Lessons and Carols

This Sunday, December 20, the Madison Diocesan Choir will present its annual Lessons and Carols at 4 p.m. in the Chapel of the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center. Bishop Robert C. Morlino will preside. Admission is free but all are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the Catholic Multicultural Center food program. The O'Connor Center is wheelchair accessible.

The Service of Lessons and Carols was created in late-nineteenth century England. Today its most popular incarnation is at King's College (Cambridge, England) where the King's College Choir, founded by King Henry VI (1421-1471), presents a program each Christmas Eve which is broadcast to the world. Nine Scripture readings ("Lessons") recall salvation history, from the Fall in the Garden of Eden to Redemption in Christ Jesus. In between the Lessons the choir sings Christmas carols, anthems and motets and the congregation joins in on some popular carols.

The Diocesan Choir began this tradition in the early 1990s under the direction of dynamic conductor Jorge Gonzales. For nearly twenty years the Choir has ushered in the last week of Advent with this service, the only break coming in the Jubilee Year of 2000 when the choir performed J. S. Bach's great Magnificat in D-major (BWV 243) with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the newly-renovated O'Connor Center Chapel.

In recent years the Diocesan Choir has added a second performance on the Vigil of the Epiphany. This year they will sing at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Milwaukee on Saturday, January 2, 2010.