Advent by Candlelight
4.00pm Sunday November 28th
Starting in St Mary's Church, Swaffham Prior, moving to St Cyriac & St
Julitta's halfway through and then returning to St Mary's for minced
pies and mulled wine. This year's theme: The Light of the World. As in
previous years, the music for this year's "Advent by Candlelight"
will be led by Cambridge Voices, and all the readings will be presented by
residents of the parish. If you're willing to read, please let Hilary Sage
know as soon as possible (tel. 01638 742978) and she can let you know what the
choices are so that you can select something that you would enjoy reading.
This year the readings includes such authors as John Donne, Auden, Dylan Thomas, as well as from the Bible, of course. Indeed, if any of you has a favourite reading (prose or poetry) upon the theme of light - or, indeed, the absence of light - please forward them to Hilary (Stocks Farm West, 7 Lower End, Swaffham Prior) so that it can be included. It's much more exciting when the selection of words and music includes input from members of the village.
As for the music, we will be presenting the World Premiere of a magnificent piece by the Italian Renaissance composer Alessandro Striggo - Ecce beatam lucem - originally set for 40 voices (in fact, the very first motet, ever, to have been written for 40 voices), here it will be scored for just 16 solo voices within 2 choirs, arranged especially for Cambridge Voices for this year's "Advent by Candlelight".
Other music will be by TALLIS (pre-empting the half-millennial commemorations of his birth next year); Robert WHITE (Tallis's wonderful contemporary, though sadly neglected nowadays); Harold DARKE (the composer of "In the bleak midwinter"); an extraordinarily modern-sounding motet for 10 voices on the subject of "The beauties of light" by LASSUS; a poignant excerpt from Herbert HOWELLS's "Hymnus Paradisi" in memory of our former organist, Andrew Armour); the explosive manifestation of light from HAYDN's "Creation", a beguiling anthem to Mary by Sweden's leading contemporary composer, SANDSTRîM; my own setting of the beautiful 2nd Collect from the Anglican service of Evensong ("Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord"); plus another invitation to the real, live bagpiper who, if you remember, should have played at last year's celebration of St Andrew but his chanter broke in two during the afternoon rehearsal and he was unable to dry the fixing-glue in time for the evening performance!
There will also be hymns for everyone to sing, bathed in beauty-enhancing candlelight!
Admission is by programme at the door: £6 for all grown-ups (free for children) and all profits go towards the work of EMMAUS.
If you're not free in the daytime of the concert you might like to know that the concert will be repeated at 7.00pm in St Columba's Church, Downing Street, Cambridge.