But (to return to my question) what about new carols, especially if you don't have a subtly-introducing-below-the-radar organist? You can't very well have a sing-along rehearsal, it spoils the atmosphere.
... I remember once an organist subtly* playing it on the pedal before a wedding when the bride was late.
*Well, not very subtly come to think of it
You knew David?
He had a sort of sliding scale for late brides: five minutes was fine, but after that, the tune would be worked in very subtly, and it would get less subtle the later they were. We had one (where the choir was singing as well) where the bride was half an hour late, and I think by that stage he was using the pedal tuba.
When we got married I made damn sure I wasn't even a nanosecond late, as I reckoned he'd have the organist primed ...
I wouldn’t be surprised if the organist concerned knew David. He’s an FRCO and I know that lot are a pretty close knit bunch.
This guy plays all sorts of extemporised stuff before the service. One Evensong we were singing Sumsion in G. Before the service, if you listened carefully, you could just make out “Yes, we have no bananas”. (If you know, you know 😁 )
... I remember once an organist subtly* playing it on the pedal before a wedding when the bride was late.
*Well, not very subtly come to think of it
You knew David?
He had a sort of sliding scale for late brides: five minutes was fine, but after that, the tune would be worked in very subtly, and it would get less subtle the later they were. We had one (where the choir was singing as well) where the bride was half an hour late, and I think by that stage he was using the pedal tuba.
When we got married I made damn sure I wasn't even a nanosecond late, as I reckoned he'd have the organist primed ...
I wouldn’t be surprised if the organist concerned knew David. He’s an FRCO and I know that lot are a pretty close knit bunch.
This guy plays all sorts of extemporised stuff before the service. One Evensong we were singing Sumsion in G. Before the service, if you listened carefully, you could just make out “Yes, we have no bananas”. (If you know, you know 😁 )
Much fun can be had when extemporising. I was playing at a seminary ordination where dozens of students were having various minor orders conferred on them. The process would take up to an hour during which there would be a mixture of singing and organ to cover the action. This time the (Arch)bishop was Cyril Cowderoy of Southwark. I found myself improvising quiet variations on "Nice One Cyril."
However that is trumped by a student at the local Anglican theological college who did a fancy French style toccata on "Hooray and up she rises" with the tune blasted out on the pedals for the Assumption. That didn't go unnoticed and got him into a lot of bother.
Hehe - I can imagine our late Churchwarden being very upset at such a palpable insult to his Co-Redemptrix...he had some fairly radical views, and should really have been a member of the Palmarian Church...
... One Evensong we were singing Sumsion in G. Before the service, if you listened carefully, you could just make out “Yes, we have no bananas”. (If you know, you know 😁 )
Oh, I know!
David used to mime peeling a banana at that point ...
Praise is Rising Let Our Praise Be Your Welcome Light of the World You Chose the Cross
ETA - loving the amusing stories from the organists and regarding Late Brides, my daughter and her father were a good half hour late and years later I'm still baffled as to why. I waited with everyone there in the church thinking, "Well, they were all right when I left them" and the musicians patiently played and played and played. When I asked them later they were both "Oh. Were we really that late?" :rolleyes:
My aunt, just a year or two older than me was a bit late for her wedding. The booked car simply didn’t turn up, and ‘ordinary’ cars had all gone ahead. My mother crossed the road to a neighbour (who had a nice Rover), and without pause, still chewing a mouthful of lunch and wearing his slippers, he picked up his car keys off a hook by the door and came over with his car. Later when I was locking up the church, a somewhat rueful driver turned up in the booked car. He’s been caught up as a witness to a road accident, and the police wouldn’t let him leave. This was before the days of mobile phones.
Here I had a bride who was twenty minutes late from a venue only ten minutes brisk walk away. Unfortunately everyone’s mobiles were switched off and the bridal party was uncontactable. When she arrived it turned out that as they were stepping out of the door, the chief bridesmaid’s dress had split all down a side seam, and the twenty minutes was what it had taken to sew her back into it.
My aunt, just a year or two older than me was a bit late for her wedding. The booked car simply didn’t turn up, and ‘ordinary’ cars had all gone ahead. . . .
Here I had a bride who was twenty minutes late from a venue only ten minutes brisk walk away. . . .
