Nine Lessons

Today

Although Advent Sunday has yet to arrive, Christmassy feelings are all around. Last week a contingent of my choir went to the local outlet shopping centre to usher in the switching on of the Christmas lights with a selection of carols.

Although the crowd was invited by the presenters to join in with the singing, they were reticent as English crowds often are. And maybe they didn't know the carols. Later, when we were singing around the shopping village small children absolutely loved to hear us and clapped with enthusiasm.

It's a shame that so many lose that instinct for music as they grow older.

In My Day

As earlier blogs have described I love to sing and join in whenever I can. When I was at Selhurst Grammar School for Girls, back in the '60s I was no different. We had a daily assembly at which traditional hymns were sung and I definitely had my favourites.

Each Christmas we would give a carol service which was based on the "Nine Lessons" service popularised by King's College, Cambridge. Our stately headmistress, Miss Harley-Mason would introduce it and say a short prayer. 

Then we launched into the service. I think I loved every bit of it. I was usually picked to deliver one of the "lessons" as I had a clear speaking voice. The choir would lead the audience in all the popular carols. How lustily I sang the descants vain, as always, of my ability to pitch the high notes!

When I reached the fifth form and joined the madrigal group I was introduced to a wider range of Christmas carols and songs "A Virgin Most Pure" "Masters in the Hall" and so on.  I can still sing most of them by heart.

There was a move to modernise hymn and carol tunes during the '60s and '70s, not always successfully (there's a very nasty modern version of "Away in a Manger). Also, there was also a move away from routine Christian-based assemblies in schools (with very laudable reasons) which has meant that generations after mine do not have a solid base of communally-known hymns and songs.

I don't know whether we are the poorer for this, but, religious beliefs aside, it must be said that Christianity has produced some very good tunes.