Adeste fideles: Christmas Music from Westminster Cathedral

Featuring

Iain Simcock
James O'Donnell
Mark Kennedy
Aaron Webber
Matthew Vine
Stephen Alder

Westminster Cathedral Choir
Anonymous (Christmas)
Anonymous (Gregorian Chant)
Henry John Gauntlett
Anonymous (Traditional)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Harold Darke
Robert Lucas Pearsall
Peter Cornelius
William J. Kirkpatrick
Peter Warlock
Patrick Hadley
Franz Xaver Gruber
Herbert Howells
John Tavener
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
William Hayman Cummings

Did you know?

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Historical Context

The French word 'carole' originally meant a round-dance, and early carols were secular or celebrated pagan feasts, involving singing and dancing in a circle.

Album & Artwork

The album's front illustration, 'Christ glorified in the Court of Heaven', is a detail from an altarpiece predella by Fra Angelico, reproduced by permission of The National Gallery, London.

Historical Context

Carols fell into disuse in Britain during the Civil War and Commonwealth in the first half of the 17th century but were revived by the Victorians two centuries later.

Cultural Impact

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, initiated by King's College, Cambridge, in 1919, prepared the way for improved standards and a stronger association of carols with Christmas.

Historical Context

The medieval church appropriated pagan carols and feasts, providing them with new words and a Christian message, thus giving birth to the Christmas carol.