A Ceremony of Carols with Anna Lapwood

Britten's joyful A Ceremony of Carols and further glittering festive choral treats with The Choirs of Pembroke College, Cambridge, conducted by Anna Lapwood.

Kick off the Christmas season with these renowned artists for an evening centred on A Ceremony of Carols and a new work written in response to it, Kristina Arakelyan's A Christmas Offering.

Conductor Anna Lapwood says, ‘Gregorian chant weaves through the programme, bringing together music from the 20th and 21st centuries with reworking of melodies written as far back as the 16th century. The two centrepieces of the programme are Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and Kristina Arakelyan’s A Christmas Offering. I think one of the reasons that Britten continues to be so popular is because he has so thoroughly encapsulated the sheer joy that singing brings at this time of year, and so I asked Kristina to have this at the heart of her work too. It’s my hope that, one hundred years from now, people might talk about A Christmas Offering in the same way as they talk about A Ceremony of Carols.’

The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge
The Girls' Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Esther Beyer harp
Anna Lapwood conductor

Patricia Van Ness:: The Nine Orders of the Angels: Archangelus (3’)
David Bednall:: Tribus miraculis ornatum (3’)
Poston:: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (4’)
Lucy Walker:: Away in a Manger (5’)
John Rutter, arr. from Piae Cantiones (1582):: Personent Hodie (3’)
Kristina Arakelyan:: A Christmas Offering (first performance, Britten Pears Arts commission) (30’)
Britten:: A Ceremony of Carols, Op.28 (25’)
Gruber, arr. Rathbone:: Silent Night (4’)