CHRISTMAS MEDITATION Virtual Carol Service 2021

This year’s virtual Christmas Meditation is a practical response to the constantly shifting constraints of the pandemic. A virtual platform means that we can share our Christmas message of words and music with our parents, alumni, and the broader community who are not able to be physically present with us at this time. Our participation in a rich tradition of carol singing for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany extends back centuries. Widely adopted around the globe, the Service of Nine Lessons of Carols (1880) was made popular by King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England, where broadcasts of this service started in 1928. This Hilton College virtual Christmas meditation celebrates our South African diversity. Five readings are heard in representative South African languages, and many of the choir carols are by South African composers. These include Grant McLachlan and Frank Barry's Come, colours rise (1994) and a more recent carol in isiXhosa by Stephen Carletti, U Yesu Kristu. We welcome this most sacred season with familiar words and the freshness of some new music recorded by our choir and vocal ensemble in Term 3.