83-491: The Vicar of Dibley is a British television sitcom, created and written by Richard Curtis , and produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC One . It stars Dawn French as Geraldine Granger, the first-ever female vicar assigned to the position in the small Oxfordshire village of Dibley. During the course of the programme, 20 episodes of The Vicar of Dibley aired, including six specials over three series, between 10 November 1994 and 1 January 2007. In addition, outside of
166-550: A charity single , with proceeds going to Comic Relief. It also appears on Goodall's CD Choral Works , which additionally includes his theme for Mr. Bean , another popular comedy co-created by Richard Curtis. A snippet of The Vicar of Dibley' s theme music was used in the Mr. Bean episode " Tee Off, Mr. Bean " and the music from Mr Bean plays during Sean Bean 's cameo in The Vicar of Dibley episode "Spring". The series also won
249-562: A 1426 work of John Awdlay , a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of ' wassailers ', who went from house to house. The songs now known specifically as carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church, and to be specifically associated with Christmas. Many carols which have gained popularity were printed in Piae Cantiones ,
332-551: A 90-minute film of Dawn French talking to the producer, Jon Plowman , with clips from the series. A 2002 documentary narrated by Jo Brand , entitled The Real Vicars of Dibley , was also on the DVD. In 2005, a "complete collection" box set was released. This included all the then-aired episodes. The final two episodes and a 6-disc "ultimate" box set were released on 26 November 2007. In Australasia (Region 4), all episodes have been released on DVD. All episodes have been released on DVD in
415-439: A BBC poll of Britain's Best Sitcoms . The series was created by Richard Curtis and written for actress Dawn French by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer , with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey . The main character was an invention of Richard Curtis, but he and French extensively consulted Joy Carroll , one of the first female Anglican priests, and garnered many character traits and much information. In earlier episodes,
498-475: A Belén" and " Riu, riu, chiu: El lobo rabioso " and "Los peces en el río". The Nadala or Cançó de Nadal (in plural nadales ) are a popular group of songs, usually requiring a chorus, that are song from Advent until Epiphany . Their written versions starts in the 15th century. In the past were usually being song by shepherds and their families in market squares and in front of churches. The Nadala origins are uncertain but usually cited to be related with
581-735: A German folksong arranged by Ernst Anschütz and "Stille Nacht" (" Silent Night ") by the Austrians Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr . The carol most familiar in German besides those two is probably the 19th-century " O du fröhliche ". Other popular and widely sung Christmas carols are "Herbei, o ihr Gläub’gen", which is a German version of "Adeste fideles" (English: " O Come, All Ye Faithful "), Alle Jahre wieder ("Every year again"), Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (lit: "A rose has sprung up"), " Leise rieselt der Schnee " "(Silently
664-622: A change to pre-2020 episodes, the characters broke the fourth wall speaking directly to the viewer as if they were Dibley residents. These lockdown minis were made, set and shown during the pandemic when churches were closed for many months and congregations across the UK met virtually via methods such as Zoom . A compilation of all three of the lockdown episodes. The vicar muses upon lockdown, social distancing, masks and absent friends. The episode contains additional previously unseen material and scenes. The Vicar of Dibley The Vicar of Dibley
747-415: A collection of late medieval Latin songs which was first published in 1582. Early, Latin forms of carols such as " Christ was born on Christmas Day ", " Good Christian Men, Rejoice " and " Good King Wenceslas " can be found in this book. " Adeste Fideles " ("O Come all ye faithful") appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century. The origin of
830-578: A date, Hugo offers to sleep with her and impregnate her so she can have a baby, revealing that he and Alice now have ten children. Meanwhile, Geraldine is trying to get the villagers enthusiastic about the 20th anniversary of Live Aid and encourages them to write to the Prime Minister about the Make Poverty History campaign. However, when they show no interest, she shows them a short video depicting two poverty-stricken children, and
913-435: A disastrous This Is Your Life , but the evening is saved when a power cut gives the group opportunity to simply chat and show their appreciation for each other. Before the wedding, Owen, Jim and Rev Jeremy Ogilvy (played by Hugh Bonneville ), an old college friend whom Geraldine has chosen to conduct the service, all propose to her. After a number of setbacks, the bride looks beautiful in her white dress until Owen drives
