Ceremony of Carols

Next Monday evening (5 December) the choristers are performing Britten's Ceremony of Carols (for boys' voices and harp) in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. Tickets are still available from Christina White at the Friends' Office: 020 7798 9059 - although their website isn't terribly helpful, it really is happening!

The resonant but intimate space of the Lady Chapel should make a perfect venue for Monday's concert. There will be additional items for boys' voices and chamber organ but the Ceremony - a suite of nine mediaeval carols framed by the plainsong Hodie Christus natus est and with a centrally placed solo harp movement - will be the main focus and the climax of the programme.

In the late 1950s Britten heard the Westminster Cathedral Choristers sing the Ceremony and was so impressed with the sound the boys made (this was in George Malcolm's era so it was quite extreme) that he wrote the Missa brevis for them. The Ceremony and the Missa brevis were recorded by the Choristers back in 1986 with David Hill conducting. James O'Donnell was Assistant Master of Music at that time. It's available from the Hyperion website along with audio samples.