Boris Ord composed one tiny Christmas carol – ‘Adam lay ybounden’. But Ord’s largest contribution to the carol genre was his work as choirmaster at King’s College, Cambridge from 1929 to 1957.
This lecture shows how Ord built on Arthur Mann’s pioneering work with King’s Choir and created a singing style that transformed choral performance internationally.
The radio broadcasts of the King’s Carol Service under Ord’s directorship were legendary, and the 1954 television broadcast of the service was a game-changer.
Jeremy is Visiting Gresham Professor of Music History.
He is Director of Music at the London church of St Luke’s, Chelsea and a Supervisor for the Music Tripos at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.
He has delivered the annual Christmas carol service at Gresham College since 2014. In 2019, he was made Visiting Professor of Music History.
Professor Summerly's lecture series are as follows:
2021/22 Music and Emotion
2020/21 100 Years of BBC Radio
2019/20 Making Music
All lectures by the Visiting Professor of Music History can be accessed here.
