The Songbook that Revolutionized the Tone of Christmas Holidays
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, one of the world's finest choral groups, was founded by King Henry VI in 1441. This esteemed choir, known for its annual 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' performance on Christmas Eve in King's College Chapel, has a rich history that spans over six centuries.
Sir David Willcocks, who served as the director of music at King's College from 1957 to 1974, played a significant role in shaping the choir's sound. He is renowned for creating soaring, singable descants for carols such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, and others. His descants, which were met with some criticism, were defended by Willcocks himself, who pointed out that even Bach wrote descants.
Willcocks' descants were so popular that Oxford University Press was keen to publish the carols with his descants. One of his most notable contributions was the creation of descants for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College. These descants, designed to make the hymns more accessible, were a hit with listeners who wanted tunes they could hum along to, rather than complicated harmonies.
The choir, which consists of the conductor, 16 choristers aged 9 to 13 (who are educated on scholarships at King's College School), 14 choral scholars (undergraduates at the University of Cambridge), and two organ scholars, sings six days a week at services in the Chapel, a duty which was its original purpose almost 600 years ago.
In addition to Willcocks, another notable collaborator of the choir was Sir John Rutter. Together, they worked on the second, third, and fourth books of the Carols for Choirs series. Rutter, in his own words, states that the series significantly changed the sound of Christmas for everyone who sings.
The choir's most celebrated performance, the 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols', is broadcast to millions of people around the world. The list of the choir's upcoming concerts can be found at this link.
Notable alumni of the choir include Sir David Willcocks, who passed away in 2015, and Sir John Rutter. The choir continues to uphold its tradition of excellence in choral music, carrying forward the legacy left by its esteemed founders and directors.
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