Carolling merrily

‘Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa-la-la-la-la,
Fa-la-la-la!

As a member of two choirs I have done my fair share of carolling this Advent.

We began with an Advent carol service at 4 pm on Sunday 24^th November.  It was not yet Advent, but both the choir and the church building were needed the following week (Advent Sunday) for a Light up a Life service.

Then we began rehearsing in earnest for our Christmas carol service.

I also sing in a smaller choir, which gave a concert on December 16^th to an appreciative audience in the same building.  The singing was interspersed with readings.  One of the carols we sang was in French and another in Latin.

Yesterday we had our Nine Lessons and Carols.  Some younger members of the choir were home from university or back from their term-time work.  Others were away for the holidays, but we had a very good number for a village.  We are also fortunate to have more than one extremely competent organist.  This meant our organist and choir-master was able to conduct and leave the playing to a deputy.  This time we sang one song in Welsh!

Outside the church building last week I was also involved in carol singing around the village and for guests at a local hotel.  Then we had a sing-song at the vicarage at the last weekly coffee morning of the year.  As it happened I was able to sit with two other altos for this and we extemporised from memory, not having music copies of the carols.

One more service to look forward to with the full choir and then it really will be Christmas.

A former member of our church choir has made a new arrangement and recording of a carol.  (It is her version of the French one I mentioned earlier.)  I hope you enjoy it as part of your festivities.