In the last two years, the first and final hymns have been changed from their usual pattern ("O come, O come, Emmanuel" and "Lo! he comes with clouds descending").
The traditional four pairs of lessons (Hebrew Bible and New Testament in each section) were mostly changed in 2023, but were restored the following year and remain in place for this year's service.
Many of us will be familiar with "Zion, at thy shining gates" arranged by George Guest, as found in the Oxford Advent for Choirs book. It has not previously been sung at this service, but this year, it makes an appearance before the first lesson.
Also new to this service this year: "I waited for the Lord" by Felix Mendelssohn, and A hymn of St. Columba by Edward Picton-Turbervill (a former organ scholar at St. John's). The commissioned carol, sung at the end of the service, is Nolo mortem peccatoris by Errollyn Wallen.
Two pieces that have made a long-expected (see what I did there?) return to this service are Benjamin Britten's A hymn to the Virgin (last sung in 2004) and the Magnificat from the Herbert Howells "St. John's" Service (last sung in 2006).
Now, the only question is how to actually listen to the service. Listeners outside the UK will be very unhappy with this link from the BBC.
The author of this website is an organist whom the New York Times calls “repeatedly, insisting that he pay for his subscription”.
He likes to read parking meters, music, Indianapolis Monthly, and weather forecasts in Celsius, particularly whilst wearing cassock and surplice.
He serves lasagna, overhand, as an example to many, and on ecclesiastical juries. He mixes salads, drinks, and metaphors. He takes photos, lots of dinner mints, and a little bit of time to get to know.
