A Festival of Lessons and Carols: How to Plan Your Own (live online lecture)
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 319
    The International Chant Academy presents...

    A Festival of Lessons and Carols: How to Plan Your Own
    Tune your parish into the spirit of the Christmas season with this popular alternative to the traditional Christmas concert.
    60-minute live, online lecture by Dr. Horst Buchholz.
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    One of the most popular alternatives to your traditional Christmas concert during the Advent season is a Festival of Lessons and Carols. While many think of this as an English (or Anglican) invention, the roots of a service with readings, music, and prayer are much older. The most famous Lessons and Carols is from the Anglican tradition, sung annually at King's College in Cambridge, but there are many possible variations of this service. Even the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has proposed a model for it to be used in Catholic churches.
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    The readings may be geared toward Advent or Christmas, depending on the date of the celebration, and an Epiphany Lessons and Carols is even possible. The musical choices are endless and can include "carols" in many different forms: choral, congregational, and instrumental. We will examine a few models for this beautiful celebration which is neither a Roman Catholic liturgy, nor a concert, and leaves many options to tune yourself, your choir, and your congregation more deeply into the spirit of the Christmas season.
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    Q and A session to follow.
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    Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 10:00 am, USA Central Time Zone (GMT - 5)

    For more information, or to enroll, visit https://www.chantacademy.com/lecture-series
    Questions may be sent to info@chantacademy.com
  • Chaswjd
    Posts: 268
    While I appreciate the organic growth of Lessons and Carols, I would urge Catholic parishes to celebrate the Office of Readings as Catholic alternative. Lessons and Carols grew from Matins, the same source as the Office of the Readings. Carols could be incorporated into the Office of the Readings as meditations on the preceding reading or psalm as necessary or desired.
    Thanked by 4MarkB WGS AngelaR tomjaw
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,079
    Count me among those who don't understand why Catholic parishes would celebrate "Lessons and Carols".

    Among other reasons, as if music directors, choirs, and parishioners need more to prepare for and to try to fit in during Advent and Christmas seasons.

    If you celebrate Advent and Christmas season Masses (and the liturgy of the hours) well as a parish, "Lessons and Carols" would be superfluous and redundant, if not premature, depending on the date of the performance.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 319
    Actually, part of the beauty of Lessons and Carols is that you can program your already learned Christmas and Advent rep right into it (or rep for other seasons, depending on what time of year you program it). A L & C can be planned anytime of year, because the format is the same; it's the music and texts that change. Of course, the most popular Lessons and Carols is one done at Christmastide.

    With the addition of readings and prayers as a part of the liturgy, the choir is only doing half the work for the amount of time it covers. It's certainly a more prayerful alternative than the classic Christmas concert.

    Certainly, one must sensitively program rep suitable to the season (e.g. not jump the gun in programming all Christmas music during an Advent liturgy). This will be covered in the lecture. Dr. Buchholz has many years of experience doing these Lessons and Carols at the Catholic cathedrals where he has been stationed, and will be sharing Catholic directives that have been given for its use.

    I would be very interested to see a sample program for an Office of Readings with carols included, if anyone has one to share.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen LauraKaz
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    Singing carols in church is problematic, as many of the best carols are not suitable for singing in church. Last year we had a two part Advent / Christmas concert, the first part in the church singing mainly liturgical music, and the second part in our parish rooms with mulled wine, mince pies and proper carols. Sadly no dancing which is an important part of carolling because our parish room was too full.

    I too prefer chanting the original Lessons and Carols, Matins on Christmas eve... The complete order can be found in the Liber Usualis.
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 319
    tomjaw, let's make sure we are clear about our definitions for carols, then. The carols traditionally associated with a Lessons and Carols service are not secular pieces, but sacred hymns (e.g. Comfort, Comfort, O My People, Once in Royal David's City, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing).
  • WGS
    Posts: 300
    Audience/Congregation participation - For me, the occasion is more satisfying if the words and 4-part setting are provided for a couple of the musical responses to the nine or so lessons. (A reference to an entry in a hymn book found in each pew would be fine.)
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    You can learn from the experts Percy Dearmer, R Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw in The Oxford book of carols A carol is by definition a secular piece of music, even though many have a religious theme, they were not written for Catholic liturgical use. I note that some songs with religious themes are sometimes described as carols. Those you have listed are songs written mainly for protestant 'worship'.

    The Salutation carol is often sung at lesson and carols, and its earliest appearance is in the book of a minstrel.
  • Chaswjd
    Posts: 268
    The idea I had with the office of the readings was, in part, inspired by the custom in Venice of substituting the repeat of the antiphon with a motet. While I don't think we can substitute the repeat of the antiphon with a motet these days, it may be possible to follow the repeat of the antiphon or the psalm prayer with a hymn or carol which would function as a meditation on the preceding psalm or reading.

    So the office of the readings as lessons and carols would look like this on a Sunday:

    Invitatory Psalm

    Hymn assigned the Office

    Assigned Psalm 1

    Hymn or Carol

    Assigned Psalm 2

    Hymn or Carol

    Assigned Psalm 3

    Hymn or Carol

    Assigned Reading 1

    Assigned Responsory

    Hymn or Carol

    Assigned Reading 2

    Assigned Responsory

    Hymn or Carol

    Te Deum

    Prayer

    "Closing" Hymn or carol

    If you wanted even more readings, you could insert the readings which covert the office of the readings to Vigils. Alternatively, you could combine the office of the readings with vespers following para. 99 of the General Instructions on the Liturgy of the Hours and follow the same format through the Vespers.
    Thanked by 1AngelaR
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 319
    Good evening, everyone! I am bumping this post, as the lecture is this Saturday. Questions may be sent to info@chantacademy.com.
  • NihilNominisNihilNominis
    Posts: 1,021
    Why not take these objections and questions to Dr. Buchholz in the post lecture?

    I'm sure that would raise some interesting discussion!!
    Thanked by 2tandrews CHGiffen
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