A Ceremony of Carols

A Ceremony of Carols
by Benjamin Britten
The composer, 1968
Catalogue	Op. 28
Genre	cantata
Occasion	Christmas
Text	excerpts from The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, ed. Gerald Bullett
Language	Middle English
Composed	1942 (1942)
Movements	11
Scoring	three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp

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, edited 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.

The piece was written at the same time as Britten's 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 chant in unison based on the Gregorian antiphon "Hodie Christus natus est", heard at the beginning and the end. A harp solo based on the chant, along with a few other motifs from "Wolcum Yole", also serves to unify the composition. In addition the movements "This Little Babe" and "Deo Gracias" have the choir reflecting harp-like effects by employing a canon at the first in stretto.

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