Maybe that’s where the difference lies. Where I am, and in my experience (including my wedding 35 years ago), the entire wedding party—bride, groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen—is generally expected to be at the church/wedding venue at least an hour or an hour-and-half, if not more, before the wedding. The bride and bridesmaids often get dressed at the church/venue. So if the bride’s running late, it would generally be noticed long before she’s supposed to walk down the aisle.
We had a 2pm wedding at my church and waited and waited for the bride to appear. She eventually appeared at 2.40, but the wedding still couldn't begin as we were still waiting for her parents. The next wedding was booked for 3.30, so the late bride was given a very brief ceremony which contained only the essential bits. The minister was very cross with the bride and told her she was lucky he hadn't instantly cancelled the ceremony.
I have never understood the tendency for brides to be late as it is so discourteous to everyone and very alarming for the groom. My old Dad used to say if you weren't early, then you were late!
Getting back on track. yesterday (12th December) our little Orthodox community celebrated the 75th anniversary of its foundation. We sang the Service of Thanksgiving, as provided in Russian service books, which gave a rare opportunity to sing the Te Deum, which does not feature in our regular services.
Prepare the way, O Zion (Bereden väg för Herran)
There's a voice in the wilderness crying (Ascension)
Comfort, comfort ye my people (Psalm 42)
On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry (Winchester New)
Choral:
Willan: Missa brevis no. 2 in F minor
Adriano Banchieri: Veritas de terra
All of our three regular Sunday services today are carol services. The 9 o'clock "traditional" was a sort of mini nine lessons and carols - just five readings and these seven carols:
Ding Dong! Merrily on High / BRANLE DE L'OFFICIAL
Of the Father's Love Begotten / DIVINUM MYSTERIUM
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem / FOREST GREEN
Once in Royal David's City / IRBY
On Christmas Night all Christians Sing / SUSSEX CAROL
O Come, All Ye Faithful / ADESTE FIDELES (last verse omitted, of course)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing / MENDELSSOHN (51171)
On Jordan's bank (Winchester New)
We have a gospel to proclaim (Fulda)
We hail thy presence gkorious (Offertorium)
When came in flesh the incarnate Word (St Agnes)
For my sake and the goapel go (Bishopgarth)
Hark! a herald voice is sounding - Merton Come, thou long-expected Jesus - Cross of Jesus* Hark, the glad sound! The Saviour comes - Bristol O come, O come, Emmanuel - Veni Emmanuel Christ is the world's true light - Nun Danket
* should have been Stuttgart, imho. Sadly the organist who chooses the hymns has some ideas about tunes and hymns which don't quite accord with mine. If I'd been choosing for today, we'd definitely have had On Jordan's bank.
The Gospel lesson today included the entire text (well, the bowdlerised version that we use) of This is the record of John, which made me feel rather deprived.
I think Our Place kicked off with On Jordan's bank (Winchester New), but I'm not sure what else was sung this morning.
Our lovely dusky rose-pink chasuble will have had its second outing this year, though.
I'm waiting for my Spy to tell me what was sung at the 3pm Carol Service this afternoon, but I expect she's busy helping out at the *Christmass Fayre* which followed it at 4pm, and is, hopefully, still in full swing.
Festival Carol Service at Liverpool RC Cathedral.
We go to this every year as a part of our pre Christmas preparations.
Four organ preludes as people arrived.
Hodie Christ's natus est - Britten Ceremony of carols.
O come all ye faithful (no last verse) (All)
Away in a manger - Gjeilo
Ding dong merrily - Williamson
O little town (All)
Gaudete, gaudete - arranged Fitzgerald
Silent night (All)
Gloria - Dove
Once in royal (All)
For unto us a child is born - Handel
Lux aurumque - Whitacre
O Holy night - Adam
Hark the herald (All)
A good congregation. All ages and multi-ethnic.
As ever in RC services the readers were the weakest links. It really makes me cross. The organ was recently cleaned and overhauled at great expense. So it was sounding splendid.
"We light the Advent candles" / Tune by our organist / choirmaster
"Blest is the King whose coming is in the name of God" / VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN
Psalm 126, chanted
"Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding" / MERTON
"A voice cries out"
"Shepherd of souls refresh and bless" / ST. AGNES
"Watchman tell us of the night" / ABERYSTWYTH
Choral: "The King shall come" by Arnold B. Sherman
We had a 2pm wedding at my church and waited and waited for the bride to appear. She eventually appeared at 2.40, but the wedding still couldn't begin as we were still waiting for her parents. The next wedding was booked for 3.30, so the late bride was given a very brief ceremony which contained only the essential bits. The minister was very cross with the bride and told her she was lucky he hadn't instantly cancelled the ceremony.
