IT WAS A FESTIVAL!

This past Sunday was a very special day for me.  For the first time ever, I played a Festival of Nine Lesson's and Carols service on an organ.

I know, you are thinking - but Gary is the organist!  You would be right - he is!  I am not an organist, even though I have owned several organs, and even though we still have a beautiful organ sitting in  our basement.  It is well known, that It ( the organ) is Gary's instrument and the old upright piano sitting in the living room is my instrument!

I have been involved with the Festival of Nine lessons and Carols for over 23 years.  First as a choir mom of a boy chorister in a Men and Boy's choir for many years.  Then as a Contralto in a adult mixed choir for several years - but this is the very first time, I have ever chosen all the music and played the whole service on an organ.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1878 in the Truro Cathedral in Cornwall England.

Apparently that year, the residents of Truro were thought to be enjoying too much of the wrong kind of festive spirit in the local pubs, and in an attempt to bring his flock back to the church where he believed they should be, Edward White Benson, the first Bishop of Truro devised a new service of nine lessons ( nine biblical passages from the old and new testaments) depicting the stories leading up to the Christmas Story.  He interspersed the readings with carols, hymns and three anthems from  Handel's Messiah.

The service was an immediate success, and has continued to be a tradition in the Anglican church, ever since.

The service has a structure - traditionally the first lesson is read by a child, maybe a young chorister, each subsequent reader is a progression through the church or cathedral hierarchy up to the Bishop.

Once in Royal David's City is always the opening hymn, the first verse being sung by a solo treble or soprano voice.  The choir leads the service from beginning to end, and aside from the readings this service is all about music.

I had quite a few dilemmas putting my Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols together.  The first being that my little church has no choir, followed by the fact that we really don't have any children either.  How to proceed?

I decided in the absence of a choir, I would do organ meditations where a choir anthem might usually be sung.  Problem solved.  I also decided that Gary would sing the first solo verse of Once in Royal David City, in his semi-tenor voice... Problem solved?

He sang beautifully - just like I knew he would, and we were on our way.  In the end I played Three "Anthem" Meditations,  Ten carols/hymns, and a Prelude and a Postlude - and it was wonderful!

My small congregation sang, there were smiles on lots of faces, and wonderful words of praise and appreciation for my work, after the service.

I'm already thinking about next year's service, and a week ago, all I desired was to get through Sunday's!

Well there you go - a challenge can be a good thing after all.  It was a ton of work, but in the end, my hard work put smiles on people's faces, it lit up their eyes, watered a few, and gave them voices to sing out loud.

But I really need to say one thing more.  Thank You Stewart, and Thank You Blair - I have renewed appreciation for all the hard work you did (Stewart), and for all the hard work you do (Blair).

And Thank You Edward White Benson, for caring enough for your flock, to give us this wonderful Festival to enjoy every year.