Benjamin Britten, A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 (1943) (audio+score)

[@basedscores]

I could see that many people rant about the recording has so many mistakes, ah this, ah that, ah what, ok, well I'm not a person who has learned music theory or in general music in a proper way or raised in such a background, my surroundings never heard more than "da-da-da-daan" upto my extensive knowledge, and i could sense big mistakes which is very obvious to me, and i kinda liked the recording in first place. So, I naturally don't give a fuck about them and that's the end of story. But still, I try my level best

[@pianxtremeyt]

Then choose a better recording, DUH. This one is full of awful tempo markings and quite frankly awful singers. I studied music in Russia with a Masters, but I've seen KIDS do better than this. The singer's solo of Balulalow is just dreadful. Slowing down unnecessarily and in There Is No Rose they can't even tell a 1/8 crochet from a 1/4!! The only redeeming part is that the Harpist is amazing. The soloist of That Yonge Childe is probably the best I've heard. Then again, a choir is as only good as its conductor/teacher, which in this case, they must be delusional. Britten would be displeased.

[@basedscores]

​@@pianxtremeytopinion rejected in displease, I like what I do

[@pianxtremeyt]

@@basedscores Then, By all means, Do as you desire, free rights...so they say...

[@erintate8515]

We sing the processional at the start of our Madrigal concert every year. Hearing it makes me so happy! I graduated in 2007 but it brings back great memories of my high school choir days!

[@basedscores]

a wholesome comment after all these based ___ , ok's, what's this shit music comments

[@Nooticus]

18:48-19:00 is always unbelievable. The sheer genius of Britten's harmony.

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Indeed

[@Nooticus]

So happy that there is finally a full score video of, in my opinion, one of the greatest Christmas works ever! Thank you!

[@Nooticus]

Not my favourite recording though. Some pronunciations are not what I was taught when learning to sing this!

[@oliverbooker9528]

Our chorale has “This Little Babe” as part of our concert next Sunday. I’m a bass and every time the ladies sing this we guys just sit back in awe. What a fabulous piece! This evening our local high school chorus is singing all of the work. Just a few hours away. Can’t wait!

[@haleyann5127]

I can't believe I remembered this. My high school chorus did three works from this when I was a junior. I remember our director handing these out to us and we were so scared lolol

[@erintate8515]

My varsity treble choir sang the prelude at our Madrigal concert every year! Brings back some awesome memories to hear it and get to sing along with it again

[@krysztof6917]

Did someone play harp for you guys?

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

In the "recordings of classical music with score accompaniments" genre of youtube videos - surely one of the best - there is not nearly enough Britten. So what a delight to stumble across this video! Subbed. If you ever wanted to do another one of these with a Britten piece, could I recommend his "Phaedra?" Criminally underrated work

[@basedscores]

I don't take suggestions as I have many works to do, but I'll consider, thanks

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

@@basedscores thanks for sharing everything on your channel!

[@jimcampbell1013]

Absolutely sublime!

[@timgreenhoot5979]

Music accompanying notation ... or _anything_ featuring Benjamin Britten or the Norman Luboff Choir .. that is music.

[@jlalovesmusic6816]

Thank you so very, very, very much for this rendition! If I may be bold to make a small suggestion for this or future videos? It would be really helpful if you would "turn the page" a teensy bit in advance, as singers and instrumentalists do with paper scores. Not being able to see the note on the next "page" until you're actually supposed to sing it is really disconcerting and reduces the helpfulness of the video for learning/practice purposes. Thank you for listening.

[@basedscores]

criticisms are always welcomed here, as they build myself stronger, I'll try my level best

[@jansumi]

@jlalovesmusic6816 Yes yes yes. Thank You for that! Your suggestion should go to every post on ytb that includes scores... I'll be copying it. 🙃

[@HakanOyunda1912]

İkimizin şarkısıydı 2 hafta oldu ben hala dinliyorum sen yüksek sesle dinleme çocukların uyanır...

[@NoahSimons-st4ez]

I have to play this soon as the harpist, and I‘m shaking in my shoes because of the tempo😅

[@steveegallo3384]

Been trying to "get" Britten for decades....until THIS gorgeous rapture. Does this piece represent a DEPARTURE for Britten? Or is it just me? BRAVO from Acapulco!

