O come, O come, Emmanuel

Advent Carol Service November 27th 2022

The lights dimmed, candles lit for the Choirs’ procession, the glorious, plaintive ‘Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland’(BWV 659) echoed round the ancient walls, from the organ. The Priory Advent Carol Service had begun.

Silence fell and the choir sang the introit from St Giles’ Chapel, a single, perfect, solo voice soaring above ‘ May we be obedient to your call and be ready and watchful to receive your Christ, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path…’

What a treat unfolded, too much to list it all - the simplicity of plainchant in the ‘O’ Antiphons (O Sapienta; O Adonai: O Radix Jesse; O Clavis David; O Oriens; O Rex Gentium), the fabulous word painting and dynamics of Macmillan’s ‘O Radiant Dawn’, the joyful setting of ‘People look East’ by our Priory Director of Music, Piers Maxim, a beautiful less well known carol from Cornwall, set by Philip Ledger…

And the near capacity congregation enjoyed Advent carols including ‘Lo he comes with clouds descending’, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’, all interspersed with Biblical readings from the Old and New Testaments.

Jonny, our curate, preached. For the last time at the Priory. Our loss is the Diocese of Leicester’s gain, where he will be a fine priest in his own group of parishes, in his native county. He spoke to us of Creation and the spark of light, leaving us with the challenge of how to respond to the Advent message.

Prayers, a blessing and the recessional voluntary - Dupre’s ‘Le monde l’attente du Sauveur’, from Symphonie-Passion Op23, and the congregation left, slowly, into the gaslit churchyard.

’My favourite service of the Christmas Season’ one could be heard saying.

Thank you to all who made worship this evening so special. Truly light shining in the darkness.