How wonderful it is to look at the innocent young faces and to hear their angelic voices. This was recorded 12 years ago, so they would be in their mid to late twenties now. I wonder what has happened to them. I wonder how many of them became priests.
I have to say that I really like this newer version of this Christmas song and what what makes it more enjoyable is the fact that these choristers obviously enjoy singing it too, as their director is no trouble with them not smiling. I would also like to point out that the organist is playing this version, just how John Rutter would like it to played. (and that is what really counts). WELL DONE to the organist, the boys singing and their director, most enjoyable!
There has been no Carol Service here at Rochester in this dire year but this has cheered me up.Nice to see the radiant smile on the face of the little chap at 0.10. He is enjoying the music and showing it.
I was so impressed with the unity of the group! The perfectly placed consonants and breaths, it really makes the listening so enjoyable when one can focus on the meaning. Thank you, so great!
I am guessing this is both Winchester Cathedral Choir and the Winchester College Quirester boys together. it is one of natures miracles that a boy has an incomparable voice at 12/13 but it only sounds this full for about a year max then bam gone for ever. Some make a fabulous transition though. The wonderful Norwegian Chorister Aksel Rykkvin is now a fabulous baritone.
amazing. as a proud mother of 46 children this really brings a tear to my mind body and soul. bless america for its amazing to see young ducklings performing in their pond
There are several arrangements of this carol, but for me John Rutter's is by far the best, the boys of the choir absolutely nail it and the organist's accompaniment is just superb. Have listened to it many times, and not just at Christmas.!!
Thank you, drwestbury. Nothing puts me inthe spirit of waiting for the Incarnation like English choral music, and this is a huge favorite. Such joy to sing.
Gifts from the Lord! Beautiful, heavenly voices! Choral music pours out blessings upon blessings into countless hearts! Many thanks and many blessings!
Utterly wonderful - brilliant song (personally meaningful to me) sung so lively and vibrant and lifted by a superb organ accompaniement. Thank you thank you. And Merry Christmas.
Tomorrow? As "tomorrow" never comes my Scottish grandmother joked, I'll "dance" into the mystery of the "never" but to be surprised. Somewhere lies the "divine". Kudos to the choir.
There was a time, back in the 1980s , when the choristers of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, under Michael Deasey, were this good. A similar bright sound.
fgonzalez43, The Head Chorister wears his chorister medal on a red ribbon, and the Deputy Head Chorister a blue one. Senior choristers wear medals on yellow ribbons. They are therefore ranks of sorts within the choir. Church choirs still albeit not many left of traditional standards have a medal which is affiliation to the Royal School of Church Music.
Absolutely correct. I was a Head chorister of the Royal school of church music and I am as proud of it now many many years later just as I was when I received it. What an honour and the music a lifelong joy and appreciation of beautiful music and beautiful singing. Well done boys all
He’s enjoying himself these boys love what they do plus it’s a great carol and a great arrangement. It's always nice to see slightly cheeky chorister :)
The. Americans. Learnt a lot from British hymns and organ playing rite upto the Mormons in Utah.. America is and will stand proud of the evangelical British
Bit late in replying but it's Simon Bell. He is now in charge of music at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire UK. Here is his TH-cam channel th-cam.com/video/WzxkTlblFSk/w-d-xo.html
Actually, somewhere around '98 the cathedral created a girls choir. An entity separate from the long standing Cathedral Choir of men and boys. The girls choir does not sing with the Cathedral Choir apart from arranged occasions.
I matriculated from Winchester to Cambridge in '96. Perhaps the girls choir formation was was in '99. I thought the "somewhere around '98" time frame seemed adequate. Thanks for the correction. I had forgotten about this post. Cheers.
Most of these replies are out of date. Most English Cathedrals DO have girl's voices. Sometimes the "choir" is made up of boy trebles and male adult voices and sometimes it is girl sopranos and male adult voices. And sometimes it is boys AND girls combined!. As a boy treble in a Cathedral choir in less enlightened time (1950's/60's) I had a natural prejudice against the very idea of girls in a choir but that has changed. For example, a recent broadcast choral evensong from Liverpool Cathedral featuring girls and male adults singing an Herbert Howells set of canticles was superb!!
Is that right? As far as I'm aware most major cathedrals still take the singers from related preparatory schools like Winchester, Westminster, New College and the like, and are mostly boys choirs.
