As parish musicians, we spend a great deal of time trying to illumine the liturgy with a balance of music that is engaging and accessible to the assembly. I cannot help but breathe a sigh of thanksgiving when I see the faces of the assembly upturned to sing “Veni, Veni Emmanuel” the first Sunday of Advent.
However, full participation in this season of joy can be a challenge in the midst of the confusion of so-called holiday music that bombards us in all other aspects of life. From Halloween until New Year’s Day, radio stations and retail outlets indiscriminately play what we can lump into the category of seasonal music twenty-four hours a day. In the end, we are so familiar with the songs they hardly register as special anymore.
Several years ago, following a whirlwind week of Christmas concerts (ranging from the entirety of Handel’s Messiah to a jazz rendition of old Christmas carols while dressed as a tree), I began to review music for the Lessons and Carols scheduled for Christmas Eve.
Turning to the back of my folder, I read the text from the fifteenth-century motet “Verbum Caro”: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Immediately, I was taken from the exhausting idea of rehearsing more music to the remembrance that we, as servants of Christ through the liturgy, have a unique opportunity to aid others by helping clear the clutter of secularism. We do this by refocusing hearts and minds through worship toward the sacrifice of Christ. The wide-angle lens of John’s Gospel links the God of Genesis, “the Word,” the motive force in creation, with Christ who comes to dwell within and redeems creation by his own sacrifice. With these thoughts the season of Advent begins to come into focus.
A Historical Perspective
Apocryphal stories trace the history of Advent Lessons and Carols to 1880, when future Archbishop of Canterbury Edward White Benson introduced a paraliturgical service of music and readings to keep his parishioners out of the pubs on the vigil of Christ’s birth. Following World War I, Reverend Eric Milner-White adapted the service to fit the needs of King’s College, Cambridge. His flock was made up of the widows, children, and fiancées of King’s College students (half of whom had gone away to war, and a third of those never returned). Milner-White sought to uplift his congregation by illuminating the prophetic narrative of the Messiah.
Drawing from the Tenebrae services of Holy Week, the fifteenth-century Chester Mystery Plays, and other dramatic presentations of Scripture, this yearly gathering has come to symbolize something particular to the English people, becoming so ingrained in their culture that since 1928 (continuously since 1931) the service from King’s College Cambridge is broadcast annually on the BBC (even during World War II when the chapel’s stained glass windows had been removed and there was no heating). In modern times, the King’s College service is so widely beloved that people queue for days in advance in hope of winning one of the chapel’s prized six hundred and fifty seats.
Full and Active Participation
The ecumenical appeal of this musical service is unique. Its existence outside of eucharistic liturgy allows full and active participation by all in attendance. The celebration draws upon lessons common to the whole of Christianity, connecting through word and music the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the humble birth of a king in a stable, and the sacrifice of that king on the cross for the redemption of the world. The service is generally separated into nine lessons punctuated by a mix of 20 carols and hymns. It combines choral and congregational singing and allows moments of ecstatic worship, through active listening to the choir, and rational worship, through scriptural reading and communal singing.
A Practical Approach
With the previous year’s recording of the Trinity College service ringing in our ears, or Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols (op. 28) on our mind, we may find it difficult to imagine this service scaled to fit the forces at hand in our own parishes. To assuage these fears, look to the service’s unique adaptability. If your choir is not yet able to manage an eight-part setting of “Adam Lay Ybounden,” fear not! I had the pleasure a year ago to attend a service led solely by cantor and organ that was in no way diminished from those set in the grandest cathedrals. As with all endeavors, it is a question of scale: What can you do well artistically that serves the purpose of spreading the Gospel?
Traditionally, the service is scheduled for the First Sunday of Advent. However, at the cathedral here in Portland it is held prior to Midnight Mass. Others choose to hold it completely separate from the liturgy; in fact, a number of colleges now present a service of Lessons and Carols as an interdepartmental celebration of the Advent season that brings together members from the music, drama, theology, and English departments to meditate on the Advent mysteries.
As with any choice of liturgical music, we go directly to the Scripture. Note that as this is a service outside of eucharistic liturgy, you might choose other texts to reflect needs particular to your space and assembly. Whether choosing scriptural or poetic readings, the theme of the ceremony should connect the first man, Adam, to the savior of man, Jesus the Christ. The following list includes the traditional readings set forth by Reverend Eric Milner-White.
Order of Service
- Organ Prelude
- Opening Hymn
- First Lesson: Genesis 3:8–15, 17–19
- 2 Carols
- Second Lesson: Genesis 22:15–18
- 2 Carols
- Third Lesson: Isaiah 9:2, 6–7
- 2 Carols
- Fourth Lesson: Isaiah 11:1–3a, 4a, 6–9
- 2 Carols
- Fifth Lesson: Luke 1:26–35, 38
- 2 Carols
- Sixth Lesson: Luke 2:1, 3–7
- 2 Carols
- Seventh Lesson: Luke 2:8–16
- 2 Carols
- Eighth Lesson: Matthew 2:1–12
- 2 Carols
- Ninth Lesson: John 1:1–14
- 2 Carols
- Bidding Prayer and Benediction
- Closing Hymn
- Organ Postlude
Repertoire
There is a great deal of freedom in the choice of repertoire for the service. The processional hymn is nearly always “Once in Royal David’s City.” In Great Britain, the first verse is performed by a boy treble. Each treble in the choir learns this solo, but the choice of which boy will sing it is made just prior to the service’s start! For practical reasons, you may choose to perform a simple four-part hymn arrangement or Sister Christine Manderfeld’s arrangement for three-part women’s voices.
In choosing other repertoire, my personal belief is that the works should act as a dramatic commentary to the Scripture just spoken. The musical moments are meant to be striking. In a sense, the choral and congregational singing is equivalent to the dramatic purpose of the chorus in an opera, commenting on the action of the previous reading. For instance, after the first reading you may choose a setting of the traditional text “Adam Lay Ybounden,” which relates the fall of man and foretells salvation. Colin Mawby’s eight-part motet is rich and engaging. Also consider Douglas Kingsley’s introspective four-part setting. Likewise, after the fifth reading you may choose a work that is more personal in nature. “The Virgin Is with Child” by Randall DeBruyn, scored for soprano solo, classical guitar, and four-part choir, is a personal favorite.
As you see, this is a real chance to let your musical forces (whatever they may be) shine. The selections need not all be voiced or orchestrated for the same forces. A solo chant of “The Advent Prose” can beautifully complement a movement from Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248), as long as the narrative and dramatic nature of the service is maintained.
Verbum Caro
It is perhaps an understatement to say that the service of Lessons and Carols has far exceeded Rev. Edward White Benson’s goal of temperance. In time, this service of word and song has drawn people of nearly every denomination (and even different faiths) together in a yearly celebration of renewal. For centuries, theologians understood the power of music to relate complex ideas; the Lessons and Carols service serves this purpose well. The written word of Scripture comes alive through song, meditation, and prayer in the worshipping body. While perhaps the service is no longer needed to draw us out of the tavern as in 1880, it does draw us out of the secular-consumer world and, at least for a moment, into a place where God’s word might dwell in us.
You can find more seasonal resources on our Advent and Christmas page, here.
Originally published in Today’s Liturgy © 2010 OCP. All rights reserved.
Zachary Hoyt
Zachary Hoyt was previously a manager of liturgical resources at OCP. A frequent soloist in music groups and churches, he holds a master of performance degree from Portland State University. He studied music education and theology at Benedictine College in Atchison.