“Sweet Voices of Christmas” Carmelite Priory 1966 (John McCarthy)

A CHRISTMAS STORY (click the 'more' button and read on!)

Once upon a time, on a snowy night in a town called Hove, in the county of Sussex and in the country of England, there lived an LP company called The Symphonette Society. Now this record company would often indulge in much subterfuge and chicanery to sell their records and this was never more so than for the 'Sweet Vices of Christmas.'

Way back in the year 1966, a festive LP was to be issued, proudly proclaiming to be sung by the combined choristers of Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral - what a major coup that would be for the record company. Yet deep in that town called Hove, on that snowy night in 1966, all was not as it seemed, for the choristers of the Abbey and the St Paul's Cathedral had made no such recording - no did they ever intend to make such a recording!

Some might say this would prove an insurmountable hurdle to the issue of the Christmas LP, but not to The Symphonette Society - they were made of sterner stuff! So the very fine boys choir of the Carmelite Priory in London, directed by John McCarthy, were drafted into the studio to record the Christmas LP, blissfully unaware of the subterfuge. Even chorister Graham Lough (son of the famous Ernest) was drafted in from the Temple Church to performed the wonderous solo in ‘Silent Night.’

Now the music was chosen with an eye to popular sales and ranged from the kitsch to the ultra-kitsch. Nevertheless, all were pleased with the recording and the singing was undoubtedly first rate ....being all very jolly and all very Christmassy. Yet the choristers of the Carmelite Priory little suspected they would soon to be elevated to the dizzy heights of becoming the Abbey and St Paul’s in a marketing ploy of breath taking audacity! And yet there was one final twist to this story as the choristers beaming out from the record sleeve were not those of the Abbey or St Paul's as it was claimed, nor indeed are they those of the Carmelite Priory, for those beaming choristers are in fact from the United States of America!

So my friends, the moral of the story is, no matter how jolly the record, no matter what is said on the sleeve, no matter what the picture looks like and no matter what choir or choirs are credited, it’s not always true! Yet the choice of music on this LP always makes me smile, so sit back and enjoy and a very merry Christmas to you all!

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