Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

For as long as I can remember, people have appreciated my singing voice. It's something I'm pretty low-key about, if you'll pardon the pun. It's never something I've really worked at. I've been given a voice people find comfortable to listen to. In fact, the last time I was at mass in my parent's town, the woman in front of me turned around at the end and said, "it was so nice to sit in front of you. You have such a nice voice."
I get that all the time.
I wish all the people who say that could come with me each year to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, because at last, they could see a group of performers who actually work to make singing a beautiful experience.
Based on the traditional service at King's College Chapel in Cambridge, this event has been observed at Emory University since 1935. Christmas music has been performed by a university chorus since 1925, beginning with the Glee Club.
There are so many reasons I enjoy going to this event. First, Emory campus is beautiful. Just going there makes me want to start a research paper. Second, there's a sentence on the first page of the program: Because this is a sacred program, we request that there be no applause.
And there is none, even when you want to clap, even after the last chorus member has left the building. Third, it begins and ends in candlelight. Fourth, there's absolutely nothing commercial in the entire evening. You walk up to Glenn Auditorium, receive your ticket, find a seat (it's general seating), make small talk with those around you, and wait. And then, in silence and candlelight, it begins.
It's a quiet center in a season devoted to noise and action. I've always been of the opinion that beauty has its own value. When you see or experience something beautiful, it elevates something inside you. It is something you can look back on as an anchor when things aren't so beautiful. I think that's something that should be available to everyone. At least everyone who has things in their life that aren't always beautiful.
All this to tell you that my favorite song of their program is the one you see below. It's called O magnum mysterium, written by Morton Lauridsen.