One of the great traditions of the Christmas season is the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, sung by church choirs large and small” in every part of the English-speaking world. The model upon which this nativity event is based is the service which takes place annually on Christmas Eve at 3:00pm in the Chapel […]
CJ Replay: Singing at Christmas
People love to sing at Christmas. Not just choirs or madrigal ensembles, but all the people. Those same folks who can’t make it through Happy Birthday at a restaurant will stand in the snow to sing carols outside a shut-in’s door. With far less group singing during the other eleven months—do school children still sing […]
CJ Replay: The Alfred Burt Carols
Since the Alfred Burt Christmas Carols were first recorded and published in the 1950s, they have resounded through a score of countries in many languages. This music is one of the twentieth century's great contributions to the celebration of Christmas. Alfred Burt was the son of Emily May Bailey and the Reverend Bates Burt, an […]
Stick Time: Clever Concert Presentation II
Today, let’t look at a blending of performance practice and entertainment. Here, we see a choir that performs not only with fabulous musicality, but also presents the selection in a manner that is engaging on multiple levels. With so many performances taking place at this crazy-busy time of year, how could you add just a […]