The Saint Michael’s College Chorale (Vermont) is doing their annual Lessons and Carols this Friday, December 8. I’ll be reading the fourth lesson, Isaiah 9:2-7. :)

For carols, we’re doing Willcocks arrangements of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, and The First Nowell, plus Silent Night.

For choral works, we’re doing Rutter’s What Sweeter Music, Stöhr’s Ave Maria that he composed while he was a professor here, and the Sanctus from Fauré’s Requiem.

Update: here’s our program:

Our Advent Lessons and Carols is on Sunday the 17th. The whole of St. Michael's Choir School will be singing selections from Messiah, Wood O Thou the Central Orb, and many others.

I don't know of an SATB arrangement, but here is a choral prelude for organ.

A "Noël Suisse" search of IMSLP gets organ settings by Daquin, Balbastre, Corette, Boëly, Lefébure-Wely and others but no choral versions.

From the diocesan Office of Worship in Springfield, Mass.:

The 18th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols will be celebrated on Saturday, December 16th, 7:30 p.m., at the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel, 260 State Street in Springfield. The Cathedral Choir of Boys and Adults will be accompanied by strings, handbells and the mighty cathedral organ [1929 Casavant, of 4 manuals and 91 ranks]. Highlights of the service will include the Gloria and Et In Terra Pax from a rarely heard Gloria by Vivaldi, the Benedictus of Sir John Elgar, and the Nunc Dimittis of Herbert Howells. The service consists of nine scripture readings of the season paired with congregational carols and choral anthems. The service begins in darkness and as the story of the nativity progresses the candles and lights of the cathedral are lit. For further information, contact the Office of Worship at worship@diospringfield.org, or by calling (413) 452-0839.

There’s a Facebook event for it.

Here is our Advent Lessons and Carols program, to be held this coming Thursday, December 14 with the students of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Houston. Choir is mandatory for all students Grades 4-8. Each grade sings one piece on their own, and they combine for a couple things as well. The 3rd graders are "understudies" who are there and sing all the hymns with everybody. If you are in the area, come and hear the good things going on at our place under the leadership of The Rev. Stephen B. Reynolds.

I have wondered why Catholic Churches do Lessons and Carols when we could be doing the Office of the Readings.

One might well proffer that Lessons and Carols is an office of readings.
Why should Catholics deny themselves of such a beautiful 'office', one which has its basis in Mattins?
Why not both and?

I have no problem with Lessons and Carols if that's what someone wants to do...

I think the problem is that we all can close our eyes and think of at least one church - but more likely a huge handful of churches - that do Lessons and Carols each year with great fanfare... but do not put anywhere near the same effort into their Sunday Masses and never celebrate publicly the legitimate Liturgy of the Hours with their choirs and congregations.

I have no problem with Members of the Ordinate celebrating Lessons and Carols. But as for the rest of the Latin Rite . . . How often is the Office of the Radings celebrated publicly? I would urge (non-ordinate) Catholics to use our existing liturgy before going elsewhere.

I'll argue, too, that the LOH is ideally observed on a regular basis, and that if you are planning a one-off event for students, Lessons and Carols is better - you get more readings, more hymns, and more chances for the choirs to show their stuff. Many of our parents simply are not going to attend Vespers on a regular basis; they barely know what Advent is. But we are building something, and so I hope experiences like this will make our parents more inclined to faithfully observe LOH in the future. Honestly, I'd take just regular commitment to Sunday Mass at this point.

Here was Lessons and Carols at Walsingham at 4.00pm this 10th of December -

____________________________________________

Sung by -
The Cathedral Choir
The Cathedral Treble Choir
Chorus Angelorum
A quartet from the choir of Casa Walsingham in Medellin, Columbia
___________________________________________

Organ Voluntary -
Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme - - - J.S. Bach
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen - - - Johannes Brahms
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland - - - J.S. Bach

Matins Responsory - - - adapt. fr. G.P. da Palestrina

At the Procession - 'O come, O come, Emmanuel' - - - Veni, veni, Immanuel, arr., Theodore Marier

The Bidding Prayer -
The Our Father -

Anthem - 'While the Careless World is Sleeping' - - - Francis Alan Jackson

The First Lesson -
Carol - 'Remember, O Thou Man' - - - Thomas Ravenstcroft
Carol - 'Adam Lay Ybounden' - - - Boris Ord

The Second Lesson -
Carol - 'the Advent Message' - - - Martin How

The Third Lesson -
Carol - Rorate Caeli - - - Francisco Guerrero
Hymn - 'Creator of the Stars of Night' - - - Conditor Alme

The Fourth Lesson -
Carol - Es ist ein Ros entsprungen - - - Michael Praetorius
Carol - Laetentur Caeli - - - William Byrd

The Fifth Lesson -
Carol - Ave Maria - - - Andrea Gabrieli
Carol - 'Maria Walks Amid the Thorn' - - - Med. German, Arr., David Cherwein

The Sixth Lesson -
Carol - 'And the Glory of the Lord', from Messiah - - - George F. Handel
Hymn - 'Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding' - - - Merton

The Seventh Lesson -
Carol - 'Sion, at Thy Shining Gates' - - - Arr., George Guest

At the Offering - Hymn: 'Hark! The Glad Sound' - - - Richmond

The Vesper Responsory - - - Adapt. from G.P. da Palestrina

The Blessing -

At the Dismissal - Hymn: 'Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending' - - - Helmsley
Organ Voluntary - Chaconne on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland - - - Hugo Distler

Advent Lessons and Carols, St. Rita, Dallas
December 17, 7:30pm

Prelude
Prelude on "In dulci Jubilo" (Liszt)
Snow lay on the Ground (Stearns)
Von himmel hoch (Bach)

Advent Responsory ("I look from afar") (Calabrese)
Procession: Hymn - "Creator of the Stars of Night"

The Bidding Prayer
E'en So Lord Jesus (Manz)
Hymn: Come, O Long Expected Jesus

First Lesson
Carol: Adam lay ybounden (Ord)

Second Lesson
Carol: In dulci jubilo (Pearsall)

Third Lesson
Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Fourth Lesson
Carol: Little Lamb, Who Made Thee? (Tavener)
Carol: Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (Near)

Fifth Lesson
Carol: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (Poston)
Carol: Carol of the Advent "People Look East" (Dietterich)

Sixth Lesson
Carol: Angelus ad Virginem (Willcocks)

Seventh Lesson
Carol: Magnificat in C (Stanford)

The Collect for Advent
The Blessing

Hymn: Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending

Poslude
Noel sur les Grand Jeux (Daquin)

https://livestream.com/stmichaelscathedral/events/7238650/videos/167363789
The video from our Lessons and Carols Service today. The service marks the end of the 175th Anniversary Celebrations of the Archdiocese. I'll scan and upload the programme at some point.