Christmas music with a royal touch in Santa Fe
The tight harmonies of the King’s Singers will liven a program both sacred and secular at Santa Fe’s Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on Monday, Dec. 5.
The six will weave their way through such classics as “White Christmas” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” as well as traditional tunes like “Silent Night” and “The First Noel.”
This is the group’s second stint at the cathedral, which countertenor Timothy Wayne-Wright remembers as “a glorious building with wonderful acoustics.”
The sextet formed in the late 1960s with six choral singers at King’s College, Cambridge, England. They all sang in the Chapel Choir at services but wanted to expand beyond sacred music. The men began singing folk songs, spirituals and pop songs. People asked them to sing at weddings and parties, and soon they were professional.
Much of the Santa Fe program comes from the group’s new “Christmas Songbook” album.
“This repertoire is dotted throughout the program and includes some classic pieces from the famous English Nine Lessons and Carols service, which takes place each Christmas (such as the very well-known ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’), but also some well-loved Christmas pop classics such as ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Wayne-Wright wrote in an email.
The singer began as a chorister at Chelmsford Cathedral, and after singing at the daily services, he was hooked.
After experimenting with the baritone range of his voice, he realized he felt more comfortable as a countertenor. He graduated from Goldsmith’s College, University of London, in 2001 and was offered a vocal scholarship at the Trinity College in London. In 2006, he became the Alto Lay Clerk at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (where the queen worships). Eight years ago, he joined the King’s Singers.