Setlist - 9 Dec 2018
Evening Carol Services at Kings

Tags: christmas, carols

Hoo! That was a long and exciting evening. Our first time ever running the same service twice in a row. We needed to make space for more guests at our Evening Carol Services.

The Carols are always a major focus of my November. It was a little chaotic getting everything together this year, but it wonderfully clicked this evening! we had brass band, choir and harp joining the regular band. I'm very grateful for the dozens of people even beyond that who helped make it happen.

The theme this year was how Jesus gives hope to the whole world.

We started (as ever) with 'O Come All Ye Faithful', then into a video version of Isaiah 9:6 in multiple languages. The rest of the readings were from Luke 2.

After we heard the Nativity story, we sang 'O Holy Night'. We've not done that one before. It's a fairly difficult song - a wide range, some stray syllables, uncommon intervals - but we absolutely nailed it,if I do say so myself. Mari-Liis led the first two verses, harp and guitar accompanied; brass joined as we sang "Fall on your knees"; we lifted through the rest of the song to a very, very epic repeated final chorus of "Christ is the Lord". I could feel tingles in the room.

We pitched 'O Holy Night' in Bb, which avoids mumbly verses, and peaks everything except the one top note at a D. We saved the F top note for the final verse. I would definitely do that again. The song sits well for a congregation in Bb. The F at the top is too high for most people, but you've set the expectation that we'll sing a D not an F with the first two verses so anyone who can't reach it doesn't try to jump for the third.

More readings, then 'Angels From The Realms' in our standard driving rock arrangement. Then we had a selection of poems from around the world exploring the theme of hopes and expectations.

Matt Frost preached very effectively. We began response with 'Joy to the World', then the choir sang the Cardiphonia version of 'Saviour of the Nations, Come'.

I love this version! It's a contemporary arrangement of a C16th setting of a Martin Luther translation of a C4th text by Ambrose. That's pretty much just my thing! Just choir, acoustic guitar, harp and shaker. It was so captivating that we had to amend the response section for the second service because people were too focussed on the song.

There's no other way to end a Carol Service than 'Hark the Herald'. One of the absolutely greatest theological hymns. We sang the often-omitted fourth verse "Come, desire of nations, come" to fit our theme.

So many people and so many guests! I feel very full after that.

We've got some changes to make for the all-age version on Sunday morning, but for now... rest.