I have never understood the tendency for brides to be late as it is so discourteous to everyone and very alarming for the groom. My old Dad used to say if you weren't early, then you were late!
The first wedding I did in the last parish but one, the bride was on time but the groom (and his best man) were about 3/4 hour late. They blamed (maybe justly) London traffic. They should have gone by tube!
I did have a wedding where the bride arrived early and sent them for "a drive round the block". Unfortunately this was 2pm on a football match afternoon ...
Carol service ( all with "usual tunes" except where marked):
“Angels from the realms of glory”.
“Hark, the glad sound” - Bristol.
“When the angel came to Mary” - Sans Day Carol.
“Come and hear the joyful singing” - Nos Galan.
“What child is this?”
“Once in royal David’s city”.
“While shepherds watched their flocks”.
“On a night when the world” - The 12 Days of Christmas.
“O little town of Bethlehem”.
“See, amid the winter’s snow”.
“O come, all ye faithful”.
Love Down Came at Christmas (Gartan)
O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Forest Green)
Hark! the herald angels sing (Mendelssohn)
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (God Rest You Merry)
Once In Royal David’s City (Irby)
As with gladness men of old (Dix)
For Mary mother of the Lord (St Botolph)
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
O come O come Emmanuel
Come thou Redeemer of the earth (Puer nobis)
Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown (Margaret)
Being a traditional set up Christmas hymns and carols start this evening. Must be pretty unusual these days?!
We're still pretty much in Advent at St Pete's too, except for our organist indulging her inexplicable penchant for Silent Night. Today's offerings were:
Lo, he comes with clouds descending - Helmsley The Angel Gabriel from heaven came - Birjina Gaztettobat Zegoen For Mary, mother of our Lord - St Botolph Silent night - Stille Nacht* Long ago, prophets knew - Personent Hodie
* luckily I was serving, and it was the Communion hymn, so I didn't have to sing it.
“God rest ye, merry gentlemen”.
“Come and sing the Christmas story”.
“On Christmas night all Christians sing”.
“In a byre near Bethlehem”.
“It came upon a midnight clear”.
I'm not sure what (if any) hymns were sung at Our Place's Advent 4 Mass, as it was held in the Lady Chapel (capacity 16, and it was full!), but I daresay For Mary, Mother of our Lord was among them.
Owing to the lack of any organist or musicians this morning, anything they sang would have had to be a capella, which really is NOT FatherInCharge's forte...
The Cathedral in St John's was so traditional that the Carol Service wasn't until the Sunday after Christmas, and didn't always get much of a congregation.
I've heard of a few churches here that *save* the Carol Service until after the 25th...
Our Cathedral has an Epiphany Carol Service with Procession on the nearest Sunday, but that's a different thing altogether. I went one year, and it was both enjoyable, and well-attended - albeit not the full house one might expect (hopefully) at 9 Lessons etc.
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks At Night (Cranbrook)
Silent Night (Stille Nacht)
In the Bleak Midwinter (Cranham)
O Come all ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis)
It being Christmas Eve, we also had a Service of the Nativity (sort of cross between A Few Lessons & Carols and Holy Communion), at which we sang:
Once in royal David's city (with solo piglet) - Irby* Of the Father's love begotten - Divinum Mysterium O little town of Bethlehem - Forest Green O come, all ye faithful - Adeste Fideles A great and mighty wonder - Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen In the bleak midwinter - Cranham Silent night - Stille nacht - again!!!! Hark! the herald-angels sing - Mendelssohn
* Our contraption (I won't glorify it with the name "organ") has a transposing key (probably its only redeeming feature), and The Organist Who Doesn't Practise™ asked me what key I'd like it in. We agreed on F (I'm really not a proper soprano these days) and the daft old bugger forgot to press the button ...
I still got through it though, and stayed in tune. I had always assumed it was the hardest thing in the world to do, having heard so many soloists go flat (or occasionally even sharp), but that's the second time I've done it, with no trouble at all. If I can do it, I'd have thought anyone can!