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#1732790277576996-415: A new series in 2021. In December 2022, Channel 5 aired a 67-minute special retrospective for their "Comedy Classics" series. Actors and celebrities, including co-writer Paul Mayhew-Archer , take a look back, discuss and pay tribute to the show. Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol ( a song or hymn ) on the theme of Christmas , traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during
1079-557: A polite request for a treat, and a promise to come back next year for more well-wishing. Almost all the various carols are in the common dekapentasyllabos (15-syllable iamb with a caesura after the 8th syllable) verse, which means that their wording and tunes are easily interchangeable. This has given rise to a great number of local variants, parts of which often overlap or resemble one another in verse, tune, or both. Nevertheless, their musical variety remains very wide overall: for example carols from Epirus are strictly pentatonic , in
1162-596: A religious nature, but not directly related to the birth of Jesus. For example: Antiquarians in the 19th-century rediscovered early carols in museums. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica , about 500 have been found. Some are wassailing songs, some are religious songs in English, some are in Latin, and some are " macaronic " — a mixture of English and Latin. Since most people did not understand Latin,
1245-486: A religious theme, but are often still referred to as "carols". For example, the 16th-century song "A Bone, God Wot!" appears to be a wassailing song (which is sung during drinking or while requesting ale), but is described in the British Library 's Cottonian Collection as a Christmas carol. As recently as 1865, Christmas-related lyrics were adopted for the traditional English folk song " Greensleeves ", becoming
1328-549: A scientific book on German Christmas carols which is also a song book. Greek tradition calls for children to go out with triangles from house to house on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Epiphany Eve, and sing the corresponding folk carols, called the Kalanta or Kalanda or Kalanta Christougenon , the word deriving from the Roman calends ). There are separate carols for each of the three great feasts, referring respectively to
1411-494: A third series of four episodes, also referred to as seasonal specials as they have the titles Autumn , Winter , Spring and Summer airing from 24 December 1999 to 1 January 2000. After that came the two-episode "A Very Dibley Christmas", broadcast between 25 December 2004 and 1 January 2005, and the two-part finale, "A Wholly Holy Happy Ending", broadcast on Christmas Day 2006 and New Year's Day 2007. The final two episodes, in which Geraldine finds love and marries, are officially
1494-455: Is a British sitcom . It consists of three series, which aired on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2000, and several specials, the most recent of which aired on 23 December 2020. It is set in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley, which is assigned a female vicar following the 1993 changes in the Church of England that permitted the ordination of women . Dawn French plays
1577-552: Is a tradition of Christmas caroling (earlier known as wassailing ), in which groups of singers travel from house to house, singing carols at each, for which they are often rewarded with gifts, money, mince pies, or a glass of an appropriate beverage. Money collected in this way is now normally given to charity. Singing carols in church was instituted on Christmas Eve 1880 in Truro Cathedral , Cornwall, (see article on Nine Lessons and Carols ), and now seen in churches all over
1660-415: Is attracted to David's brother from Liverpool , Simon (played by Clive Mantle ). During her hen night , Alice also reveals the shocking identity of her biological father. Guest starring Geraldine McNulty . The BBC lists the following four episodes as forming Series 3 on its website, whilst the DVD box set lists them simply as "The Seasonal Specials". Hugo and Alice return from their honeymoon, and Alice
1743-786: Is celebrated by western Christians as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple . During the Socialist Republic of Romania in the 20th century, Christmas carols were banned by the government of Ceacuescu. Days following the Romanian Revolution in 1989, Christmas carols were sung for the first time in 42 years. The villancico (or vilancete in Portuguese) was a common poetic and musical form of
