The Chapel of St Michael and All Angels
Advent Carol Service Sunday 6th December, 2020
The Lower Sixth Choir sings O, Do Not Move Oh, do not move, listen to the gentle beginning. Words: George Seferis (1900-1971) Music: John Tavener (1944-2013) The Bidding Prayer We sing The Hymn: O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel S hall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them vict’ry o’er the grave: O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight: O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.:
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O come, O come, Thou Lord of Might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, In ancient times didst give the laws In cloud, and majesty, and awe:
Words: Cologne 1710, from the Advent Antiphons tr. J.M. Neale (1818–1866), Descant: Mr A O J Meehan-Staines The First O Antiphon ‘O Wisdom’ sung by Toby Watson (C3 L6) O Wisdom, coming forth from the Most High, Filling all creation and reigning to the ends of the earth; Come and teach us the way of truth.
The First Reading read by Ines Jeveons (MO U6) Malachi 3: 1-4 A reading from the prophet Malachi: See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Thanks be to God.
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The Second O Antiphon ‘O Root of Jesse’ sung by Freddie Kottler (C2 U6) O root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the nations; Kings will keep silence before you for whom the nations long; Come and save us and delay no longer.
The Second Reading read by Henry Dukes (BH L6) Romans 15: 7-13 A reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans: Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name’; and again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’; and again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him’; and again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.’ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
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The Junior Singers sing Adam Lay Ybounden Adam lay ybounden, Bounden in a bond; Four thousand winter Thought he not too long. And all was for an apple, An apple that he took, As clerkes finden Written in their book. Ne had the apple taken been, The apple taken been, Ne had never Our Lady A-been heavene Queen. Blessed be the time That apple taken was. Therefore we moun singen Deo gracias! Words: 15th Century Music: Peter Warlock
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The Third O Antiphon ‘O Key of David’ sung by Rose Olver (EL U6) O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel; Thou openest and none shutteth; who shuttest, and none doth open; Come and bring out the captive from the prison-house, That sitteth in darkness and the shadow of death.
The Third Reading: read by Lara Middleton (IH Hu) Luke 1:26-38 A reading from the Gospel according to Luke: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her. Thanks be to God.
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The Fourth O Antiphon ‘O Morning Star’ sung by Theodora Compton (EL U6) O Morning Star, splendour of the light eternal, And bright sun of righteousness: Come, and bring light to those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death.
The Fourth Reading: read by Luca Cooke (PR U6) Isaiah 40: 3-5 A reading from the prophet Isaiah: A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ Thanks be to God.
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We sing The Hymn:
Hills of the North, rejoice; River and mountain spring, Hark to the advent voice; Valley and lowland, sing; Though absent long, your Lord is nigh; He judgment brings and victory. Isles of the southern seas, Deep in your coral caves Pent be each warring breeze, Lulled be your restless waves: He comes to reign with boundless sway, And makes your wastes His great highway. Lands of the east, awake, Soon shall your sons be free; The sleep of ages break, And rise to liberty. On your far hills, long cold and grey, Has dawned the everlasting day. Shores of the utmost west, Ye that have waited long, Unvisited, unblest, Break forth to swelling song; High raise the note, that Jesus died, Yet lives and reigns, the Crucified. Shout, while ye journey home; Songs be in every mouth; Lo, from the North we come, From east, and west, and south. City of God, the bond are free, We come to live and reign in Thee! Words: Charles Edward Oakley (1832-1865) Music: John Darwall (1731-1789) Descant: Alex Hodgkinson 8
The Fifth O Antiphon ‘O Emmanuel’ sung by Henry Bentley (TU U6) O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, Hope of the nations and their Saviour; Come and save us, O Lord our God.
The Upper Sixth Choir sing Tomorrow shall be my dancing day Tomorrow shall be my dancing day: I would my true love did so chance to see the legend of my play, to call my true love to my dance: Sing, O my love, O my love, my love, my love; this have I done for my true love. Then I was born of a virgin pure, of her I took fleshly substance; thus was I knit to man’s nature, to call my true love to my dance: In a manger laid and wrapped I was, so very poor this was my chance, betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass, to call my true love to my dance: Then afterwards baptized I was; the Holy Ghost on me did glance, my Father’s voice heard from above, to call my true love to my dance: Words: Traditional English Carol Music: John Gardner (1917-2011)
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The Advent Solemn Blessing: May God the Father, judge all-merciful, make us worthy of a place in his kingdom. All: Amen. May God the Son, coming among us in power, reveal in our midst the promise of his glory. All: Amen. May God the Holy Spirit make us steadfast in faith, joyful in hope and constant in love. All: Amen. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. All: Amen.
Organ voluntary: J.S. Bach I. Allegro from Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV 593
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WellBoring is a volunteer led charity focused on fixing one of the world’s big problems: access to safe water. Where there’s a will there’s a well As a part of the Marlborough College Overseas charity group, we are hoping to raise £4,000 for WellBoring; the funding necessary to build a single well for a primary school in Kenya.
Within school we will be running a number of fundraising activities, and to the wider school community, we would really appreciate if you could donate to our JustGiving page. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marlboroughcollegewellboring