[@donkeychan491]

This is good too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJq2goWwgdBpbtUsi=xNfCOiw3cir5ogKe

[@lucystembridge2598]

The choir director I currently work with (I am the collaborative pianist,) does not like Britten for some strange reason. Probably because he had to do some of the solos in college. I don’t know if he’s ever been exposed to the “Ceremony of Carols” or any of the really great stuff Britten wrote. (I also love “Rejoice in the Lamb”. ). I have always loved this since we did it in high school in the 70s! Again at my women’s college…

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Christmas arrived early!

[@basedscores]

Haha, I make my own christmas

[@joshscores3360]

Too early, may I add

[@thelast.rose.ofsummer]

My university choir performed several sections of the SATB version, but I was thrilled to hear that there was a treble version as well. Thank you for posting this score animation video. What edition is the score, though? I found the treble version score, and it listed all the parts as Treble I, Treble II, and Treble III. EDIT: I’m asking what edition the uploader used because the score in the video lists the parts as Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, and Alto instead of Treble I, Treble II, and Treble III.

[@hickle204]

The original is for trebles.

[@thelast.rose.ofsummer]

@@hickle204 Right.

[@keithmartin4670]

Yes, in the all treble version you had the original, though the SATB version was published just a year later. Originally he was writing with children in mind.

[@JelMain]

I'm sorry, I had to pick up the wreckage of one of his choirs a decade later. Alleyn's School had loaned one of it's trebles to play the role of Miles in the premier run of The Turn of the Screw in the summer of 1955 at La Fenice in Venice. He'd written Let's Make an Opera for the school. What happened? The lad, who would later become a famous film actor, returned to school the next term, and it was soon revealed they'd shared a bed throughout the run. I'm being cautious in my phraseology there, both swore to they're dying day that was as far as it went, but safeguarding kicked in, the lad left, and all ties to Britten were severed. A decade later, I arrived, with connections to Sir Geraint Evans, to find a wreck. The girl's school in the foundation was fifty yards away, but the School was a descendant of Shakespeare's company so the boy trebles were in drag playing the female roles in Gilbert and Sullivan - erm. We sorted that, reaching into the community, and that started the Peckham theatre vocation which gave us John Boyega (although it cost his chum Damilola Taylor his life).

[@pseudotonal]

Notice that the singers, as usual, have trouble singing triplets accurately. See mesaure 8 in "There is no rose". The conductors usually don't have a clue either. The only time they are close to getting it right is when they have all three notes of the triplet at the end of measures, as in measure 13 of the same piece. How annoying! If the composer had wanted quarter eight eighth he would have written that!

[@pianxtremeyt]

I would say it's a little worse than that. throughout this whole set, there are bits and pieces and areas where they are either too early or too late on notes. The harpist at least knows what he or she is doing though. It just lacks character and triumph is all.

[@pseudotonal]

@@pianxtremeyt When I studied music in college, I heard and observed that singers were the worst musicians. Everybody thinks he can sing, so why not major in music? They think their naturally nice-sounding voice tiimbres are all that are necessary to produce music.

[@JTBPercussion]

bro my youth choir is singing those triplets better than this recording

[@pseudotonal]

@@JTBPercussion most likely the choir director doesn't even understand the rhythm so he can't hear when the choir sings them wrong.

[@lucystembridge2598]

I certainly understand what you’re saying. I am a well-trained musician and I understand how to sing and teach triplets. I was trained originally as an instrumentalist/pianist, but chose to major in voice. It is quite possible that the choir Director actually does understand how triplets fit into a measure, but chose to have the singers perform them in a more relaxed fashion. Triplets performed in that didactic jazz way (although perfectly wonderful in many music styles) could be a little distracting from the flow. I hope that in the future before you criticize something when you haven’t asked a conductor, “ Why?” you will think twice. And currently, singers are being very well-trained. Please do not forget that singers have to hear/predict the note before they sing it; instrumentalists can simply punch the right key/button or the right area on their string and the correct note will come out. The tradition of using piano to “lead“ singers likely came about because for a singer to have enough training to do all that note-predicting/guesswork would be very labor-intensive and probably take much longer than most instrumental degrees.

[@franciscokim3570]

9:19 10:21

[@paulp9132]

11:01 22:30

[@herbchilds1512]

Far best when sung by a children's choir (preferably a boys' choir) rather than adult sopranos.

[@erintate8515]

My high school varsity treble choir does an awesome job singing the prelude for our Madrigal concert every year

[@CrappyRecorderCovers]

Girls make a pretty much equal timbre, and also because their voices don't break can make a more mature sound while still having childlike wonder in their teens

[@jbkitty91990]

3:27