Choir of Westminster Abbey / Simon Preston CHRISTMAS CAROLS

At Westminster Abbey there are three Carol Services each year. The first takes place on Advent Sunday (at the end of November), the next on the Feast of St. Stephen (26 December), and the last on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December). On these occasions, Evensong is replaced by a special liturgy which retells the events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. The choir of twenty-two boys and twelve men, led by their choirmaster, begins the service by singing at the west end of the Abbey church. Then it moves in procession throughout the building, performing pieces whose words reflect the Christmas story.

The custom of performing carols in this way dates back to the 15th century. The carol, which was originally a song for dancing to, had gradually become a religious song, and had begun to replace some of the ancient processional hymns which were sung in church on feast days. Because the most important feasts of the church year were those at Christmastime, the carol became particularly associated with that season.

Simon Preston, the Organist and Choirmaster of Westminster Abbey, chooses carols of all types for these services. He is particularly attracted by some of the modern carols which British composers have written in recent years, among them settings of traditional words, but also others with verses by contemporary poets. They take their place alongside arrangements of older carols, as well as some of the medieval settings in their original form. (John Buttrey)