Having initially cut their teeth as six choral scholars at Cambridge’s King’s College in 1968, The King’s Singers have undergone many iterations and personnel changes, all the while maintaining the gold standard in a cappella singing and developing their signature close-harmony style. They’ve also long ripped up the rulebook, bringing together songs both ancient and contemporary, classical and popular, sacred and secular. “The famed King’s Singers’ attention to pin-point pitching, slick ensemble, and deft balances between the voices are present in abundance,” heralded BBC Music Magazine. Their return to Duke Performances is accompanied by a program as wide-ranging as you would expect, from traditional plainchant to the 1940s Mel Tormé classic, instantly recognizable by its opening line: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” As is King’s Singers’ tradition, the evening will wrap up with an assortment of new surprises and festive favorites.
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Current Duke Performances COVID-19 regulations
Christmas with the King’s Singers
Plainchant: Hodie Christus Natus Est
Traditional, arr. David Willcocks: Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
Traditional, arr. Goff Richards: La Filadora
J.P.E. Hartmann, arr. Bo Holten: Julebudet Til Dem, Der Bygge
Gustaf Nordqvist: Jul, Jul, Strålande Jul
Traditional, arr. Brian Kay: Gaudete!
June Collin: The Quiet Heart
Traditional, arr. Edgar Pettman: The Angel Gabriel
James Burton: Balulalow
Traditional, arr. Charles Wood: Ding! Dong! Merrily on High
Urmas Sisask: Heliseb Väljadel
Alma Androzzo, arr. Stacey Gibbs: If I Can Help Somebody
Quirino Mendoza y Cortés, arr. Jorge Cozátl: Cielito Lindo
Mel Tormé, arr. Peter Knight: The Christmas Song
Anonymous: Song of the Nuns of Chester
Traditional, arr. Henry Hawkesworth: Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agréable?
Traditional, arr. Christopher Bruerton: Wither’s Rocking Hymn
Traditional, arr. Guy Turner: Dormi, Dormi
Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Keating: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen