A Ceremony of Carols Winchester College Quiristers, Katie Salomon & Malcolm Archer

• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28:
• 1A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 1, Procession01:29
• 2A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 2, Wolcum Yole!01:32
• 3A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 3, There Is No Rose02:47
• 4A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 4a, That yongë Child01:53
• 5A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 4b, Balulalow01:22
• 6A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 5, As Dew in Aprille01:11
• 7A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 6, This little Babe01:42
• 8A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 7, Interlude04:13
• 9A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 8, In Freezing Winter Night03:41
• 10A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 9, Spring Carol (After Cornysh)01:17
• 11A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 10, Deo gracias01:22
• 12A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: No. 11, Recession01:36
• Harp Suite:
• 13Harp Suite: I. Intrada02:55
• 14Harp Suite: II. Toccata01:38
• 15Harp Suite: III. Nocturne02:41
• 16Harp Suite: IV. Fugue01:16
• 17Harp Suite: V. Hymn05:34
• Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934): Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99:
• 18Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 1, Hymn to the Dawn03:12
• 19Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 2, Hymn to the Waters02:12
• 20Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 3, Hymn to Vena05:57
• 21Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26, Group 3, H. 99: No. 4, Hymn of the Travellers03:14
• Total Runtime52:44

Info for A Ceremony of Carols

The album features music for upper voices and harp by 20th century composers Benjamin Britten and Gustav Holst. A collaboration in 2017 between Winchester College Chapel Choir and British harpist Katie Salomon, the recording captures the trebles (boys) at their best under the masterful direction of Malcolm Archer.

Alongside A Ceremony of Carols and excerpts from Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (sung in English) is a performance of Britten’s Suite for Harp by Katie Salomon.

Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols Op.28 was composed in 1942 on board a Swedish cargo vessel – the Axel Johnson, as Britten and Pears returned to England after three very successful years in the United States. The journey took almost a month and must have been very tedious since conditions on board were hardly luxurious.

The work has eleven movements, one of which is for solo harp, and uses words from the English Galaxy of Shorter Poems. Several of the texts date from the 15th and 16th centuries and are in middle English, whilst others are by great poets such at Southwell and Cornish. Around the same time, Britten had made a start on Hymn to St.Cecilia and a piece for Benny Goodman, but customs officials confiscated the manuscripts thinking they might contain some sort of secret code. Fortunately for us, Britten managed to finish Hymn to St. Cecilia later. ...

Winchester College Quiristers
Winchester College Chapel Choir
Katie Salomon, harp
Malcolm Archer, conductor

Winchester College Chapel Choir
sings the regular services in Winchester College Chapel. Winchester College was founded by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, in 1382, and Winchester College Quiristers have for over 625 years sung services in Winchester College Chapel. In modern times they have formed a choir renowned for its excellence, and their musical director is Malcolm Archer.

The Quiristers, who form the top line of the choir, perform a wide variety of music at home and abroad. They benefit from bursaries, a first rate all-round education, and a particularly broad musical training. This builds confidence, teamwork and a commitment to the highest standards. The Quiristers also sing on their own as a concert choir, as well as with Winchester College Chapel Choir. The senior boys from the College, many with previous experience as both choristers and Quiristers, provide the lower voices.

Since 1966 the Quiristers have attended The Pilgrims’ School. They are given bursaries which are funded by Winchester College, and means tested top up funding is available up to 100 per cent. At Pilgrims’ the Quiristers benefit from the best academic teaching and join in all the school’s sporting activities.

Malcolm Archer
has had a distinguished career in church music. He held the post of Organist and Director of Music at Bristol, Wells and St Paul’s Cathedral. He was subsequently Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College for eleven years.

Malcolm studied as an RCO scholar at the Royal College of Music and was Organ Scholar at Jesus College Cambridge. His organ teachers were Ralph Downes, Gillian Weir and Nicolas Kynaston.

As an organist and harpsichordist he is in frequent demand. He has given solo concerts all over the world, including the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Europe. His performances with orchestra have included Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, Brandenburg Concerto No.5 and the Bach keyboard concertos. Malcolm has also performed with the London Symphony Orchestra in a classic rock concert in the Royal Albert Hall. Moreover, he has an extensive concert repertoire and has recorded a wide variety of works including J.S. Bach organ works and Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneuras.

Katie Salomon
is a professional harpist and teacher based in South-West England.

She first performed Britten’s Ceremony of Carols in Salisbury Cathedral with the cathedral choir whilst herself a young girl chorister, and first recorded it to great acclaim in 2002.

She feels particularly close to Britten’s Suite for Harp, loving it as a showpiece for the instrument, having studied as a post graduate with Sioned Williams who in turn studied with Ossian Ellis, the harpist for whom Britten wrote this Suite.

Her recordings with choir include performances of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Janacek’s Otce nas, both works which feature the harp as a principal accompaniment instrument. She has recorded with record labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Universal, Decca and Demon.

Katie is much in demand as a harpist. She enjoys all styles of playing from classical through to contemporary encompassing orchestral, chamber and solo performance.

She has a reputation as a gifted accompanist to choirs in these more intimate pieces, as a soloist – as shown in her interpretation of the Suite – and a crossover artist invited to play at venues as diverse as Buckingham Palace, London Guildhall and Wembley Pavilion Arena with other highlights being solo stage performances for the Wimbledon Champions’ Award Ceremony, the Rugby World Cup and Royal Ascot.

This album contains no booklet.