The much anticipated ‘Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols’ was held on the 4th of December at 6pm in the Chapel of the Transfiguration, after a span of 2 years, when we were unable to have a congregation due to Covid restrictions.
The service began with the usual Treble Solo of the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City, which was sung by Caleb Fox. The Bidding Prayer was said by The Canon Rev’d Joshua Ratnam.
The Introductory Carol Come, O Come thou Word Eternal written by the Late Rev’d Lucien Fernando and sung to the tune of Wachet Auf! arranged by J.S. Bach followed the bidding prayer. Adam Lay Y Bounden by Boris Ord was sung by the choir soon after the First Lesson which was read by Rajiev Jaden (Lower School). The Second Lesson was read by Evan Jayawardena (Lower Secondary School) after which the Congregation rose to sing Lo! He comes with Clouds Descending ending with a Willcocks Descant.
The Third Lesson was read by Kemuel Peiris (Member of the Student Christian Movement) which was followed by John Rutter’s Jesus Child. A new feature of this carol was that the choir was accompanied by flutes in addition to the Organ. The Fourth and Fifth Lesson were read by the Aiden Tissera (Senior Sacristan) and Janidu Dela (Head Prefect) respectively. These were separated by the choir singing A Spotless Rose by Herbert Howells and the congregational It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.
A Maiden Most Gentle which is an arrangement by Andrew Carter follwed. Mrs. Savithri Cooray, the Registrar of the school who retired after more than 40 years of service at the end of the year read the Sixth Lesson.
The choir then sang The Shepherds Cradle Song by Charles Macpherson. Mr. Heshan Peiris (Old Boy) read the Seventh Lesson which was followed by the choir singing Shepherds in the Fields Abiding by Sir David Willcocks, and the Congregational See Amid the Winter Snow. The Warden read the usual Eighth lesson soon after.
The Final Choir Only Carol was titled Joseph’s Carol. Written and Composed by John Rutter, this was first performed on 3 December 2020 in the Sheldonia Theatre, Oxford, as part of a tribute to the Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group and RECOVERY team. The solo was sung by the Choir Leader Erosh Mathews. The words of this carol is as follows “-
LONG and weary was the journey,
Hard and dark the road we trod;
Deep enfolded in the stillness of the night
It seemed I heard the voice of God:
‘Fear not, Joseph, weep not, Mary,
Travel onward through the darkness of night;
Bethlehem will see his glory:
Christ, Emmanuel, the Lord of light.’
This rang true for us Sri Lankans in more ways than one. From having gone through 2 long years of Covid and an economic and social instability, the road we are on is still a difficult one, but we take courage hearing the voice of God saying ‘Fear not! Weep not!’.
The Lord Bishop of Colombo the Rt. Rev’d Dushantha Rodrigo chanted the ninth lesson at the service, which took the service through to the usual Hark the Herald and the O Come All Ye Faithful.
SW