100周年記念礼拝

チャペルの荘厳な空気をもらさずとらえた
極上録音で聴くミサ

2019年のクリスマス時期に行われた、100周年を記念する9つの聖務日課の祈りとキャロルの礼拝のライヴ。読み上げられる聖句も含めて収録されており、極上の音響とあいまってミサに列席しているような気分になる1枚です。
キングインターナショナル

In 1918, the Rev. Eric Milner-White, the Dean of Kings College, Cambridge, introduced to the college the Lessons and Carols format that were already in use on Christmas Eve at other institutions in England, as well as at Brown University in the U.S. The Kings College version had a special festive intensity resulting partly from the recent Armistice, and it was this service that the new BBC chose for broadcast in the 1920s. The Festival of Lessons & Carols has since become known over much of the world, and its 100th-anniversary celebration in 2018 involved several special performances and recordings, given added weight by the imminent retirement of the longtime Kings College Choir director, Stephen Cleobury. Buyers should note that there are two album releases with different emphases; hardcore Choir of Kings College fans will probably want both. There is a double album entitled 100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols that features historical recordings of the Lessons & Carols, plus a disc of new recordings of current repertory. That group overlaps partly with the present album, which offers a live recording of the 2018 service and its actual lesson readings by college officials and, distinctively, choristers of various types. The performance is a strong one in general, moving effectively between festive pieces and more meditative ones like John Taveners The Lamb, and the album provides a snapshot of where the choirs repertory was in 2018, with not only Tavener but several other contemporary pieces including a new work, Judith Weirs striking O mercy divine. In addition to appealing to devotees of the collegiate choral tradition, this album could make a good starting point for those new to the Choir of Kings College: in every way, it has the feel of a living tradition.