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First new King's College carol in Welsh composed by a non-speaker

Boys from the Choir of King's College during rehearsals at King's College chapel in Cambridge - Drew Gardner
Boys from the Choir of King's College during rehearsals at King's College chapel in Cambridge - Drew Gardner

The first new King's College carol to be composed in Welsh was written by a man who does not speak it. 

Composer Huw Watkins wrote the carol after director of music Stephen Cleobury suggested he adapt a text in the language. 

But despite being born in south Wales he does not speak the language - so he had to ask his Welsh-speaking mother for help. 

The carol is part of the welsh Plygain carol Carol Eliseus and was chosen by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who is from Swansea. 

Mr Watkins, a former King's College student, said he was "thrilled and slightly daunted" at the idea of writing in Welsh. 

"My mother (a native speaker) has helped me with the sounds and stresses of the words, and I feel like setting this language has unlocked an indefinable Welshness in my music.

"I wanted to write something pure and somehow artless, and all the time I've had that glorious acoustic in my head," he said. 

The Cambridge college's choir perfoms a new carol every year at its famous Nine Lessons and Carols Service, which is broadcast live on the radio on Christmas Eve.

The tradition has been in place since Mr Cleobury took on the Director of Music role in 1983. 

The service is separate to the college's Carols from Kings service, which is also broadcast on TV on Christmas Eve but recorded earlier. 

The new carol is one of an estimated 300 being composed this year, prompted by classical music groups who run projects or competitions to encourage the creation of new songs. 

David Hill, musical director of the Bach Choir, which runs its own competition, told the Observer that carol composition was a "burgeoning industry". 

“Leading choirs are inundated with offers. Writers know there’s an appetite for carols. You’ve got thousands of people attending services and concerts. 

"People might not go to church at other times of year but they want to hear again the most famous story ever told," he said. 

Figures released by the Church of England showed record attendance at cathedral services during Advent and at Christmas last year. 

Statistics showed that 131,000 people attended services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year, compared to 125,000 the year before, the highest level since they were first recorded in 2000.