Gloria in Excelsis choral music

Almost 500 people attended the candlelit service in St Columb’s Cathedral marking the first Sunday in Advent.

As is traditional at the service, it was conducted mostly in darkness and it was only in the latter stages of the service that the congregation lit their candles row by row, representing the darkness before creation and emergence into the light of faith.

Following the form of a liturgical procession, as always, it began at the west end of the Cathedral, with the choir opening the service in the gallery and moving downstairs and through the body of the cathedral marking each of the six stages of the service.

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The Cathedral Choir was directed by Ian Mills, while the organist for the event was Nicky Morton, assistant organist. The female solo soprano was Joanna Higgins.

The first stage of the journey from darkness to light began with the choir in the West Gallery singing the Matin Responsory to the tune Palestrina, followed by congregational singing of the hymn ‘O Come, O come Emmanuel’. Bidding prayers, led by the Dean of Derry, the Very Rev Dr William Morton, were followed by the choir singing ‘Call to Remembrance, O Lord’. The first Lesson (Genesis 1: 1-5) and the first Advent Antiphon ‘O wisdom, coming forth from the Most High’, and prayer brought the first stage to a close.

The choir, now at the back of the Cathedral, sang the Ralph Vaughan Williams arrangement of ‘The Truth from Above’ followed by the second Advent Antiphon, while the second Lesson was taken from Psalm 13. Prayer and the congregational hymn ‘Come thou long-expected Jesus’, preceded the Choir singing Psalm 121.

The third Lesson was Isaiah 45: 2-8, and the Advent Antiphon was ‘O root of Jessee’ followed by prayer and a beautiful arrangement of the ‘Corpus Christi Carol’.

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The fourth Lesson was taken from Isaiah 60: 1-5, and the Advent Antiphon was ‘O key of David, and sceptre of the House of Israel.’

Prayers were again said before congregational hymn ‘Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding’ and the fifth Lesson was taken from Isaiah 9: 2, 3, 6 and 7.

‘O morning star, splendour of the light eternal’ was the fifth Advent Antiphon, and after prayer, the choir sang the Johannes Brahms arrangement of ‘Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo! There a rose is blooming), which also included a section for the organist, before the sixth Lesson taken from Thessalonians 5: 1-11, 23 and 24 was read.

The sixth Advent Antiphon, ‘O King of the nations’ and the hymn ‘Hills of the North rejoice’ was followed by the lighting of congregational candles. The Gospel reading was from St Luke 12; 35-40 and the hymn ‘Hark! The glad sound!’ after which the Dean dedicated new candlesticks presented to the Cathedral.

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The traditional Carol arrangement of ‘People Look East’ and the Blessing, was followed by the ‘Vesper Responsory and the singing of the recessional hymn, ‘Lo, he comes wiht clouds descending’.

The organ prelude was ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’.

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