We had mostly advent hymns including the Angel Gabriel, but also included this little known number which is my favourite Nativity hymn, introduced by a soloist on guitar for first verse, then the congregation joining in (Unfortunately at the start of the hymn in this clip, the words obscure the soloists head!) You might recognise the tune as 'Scarlet Ribbons' https://youtu.be/WavSGWubO44?si=Sx6Vb5utjAN4PI9a&t=2611
The organist didn't spring any surprises at our Christmas Day 9.30 communion:
O Come, All Ye Faithful / ADESTE FIDELES and the waiting is over as we finally get to sing that last verse!
Once in Royal David's City / IRBY
Joy to the World / ANTIOCH
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / MENDELSSOHN
(And I understand that the same carols will be sung at the 10.45 family service)
O come all ye
Angels from the - in lieu of the gloria
In the meek blidwinter - offertory because of the last verse.
Silent night
Hark the herald.
A goodly crowd of unchurched visiting relatives who really didn't have a clue about what was going on at a Mass. But they sang lustily.
600 through the doors over the two days which is good.
“Ding, dong, merrily on high”.
“Come and join the celebration”.
"Good news, good news" (Kendrick).
“When God from heaven to earth came down” (I saw three ships).
“Mary had a baby”..
“Good Christians all, rejoice”.
“Ding, dong, merrily on high”.
“Come and join the celebration”.
"Good news, good news" (Kendrick).
“When God from heaven to earth came down” (I saw three ships).
“Mary had a baby”..
“Good Christians all, rejoice”.
I think I know only the first and last of those (and the tune to I saw three ships )!
I don't know offhand what was sung at this morning's Mass, apart from *Happy Birthday to you*...
Meanwhile, 11am High Mass at Uppsala Cathedral, with Bishop Karin presiding and preaching:
ProcessionalVar hälsad sköna morgonstund (All hail to thee, O blessèd morn! - not one I know, but there is an English version) GradualO little town of Bethlehem OffertoryLo, how a Rose up springing Post-communionO come all ye faithful
All sung in Swedish, but the familiar three were to the *proper* tunes that we know here...
“While We Are Waiting, Come”/WAITING
“He Came Down”/HE CAME DOWN
“Canticle of the Turning” (“My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout”)/STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN
“No Wind at the Window”/COLUMCILLE
Christmas Eve yesterday evening:
“O Come, All Ye Faithful”
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“I Wonder as I Wander”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”/ST. LOUIS
“Silent Night”
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain”
The first four featured, at various times, cello, harp, clarinet and tympani, along with organ (or piano for “I Wonder . . . .”)
The last two were accompanied only by guitars, fiddle, banjo and, on the last one, piano.
I've heard of a few churches here that *save* the Carol Service until after the 25th...
We typically have a somewhat informal Service of Lessons and Carols on the First Sunday after Christmas. It saves the clergy and music director from having to do lots of planning after Christmas.
Usual stock Christmas carols across four services. Over 500 for Christingle in one of ‘my’ churches yesterday, around 70 at midnight and around 80, I’m told, this morning. Another had over 60 for their Christingle (a full church) and 17 this morning, including three small children. (Parish population there was c160 in the 2002 census.)
Comments
But (to return to my question) what about new carols, especially if you don't have a subtly-introducing-below-the-radar organist? You can't very well have a sing-along rehearsal, it spoils the atmosphere.
This guy plays all sorts of extemporised stuff before the service. One Evensong we were singing Sumsion in G. Before the service, if you listened carefully, you could just make out “Yes, we have no bananas”. (If you know, you know 😁 )
Much fun can be had when extemporising. I was playing at a seminary ordination where dozens of students were having various minor orders conferred on them. The process would take up to an hour during which there would be a mixture of singing and organ to cover the action. This time the (Arch)bishop was Cyril Cowderoy of Southwark. I found myself improvising quiet variations on "Nice One Cyril."
However that is trumped by a student at the local Anglican theological college who did a fancy French style toccata on "Hooray and up she rises" with the tune blasted out on the pedals for the Assumption. That didn't go unnoticed and got him into a lot of bother.
Hehe - I can imagine our late Churchwarden being very upset at such a palpable insult to his Co-Redemptrix...he had some fairly radical views, and should really have been a member of the Palmarian Church...
Oh, I know!
David used to mime peeling a banana at that point ...
Praise is Rising
Let Our Praise Be Your Welcome
Light of the World
You Chose the Cross
ETA - loving the amusing stories from the organists and regarding Late Brides, my daughter and her father were a good half hour late and years later I'm still baffled as to why. I waited with everyone there in the church thinking, "Well, they were all right when I left them" and the musicians patiently played and played and played. When I asked them later they were both "Oh. Were we really that late?" :rolleyes:
I don't.
