A Ceremony of Carols

A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28, is a choral piece by Benjamin Britten, scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. Written for Christmas, it consists of eleven movements, with text from The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, by Gerald Bullett; it is in Middle English. A number of the texts were subsequently used by other composers, notably Adam lay ybounden by Boris Ord. The piece was written in 1942 while Britten was at sea, going from the United States to England. It was written at the same time as his Hymn to St. Cecilia and is stylistically very similar. Originally conceived as a series of unrelated songs, it was later unified into one piece with the framing processional and recessional.

Movements

1. "Procession" ("Hodie Christus natus est", Gregorian antiphon to the Magnificat at Second Vespers of Christmas)
2. "Wolcum Yole!"
3. "There is no Rose" (Trinity College MS 0.3.58, early 15c)
4a. "That yonge child"
4b. "Balulalow" (The brothers Wedderburn, fl. 1548)
5. "As dew in Aprille" (Sloane 2593, first quarter 15c)
6. "This little Babe" (from Robert Southwell's "Newe Heaven, Newe Warre", 1595)
7. "Interlude" (harp solo)
8. "In Freezing Winter Night" (Southwell)
9. "Spring Carol" (16c., also set by William Cornysh)
10. "Deo Gracias" (Sloane 2593)
11. "Recession" ("Hodie")

References

• Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten: A Biography (London: Faber, 1992) ISBN 0-571-14324-5
• Program note by Len Mullenger. Retrieved October 17, 2010

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