I was wondering what King's College was going to do. I had a wonderful tour there when Jim was slaving away in the library at Cambridge.
From The Guardian:
For many of us, it is the moment when Christmas really starts: the soaring voice of a boy soloist at King’s College, Cambridge opening its iconic Christmas Eve service with Once in Royal David’s City.
As usual, this year – remarkably, given the pandemic – the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 4. But there will be a major difference: instead of hundreds of people packed into the medieval chapel, its pews will be empty.
“The congregation normally joins in with full-throated singing at verse three [of Once in Royal David’s City] – all those people, squeezed in, sharing this magical moment,” Stephen Cherry, the dean of the chapel, told the Observer.
This year, instead of the congregation physically present, “they will be in their kitchens or in their cars or wrapping presents. We hope that, wherever they are, people will join in with the carols.”
On Advent Sunday, the start of the Christian countdown to Christmas, churches across England are still prohibited from holding congregational services. But following protests from leaders representing all major faiths, new rules coming into effect this week allow the resumption of collective worship.
Congregations must observe social distancing and wear masks, and indoor communal singing will still be prohibited. But outdoor carol singing and children’s nativity plays will be permitted “in accordance with the performing arts guidance”, MPs were told last week.
St-Martin-in-the-Fields, the church on the edge of Trafalgar Square in central London, is “normally buzzing with music and people at this time of year”, said musical director Andrew Earis.
About 800 usually attend its carol concerts, but this year numbers will be restricted to 100-120, and singing will be confined to choirs. St Martin’s Christmas Day service, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, will be pre-recorded.
We both went to a concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in St. Martin's in the Field when we were in London one year. It's a pretty special place.