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#17327902775761826-600: Is consequently rarely available today. The Oxford Book of Carols , first published in 1928 by Oxford University Press (OUP), was a notably successful collection; edited by the British composers Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams , along with clergyman and author Percy Dearmer , it became a widely used source of carols in among choirs and church congregations in Britain and remains in print today. The singing of carols
1909-432: Is interested in the book. After reading The Da Vinci Code , Alice thinks that as her name rhymes with "chalice" she must be descended from Jesus . Having officiated at 100 weddings, Geraldine is excited to finally be the bride. Fiancé Harry sensitively leaves her alone to research dresses, but the parishioners invade, taking over all the organisation as a thank you gift for Geraldine's decade of friendship. Hugo presents
1992-550: Is linguistically dated to the beginning of the High Middle Ages , ca. 1000 AD; it is traditionally associated with the city of Kotyora in the Pontos (modern-day Ordu , Turkey). Most carols follow a more or less standard format: they begin by exalting the relevant religious feast, then proceed to offer praises for the lord and lady of the house, their children, the household and its personnel, and usually conclude with
2075-465: Is pregnant. Meanwhile, David's brother Simon (played by Clive Mantle ) returns, and he and Geraldine begin a passionate relationship. However, when he says he is seeing another woman back in Liverpool , she is so devastated that she refuses to attend any services and offers her resignation. The Bishop of Mulberry is to officiate at the christening of Alice and Hugo's baby. Geraldine and Owen are to be
2158-809: Is the " Carol of the Bells ", with English lyrics by the American composer of Ukrainian descent Peter J. Wilhousky , composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych as " Shchedryk ", and premiered in December 1916 by a choral group made up of students at Kyiv University . Although it is a Christmas carol in Wilhousky's English lyrics, in original Ukrainian lyrics it is a Generous Eve carol ( shchedrivka [ uk ] , Ukrainian: щедрівка ), having nothing with Christianity. Christmas music performed in
2241-520: Is the middle of summer at Christmas, there is a tradition of Carols by Candlelight concerts held outdoors at night in cities and towns across the country, during the weeks leading up to Christmas. First held in Melbourne, "Carols by Candlelight" is held each Christmas Eve in capital cities and many smaller cities and towns around Australia. Performers at the concerts include opera singers, musical theatre performers and popular music singers. People in
2324-580: Is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like " Personent hodie ", " Good King Wenceslas ", and " The Holly and the Ivy " can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages , and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. Compositions continue to be written that become popular carols. For example, many of the carols written by Alfred Burt are sung regularly in both sacred and secular settings, and are among
2407-611: The Australian Broadcasting Commission ). These referred to the hot dry December of the Australian outback, dancing brolgas (a native Australian crane), and similar Australian features. The " Huron Carol " (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf , a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among
2490-534: The Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol". Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina , Pedro de Escobar , Francisco Guerrero, Gaspar Fernandes and Juan Gutiérez de Padilla. Popular Spanish villancicos include "Los pastores
2573-524: The Ice Bucket Challenge (which itself goes awry), Geraldine gets an offer to become Bishop. Confusion on her behalf, however, leaves her last in the running when other, more successful, candidates turn up for the interview process. Guest starring Richard Ayoade , Annette Crosbie , Maureen Lipman , Emma Watson , Ruth Jones , Jennifer Saunders and Fiona Bruce . The only regular characters to appear are Geraldine, Hugo and Jim. Following
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2656-459: The In Lockdown minis. The first series was broadcast on BBC1 from 10 November to 15 December 1994, comprising six episodes. Following the first series, an Easter special and a Christmas special were broadcast in 1996. A four-episode second series was ordered and screened between 26 December 1997 and 22 January 1998. Subsequent episodes consisted of Christmas and New Year specials, followed by
2739-518: The Montseny and Pedraforca mountains in Catalonia (by the counties of Osona and Girona ). As quite a few have references to mythological events and powers, some authors claim that they contain part of the religion that was present in the territory before Christianity arrived as it was kept alive in these mountainous regions. The nadala is usually paired with the caramella , being one for
