Choir of King's College, Cambridge

One of the oldest and most famous university choirs in the world, the Choir of King's College Cambridge was founded in 1441 by order of King Henry VI. The choral ensemble of sixteen boys and fourteen adults performs in Cambridge University Chapel, where most recordings are made, under the direction of a resident choirmaster and organist. Since 1918, there has been an annual festival, the Nine Lessons and Carols, held over the Christmas period and broadcast by the BBC, on radio since 1928 and on television since 1954. Over the course of its existence, the King's College Choir has been home to many musical talents, including conductors Andrew Davis and Edward Gardner, composer Bob Chilcott and singers Stephen Varcoe and Mark Padmore. The first musical directors appointed in the 17th century were followed by great names in choral music such as organist John Randall (1742-1799), Boris Ord (1929-1957), composer Harold Darke during the Second World War, then in the contemporary era David Willcocks (1957-1973), Philip Ledger (1974-1982), Stephen Cleobury (1982-2019), whose recordings testify to a constantly renewed repertoire, as well as Daniel Hyde since autumn 2019. The choir that officiates at each church service is also divided into several groups: Polyphony, The King's Singers and The King's Men. Since 2012, the recorded works, previously released by London Records, Argo and EMI Classics, have been released under the King's College Choir's own label. For its 100th anniversary in 2018, the double album 100 Years of Nine Lessons and Carols topped the record sales charts for nine weeks in a row.