Third Sunday in Advent 2014

Say to them that are of a fearful heart:  Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come and save you.

Communion Sentence - Advent III

Sarum Rite Anglican Missal

There are so many wonderful songs for Advent and Christmastide that take us beyond what for most of us are our traditional carols.  I was fortunate growing up to be introduced to many Polish carols as well as traditions by the Michalskis who lived next door to my family and were my best friends.  This may well have been the door that opened up a world for me which went beyond my Anglo-Saxon roots. 

Through the years I've been introduced to Christmastide music and customs that are as varied and wonderful as the place where I experienced them.   And it seems in the last twenty years that Christmas music has expanded beyond the traditional to include carols from all eras and many cultures.

The traditions and music of the Basque region are generally unknown to the world at large but one regional carol has become a favourite over the past few years.   Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen recounts the story of the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary of her role as chosen vessel for the birth of Christ.  The original melody was dance-like as performed here by Aquabella.

In 1897 on a commission from the French Government the French musicologist, teacher and composer Charles Bordes collected and published Les Archives de la tradition basque.  It came to the attention of Sabine Baring-Gould one of the most fascinating men in Victorian-Edwardian England.  Baring-Gould was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar.  He wrote over 1240 publications - ghost stories, novels, biographies, hymns (Onward Christian Soldiers is only one of his many), collections of folk stories and, what he considered his greatest achievement, collections of folks songs.  He made alterations in some of the lyrics which he considered too risqué for the time but left his notes behind for those who in the future might wish to study the original texts.  He translate much of Bordes' collection, the most widely known being Birjina gaztetto bat zegoe.

It does not appear that the carol achieved any great popularity in the early 1900s but over the past few decades has become a choral staple at Christmastide.  There have been many settings though few have preserved it's dancing metre.   Of the many videos available I found this simple version by the Crimson Ensemble the most folk like.

The Wikipedia entry on Baring-Gould makes for a fascinating read - the man was a true polymath, a ture genius and a fascinating character besides.   And he opened the door that gave us this beautiful Advent carol.

My blog buddy Debra and I had the same thought and she has posted a lovely version of this carol on She Who Seeks.

December 14 - 1896: The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Gradual for the Fourth Sunday in Advent

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: yea, all such as call upon him faithfully.
V. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh give thanks unto his holy name.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Come, O Lord, and tarry not: forgive the misdeeds of thy people.
R. Alleluia

Manual of Catholic Devotion
For Members of the Church of England (Revised 1969)

As the final candle is lit  on the Advent wreath - unless there is a Christmas candle - we approach the final days of Advent.  The much anticipated day is not far off and the Introit for the day tells us that very soon we will hear: the heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth his handy-work.

A Child This Day is Born, the last carol that I've chosen from Bramley and Stainers' Christmas Carols New and Old is one with more obscure origins than many of the others.  The words first appeared in Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern, by William Sandys (London 1833).  Sandy's collection was in three parts with a length introduction.  The first part contained 34 carols which he maintained were from the early part of the 15th to the end of the 17th century.  The Second Part was a selection of 40 carols "still used in the West of England".  And the third were six French carols from Provence. There were 80 carols in all without music. There has been some suggestion that perhaps a few of the carols were not quite as old or traditional as Mr Sandys claimed but may have been of his own creation; though that is only rumour.

In the 136 page introduction, which makes for fascinating reading as a history of Christmas in England, he says that the carols (including A Child This Day is Born) are:

..... selected from upwards of one hundred obtained in different parts of the West of Cornwall, many of which, including those now published, are still in use.  Some few of them are printed occasionally in the country, and also in London, Birmingham, and other places, as broadside carols; others have appeared, with some variation, in Mr Gilbert's collection, having been derived from similar sources; but a large portion, including some of the more curious, have, I believe, never been printed before.

When it was published in Christmas Carols New and Old Stainer used a tune referred to as "Bailey" however in other carol collections both the words and music are shown as "traditional" or "anonymous".  Often when the author or authors of a hymn tune were not known publishers would create an "artificial person" to give the credit to rather than our old friend Anon.

