coming of our Lord to earth than those of the Prayer Book ...standrewscathedralaberdeen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/... · coming of our Lord to earth than those of the Prayer

I n the old liturgies, the Advent Offices made a more vivid preparation for the coming of our Lord to earth than those of the Prayer Book. This Carol Service is designed to include many of these older features.

Throughout the Service, the Choir will be moving in procession from west to east, "from darkness to light". First, from the west, the Responsory of ancient Matins on Advent Sunday announces the hope of the Messiah, and is followed by the hymn of St. Ambrose, Veni, Redemptor gentium. As the procession passes into the Choir, prophetic lections alternate with music. Finally, in the Sanctuary, the Gospel replaces the Prophets. All stand for the last Responsory of Advent, from Vespers of Christmas Eve. Then all kneel to keep silence for a moment, and to conclude with prayer in the Collect for Christmas Eve. After the Blessing, the pro-cession retires, as if going to Bethlehem, singing Lo! he comes with clouds de-scending.

Before the Service shall be played the following Chorale Preludes:

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645

Nun komm, der heiden Heiland BWV 659

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The settings of the Matin Responsary, Vesper Responsary and final hymn are by Sir David Willcocks CBE MC who, for seventeen years, directed the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and who died on 17 September 2015.

Order of Service

The Cathedral becomes dark and the choir assembles in the south transept. Members of the congregation are asked to stand when the clergy enter.

Matin Responsory (Choir)

Music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), arr. David Willcocks (1911-2015)

I look from afar: and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.

Go ye out to meet him and say: Tell us, art thou he that should come to reign over thy people Israel?

High and low, rich and poor, one with another, Go ye out to meet him and say: Hear, O thou shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep, Tell us, art thou he that should come?

Stir up thy strength, O Lord and come to reign over thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

I look from afar: and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.

Go ye out to meet him and say: Tell us, art thou he that should come to reign over thy people Israel?

Office Hymn (Choir only)

Traditional Melody, adapted by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)

During the singing of the Office Hymn, the procession moves through the nave to the crossing.

Come thou Redeemer of the earth And manifest thy virgin-birth: Let every age adoring fall; Such birth befits the God of all.

Begotten of no human will, But of the Spirit, thou art still The Word of God in flesh arrayed, The promised fruit to man displayed.

The virgin womb that burden gained With virgin honour all unstained; The banners there of virtue glow; God in his temple dwells below.

Forth from his chamber goeth he, That royal home of purity, A giant in twofold substance one, Rejoicing now his course to run.

From God the Father he proceeds, To God the Father back he speeds; His course he runs to death and hell, Returning on God's throne to dwell.

O equal to the Father thou! Gird on thy fleshly mantle now; The weakness of our mortal state With deathless might invigorate.

Thy cradle here shall glitter bright, And darkness breathe a newer light, Where endless faith shall shine serene, And twilight never intervene.

All laud, eternal Son, to thee Whose advent sets thy people free, Whom with the Father we adore, And Holy Ghost for evermore. Amen.

The congregation shall sit for the reading and carol.

First Lesson

Isaiah 6 – God commissions Isaiah to be the Prophet of the Advent.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is

me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long?

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

Carol

'Twas in the year that King Uzziah died, Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)

'Twas in the year that King Uzziah died, A vision by Isaiah was espied: A lofty throne, the Lord was set thereon; And with his glory all the temple shone.

Bright seraphim were standing round about; Six wings had every of that choir devout; With twain he awesome veiled his face, and so With twain he dreadful veiled his feet below;

With twain he did now hither, thither fly: And thus aloud did one to other cry: Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth, Full of his glory are earth and heaven, both. And at their cry the lintels moved apace, And clouds of incense filled the Holy Place.

The congregation shall stand for the singing of the hymn during which the procession moves to its stalls in the Choir.

Hymn

Hark, a thrilling voice is sounding; 'Christ is nigh,' it seems to say; 'cast away the dreams of darkness, O ye children of the day.'

Wakened by the solemn warning, let the earth-bound soul arise; Christ, her Sun, all ill dispelling, shines upon the morning skies.

Lo, the Lamb, so long expected, comes with pardon down from heaven; let us haste, with tears of sorrow, one and all to be forgiven;

that when next he comes with glory, and the world is wrapped in fear, with his mercy he may shield us, and with words of love draw near.

Honour, glory, might, and blessing to the Father and the Son, with the everlasting Spirit, while eternal ages run. Amen.

The congregation shall sit for the next two readings and the carol.

Second Lesson

Isaiah 40 – The Prophet Isaiah proclaims a message of hope.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough place plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the

flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.


Carol

A Spotless Rose, Paul Mealor (b. 1975)

A Spotless Rose is blowing, Sprung from a tender root, Of ancient seers' foreshowing, Of Jesse promised fruit; Its fairest bud unfolds to light Amid the cold, cold winter, And in the dark midnight.

The Rose which I am singing, Whereof Isaiah said, Is from its sweet root springing In Mary, purest Maid; Through God's great love and might The Blessed Babe she bare us Amid the cold, cold winter, and the dark midnight.

Now sleeps the crimson petal. Amen.

Third Lesson

Malachi 3 – The Prophet Malachi foretells the coming of the Lord's messenger.

