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It's a marketer's dream to have two PBS superstars, Andrea Bocelli and Charlotte Church, singing in
Christmas Glory from Westminster. Bocelli and Church (who don't sing together here) are among a handful of performers in this 1999 service from London's Westminster Abbey, including actresses Greta Scacchi and Joan Plowright and Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel.
Following an introduction to the abbey by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh (his wedding took place there), the first part of the hourlong service tells the Christmas story, alternating poetry and Bible readings with musical selections from the choir and soloists, including Messiah's "For unto us a child is born" and "But who may abide the day of his coming" by Terfel. Bocelli contributes two Schubert selections, "Mille Cherubino in Coro" and the beloved "Ave Maria," as well as "Sancta Maria," a version of Mascagni's famous melody from Cavalleria Rusticana. Church performs Stephen Adams's "The Holy City" (from her second CD) and shares "Silent Night" with Terfel. The program isn't all solemnity, however. Actor Richard Griffiths offers a spirited reading from A Christmas Carol near the abbey's famous Poets' Corner, where Dickens is buried. A blessing from the Dean of Westminster closes the distinguished evening. --David Horiuchi
Special Features
Program:
1. "O Come O Come Emmanuel"--choir procession
2. Fanfare
3. "O Come All Ye Faithful"--choir and congregation
4. HRH intro
5. "Once in Royal David's City"--choir and congregation
6. First Reading: Isaiah--Trevor McDonald
7. Handel: "For unto Us a Child Is Born"--choir
8. Second Reading: Luke, Chapter 2--Betty Boothroyd
9. Handel: "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming"--Bryn Terfel
10. Eddie's Service (Kipling)--Joan Plowright
11. William Matthias: Sir Christemas--choir
12. Reading: "And there were in the fields..."--Greta Scacchi
13. Schubert: "Ave Maria"--Andrea Bocelli
14. John Gardiner: "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"--choir
15. Christmas Campaign (Frederic Coleman reading)--Trevor McDonald
16. "It Came upon a Midnight Clear"--choir and congregation
17. Stephen Adams: "The Holy City"--Charlotte Church
18. "The Lamb" (William Blake reading)--Greta Scacchi
19. "Mille Cherubini in Coro"--Andrea Bocelli
20. "Tna Bethlehem Dref" (Welsh)--Bryn Terfel
21. Christmas Carols (Dickens reading)--Richard Griffith
22. "Silent Night"--Bryn Terfel and Charlotte Church
23. Archbishop of Canterbury
24. "Mascagni: Sancta Maria"--Andrea Bocelli
25. HRH reading: "In the beginning..."
26. Fanfare
27. "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"--choir and congregation
28. The Blessing: Dean of Westminster
29. Widor organ with credits
