Baylor Invites Community to Dec. 13 'Ceremony of Carols'

Traditional English choral celebration to be held in Truett Seminary's Powell Chapel

Baylor University's Office of Spiritual Life will present Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, in the Paul W. Powell Chapel at Truett Seminary. The Christmas worship service is open to the public.

University and local ministers, singers and musicians will lead Britten's bright and celebratory composition, which was written during the composer's perilous five-week crossing of the North Atlantic during the wartime months of March and April 1942. Returning to England after three years in America, Britten bought a book of medieval carols at a stopover in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and decided to set them to music.

The composition, scored for treble voices, uses harp accompaniment and evokes the beauty of the Christmas story in a way and style placed firmly in the tradition of English choral music. It was first performed in December 1942 at Norwich Castle and was an instant success with the public. "A Ceremony of Carols" has remained one of Britten's most well-known works, especially at Christmas time.

For more information, contact Baylor's Office of Spiritual Life at (254) 710-3517.

Media contact: Lori Fogleman, director of media communications, (254) 710-6275