Number 13 is a beautiful carol - it was my Granddad's favourite, so holds a special place for me. Once in Royal David's City, a real winter warmer. This version includes Mr Christmas Carol himself, Aled Jones:
Once In Royal David's City is a Christmas carol, which was originally a poem written by Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, who in 1848 married an Anglican clergyman, and in 1867, upon her husband's consecration, thereby became a bishop's wife.
Since 1919, the King's College Chapel (King's College, Cambridge) has begun its Christmas Eve service, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, with "Once in Royal David's City" as the processional. The first verse is sung by a boy chorister of the Choir of King's Chapel as a solo. The second verse is sung by the choir, and the congregation joins in the third verse. Excluding the first verse, the hymn is accompanied by the organ. The arrangement, by A H Mann, is slightly different in harmony from the setting in Hymns Ancient and Modern. As the service is broadcast live on the BBC World Service, it is estimated that there are millions of listeners worldwide who tune in to this service.
The city that the song speaks of is Bethlehem, which the New Testament records as the historical birthplace of Jesus and also of his ancestor King David.
Labels: James G, Top twenty christmas songs
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