Picture dated Dec 9th 2021 shows the King’s College Choir in Cambridge rehearsing for the Christmas Eve Carol service which is set to go ahead with a congregation despite the huge rise in Covid cases in England. The world’s most famous carol service is set to go ahead with a congregation in Cambridge today/ tomorrow (Dec 24) – despite the huge rise in Covid cases in England. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols will take place at King’s College Chapel in front of a smaller congregation to make the occasion safer in light of the pandemic.
Picture dated Dec 9th shows the King’s College Choir in Cambridge rehearsing for the Christmas Eve Carol service which is set to go ahead with a congregation despite the huge rise in Covid cases in England. The world’s most famous carol service is set to go ahead with a congregation in Cambridge today/ tomorrow (Dec 24) – despite the huge rise in Covid cases in England. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols will take place at King’s College Chapel in front of a smaller congregation to make the occasion safer in light of the pandemic. Last year the service, which was first held in 1918, was recorded with no audience and broadcast on BBC Radio on Christmas Eve. In the past attendees have had to queue for seats early on Christmas Eve, but this year tickets were allocated by ballot due to capacity restrictions in light of the pandemic. The 16 choristers in King’s College choir have spent weeks rehearsing for the hugely-popular service. The idea originated in Truro, Cornwall, where a service consisting of nine carols alternating with nine lessons had been held since 1880 with the intention of keeping the men out of the pubs on Christmas Eve. It was later introduced to King’s by the college’s new Dean, Eric Milner-White, who wanted to make worship more imaginative. Since 1930 it has been broadcast live on BBC Radio, except for last year when a pre-recorded service was broadcast due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Since 1919 the service has always begun with a lone choirboy singing Once in Royal David’s City, but he is not chosen until the last moment to prevent unnecessary nerves. It promises to be the performance of his life for the young chorister who could be aged between nine and 13. The boys line up in King’s College Chapel in front of the choral scholars, made up of altos, tenors and basses, who are all undergraduates, shortly before 3pm on Christmas Eve. A new carol has been commissioned for the Christmas Eve service every year since 1983 and
Size: 7588px × 5061px
Location: Cambridge
Photo credit: © Geoffrey Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: boy, boys, cambridge, carol, carols, chapel, choir, chorister, choristers, christmas, church, college, festival, kings, lessons, rehearsals, service, singers, singing, traditional, university
