Cérémonie de chœurs de Noël op. 28

Britten’s celebrated choral sequence for Christmas received its first complete performance in London in 1943. Some two decades later, at the request of the Swiss choral director Robert Mermoud, and with Britten’s approval, Maurice Budry translated the majority of the work into French, and it was broadcast by Radio Romande on Christmas Day, 1964 by Chœur de Dames de Lausanne. The two movements omitted by Budry have now been translated by Agnès Ausseur, and another retranslated by Jalal Zaïm, especially for these publications. The scores have been adapted from the 1994 German and English editions, and they include Philip Reed’s preface in French and English. There is also a glossary of medieval words giving modern English equivalents plus phonetic transcription for native French singers who wish to perform the work in English.