Here I had a bride who was twenty minutes late from a venue only ten minutes brisk walk away. Unfortunately everyone’s mobiles were switched off and the bridal party was uncontactable. When she arrived it turned out that as they were stepping out of the door, the chief bridesmaid’s dress had split all down a side seam, and the twenty minutes was what it had taken to sew her back into it.
I have never understood the tendency for brides to be late as it is so discourteous to everyone and very alarming for the groom. My old Dad used to say if you weren't early, then you were late!
Prepare the way, O Zion (Bereden väg för Herran)
There's a voice in the wilderness crying (Ascension)
Comfort, comfort ye my people (Psalm 42)
On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry (Winchester New)
Choral:
Willan: Missa brevis no. 2 in F minor
Adriano Banchieri: Veritas de terra
Ding Dong! Merrily on High / BRANLE DE L'OFFICIAL
Of the Father's Love Begotten / DIVINUM MYSTERIUM
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem / FOREST GREEN
Once in Royal David's City / IRBY
On Christmas Night all Christians Sing / SUSSEX CAROL
O Come, All Ye Faithful / ADESTE FIDELES (last verse omitted, of course)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing / MENDELSSOHN (51171)
On Jordan's bank (Winchester New)
We have a gospel to proclaim (Fulda)
We hail thy presence gkorious (Offertorium)
When came in flesh the incarnate Word (St Agnes)
For my sake and the goapel go (Bishopgarth)
Merbecke setting minus Gloria
Hark! a herald voice is sounding - Merton
Come, thou long-expected Jesus - Cross of Jesus*
Hark, the glad sound! The Saviour comes - Bristol
O come, O come, Emmanuel - Veni Emmanuel
Christ is the world's true light - Nun Danket
* should have been Stuttgart, imho. Sadly the organist who chooses the hymns has some ideas about tunes and hymns which don't quite accord with mine. If I'd been choosing for today, we'd definitely have had On Jordan's bank.
The Gospel lesson today included the entire text (well, the bowdlerised version that we use) of This is the record of John, which made me feel rather deprived.
Our lovely dusky rose-pink chasuble will have had its second outing this year, though.
I'm waiting for my Spy to tell me what was sung at the 3pm Carol Service this afternoon, but I expect she's busy helping out at the *Christmass Fayre* which followed it at 4pm, and is, hopefully, still in full swing.
and are there mince-pies still for tea>"
We go to this every year as a part of our pre Christmas preparations.
Four organ preludes as people arrived.
Hodie Christ's natus est - Britten Ceremony of carols.
O come all ye faithful (no last verse) (All)
Away in a manger - Gjeilo
Ding dong merrily - Williamson
O little town (All)
Gaudete, gaudete - arranged Fitzgerald
Silent night (All)
Gloria - Dove
Once in royal (All)
For unto us a child is born - Handel
Lux aurumque - Whitacre
O Holy night - Adam
Hark the herald (All)
A good congregation. All ages and multi-ethnic.
As ever in RC services the readers were the weakest links. It really makes me cross. The organ was recently cleaned and overhauled at great expense. So it was sounding splendid.
"We light the Advent candles" / Tune by our organist / choirmaster
"Blest is the King whose coming is in the name of God" / VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN
Psalm 126, chanted
"Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding" / MERTON
"A voice cries out"
"Shepherd of souls refresh and bless" / ST. AGNES
"Watchman tell us of the night" / ABERYSTWYTH
Choral: "The King shall come" by Arnold B. Sherman
The first wedding I did in the last parish but one, the bride was on time but the groom (and his best man) were about 3/4 hour late. They blamed (maybe justly) London traffic. They should have gone by tube!
“Angels from the realms of glory”.
“Hark, the glad sound” - Bristol.
“When the angel came to Mary” - Sans Day Carol.
“Come and hear the joyful singing” - Nos Galan.
“What child is this?”
“Once in royal David’s city”.
“While shepherds watched their flocks”.
“On a night when the world” - The 12 Days of Christmas.
“O little town of Bethlehem”.
“See, amid the winter’s snow”.
“O come, all ye faithful”.