2822-874: The Nativity , to St. Basil and the New Year, and to the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan , along with wishes for the household. In addition to the carols for the winter festive season , there are also the springtime or Lenten carols, commonly called the "Carols of Lazarus ", sung on the Saturday before Palm Sunday as a harbinger of the Resurrection of Christ to be celebrated a week later. In older times, caroling children asked for and were given edible gifts such as dried fruit, eggs, nuts or sweets; during
2905-517: The winter solstice events while the other to the spring equinox . Ukrainian Christmas carols are named kolyadka ( Ukrainian : колядки ). They were originally sung to celebrate the birth of the Sun (winter solstice). After the incorporation into Christianity, their theme has been shifted to Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The Ukrainian carol most known to the Western World
2988-434: The "last-ever" episodes, although there have been several reappearances of certain characters since in the form of charity specials. On 15 March 2013, French reprised her role as Geraldine Granger as part of her French and Saunders marathon on BBC Radio 2 . She was interviewed by Chris Evans on his Pause for Thought section. The following year, on 29 March 2014, French appeared in character as Granger on Thought for
3071-516: The 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of Saint Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol. In the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi , a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed. Christmas carols in English first appear in
3154-452: The 19th century helped to widen the popular appeal of carols. " God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen ", " The First Noel ", " I Saw Three Ships " and " Hark! The Herald Angels Sing " appear in English antiquarian William Sandys ' 1833 collection Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern . Composers such as Arthur Sullivan helped to repopularise the carol, and it is this period that gave rise to such favourites as " Good King Wenceslas " and " It Came Upon
3237-632: The 20th century this was gradually replaced with money gifts – ranging from small change in the case of strangers to considerable amounts in the case of close relatives. Caroling is also done by marching bands, choirs, school students seeking to raise funds for trips or charity, members of folk societies, or merely by groups of well-wishers. Many internationally known carols, e.g. " Silent Night " and " O Tannenbaum ", are also sung in Greek translation. Many carols are regional, being popular in specific regions but unknown in others, whereas some are popular throughout
3320-632: The Day on BBC Radio 4 . There have been eight short charity TV specials: six for Comic Relief between 1997 and 2015 and a seventh in April 2020, in which French appeared on The Big Night In as part of a joint Comic Relief and Children in Need special to support those affected by COVID-19 . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the segment was filmed at French's home. For Comic Relief 2021, Geraldine appeared in
3403-736: The Dibley Easter Bunny , which involves dressing up in a rabbit costume. When Geraldine is invited to four separate Christmas dinners , she does not have the heart to refuse any so goes to all four. On Christmas night she is visited by Songs of Praise producer ya Tristan Campbell, who asks her to marry him. Geraldine is overwhelmed until he introduces his fiancée (played by Orla Brady ), and it becomes apparent that he wants her to conduct his wedding. Guest starring Mel Giedroyc as Alice's sister and Carol MacReady as Alice's mother. Alice and Hugo are married, with Jim as best man and children dressed as Teletubbies . Meanwhile, Geraldine
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3486-465: The Dibley vicarage, later lip-synching to " Juice " by Lizzo and appearing with the reverend Kate Bottley . In December 2020, a series of short "lockdown" episodes of The Vicar of Dibley were broadcast. The series consisted of three short episodes followed by a compilation episode of the previous three episodes' material shown back-to-back, but including previously unseen material and scenes. The style
3569-1004: The Hurons in Canada. In accordance with a medieval tradition, the Christmas Peace is declared every year on Christmas Eve in Porvoo , Finland, with a local band and male choir performing Christmas carols. "Dans cette étable" and "Venez Divin Messie" are also popular Christmas carols. Perhaps the best known traditional French carol, " Il est né, le divin Enfant ", comes from the region of Provence . Some carols familiar in English are translations of German Christmas songs ( Weihnachtslieder ). Pastoral Weihnachtslieder are sometimes called Hirtenlieder ("shepherd songs"). Martin Luther wrote
