I moonlighted (is that the correct past tense?) on Advent Sunday by singing an Advent carol service at another local church whose organist is leaving at the end of the month. The choir was expanded with several singers who’ve joined for big services over the years, and drew on repertoire that the choir had toured Tuscany with in the summer, themed around the Church year. So the emphasis in the service was on Advent Sunday as the Church’s ‘New Year’s Day’, with carefully chosen Bible readings.
I don’t think I’ve ever sung a service with so many anthems in. As well as some standards and favourites of this particular choir, there were a couple that were new to me: Victoria’s Pueri Hebraeorum and Gabrieli’s Hodie completi sunt. Despite this, we put the service together on one big rehearsal (with another optional one earlier) and it was well received.