What Virtual Christmas Services Will You Be Watching?
stonespring
Shipmate
For those of you not going to a church service on Christmas, what virtual Christmas services will you be watching (other than your own local church’s one)? I’m particularly interested in watching a service from a part of the world where it is safe to have a full choir (Australia and New Zealand? Anywhere else?). What would be a great big choral Christmas service to watch for someone a bit depressed from this current wintertime pandemic situation?
Comments
Stonespring - Either of the churches Barnabas mentions will have excellent music, both are High by any standards, but very different styles.
Our Place is live-streaming Sunday morning Mass, but I'm not sure about Midnight Mass/Christmas Day. In any case, there's little or no singing.
Last Easter Sunday, I watched the Sung Eucharist from Uppsala Cathedral (Lutheran Church of Sweden), which had a small choir (three ladies, and three men), but with full congregational participation in the hymns and other music (some of which was familiar to this Englishman!).
Sweden isn't doing too well as regards Ye Plague, so I don't know if the Church of Sweden is still operating in the same manner as it was back in April.
A neighbouring church has announced the cancellation of all services until mid-January, but that may be mainly due to the sudden illness and hospitalisation (not Covid-related AFAIK) of the priest.
ETA: The service might actually be lead by our suffragan, Diane M. Jardine Bruce.
It's not exactly been well...pushed? Publicised? In more normal times, I sing in one of the SEC cathedral choirs, and I had no inkling that this was happening... Still less was I /were we encouraged to join in by T local PTB... Or was it made known that this was a thing. I know of one member of my congregation who may have been involved, and they serve on General synod so have alternate sources of information to the rest of us....
I found out on Facebook, not sure if it was from the diocese or the province (might have been both).
I don't see that it's vital to have something new.
These are livestreams which are not recorded.
Similarly all this week at 06.30 C.E.T. there is a Rorate Mass from the cathedral with traditional Austrian music.
Today's cathedral Mass ,however,was broadcast by ORF (Austrian Broadcasting company) and so can be found on ORF III at' 10.00 Katholischer Adventsgottesdienst '- a rare chance for those who wish to see a recording of the cathedral services. You need to scroll down 'Sendung verpasst' (programme missed) It starts with some lovely pictures of snow covered Salzburg
However, it's also encouraging and instructive (IMHO) to see how different churches are coping with current events, and how those events are reflected in the music, liturgy, and prayers.
St James King Street is almost certainly in the same situation.
Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle will have full choral worship at 7.30pm AEDT [UTC+11], but I'm unsure if that will be livestreamed. I will post here if I get confirmation.
This inspires me -- you mean this website, Forthview?
I will be bashing out carols at the 8pm on Christmas Eve and at the 11.00 on Christmas Day. By the time that's finished I will be mainlining on smoked salmon and bubbly .... and will be heartily sick of carols.
MMM
In all fairness, it's not all Carols that we hates, but some of them are just so sloppily sentimental as to be vomit-inducing. Give me the robust old folk carols of former times, preferably accompanied by a West-Gallery band...
(I seem to be channelling Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw, and Ralph Vaughan Williams...)
They are to be found in pubs around Sheffield.
AFAIK there are some West-Gallery bands here in Kent, as well, but, like most live music/singing groups, probably not performing just now, either.
On Sunday we hummed "While shepherds watched" to "Lyngham" - in the past we've sung it to "Cranbrook".
Ah yes - Cranbrook. A fine Kentish Tune (or possibly Tune of Kent), stolen by those evil northerners to use on some ditty about being out on the moor without a Hat, and being et up by Worms...serve 'em right...
Is there a way to watch a video online (not just audio) of a recent year's recording of Carols from King's if you are in the US? The YouTube clips I am finding are at least 14 years old and the audio is a little distorted. Are there any other recordings of services from other places in previous years that you would recommend for the quality of the video and audio that can be watched on YouTube and that people would recommend?
Is the first church you are mentioning St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney? Where is St. Patrick's in the West? Do you mean St. Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta?
Yes and yes
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The Derbyshire/Sheffield stuff has all been online this year, via Zoom, but the Festival of Village Carols is on YouTube as they did a broadcast to that as well. It is good fun in the flesh, although generally standing room only.
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/worship-music/services-times/streamed-services
..but pretty much every cathedral, collegiate church, public school chapel etc has streamed services with carols.
As to live choral services on the 25th, I'll be watching Chichester Cathedral's Eucharist, as the choir is on excellent form at the moment:
https://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/worship/live-streamed-services
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF32d7mfwRHhfBUq2x_ySAg/videos?view=57
...but I'm sure many other cathedrals will be offering similar.
A massive thank you to the choirs and clergy who will be working tomorrow.
There's a screen box about 1/2 way down the page. They have other things to stream, too. Looks like the services are all free; but some other events require paid tickets.
And again today ...
Presider was the Archbishop of Washington, D.C. ... newly appointed Cardinal Gregory Wilton ... a convert ... formerly a Baptist, as I recall ...
So our Christmas services were all virtual, live-streamed from my home on our Facebook page, with the videos later being uploaded to our YouTube channel. Please pray for us as we negotiate securing a possible new home.
Vespers (which we prayed in the early afternoon.)
Vigils (11.30pm)
Prayers for you and your community, @Cyprian.
I watched bits of both our live-streamed services on FarceBark. The sound quality of the Midnight Mass film wasn't very good, so FatherInCharge's homily was difficult to hear, but Christmas morning Mass (filmed by a different person) was OK.
To ensure safety, and to minimise the need for twixt-Mass sanitising, FInC had ingeniously contrived a temporary altar in the south-west corner of the church, in what is usually the young families' area, close to the Crib scene. This sufficed for the small congregation (just 11 at that service), and seemed to work quite well. The advantage of having lots of space!