3652-545: The Midnight Clear ", a New England carol written by Edmund H. Sears and Richard S. Willis. The publication in 1871 of Christmas Carols, New and Old by Henry Ramsden Bramley and Sir John Stainer was a significant contribution to a revival of carols in Victorian Britain . In 1916, Charles Lewis Hutchins published Carols Old and Carols New , a scholarly collection which suffered from a short print run and
3735-482: The Save Our Dibley campaign as a new reservoir threatens the village. Performance rights for all three are available through United Agents. In February 2016, it was reported that Dawn French was interested in returning to the role in a new series, The Bishop of Dibley , to follow on from the 2015 Red Nose Day Special. In December 2020, French opened up about the prospect of The Vicar of Dibley returning for
3818-597: The TV Choice Award for Best Comedy in 2005 and again in 2021 for the Lockdown Specials. In May 2007, Richard Curtis received a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award for his humanitarian pursuits, as well as his creative work, including The Vicar of Dibley . The Vicar of Dibley was released on DVD in Region 2 (UK) in 2001. In 2002, a DVD entitled The Best of The Vicar of Dibley was released featuring
3901-568: The TV episodes. The first is titled The Vicar of Dibley , and is concerned mainly with Alice and Hugo's engagement and wedding. The second, A Vicar of Dibley Christmas – The Second Coming , is based on the episodes "Dibley Live" and "Winter", in which the villagers set up a radio station and put on a nativity play at Owen's farm. A third adaptation by Steve Clark and David Lovesy, titled The Vicar of Dibley - The Holy Trinity , covers Baby Geraldine’s Christening, David Horton's brief wooing of Geraldine, and
3984-536: The United States and Canada (Region 1). On 6 February 2007, Fox announced plans to adapt The Vicar of Dibley into an American sitcom titled The Minister of Divine . The series starred Kirstie Alley as a former "wild child" who returned to her hometown as its first female minister. The pilot was broadcast on Fox, but the series was not made. The series has also been adapted into two stage plays by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter, both incorporating plots from
4067-620: The accompaniment of his song cycle Weihnachtslieder , Op. 8. Other examples include: In Austria, Belgium and Germany, Epiphany , the last feast of the Christmas season, is marked by star singers , children dressing as the Three Kings , carrying a star on a pole. Going from house to house from New Year's Day to 6 January, the children sing religious songs and collect money for charity. They are often rewarded with extra sweets or money. In Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where it
4150-685: The audience hold lit candles and join in singing some of the carols in accompaniment with the celebrities. Similar events are now held all over Australia, usually arranged by churches, municipal councils, or other community groups. They are normally held on Christmas Eve or the Sunday or weekend before Christmas. A similar recent trend in South Africa and New Zealand are for smaller towns to host their own Carols by Candlelight concerts. William Garnet "Billy" James (1892–1977) wrote music for Christmas carol lyrics written by John Wheeler (both men worked for
4233-719: The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later edited to " Hark! the Herald Angels Sing ". A tune from a cantata, Festgesang , by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 was adapted by William H. Cummings to fit Wesley's words. This combination first appeared in "Hymns Ancient and Modern" in 1861. " Silent Night " comes from Austria. The carol was first performed in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf on 24 December 1818. Mohr had composed
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#17327902775764316-549: The better known modern Christmas carols. Almost all the well-known carols were not sung in church until the second half of the 19th century. Hymns Ancient and Modern 1861–1874 included several carols. Isaac Watts , the "father of English hymnody", composed " Joy to the World ", which has become a popular Christmas carol even though it is widely believed that Watts did not write it to be sung only at Christmas. Charles Wesley wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols, of which
4399-554: The birth of Christ; this is often based on the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge . In the 1680s and 1690s, two French composers incorporated carols into their works. Louis-Claude Daquin wrote 12 noels for organ. Marc-Antoine Charpentier wrote a few instrumental versions of noels, plus one major choral work Messe de minuit pour Noël . Johann Sebastian Bach included Christmas carols in his cantatas for Christmastide , including his Christmas Oratorio . Peter Cornelius included carol melodies in
