On Sunday evening, members of the Choate and Wallingford communities gathered in the Seymour St. John Chapel to observe the annual school tradition of Lessons and Carols. This performance can be traced back to 1933, when the Choate School held a Christmas Vesper program that did not include any lessons. In 1963, prior to the merger of Rosemary Hall and The Choate School, the students of both would participate in a joint choral concert entitled “Festival of Lessons & Carols,” and this was the precursor to the current observation of Lessons and Carols.
This year, the choir, donned in new blue robes to represent the liturgical season of advent, opened the event with a procession led by soprano Annika Chiang-Boeckmann ’19. The chorus then performed a series of hymns ranging from “Ave Maria” to “Go Tell it On the Mountain” and “Silent Night.” Between these hymns were lessons—selected texts from the Bible—read by members of the Choate community.
On the Christian roots of the tradition, Reverend Ally Brundige said, “I think the event’s integrity as a Christian service is important. We want everyone to know that this is what he or she will encounter when they come. But we are hoping to open this up to everyone who wishes to take part in any aspect of the service. Lessons and Carols doesn’t lose its Christian spirit, and we hope to lift up our tradition while encouraging everyone to come experience it with us.”
On her arrangement of the African American soul song, “Go Tell it On the Mountain,” Ms. Alysoun Kegel, Choate’s choral director, remarks, “I drew from the James Baldwin novel of the same name. To me, this song represents the religious mysticism, ecstasy, as well as revolution of human society based on the birth of Christ. The idea is that the birth of Jesus is revolutionary because it is the first time in which God became a human being.”
Reverend Brundige’s homily, which followed Ms. Kegel’s arrangement, touched the topics of racism and slavery, not only because the song “Go Tell it On the Mountain” has roots in African American soul, but also because the season of advent centers around the idea of reflection and moving past one’s sins in order to create change. “This season that speaks of God’s presence among us calls us to examine how we are living up to our calling as God’s beloved children and where we have fallen short,” Reverend Brundige said. “We do this so that we can repent and change things. The news have been replete with xenophobia and persistent racial injustice in our courts and in our nations, and it’s our job to speak out against injustice.”
Overall, Reverend Brundige said of the event, “It’s one of the few times that we open this chapel to the community that extends outside of Choate—I felt the presence of togetherness. The choir, as always, sang beautifully and profoundly and moved me in their songs and words, and I think those who came felt moved. I’m very happy that we were able to come together in this way and provide joy and light and wisdom in the midst of this season.”
Alyssa Shin ’18, a student who attended the event, said, “I loved the sense of sacred time that I felt at Lessons and Carols. It helps make Choate feel like home, and it’s nice to know that there are these kinds of events offered to us here.”
