My inbox has been bulging this week with Substack newsletters that continue to report on the rather grim state of the world. I couldn’t look at them. Don’t my fellow substackers know its Christmas/Hanukkah/the Holidays?
I decided to give my subscribers a break and share something from my archive, one of the most magical pieces I ever reported. 25 years ago I made this feature about the boy choir of King’s College School as they prepared for the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols concert from King’s College exquisite chapel. It has been a Christmas eve tradition for more than a century and via the BBC the service has become something of a global phenomenon.
Recording the piece took quite a bit of negotiating with the choir director at the time, Sir Stephen Cleobury, but he did allow me in and I managed to capture most of the sound that the voices and the building make together. The one thing I was not able to get clearly is the startling effect of the first seconds after the choir stops singing. The sound waves of their unified voices rise to the ceiling of the fifteenth century edifice and then ripple along its fan vaulting in waves. Otherworldly is the word a secularist like myself would use to describe it. Heavenly is another word, if you prefer.
A couple of notes on time passing: Stephen Cleobury passed away in 2019. Fergus Thirlwell, one of the choristers I spoke to dreamed of becoming a pop star. He’s not a star, but he is out there making his own music.
I like to imagine people listening to this while happily doing some kitchen prep for the big meal, or sipping a glass of wine as the late afternoon solstice darkness closes in and I wish the warmth and earnest hope you can hear in the boy sopranos’ voices brings some brightness to these days.
Substack offers its writers an automated seasonal give a gift subscription message to pass on. I won’t do it. It’s the season of giving, and you don’t need to be reminded that I can only do this work with the financial support of my readers. There’s no need to bother you further. You already know that you can take out a paid subscription or make a one off donation any time if my work has value to you. Although at this time of year it would be especially appreciated.
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