4482-467: The car through a muddy puddle. Geraldine attends the ceremony in her pyjamas – Harry's favourite pair – with Alice dressed as the Tenth Doctor and Dalek bridesmaids. As the newly-married Harry and Geraldine leave the service, she flies up into the sky above Dibley, overcome with joy. Geraldine participates in a wife-swapping reality television show and gets to live with Sting . While Harry spends
4565-485: The carol " Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her ", which can be acted as a play of the Christmas story . He also wrote " Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ " and " Christum wir sollen loben schon ". The carol " Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt " was written by Friedrich Spee in 1622 to an older melody, a lullaby singing "of Jesus and Mary", and for peace. Two well-known later examples are " O Tannenbaum " (O Christmas tree), from
4648-403: The episode concludes with all of them wearing armbands in support of the campaign. Guest starring Miranda Hart , Nathalie Cox and Cristian Solimeno as organiser and participants in the speed dating respectively. Concerned that Dibley is losing its community feel, Geraldine starts an art class and a book club. Neither are very successful as everyone gets distracted by the life model and nobody
4731-514: The godparents, while Frank and Jim act as god-grandparents. As David thinks about how he misjudged Geraldine when she arrived, he decides they are well-matched and asks her to marry him. When David goes to some considerable lengths to demonstrate that he is prepared to change himself for Geraldine, she is swept away by his declaration of love and ends up accepting. However, after Geraldine has a dream of her celebrity crush , she quickly regrets accepting David's proposal and tries to extricate herself from
4814-602: The implication is that these songs were composed for church choristers, or perhaps for an educated audience at the Royal courts. The most famous survival of these early macaronic carols is "The Boar's Head". The tradition of singing carols outside of church services early in the 19th century is best illustrated by Thomas Hardy 's novel Under the Greenwood Tree (1872). In England and other countries, such as Poland (kolęda), Romania ( colindă ) and Bulgaria ( koledari ), there
4897-559: The influence of indigenous, Hispanic and American musical traditions, reflecting the country's complex history . Carollers ( Tagalog : Namamaskô ) begin wassailing in November, with mostly children and young adults participating in the custom. Christmas carols are very popular in Poland, where they have a long history, the oldest dating to the 15th century or earlier. There is a tradition of singing Christmas carols until 2 February which
4980-528: The internationally popular Christmas carol " What Child is This? ". Little research has been conducted on carol singing, but one of the few sociological studies of caroling in the early 21st century in Finland determined that the sources of songs are often misunderstood, and that it is simplistic to suggest caroling is mostly related to Christian beliefs, for it also reinforces preservation of diverse national customs and local family traditions. A modern form of
5063-589: The kind of drone polyphony practised in the Balkans , and accompanied by C- clarinets and fiddles ; just across the straits, on Corfu Island, the style is tempered harmonic polyphony, accompanied by mandolins and guitars. Generally speaking, the musical style of each carol closely follows the secular music tradition of each region. The most popular Italian Christmas carol is " Tu scendi dalle stelle ", written in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori . Christmas carols in predominantly Catholic Philippines exhibit
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#17327902775765146-405: The lead role of vicar Geraldine Granger. In ratings terms, it is among the most successful British programmes in the digital era, with the Christmas and New Year specials entering the UK top 10 programmes of the year. The Vicar of Dibley received multiple British Comedy Awards , two International Emmys and was a multiple British Academy Television Awards nominee. In 2004, it placed third in
5229-436: The lockdown caused by COVID-19 , Geraldine gives a short service to her parishioners from her home. She describes her efforts to tidy up the mountain of Easter eggs, and issues corrections to the parish newsletter. The latest parish council meeting was also relayed, though attempts to use Zoom backfire as no one else has a computer, so Geraldine is left to make all the decisions herself. The short ends as Geraldine promises that