Wish I could agree with you but the boy treble voice is unique imho. That is why Kings Cambridge, Vienna Boys Choir , Les Petits Chanteurs de la croix, Thomanerkor etc are world famous. Also it is a chance for boys, so often upstaged by girls, have a chance to be recognised and appreciated for themselves. Fine having boys snd girls choirs but hate idea of mixed top line. They have gone and done this at Rochester now and i’ll bet you anything there will be hardly any boys left in that choir in a few years.
These are properly trained traditional cathedral choristers and therefore sing superbly - phrasing, tuning, diction perfect. Show me a girls choir that sings to this level of musicianship and standard. The best girls choir in the country is Truo but they're older sixth form age - very good and accurate but they still are unable to produce the iconic sound of the English Cathedral Treble. Girls of the same age as the boys here sound like a girl's school assembly and are simply not physically equipped to produce the quality of sound the boys do here. A very interesting thing Dr Edward Higginbottom formerly of New College Oxford said. It is good there are girls choirs in these places but we now need to safeguard the precious heritage of the boys choir or we're in danger of losing it for ever! Think about this. Think about the psychology of boys of this age. If we're not careful we're going to lose an ancient and most precious part of our choral heritage!!
Interesting your point about girls wearing robes traditionally worn by boys Prue. I feel the same about Woman priests. I'm not opposed to the women priesthood but somebody needs to to devise their own attire. Monks and Nuns wear different habits according to their gender. It really should be the same for the priesthood and choirs for that matter. Kindest regards to you
Yes I agree political correctness has seen tge fantastic boys choir and teenage girls choirs abolished for a mixed top line at Rochester and the result is terrible: two boys and one older girl are good and the rest might as well not be there. St Johns Cambridge will go the sane way next year: absolute travesty.
Zoeiona at my church, in America, both girls and boy start singing in a group called Cherubs, when they reach age 4 they usually move up to the singing group called Schola. Many girls have been in schola for over 10 years… the director actually has opened up to working with boys, whose voices are changing, so that they can stay in schola past age 15… but of course this IS an episcopal church
Really late reply here, but just putting my tuppence in - a lot of churches have mixed choirs, but most cathedrals still only have separate choirs for boys and girls. Some of the oldest choirs in the country (Kings College Cambridge, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey) still only admit boys though.
I think it's sad that only cathedrals can recruit the best choristers.....generally by offering them reduced fees at associated public schools. Your general church choir may include an occasional boy, but it's generally made up of girls and old men and women. I'm guessing it isn't seen as 'cool' and opens you to ridicule amongst your less talented peers. When I was young, it was seen as a bit of an honour to be a choir boy and you earned more than from a paper round. You also got to sing around the country including the Festival and Albert Halls as well as nearby cathedrals.
How wonderful it is to look at the innocent young faces and to hear their angelic voices. This was recorded 12 years ago, so they would be in their mid to late twenties now. I wonder what has happened to them. I wonder how many of them became priests.
I have to say that I really like this newer version of this Christmas song and what what makes it more enjoyable is the fact that these choristers obviously enjoy singing it too, as their director is no trouble with them not smiling.
I would also like to point out that the organist is playing this version, just how John Rutter would like it to played. (and that is what really counts).
WELL DONE to the organist, the boys singing and their director, most enjoyable!
2023.. and i love this arrangement and the voice
the organist is brilliant
There has been no Carol Service here at Rochester in this dire year but this has cheered me up.Nice to see the radiant smile on the face of the little chap at 0.10. He is enjoying the music and showing it.
It’s that time of the year again. This recording gives me goosebumps every time!
It’s that time again ❤️
December 14, 2022.
5:15 A.M.
5:16 A.M. now.
@@KittyStarlight you beat me commenting this year! (but i did actually listen to this a couple of days ago and it was as MAGICAL as always!)
another year...
and another! 2024
This is as fine a rendition of 'Dancing Day' as I have ever heard anywhere.
Well done, boys! :D
I love this particular arrangement by John Rutter 😍😍😍
How happy this song and its singers make me! Profound thanks.
beautiful . . could listen al day . I no my son is in heaven so it reminds me of angels 💖
I was so impressed with the unity of the group! The perfectly placed consonants and breaths, it really makes the listening so enjoyable when one can focus on the meaning. Thank you, so great!
Thank you for this, what joy with one of the best cathedral choirs
I completely agree...I think it sounds so wonderful, because there are so many senior choristers singing here...This is absolutely 1st rate..
