The Road to Bethlehem reflects diverse Christmas traditions in its eighth year

11 Jan 2017

By The Record

More than 300 people last month attended St Thomas the Apostle Church in Claremont for a night of carols and Bible readings reflecting how the Christmas tradition has been celebrated musically through the ages and in different countries. Photo: Caroline Smith

By Caroline Smith

More than 300 people last month attended St Thomas the Apostle Church in Claremont for a night of carols and Bible readings reflecting how the Christmas tradition has been celebrated musically through the ages and in different countries.

The Road to Bethlehem: Nine Readings and Carols in preparation for Christmas was held on the evening of 8 December, for the eighth consecutive year, since its foundation in 2008.

Its program included nine readings telling of God’s relationship with mankind, from Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden to Jesus’ birth and the events that followed.

Complementing these were 20 carols, from the traditional – such as O Come All Ye Faithful and Once in Royal David’s City – to a selection of others from around the world, sung in Latin, French, Italian and Spanish, and a Gregorian chant from the 5th century.

The songs were performed by St Thomas’ 24-strong choir, conducted by John Kinder and Jane Courtney, aided by organist Joe Ryan.

Speaking with The eRecord, Professor Kinder said the event was inspired by a similar one which has been hosted by Cambridge University in the UK for almost 100 years.

“The form of the evening is based on the traditional English Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols which is still broadcast from Kings College Cambridge, on Christmas Eve,” he said.

“So we’ve taken this Anglican tradition and kept the nine readings, but different songs are selected to match them.”

Professor Kinder said that organising The Road to Bethlehem was a collaborative effort on the part of the whole choir.

“We have a committee and we all take on different roles. Tim Burrows – who sings tenor – chooses the songs and writes the programme notes, another person chooses images, another two conduct the choir,” he said.

“Tim draws from an extensive repertoire in Advent and Christmas music: this year we featured songs in French, Italian and Latin as well as English. We also included a chant from the 5th century – our opening chant – and a song that was written in 1999.”

He added that by choosing carols from different eras, the choir hoped to reflect how Christmas has been celebrated throughout history.

“We’re picking up this tradition of Christian singing and offering it to people who take part in the event,” he said.

“Our faith is something we have now because it’s been handed down to us, and music is one way of expressing that.”

The Road to Bethlehem was advertised in Archdiocesan publications and also at local shops in Claremont, and this attracted attendees from outside the parish community, who made up half the congregation on the night.

The nine Bible passages were read by St Thomas parishioners and an Opening and Closing Prayer were read by Parish Priest Father Wayne Davis.