Love Down Came at Christmas (Gartan)
O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Forest Green)
Hark! the herald angels sing (Mendelssohn)
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (God Rest You Merry)
Once In Royal David’s City (Irby)
As with gladness men of old (Dix)
For Mary mother of the Lord (St Botolph)
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
O come O come Emmanuel
Come thou Redeemer of the earth (Puer nobis)
Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown (Margaret)
Being a traditional set up Christmas hymns and carols start this evening. Must be pretty unusual these days?!
Lo, he comes with clouds descending - Helmsley
The Angel Gabriel from heaven came - Birjina Gaztettobat Zegoen
For Mary, mother of our Lord - St Botolph
Silent night - Stille Nacht*
Long ago, prophets knew - Personent Hodie
* luckily I was serving, and it was the Communion hymn, so I didn't have to sing it.
This evening (Communion):
“God rest ye, merry gentlemen”.
“Come and sing the Christmas story”.
“On Christmas night all Christians sing”.
“In a byre near Bethlehem”.
“It came upon a midnight clear”.
Owing to the lack of any organist or musicians this morning, anything they sang would have had to be a capella, which really is NOT FatherInCharge's forte...
Not at all. I think pretty much all Anglican places that follow the lectionary would have been observing Advent 4 this morning
Our Cathedral has an Epiphany Carol Service with Procession on the nearest Sunday, but that's a different thing altogether. I went one year, and it was both enjoyable, and well-attended - albeit not the full house one might expect (hopefully) at 9 Lessons etc.
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks At Night (Cranbrook)
Silent Night (Stille Nacht)
In the Bleak Midwinter (Cranham)
O Come all ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis)
You talking to me .... ?
Once in royal David's city (with solo piglet) - Irby*
Of the Father's love begotten - Divinum Mysterium
O little town of Bethlehem - Forest Green
O come, all ye faithful - Adeste Fideles
A great and mighty wonder - Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen
In the bleak midwinter - Cranham
Silent night - Stille nacht - again!!!!
Hark! the herald-angels sing - Mendelssohn
* Our contraption (I won't glorify it with the name "organ") has a transposing key (probably its only redeeming feature), and The Organist Who Doesn't Practise™ asked me what key I'd like it in. We agreed on F (I'm really not a proper soprano these days) and the daft old bugger forgot to press the button ...
I still got through it though, and stayed in tune. I had always assumed it was the hardest thing in the world to do, having heard so many soloists go flat (or occasionally even sharp), but that's the second time I've done it, with no trouble at all. If I can do it, I'd have thought anyone can!
No - commenting on post above.
O Come, All Ye Faithful / ADESTE FIDELES and the waiting is over as we finally get to sing that last verse!
Once in Royal David's City / IRBY
Joy to the World / ANTIOCH
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / MENDELSSOHN
(And I understand that the same carols will be sung at the 10.45 family service)
Angels from the - in lieu of the gloria
In the meek blidwinter - offertory because of the last verse.
Silent night
Hark the herald.
A goodly crowd of unchurched visiting relatives who really didn't have a clue about what was going on at a Mass. But they sang lustily.
600 through the doors over the two days which is good.
“Ding, dong, merrily on high”.
“Come and join the celebration”.
"Good news, good news" (Kendrick).
“When God from heaven to earth came down” (I saw three ships).
“Mary had a baby”..
“Good Christians all, rejoice”.
I think I know only the first and last of those (and the tune to I saw three ships )!
I don't know offhand what was sung at this morning's Mass, apart from *Happy Birthday to you*...
Processional Var hälsad sköna morgonstund (All hail to thee, O blessèd morn! - not one I know, but there is an English version)
Gradual O little town of Bethlehem
Offertory Lo, how a Rose up springing
Post-communion O come all ye faithful
All sung in Swedish, but the familiar three were to the *proper* tunes that we know here...
“While We Are Waiting, Come”/WAITING
“He Came Down”/HE CAME DOWN
“Canticle of the Turning” (“My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout”)/STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN
“No Wind at the Window”/COLUMCILLE
Christmas Eve yesterday evening:
“O Come, All Ye Faithful”
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
“I Wonder as I Wander”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”/ST. LOUIS
“Silent Night”
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain”
The first four featured, at various times, cello, harp, clarinet and tympani, along with organ (or piano for “I Wonder . . . .”)
The last two were accompanied only by guitars, fiddle, banjo and, on the last one, piano.
We typically have a somewhat informal Service of Lessons and Carols on the First Sunday after Christmas. It saves the clergy and music director from having to do lots of planning after Christmas.
Seriously?