Choristers' Ceremony of Carols

Gloucester Cathedral's choristers are performing Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols on Sunday 6 December, with the concert running from 5.15pm to 5.45pm. It's a short, focused performance—about twenty-five minutes long—conducted by Director of Music Adrian Partington, with Daniel de Fry on the harp.

If you're not familiar with the piece, it's one of Britten's most loved works, written in 1942 during a voyage from the US to England. The whole thing is built around a specific sequence of light and dark. It starts in pitch darkness with the sound of children singing Mediaeval plainsong, and then the choristers process in by candlelight to sing a series of carols with Mediaeval texts, accompanied by the harp. After the final 'Deo Gracias', they process back out into the darkness singing the ancient plainsong 'Hodie Christus natus est'. Adrian Partington describes the silence that follows as 'one of the most poignant musical experiences'.

It's a small, atmospheric set rather than a full evening's programme, so it's an easy one to fit in. Doors open at 4.45pm, and the concert itself is just half an hour, from 5.15pm to 5.45pm. Tickets are £10 for adults, and they're limited, so it's worth booking ahead rather than leaving it to the door. The venue is Gloucester Cathedral, Quire 12, College Green, GL1 2LX.