Wed 12/9 @ noon
British composer Benjamin Britten wrote his song cycle A Ceremony of Carols in tense circumstances. He had been living in the U.S. but as World War II escalated, he felt the urge to return home to England. In the spring of 1942, he crossed the Atlantic by ship and wrote A Ceremony of Carols on his journey.
The 12-part song cycle is based on medieval carols in archaic English with flourishes of Latin, written for treble voices (women or children) and harp. Opening and closing with the plainchant-style “Hodie,” it wends its way through tunes like the bright “Wolcom Yole!” and loving tributes to Christ’s mother, “There Is No Rose” and “As Dew in Aprille.”
A performance by the altos and sopranos of the Trinity Cathedral choir and harpist Jody Guinn is a holiday tradition at the cathedral, performed every December as part of its weekly free Brownbag concert series. This year, they can’t gather to perform, but knowing how much this performance is enjoyed by its patrons, it will be rebroadcasting a previous performance. Tune in here.
musicandartattrinitycathedral/
Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 44115