A note from Nick Gale:
Readers of Chant Café may be interested to hear that this year’s Midnight Mass will be broadcast live by the BBC from the Metropolitan Cathedral of St George, Southwark, London, UK at 23.45 GMT on 24th December 2011.
The Mass will be celebrated by His Grace Archbishop Peter Smith. The Mass setting (Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus & Agnus Dei) will be Nicholas O’Neill’s Missa Sancti Nicolai (2008) – Latin SATB (div) & organ. The Gregorian propers will be sung (Introit, Alleluia and Communio – the Responsorial Psalm is sung in English), as will the Solemn Proclamation of Christmas (sung in English to the traditional, solemn Latin tone) and Credo III (sung in Latin). The Our Father will be sung to the setting by Rimsky-Korsakov.
The communion motet will be James MacMillan’s In splendoribus for SATB & trumpet. The Cathedral Girls Choir will also sing an anthem to Our Lady (Of one who is so fair arr. by Timothy Craig Harrison). There will be 4 Christmas hymns (Unto us is born a son, Silent night, Of the Father’s heart begotten & O come all ye faithful) and the Mass concludes with the Alma Redemptoris (simple tone sung by all).
The Mass will be transmitted live on BBC1, the UK’s most popular TV station, and on some of its worldwide services. It will also be available for a week on the BBC iPlayer. This is only available in UK territory but I am sure excerpts will be posted here in due course.