Advent, from the Latin ‘adventus or ‘coming’, is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas, and it normally starts on the Sunday closest to 30 November. And so, on a cold, wet and dark evening of 3 December, a packed Winchester College Chapel was plunged into darkness save for the flickering of candles in the nave and the 2023 Advent service began.

The Dean welcomed everyone from the west door with the assembled choir in Crimea beyond; and so the service began with a beautifully controlled and haunting solo verse of ‘Come, Thou Redeemer of the earth’ sung by James H before the chapel choir processed in, and the lights were once again raised, delivering us from ‘the dominion of darkness’.

The service comprises a series of readings, anthems and prayers interspersed with the seven ‘O Antiphons’ responsories after each lesson. These have formed part of the Church tradition since the 5^th century, which only served to remind me how many pupils, parents and members of the Winchester college community must have spoken these very words over many hundreds of years and hopefully will continue to do so for many more in the future. Each one highlights a title for the Messiah – O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun) O Rex Gentium (O King of Nations) and O Emmanuel (O God with Us). The first letter of each of the titles, read backwards, forms the following Latin acrostic, ‘ERO CRAS’ or ‘Tomorrow I will be’. These two words succinctly sum up the expectation and excitement of the Advent period.

As ever, this service was a music highlight of the chapel choir calendar filled with a varied range of Advent music. The first anthem ‘O Wisdom’ by Will Todd featured a soprano saxophone accompaniment which must be a Winchester College first! ‘There is no Rose’ by John Joubert never ceases to amaze with the beautiful sound of the trebles singing in thirds cutting through the silence of the chapel. With many Magnificats under their belt, the choir then sang Stanford’s version in A. Whilst these may be the ‘bread and butter’ of the chapel choir’s repertoire, the words were still sung with real meaning and ended with a particularly rousing Gloria. The final anthem sang by the choir was ‘And the Glory of the Lord’ taken from Handel’s Messiah, which is always a fitting and popular inclusion for any Advent service.

All too soon, the service came to an end and the congregation dispersed into the night, one hopes with some excitement and anticipation for the Advent season ahead. The Qs were certainly excited about the promise of sausage rolls and apple juice for their post-Advent service party!

Lucy Higgs
Q Parent