I am guessing this is both Winchester Cathedral Choir and the Winchester College Quirester boys together. it is one of natures miracles that a boy has an incomparable voice at 12/13 but it only sounds this full for about a year max then bam gone for ever. Some make a fabulous transition though. The wonderful Norwegian Chorister Aksel Rykkvin is now a fabulous baritone.
Excellent and they sing with such animation and joy! An ex-Cathedral chorister
amazing. as a proud mother of 46 children this really brings a tear to my mind body and soul. bless america for its amazing to see young ducklings performing in their pond
Oh, this choir is from Winchester in Hampshire...
Most definitely John Rutter's best work ever. Iconic.
There are several arrangements of this carol, but for me John Rutter's is by far the best, the boys of the choir absolutely nail it and the organist's accompaniment is just superb. Have listened to it many times, and not just at Christmas.!!
Thank you, drwestbury. Nothing puts me inthe spirit of waiting for the Incarnation like English choral music, and this is a huge favorite. Such joy to sing.
Gifts from the Lord! Beautiful, heavenly voices! Choral music pours out blessings upon blessings into countless hearts! Many thanks and many blessings!
Truly the best dance tune ever . . . bless them all and their beautiful voices.
Utterly wonderful - brilliant song (personally meaningful to me) sung so lively and vibrant and lifted by a superb organ accompaniement. Thank you thank you. And Merry Christmas.
Tomorrow? As "tomorrow" never comes my Scottish grandmother joked, I'll "dance" into the mystery of the "never" but to be surprised. Somewhere lies the "divine". Kudos to the choir.
oh my god why little kids are so cute
Fantastico ❤❤❤❤❤❤
superb the singing is so uplifting. it is clear that the boys are also enjoying themselves . thanh you
This song is so wonderful love it forever,thank you for the experience,sincerely.
Hair-raising end! Thank you for sharing.
There was a time, back in the 1980s , when the choristers of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, under Michael Deasey, were this good. A similar bright sound.
Great singing from both Can and Dec. Excellent organist !!!
Thank you for sharing this delicious rendition
Bravissimo! The very best! Thank you for sharing!!
Beautifully sung
fgonzalez43, The Head Chorister wears his chorister medal on a red ribbon, and the Deputy Head Chorister a blue one. Senior choristers wear medals on yellow ribbons. They are therefore ranks of sorts within the choir. Church choirs still albeit not many left of traditional standards have a medal which is affiliation to the Royal School of Church Music.
One chorist doesn’t even have a medal
Absolutely correct. I was a Head chorister of the Royal school of church music and I am as proud of it now many many years later just as I was when I received it. What an honour and the music a lifelong joy and appreciation of beautiful music and beautiful singing.
Well done boys all
Beautiful voices indeed
Wonderful and amazing 👍👍👍👋👍👍
it's very very fantastic
wonderful!
It is a shame that it is not in SATB. I love the tenor part.
Merci de ce partage.
I have ten words to say to this this. WOW.
Roy Reiter
0:14 boy on the left looks like he's about to break into laughter
Yes very true
He’s enjoying himself these boys love what they do plus it’s a great carol and a great arrangement. It's always nice to see slightly cheeky chorister :)
That is his was of expressing Christmas joy❤
Is this from just this year? What a lovely sound they have at Winchester! I'd love to hear more from them. Thank you for posting this up!
The. Americans. Learnt a lot from British hymns and organ playing rite upto the Mormons in Utah.. America is and will stand proud of the evangelical British
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
I quite agree.
What's the name of the organist? His playing is superb, has he got other recordings on YT?
Bit late in replying but it's Simon Bell. He is now in charge of music at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire UK. Here is his TH-cam channel th-cam.com/video/WzxkTlblFSk/w-d-xo.html
Very good singing and playing. My only gripe is the organ Glissandi before the final verse should be up and down the black keys, surely?
Wonderful!
thank you for the upload :)
BEST EVER!!!
thank you!
doubly bubblyyy !!!
I love the English tradition of boy choristers. Can anyone explain the meaning of the medals?
It denotes head chorister deputy head and seniors. Boys in their last year in the Choir at 12/13.
little boys are having so lovable soprano voice. even i'm girl, i have lower voice than them so i've placed to alto singer
💚💜💙💚💜💙💚💜💙💚💜💙🎄🎄🎄
Nice!
Actually, somewhere around '98 the cathedral created a girls choir. An entity separate from the long standing Cathedral Choir of men and boys. The girls choir does not sing with the Cathedral Choir apart from arranged occasions.
