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A Festival of Lessons & Carols
The Music of Hildegard von Bingen: Chants for the Blessed Virgin Mary
With chant specialist/guest vocalist, Justina Golden
MUSIC NOTES: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2024, 10:00 A.M.
Please join us on Sunday, December 15 at 10:00 am. for First Congregational Church’s annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, a beloved tradition from England wherein God’s word is proclaimed and contemplated in a special sequence of readings, prayers, choral anthems and congregational carols and hymns.The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is most affectionately connected to King’s College in Cambridge, England, where it has graced the Chapel on Christmas Eve since 1918. The service has been broadcast annually, even during the Second World War, when the ancient glass (and also all heat) had been removed from the Chapel. It is estimated that today there are millions of listeners worldwide. The service has since been adapted and used by churches and schools all over the world.
In the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, we weave together scripture, poetry and song, calling on readers and musicians from all ages and stages, and trace a spiritual progression that carries us from prophecy to fulfillment, from Old Testament foretelling to New Testament celebration of the birth of Christ.
This year, our Lessons and Carols service highlights the music and poetic writings of Hildegard von Bingen, also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine – German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. Hildegard’s Chants for the Blessed Virgin Mary beautifully reflect Mary’s journey to becoming the mother of Christ.
To guide us in this mysterious and stunning music is my colleague and friend, Justina Golden, a chant specialist, performer, teacher, and philosopher in her own right. Justina has shared her powerful and formidable talents with us in the past (do you remember those “O” antiphons?), and I am thrilled that she will lead us to the heart of Hildegard’s glorious music. The choir will offer two large contemporary anthems, based on Hildegard’s chant tunes and texts. The Lessons (readings) will include both scripture and writing excerpts from Hildegard herself.
In this sacred and mysterious context, we will joyfully celebrate the season of Advent. Please join us!
Download the Bulletin Here: 12-15-24 – Lessons & Carols.docx (3)
