It was decided to abandon the representative sequence of readers. Thereafter came collect and blessing and, in keeping with its title, the service ended with “O come, all ye faithful”. “Of the Father’s heart begotten” encapsulates so much of the great doctrinal truths of the incarnation it created a grand climax (with David Willcox’s descant). The prologue to St John’s Gospel constituted the sixth and last section, heralding the first of the hymns included at the end of the service. So the fifth section became “The Requirements of the Law”, and there was a carol (“All in the morning”) with verses that nicely reflected these things, too. Moreover, it seemed much more appropriate to conclude the Christmas narrative with Christ’s naming and presentation in the Temple eight days after his birth. The Epiphany festival provides an appropriate means. They need to be disentangled from the stable and the shepherds. How many children, fresh from their school nativity play, are convinced that the magi attended the stable with the shepherds on the first Christmas night? It took courage, at this point in the service, to proscribe the so-called “Wise Men” - and their verses were omitted from “The first Nowell”. The latter included St Luke’s narrative of the birth, and also the visit of the shepherds, leading suitably into appropriate verses of “The first Nowell”. Sections three and four surveyed the annunciation and the story of Christ’s birth. While several of the carols reflected the message of their proximate readings, this was not an inflexible rule. Controversy, or at least disappointment, was courted by not including “O little town of Bethlehem” in this section: it is probably more of a hymn than a carol, and was left to emerge fresh within the Christmas services proper. It was sensible to avoid retracing all the ground that Advent carol services explore, and so the second section, “A Redeemer is Promised”, limited itself to Isaiah’s prophecy and the identification of Bethlehem as Christ’s birthplace. The familiar carol “Adam lay y-bounden” survived (using the simple setting by Peter Warlock) and the less well-known but very attractive “The Lord at first did Adam make” was included, as well. “Adam’s Transgression” was the inescapable starting point, introduced with the carol “This is the truth sent from above”, and continuing with the familiar Eden narrative.īut also included was St Paul’s significant account of our Lord as the second Adam who overcomes death.
The main body of the service was divided into six sections, each announced in turn by the officiant. It began with the simplicity of “ Hodie Christus natus est” in plainsong (emulating unashamedly Britten’s opening of his Ceremony of Carols), with its translation then declaimed by the officiating priest. There were innovations in content, format, and presentation but motivating everything was the aim of pruning away excess, and focusing attention on the significance of the Christmas story. “ Venite Adoremus” (as we entitled it) replaced the “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols”, and even reactionaries in the congregation, who regretted the loss of this or that favourite, gave it general approval. Last Christmas, he persuaded clergy, churchwardens, and choir in his church to adopt this new liturgy. I did and I sent the result to my challenger. Any resemblance between those originals and the Christmas hymns and multiplicity of Christmas anthems paraded as carols has all but been lost.īut who dares tamper with hallowed tradition? Who dares to banish the piping treble of “Once in royal David’s city”? Who would withdraw those prized invitations to parish worthies to read one of the familiar lessons? Further still, who might remove familiar (but misplaced) elements of the usual format, and introduce scripture other than the familiar extracts? They are so distant from the folk music (sung and danced) from which carols sprang in the Middle Ages.
#Hodie christus natus est meaning professional
Our sanitised Christmas stable is far removed from the probable stench and filth of reality so too our “carols”, beautified in their highly professional Willcocks and Rutter arrangements, are often over-sophisticated, sentimentalised, or twee. He challenged me to rescue him from the straitjacket of familiarity within which he felt imprisoned by the inevitable Nine Lessons and Carols. He is a former chorister of mine, who now runs an efficient and successful choir himself. FOR at least one organist and choirmaster, the approach of Christmas brings dread.
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