A Ceremony of Carols

A Ceremony of Carols, Op 28, in a composition of Benjamin Britten .

History
Benjamin Britten wrote the work when he and Peter Pears traveled back from the United States to England . Aboard the MS Axel Johnson he was too busy to Hymn to St Cecilia . Britten composed on the basis of medieval and early English literature, a collection of songs. These texts he took from a book he had bought in Halifax (Nova Scotia) . When he was done he had a "bundle" of six songs. He was unhappy and eventually came up with a elfdelig work.

The work is written for women's choir, solo soprano, alto solo and harp (which could be replaced by piano).

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1. "Procession" ("Hodie Christus natus est") 2. "Wolcum Yole!" 3. "There is no Rose" ( Trinity College MS 0.3.58, 15th century) 4a. "That Yonge child" 4b. "Balulalow" (to Wedderburn Brothers, circa 1548) 5. "As Dew in Aprille" (Sloane 2593, first quarter 15c) 6. "This Little Babe" (to South Robert Wells "Newe Heaven, Newe Warre," 1595) 7. "Interlude" (harp solo) 8. "In Freezing Winter Night" (Robert Southwell) 9. "Spring Carol" (16th Century. William Cornysh ) 10. "Deo Gracias" (Sloane 2593) 11. "Recession" ("Hodie")

The first performance took place in Norwich Castle in Norfolk . For the Dutch and Flemish has its own gimmick. That execution did not take place during the Christmas season, but on the evening of St. Nicholas , December 5 1942 .

[Discography edit ]
The work has an extensive discography, the most shots came from the UK market, but there are also known recordings from the Czech Republic.