5312-1234: The opening credits were followed by a humorous village scene, such as a woman knitting directly from a sheep. After the closing credits, Geraldine usually tells Alice a joke, which Alice either overreacts to, tries to interpret literally, or understands only after Geraldine explains it. There are a few exceptions to this in various episodes. Hugh Bonneville , Mel Giedroyc , Richard Griffiths , Miranda Hart , Alistair McGowan , Geraldine McNulty , Philip Whitchurch , Nathalie Cox , Nicholas Le Prevost , Brian Perkins , and Roger Sloman have all made one guest appearance each. Pam Rhodes , Kylie Minogue , Rachel Hunter , Terry Wogan , Jeremy Paxman , Martyn Lewis , Darcey Bussell and Sean Bean each appeared as themselves in one episode. Sarah, Duchess of York , Richard Ayoade , Orla Brady , Fiona Bruce , Annette Crosbie , Johnny Depp , Ruth Jones , Hilary Kay , Damian Lewis , Maureen Lipman , Jennifer Saunders , Sting and his wife Trudie Styler , Stephen Tompkinson , Dervla Kirwan , and Emma Watson have made guest appearances in short charity specials. The Vicar of Dibley has had 20 episodes as of 2007, with additional short reprises consisting of Comic Relief and
5395-441: The parish council that Geraldine is gay when she sees a nearly naked Rachel Hunter in the vicarage. After her anniversary party goes terribly wrong, Geraldine drinks three bottles of wine before midnight mass. The villagers want to celebrate Geraldine's 40th birthday, so they buy her a ticket to a speed dating evening. However, when she goes it turns out that most of the dates are the other villagers. When Geraldine leaves without
5478-551: The practice of caroling can be seen in " Dial-A-Carol ," an annual tradition held by students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , wherein potential audiences call the singers to request a performance over phone call. It is not clear whether the word carol derives from the French "carole" or the Latin "carula" meaning a circular dance. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it
5561-509: The series, there have been seven charity specials and four "lockdown" specials. When the 102-year-old vicar of Dibley dies, the villagers eagerly await his replacement. To their shock, the replacement vicar is a woman. While David Horton tries to have her removed, the other villagers grow to love their new vicar. The Songs of Praise team come to Dibley to film in St. Barnabas' Church. The townsfolk all want to be involved, while Geraldine falls for
5644-429: The show's producer Tristan Campbell (played by Peter Capaldi ), and David, meanwhile, becomes enamoured of Ruth, the camera operator. However, on the evening filming is wrapped, Geraldine and David are heartbroken to discover that Tristan and Ruth are in a relationship. Guest starring Pam Rhodes as herself. David stands for re-election to the local council, but faces competition when the villagers declare that they want
5727-429: The situation will be resolved. For Comic Relief 2021, Dawn French appeared as Geraldine alongside real-life TV vicar Rev Kate Bottley lip-syncing to Juice by Lizzo . In December 2020, a series of shorter "lockdown" episodes of The Vicar of Dibley were broadcast. These were mainly monologues by Geraldine, in the form of COVID-19 lockdown video messages to her congregation, with occasional appearances by Hugo. In
5810-497: The situation without hurting David's feelings. It is Geraldine's 10th Christmas in Dibley, and to celebrate they hold a competition to see who can write the best Christmas carol . Meanwhile, at a party to celebrate her anniversary, David invites the Archbishop of Canterbury , Rowan Williams (played by Brian Perkins ). Also, Alice and Geraldine discuss who they would want to sleep with if they were gay , and Alice then informs
5893-514: The snow is falling)", " Tochter Zion, freue dich " (Daughter Zion, rejoice) and " Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen " ("Unto us a time has come"). " Lasst uns froh und munter sein " ("Let us be happy and cheerful"), " Kling, Glöckchen ", ("Ring, Little Bell"), " Ihr Kinderlein, kommet " ("Oh, come, little children") and " Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen " (lit.: "tiny snowflake, white, tiny skirt") are popular German songs introduced in Kindergarten and primary school . Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann wrote
5976-407: The surrounding Christmas and holiday season . The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French origin. Christmas carols may be regarded as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music . The first known Christmas hymns may be traced to 4th-century Rome. Latin hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium , written by Ambrose , Archbishop of Milan , were austere statements of
6059-649: The theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism . Corde natus ex Parentis ( Of the Father's heart begotten ) by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas sequence (or prose) was introduced in Northern European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas . In