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. And all nations shall call you blessed for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.


Then all shall stand for the hymn.

Hymn

Descant by Philip Ledger (1937-2012)

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lowly exile here, until the Son of God appear:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save, and give them victory o'er the grave:


O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here-; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight:


O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery:


O come, O come, thou Lord of Might, who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height, in ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe:


During the Advent Prose the procession moves to the Suther Chapel.

Advent Prose

Drop down, ye heavens, Plainsong

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.

Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: thy holy cities are a wilderness, Sion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation: our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee.

Ye are my witnesses saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know me and believe me: I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, my salvation shall not tarry: I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions: Fear not, for I will save thee: for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer.

The congregation sits for the reading of the Gospel of the Salutation and the Magnificat.

Gospel of the Salutation

Luke 1 – The Angel Gabriel salutes the Blessed Virgin Mary

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he

shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.


Magnificat

Evening Service in F minor, Alan Gray (1855-1935)

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his Name. And his mercy is on them that fear him, throughout all generations. He hath showed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He rememb’ring his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost : as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The congregation shall sit as the procession moves to the Sanctuary. The chorale "Wachet auf!" sounds from the organ.

Chorale

Wake, O wake! with tidings thrilling, harmonised by Johann Sebastian Bach

Wake, O wake! with tidings thrilling The watchmen all the air are filling, Arise, Jerusalem, arise! Midnight strikes! no more delaying, "The hour has come!" we hear them saying. Where are ye all, ye virgins wise? The Bridegroom comes in sight, Raise high your torches bright! Alleluya! The wedding song swells loud and strong: Go forth and join the festal throng.

The congregation shall stand for the Gospel.

Gospel of the Advent

Matthew 1 – St. Matthew tells of the Birth of Jesus.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.


During the hymn the offertory shall be taken.

Hymn

Descant by Andrew Morrisson

Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;

Tender to me the promise of his word; In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.

Tell out my soul, the greatness of his name: Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;

His mercy sure, from age to age the same; His holy name, the Lord, the Mighty One.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might: Powers and dominions lay their glory by;

Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight, The hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word: Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord To children’s children and for evermore.

After the presentation of the offertory the congregation shall sit for the anthem.

Anthem

Ave Maria, Robert Parsons (c 1530-1572)

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Hail Mary, full of grace, Dominus tecum; the Lord is with thee; benedicta tu in mulieribus, blessed art thou among women, et benedictus fructus ventris tui. and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen. Amen.

The congregation stand for the Vesper Responsory.

Vesper Responsory (Choir)

from Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, arr. David Willcocks

Judah and Jerusalem, fear not nor be dismayed: Tomorrow go ye forth, and the Lord He will be with you. Stand ye still and ye shall see the salvation of the Lord: Tomorrow go ye forth, and the Lord He will be with you. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Tomorrow go ye forth, and the Lord He will be with you.

Lord’s Prayer (Choir)

Music by Robert Stone (1516-1613)

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Versicle and Response (Choir)

We wait for thy loving kindness, O Lord: In the midst of thy temple.

Priest: The Lord be with you. Answer: And with thy spirit. Priest: Let us pray.

All kneel.

Collect for Christmas Eve

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly expectation of thy coming, Grant that we, who with joy and gratitude receive thy only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, may without fear behold him when he shall come to be our Judge, even thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Blessing

Open wide, O Lord, the gates of heaven and visit thy people in peace; send forth thy Spirit from on high that their hearts may be uplifted unto thee; O Lord, who for our sake wast of a virgin born, make holy thy people, and bless thine heritage. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and abide with you for ever. Amen.

All stand for the Recessional Hymn.

Recessional Hymn

Descant by David Willcocks

Lo, he comes with clouds descending, Once for favoured sinners slain; Thousand thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of his train:

Alleluia! God appears on earth to reign.

Every eye shall now behold him Robed in dreadful majesty; Those who set at naught and sold him, Pierced and nailed him to the Tree,

Deeply wailing Shall the true Messiah see.

Those dear tokens of his passion Still his dazzling body bears, Cause of endless exultation To his ransomed worshippers:

With what rapture Gaze we on those glorious scars!

Yea, amen! let all adore thee, High on thine eternal throne; Saviour, take the power and glory: Claim the kingdom for thine own:

O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!

The congregation remains standing until the procession has left the Cathedral during which time shall be played:

Nun komm, der heiden Heiland BWV 661, Johann Sebastian Bach

***

Please join us for refreshments in the Cathedral after the Service.

There are vacancies for boys and girls (normally aged 8 and above) interested in joining the Cathedral Choir.

For more information, please contact the Cathedral Office: Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01224 640119

Christmas Choral Services and Events in the Cathedral

Sunday, 20 December Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

6.30 pm with the Cathedral Choirs

Thursday, 24 December Crib Service and Posada

3 pm with the Trebles Choir

Christmas Eve Midnight Sung Eucharist 11.30 pm

with the Cathedral Voices

Friday, 25 December

Christmas Day Family Sung Eucharist 10.30 am

with the Cathedral Voices

Saturday, 26 December

Cathedral at Noon Recital Bill Henderson

Organ Music by Bach and Vierne

Sunday, 10 January

Epiphany Carol Service 6.30 pm

with the Cathedral Choirs

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