This video will be live at 6pm on Sunday 20th December
St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh
Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas
Sunday 20th December 2020 at 6pm
Carol
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Saviour is born!
Christ the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night!
Son of God love’s pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Text: Joseph Mohr
Music: Franz Gruber arr. Ian Sutherland
First Reading
A reflection on Advent Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Carol
All sons of Adam
All sons of Adam rise up with me,
Go lov the blissed Trinitie.
Sing we nowell, nowell, nowell,
Cry Kyrie with hosanna,
Sing Sabaoth, sing alleluja,
Now save us all Emanuel.
Then spak archangel Gabriel,
Said Ave Mary mild,
The Lord of Lordis is with thee,
Now sall thou go with child.
Ecce ancilla Domini.
Then said the virgin young:
As thou hes said so mot it be.
Welcom be heavin’s king.
Text: Mid-16th century Annunciation carol
Source: John Forbes Songs and Fancies Aberdeen 1662
Music: Kenneth Dempster
Second Reading
St Luke 1 46-55
Carol
If ye would hear the angels sing
If ye would hear the angels sing
“Peace on earth and mercy mild,”
Think of him who was once a child,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
If ye would hear the angels sing,
Rise, and spread your Christmas fare;
‘Tis merrier still the more that share,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Rise and bake your Christmas bread:
Christians, rise! the world is bare,
And blank, and dark with want and care,
Yet Christmas comes in the morning.
If ye would hear the angels sing,
Rise, and light your Christmas fire:
And see that ye pile the logs still higher
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Rise, and light your Christmas fire;
Christians, rise! the world is old,
And Time is weary, and worn, and cold,
Yet Christmas comes in the morning.
If ye would hear the angels sing,
Christians! see ye let each door
Stand wider than it e’er stood before,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Rise, and open wide the door;
Christians, rise! the world is wide,
And many there be that stand outside,
Yet Christmas comes in the morning.
Text: Dora Greenwell
Music; Dutch carol arr. Peter Backhouse
Third Reading
Journey of the Magi T.S.Eliot
Carol
This endris night
This endris night I saw a sight,
A star as bright as day,
And ev’r among, a maiden sung,
“Lully, bye bye, lullay.”
This lovely lady sat and sang,
And to her child did say,
“My son, my brother, father dear,
Why liest thou thus in hay?”
“My sweetest bird, ’tis thus required,
Though I be king veray,
But nevertheless I will not cease
To sing ‘Bye bye, lullay.'”
“That child or man, who will or can
Be merry on my day,
To bliss Thou bring—and I shall sing,
Lullay, by by, lullay.”
Text: Anon 15th century
Music: Malcolm Archer
Organ Voluntary
Garth Edmundson Toccata-Prelude on Vom Himmel hoch
CCL Licence No 980930
Streaming Licence 57837
Readers: The Rev Calum I MacLeod, The Rev Craig Meek
The Choir of St Giles’ Cathedral
Jordan English Assistant Organist
Michael Harris Master of the Music
While St Giles’ Cathedral is closed to visitors we are losing a substantial part of our income; if you would like to support the ongoing ministry of St Giles’, please do consider making a donation by going to https://stgilescathedral.org.uk/donate/
The music for this service was recorded remotely by members of the choir in November and December 2020. Production and editing by Rory Wilson.
All sons of Adam, a setting of a mid-16th century Scottish carol text, was commissioned by The Friends of the Music of St Giles’ Cathedral, with support from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
It is the first in a series of five new compositions commissioned by The Friends of the Music from Scottish composers, as part of the St Giles’ Choirbook project, which will be completed in 2024, the year of the 900th Anniversary of St Giles’ Cathedral. The composers commissioned are Savourna Stevenson (2021), Tom Harrold (2022), Helen Grime (2023) and Sir James MacMillan (2024).