6142-791: The tune is disputed. Carols gained in popularity after the Reformation in the countries where Protestant churches gained prominence (as well-known Reformers like Martin Luther authored carols and encouraged their use in worship). This was a consequence of the fact that the Lutheran reformation warmly welcomed music. During the years that the Puritan ban on Christmas was in place in England, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang carols in secret. The publication of Christmas music books in
6225-672: The two countries. Examples of the latter are the Peloponnesian Christmas carol "Christoúgenna, Prōtoúgenna" ("Christmas, Firstmas"), the Constantinopolitan Christmas carol "Kalēn hespéran, árchontes" ("Good evening, lords"), and the New Year's carol "Archimēniá ki archichroniá" ("First of the month, first of the year"). The oldest known carol, commonly referred to as the "Byzantine Carol" ( Byzantine Greek : Άναρχος θεός καταβέβηκεν, Ánarkhos Theós katabébēken , "God, who has no beginning, descended"),
6308-508: The vicar to run. She agrees not to stand as long as David makes a few election promises. Featuring the voice of Alistair McGowan . As Easter comes to Dibley, each council member gives up something for Lent : Geraldine gives up chocolate, David stops being unpleasant, Hugo forgoes lustful thoughts, Owen stops swearing, Letitia stops "cooking garbage", Frank stops being tiresome and Jim stops dithering. Sadness later comes to Dibley when Letitia dies, and Geraldine promises to take over her role as
6391-436: The village of Turville. The theme music was a setting of Psalm 23 composed by Howard Goodall , and was performed by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford , with George Humphreys singing the solo. The conductor was Stephen Darlington . Two versions are used over the opening credits: one with a full choir and one with a solo. Goodall originally wrote it as a serious piece of church choral music. It has been released as
6474-560: The week with Trudie Styler , Geraldine thinks that Sting is flirting with her. When it turns out he is not, she shoves a cake in his face. Alice questions Sting's appearance in his band The Police , comparing him to her uncle who was in the police . Geraldine and the parishioners head to London to vote on allowing women to become bishops, but make the mistake of sending Jim to cast the vote. Meanwhile, Geraldine flirts with an attractive vicar ( Damian Lewis ) and Frank's failing hearing leads him to make some major slip-ups. After taking part in
6557-438: The words much earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service. The first English translation was in 1871 where it was published in a Methodist hymnal. Several different Christmas episodes, apart from the birth of Jesus itself, are described in Christmas carols, such as: In addition, some carols describe Christmas-related events of
6640-602: The world. The songs that were chosen for singing in church omitted the wassailing carols, and the words "hymn" and "carol" were used almost interchangeably. Shortly before, in 1878, the Salvation Army , under Charles Fry, instituted the idea of playing carols at Christmas, using a brass band . Carols can be sung by individual singers, but are also often sung by larger groups, including professionally trained choirs. Most churches have special services at which carols are sung, generally combined with readings from scripture about
6723-648: Was completely different to the main series, with Geraldine and Hugo breaking the fourth wall via video messaging, talking directly to the viewers as if they were the Dibley congregation. The same method was used for the 2020 and 2021 Comic Relief shorts, also made and set during the Covid pandemic. The programme is set in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley. Some villagers, including Alice, Jim, and Owen, speak with slight West Country accents , as were once common in Oxfordshire but are now less common. The series
6806-648: Was filmed in the Buckinghamshire village of Turville , near High Wycombe , with the village's St Mary the Virgin Church doubling as Dibley's St Barnabus. The exterior location for David Horton's manor is in the village of Little Missenden , Buckinghamshire. The opening titles show aerial shots of the M40 motorway 's Stokenchurch Gap , the Chiltern Hills of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and
6889-816: Was further popularised in the 20th century when OUP published one of the most popular carol books in the English-speaking world, Carols for Choirs . First published in 1961 and edited by David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques , this bestselling series has since expanded to a five-volume set. Along with editor John Rutter , the compilers included many arrangements of carols derived from sources such as Piae Cantiones , as well as pieces by modern composers such as William Walton , Benjamin Britten , Richard Rodney Bennett , William Mathias and John Rutter. Today carols are regularly sung at Christian religious services. Some compositions have words that are clearly not of
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