Olympia Choral Society

In the winter of 1942, when the world was consumed by the horror and tragedy of World War II, the shining light of Christmas illuminated the inky blackness of a blacked-out Swedish freighter as it crossed the U-boat infested Atlantic Ocean. It was that light which inspired Benjamin Britten to create his Ceremony of Carols, the centerpiece of this concert. The Ceremony is a truly matchless welding of a fascinating selection of Olde English texts and modern harmonics into a cyclical unit heightened by a plain song processional and recessional.

Hodie Christus natus est, hodie salvatur apparuit (Today Christ is born, today the Savior has appeared), a masterpiece of 14^th century musical literature opens the Ceremony, and later closes this joyous celebration. The remarkable mix of music in this concert, whether done in the modern idiom, traditional Latin, or Olde English, this concert was truly a joyous celebration of a truly joyous season