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Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - English version

 

Some remarks about the history of this Christmas service

The "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" has its roots in the Church of England. Around 1880 E.W. Benson, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced a Christmas service at Truro Cathedral which contained nine Christmas carols and nine short readings from the Holy Bible. The readings ("lessons") were read by various members of the congregation - from the choir boy to the bishop himself.

Over the past one hundred years, the "Nine Lessons and Carols" with their simple structure have become hugely popular. It is hard to imagine for any cathedral or college chapel within the Church of England not to start off its Christmas season with this particular service.

Chapels at university colleges in Cambridge and elsewhere have been cultivating the tradition for over 130 years at a remarkable level of quality. Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, has even become the home of a national institution: Ever since 1928, the "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" has been broadcasted live over the radio, with television following suit in 1954.

The order of the service goes back to the Easter vigil. There, too, lessons and musical pieces recount God's holy deeds towards His people and render them meaningful for our time. The lessons read at Christmas reach from the Creation to the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem and the advent of the three wise men from the East. The prologue of the Gospel of John marks the end of every carol service: "In the beginning was the Word..."

Also, some of the carols sung during the service have become peoples' favorites and are sung year after year. "Once in Royal David's City", for instance, is the traditional opener of every "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols".

So, at the end of the Christmas season and at the beginning of the "week for the unity of all Christians", we are trying to bring some of the overwhelming - and unaffected - English Christmas joy to German listeners. Purists may forgive us that the program also includes some German Christmas favorites.

We are very much looking forward to your visit and hope that you will merrily listen and join in the music.

 

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