The Abbey Choir at Christmas
Peter Brook describes the hard work that goes into services during the Festive Season
Christmas is one of the busiest periods of the year for the Abbey Choir. A tremendous amount of preparation and considerable stamina are required by all involved, from the Organist and Master of the Choristers Jeff Williams down to the youngest probationary chorister!
The build-up to this period starts in early November with the rehearsal of music for the Advent Procession, which marks the beginning of the four weeks of Advent. This is a service that few churches now tackle and which provides the choir with the opportunity to sing and the congregation to hear some of the ancient Advent plainsong melodies for the Antiphons and Advent Prose. This music has to be carefully choreographed with the servers who lead the procession around the Abbey. The combination of liturgy, music and procession makes this a particularly impressive service, with this year's being no exception!
The time between the start of Advent and Christmas is short. In the three weeks available for rehearsal, a lot of music has to be prepared as well as keeping the regular Sunday services going. It is hard to believe that the lighting of each candle on the Advent wreath marks a whole week during this hectic time! The boys are given one Sunday evening off during this time, but there is no let up for the men. This gives an opportunity for them to sing a men's voice Evensong, which is a welcome additional challenge and a very different experience without the boys to hide behind! All this preparation takes place alongside the demands of school concerts for the boys and the pressures of work leading up to Christmas for the men.
The culmination of much of this hard work is the service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This is always a great occasion, but this year turned out to be one of the very best ever. The service was one of joy and wonderment, created by carefully chosen readings and carols perfectly complementing each other as the traditional story unfolded.
In front of a capacity congregation, solo treble Nicolas McQuitty confidently opened the service singing the unaccompanied first verse of Once in Royal David's City. Many other highlights included a stirring rendering of Sir Christémas by William Matthias, ending with a rousing shout of 'Noel!' to proclaim the joy of Christmas. A declaration of praise also concluded Ian Schofield's carol sequence of medieval texts and 20th century rhythms, Make we joy now in this feast. The choir continually strives to add to their repertoire and this year saw the première in the Abbey of Adolphe Adam's O Holy Night. The beautiful tenor solo passages in this often-recorded carol were carefully crafted by Geoff Mordan.
Before the midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve, the choir, accompanied, by the Vicar, made their traditional visit to Romsey Hospital to sing carols to the patients. The opportunity to sing Away in a Manger to a newborn baby is always a very special moment. Most of the men get very misty-eyed!
Amidst excited apprehension (and a few yawns), the choir assembled for the midnight service. Word of what Romsey Abbey has to offer at Christmas must be spreading, since the congregation for this very special service was even larger than that for the Nine Lessons and Carols. Reserves of stamina are fully tested later on Christmas morning when, in spite of only a few hours sleep for the men and for most of the boys a very early and exciting awakening, the choir assembles for the Christmas morning Eucharist. As always, concentration and voices held out to produce another service befitting the joy and celebration of the birth of Christ.
And finally
After
a New Year break the choir were back in action again for Epiphany. The
traditional and eagerly awaited Epiphany
Supper and entertainment were held on 4 January. This annual event
provides a good opportunity for fellowship with the congregation and raises
funds to support the annual choir singing holiday – this year to
Truro Cathedral in August. This was followed the next day by the Epiphany
services, including at the gift service; the transformation of three choirmen
into three very dubious looking characters posing as the Three Kings!
And after all that the build up to Easter will soon begin!