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Benjamin Britten‘s Ceremony of Carols was written during an uncomfortable 1942 voyage in a cargo convoy from New York to Liverpool, at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic. Britten had been living in the United States since 1939, prior to the outbreak of hostilities, and the convoy was his only option to return to England in wartime.

Many of the texts used for the carols were taken from a collection of medieaval texts Britten found while his ship was docked in a port in Nova Scotia. The music, written for harp and a choir of boy sopranos, possesses a calm light and joy that defies the fog of war that loomed at the time of its creation.

This particular version of Ceremony is sung by the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, directed by Sir David Willcocks and recorded in July 1972. Two of my favourite movements.

Choir of King’s College Cambridge – There is No Rose (Op.28, III)
Choir of King’s College Cambridge – Spring Carol (Op. 28, IX)
From Britten Choral Works: EMI 62797 [Buy]

Posting activity for the next week or so will be limited. I am going to be enjoying time with family, time on the beach, and time on the water. I wish everyone reading this a happy and peaceful Christmas, wherever and whoever you are.