Streaming ethereal Advent music

We are ending the first week of Advent. In the larger society, Advent (i.e. the pre-Christmas season) is marked by Christmas trees, decorations, slogans and music.

As liturgical Christians, we get to celebrate Advent on four Sunday mornings in December. At some churches — or metropolitan areas — we can also attend a service of lessons and carols. (However, in some cases these services are late-Advent tellings of the Christmas story. rather than a focus on Advent, per se.)

And then there are the great English church choirs, particularly at cathedral schools and universities. For Anglican Music, these are the ne plus ultra of music for the liturgical seasons.

The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is one of the oldest performing organizations for English choral music. As their website says (links added)::

Voted the fifth best choir in the world in Gramophone magazine's "20 Greatest Choirs", The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge comprises around thirty Choral Scholars and two Organ Scholars, all of whom are ordinarily undergraduates of the College.

The College’s choral tradition dates back to the all-male choir of the fourteenth century, when former Chapel Royal choristers studied in King’s Hall, which later became part of Trinity College. Directors of Music have included Charles Villiers Stanford, Alan Gray, Raymond Leppard and Richard Marlow. Female voices were introduced in the 1980s by Richard Marlow, in a new departure for Cambridge choral music.

On Sunday, these undergraduates performed an Advent Carol Service on the first Sunday of Advent. The service (including hymns, anthems and readings) is available for web streaming. The musical components of the service were:

• Responses by Richard Marlow
• Anthem: Creator of the stars of night (text: 7th century; tune: Conditor alme siderum)
• Hymn: Of the Father’s heart begotten (text: Prudentius; ttune: Piae Cantiones)
• Hymn: Come, thou redeemer of the earth (text: Ambrose; tune: Praetorius)
• Anthem: There is no rose (text: 15th century; tune: anon.)
• Anthem: A great and mighty wonder (text: Germanus; tune: Praetorius)
• Hymn: O come, O come, Emmanuel (text: 15th? century; tune: Thomas Helmore)
• Anthem: There is a flower (text: 15th century; tune: John Rutter)
• Anthem: Ave, maria stella (text: 8th century; tune: Owain Park)
• Hymn: On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry (text; Charles Coffin; tune: Winchester New)
• Anthem: Wachet auf! (text, tune: Phillip Nicolai; arranged by J.S. Bach)
• Anthem: E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come (text: Ruth Manz; tune: Paul Manz)
• Hymn: Come, thou long expected Jesus (text; Charles Wesley; tune: John Stainer)
• Anthem: Benedicamus Domino (text: 15th century; tune: Peter Warlock)
• Hymn: Lo! he comes with clouds descending (text: Charles Wesley; tune: Olivers)
• Anthem: Puer natus est

The hymns are not included in the program, because the arrangements by David Wilcocks (1919-2015) and various descants are not in the public domain.

When school is in session, they broadcast live (and recorded) on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Their next live broadcast will be January 22, 2017.