Lessons and Carols: The Heritage

A Service of Lessons and Carols: King's College, Cambridge, Christmas 1954

In honor of the sixtieth year of televised broadcasts of the Service, BBC replayed the first broadcast, from the Year of Our Lord 1954.

The United Kingdom had a beloved young Queen, nearing the end of her second year on the throne; it had an eighty-year-old Prime Minister, perhaps the greatest in the history of the Kingdom but now nearing the end of his days: Winston Churchill.

The Choir of King's was directed by the legendary Boris Ord, like Churchill nearing the end of his long tenure (1929-57, excepting the War years). It is fascinating to watch him at work in the video; he stands at the end of the treble line and the choir is led by almost imperceptible nods of the head. All is done with the utmost dignity.

And the Choir sings better in this video than they do now. That is not all Ord's doing (though much of it is); times have changed, and it is more difficult to maintain a choir of men and boys, even in a place such as King's. Listen to the shape of the phrases, the precise attacks and releases, the diction, the blend. Listen also to the quality of the soloists, both trebles and choirmen.

At the organ is Hugh McLean. Notice the manner in which the hymns are played: the organ enters with a chord one beat before the voices. This was the old-time way of playing, and very effective in a large acoustic. All of the playing is solid, reserved, supportive.

I notice that the Lectors conclude with “Thanks be to God,” just as they do now, so that is not a modern innovation as I had thought.

At the end, the “Amens” from the Smith Responses are a nice touch.


All in all, I enjoyed this much more than the 2014 service, fine as it was. The selection of music is superior, the standard of performance is higher. And it is shorter by some forty-five minutes.

It seems to me by comparison that the Service has become somewhat bloated in recent years. One senses more of a desire to showcase the virtuosity of the Choir rather than to simply sing straightforward music – most of it homophonic, often strophic, and none of it terribly difficult – that supports the Lessons, and to sing it with utmost perfection. I do not fault Mr. Cleobury for his work with the current Choir; he is doing what he must, and they remain one of the finest choirs in the world. I fault the times in which we live, and the manner in which Great Britain has changed over these sixty years.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” [J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”]