I matriculated from Winchester to Cambridge in '96. Perhaps the girls choir formation was was in '99. I thought the "somewhere around '98" time frame seemed adequate. Thanks for the correction. I had forgotten about this post. Cheers.
stupendo
These are Chorister Awards
@m0bob Yes, by King's College Choir
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
PERFECT
1:40
Certainly one of :-)
The Gateway Youth Club Cowplain before the closure Summer break time 2018 went far too quickly
Most of these replies are out of date. Most English Cathedrals DO have girl's voices. Sometimes the "choir" is made up of boy trebles and male adult voices and sometimes it is girl sopranos and male adult voices. And sometimes it is boys AND girls combined!. As a boy treble in a Cathedral choir in less enlightened time (1950's/60's) I had a natural prejudice against the very idea of girls in a choir but that has changed. For example, a recent broadcast choral evensong from Liverpool Cathedral featuring girls and male adults singing an Herbert Howells set of canticles was superb!!
Is that right? As far as I'm aware most major cathedrals still take the singers from related preparatory schools like Winchester, Westminster, New College and the like, and are mostly boys choirs.
Wish I could agree with you but the boy treble voice is unique imho. That is why Kings Cambridge, Vienna Boys Choir , Les Petits Chanteurs de la croix, Thomanerkor etc are world famous. Also it is a chance for boys, so often upstaged by girls, have a chance to be recognised and appreciated for themselves. Fine having boys snd girls choirs but hate idea of mixed top line. They have gone and done this at Rochester now and i’ll bet you anything there will be hardly any boys left in that choir in a few years.
These are properly trained traditional cathedral choristers and therefore sing superbly - phrasing, tuning, diction perfect. Show me a girls choir that sings to this level of
musicianship and standard. The best girls choir in the country is Truo but they're older sixth form age - very good and accurate but they still are unable to produce the iconic sound of the English Cathedral Treble. Girls of the same
age as the boys here sound like a girl's school assembly and are simply not physically equipped to produce the quality of sound the boys do here.
A very interesting thing Dr Edward Higginbottom formerly of New College Oxford said. It is good there are girls choirs in these places but we now need to safeguard the precious heritage of the boys choir or we're in danger of losing it for ever! Think about this. Think about the psychology of
boys of this age. If we're not careful we're going to lose an ancient and most precious part of our choral heritage!!
Interesting your point about girls wearing robes traditionally worn by boys Prue. I feel the same about Woman priests.
I'm not opposed to the women priesthood but somebody needs to
to devise their own attire. Monks and Nuns wear different habits according to their gender. It really should be the same for the priesthood and choirs for that matter.
Kindest regards to you
Yes I agree political correctness has seen tge fantastic boys choir and teenage girls choirs abolished for a mixed top line at Rochester and the result is terrible: two boys and one older girl are good and the rest might as well not be there. St Johns Cambridge will go the sane way next year: absolute travesty.
NO OFFENSE!!!!! but are there church choirs in England that are made up of young boys AND girls?
Not in a cathedral.
There are, but it's rare in the top choirs because girls aren't encouraged to start early enough to be as good at the same age.
Zoeiona at my church, in America, both girls and boy start singing in a group called Cherubs, when they reach age 4 they usually move up to the singing group called Schola. Many girls have been in schola for over 10 years… the director actually has opened up to working with boys, whose voices are changing, so that they can stay in schola past age 15… but of course this IS an episcopal church
Really late reply here, but just putting my tuppence in - a lot of churches have mixed choirs, but most cathedrals still only have separate choirs for boys and girls. Some of the oldest choirs in the country (Kings College Cambridge, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey) still only admit boys though.
Oxford youth choir's seniors are just girls
Prefiero el coro de la Capella sistina.
a bit camp even for John Rutter.....
Lovely, although I feel the orgnanist was slightly over enthusiastic!
Nah this is all about joy you let go. This backing was originally written for harp so the slides are in the score.
I think it's sad that only cathedrals can recruit the best choristers.....generally by offering them reduced fees at associated public schools. Your general church choir may include an occasional boy, but it's generally made up of girls and old men and women. I'm guessing it isn't seen as 'cool' and opens you to ridicule amongst your less talented peers. When I was young, it was seen as a bit of an honour to be a choir boy and you earned more than from a paper round. You also got to sing around the country including the Festival and Albert Halls as well as nearby cathedrals.