Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Acting
Biography
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the choir to this day. Today the choir is directed by Daniel Hyde and derives much of its fame from the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast worldwide to millions on Christmas Eve every year, and the TV service Carols from King's which accompanies it. The choir commissions a carol from a contemporary composer for each year's festival.
Known For
A celebration of Christmas from the stunning, candlelit King's College Chapel, Cambridge. Led by the dean, the Rev Dr Stephen Cherry, the concert begins in the time-honoured way as a solo chorister sings the first verse of Once in Royal David's City. Music includes Philip Ledger’s setting of On Christmas Night, Anton Bruckner’s Ave Maria and The Lamb by John Tavener. The story of the Nativity is read by members of King’s College in the words of the King James Bible and in Christmas poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, UA Fanthorpe and Howard Thurman. Congregational carols include Unto Us Is Born a Son, O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.
Carols from King's: A Celebration of Christmas
Recorded at Pieterskerk, Leiden, Holland, @ 1993
George Frideric Handel - Messiah - Choir Of King's College, Brandenburg Consort, Stephen Cleobury
Much of Giovanni Gabrieli’s music was composed for grand ceremonial occasions. 2015 marks not just the 400th anniversary of the publication of this collection of works from 1615, but also the 500th anniversary of the completion of King’s College Chapel. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge celebrates these anniversaries with the first classical album ever to use Dolby’s new Atmos technology, which uses ceiling-mounted speakers to reproduce the acoustics of the Chapel with unprecedented realism. This recording pays homage to one of the most influential musicians of the Venetian Renaissance from within one of the great buildings of the English Renaissance. As well as being principal organist at St Mark’s Basilica, Gabrieli was a prolific composer of sacred vocal and instrumental music. The Choir is joined by His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts playing faithful recreations of instruments from Gabrieli’s time.