The rather fearsome angel, I gather he/she is delivering the message to the waiting world, in the engraving that accompanied the carol in the 1871 edition was by W. J. Wiegand.  He was known for his illustrations for Wonderful Stories from Northern Lands and an edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales.  But much like the origins of this lovely carol I could find out almost nothing about him.

It was also difficult to find an acceptable version of the carol on YouTube so I created one using a very fine recording of the carol by the Choir of Magdelan College and matched it with photographs from the glorious Nativity Façade of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona which I took on our recent visit to that marvellous city.  I Gaudi's incredible design traces the story of Mary and Joseph from their wedding to Christ leaving his family as a young man.
It is a complex and multi-layered panorama and the details are numerous.    You may want to take a look in the expanded version to catch some of those detail.

22 December - 1890: Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville and Kingsport, Nova Scotia.

Mercoledi Musicale

My friends Cathy and Ben are taking part in the annual presentation of Handel's glorious The Messiah at the National Arts Centre - by all reports one of the best in many years at that venue. Our neighbour Stephen just sang in the chorus of a sing-along version. These are only two of five or six performances that are taking place around town and we're a small town.  When you look at cities like New York or London the "events" pages are filled with listings for this popular "Christmas" piece. (I won't even start on how false that seasonal misconception is.) 

Now as anyone who has read this blog knows I have absolutely nothing against this incredible work - the wedding of Charles Jennsens text with Handel's music is one of the glories of western culture. I have four recordings on my CD shelf - Sir Thomas Beecham's over the top big sound, The Gabrieli Consort's refined period performance, Charles Mackerras' conducting the Mozart realization and an old BBC recording.   But nestled beside them on the shelf is a single recording of a "real" seasonal piece that sadly often seems neglected:  L'enfance du Christ by Hector Berlioz.

Now I am as guilty as the next person of neglecting this little masterpiece.  It has sat on the shelf for almost a decade undisturbed but then, as so often happens, my dear David mentioned that he was reviewing a performance by the BBC Symphony for The Arts Desk.  I tuned in for the last part - isn't it incredible that we can hear these performances taking place 3000 kilometres away? - and was almost in tears at the end.   There is, perhaps, no finer tribute to a performance than total silence at the end.  On Sunday that silence seemed to go on for minutes, though it was probably only 30 seconds, before the audience erupted into applause.  A testimony to a fine performance and the simple beauty of this music and its power to move.

This led to me listen to the entire piece as recorded back in 1976 by Sir Colin Davis (the second of his three recordings of the work) with my beloved Janet Baker, Eric Tappy and Thomas Allen.  it is strange how the Berlioz champions in my lifetime have all been English - for some reason the French don't seem to be able to get a handle on Berlioz (sorry no pun intended).   I searched on YouTube for a version in the original language of Adieux des Bergers à la Sainte Famille but was only able to find English settings of this lovely melody that was the kernel from which the work sprang:  The Shepherds  farewell to the Holy Family.

I've offered two translations below: the one on the left a literal translation of Berlioz's libretto; the other, on the right, is a variant on the version being sung on the clip.

He is going far from the land where in a stable he was born. May his father and his mother always love him steadfastly; may he grown and prosper and be a good father in his turn. If ever among the idolaters he should find misfortune, let him flee the unkind land and come back to live happily among us May the shepherd's lowely life be ever dear in his heart. Dear child, may God bless thee, and God bless you, happy pair! May you never feel the cruel hand of injustice. May a good angel warn you of all dangers that hang over you.

You must leave your lowly dwelling, The humble crib, the stable bare. Babe, all mortal babes excelling, Content our earthly lot to share. Loving father, Loving mother, Shelter you with tender care! Blessed Jesus, we implore you With humble love and holy fear. In the land that lies before you, Forget not us who linger here! May the shepherd’s lowly calling, Ever to you heart be dear! Blest are you beyond all measure, Your happy father, mother mild! Guard you well you heavenly treasure, The Prince of Peace, The Holy Child! God go with you, God protect you, Guide you safely through the wild!

Berlioz composed the piece in 1850 on a whim during an evening's entertainment at the home of his friend Joseph-Louis Duc.  While their friends were playing whist the architect asked him to write something for his album and Berlioz in his own words took:

...  a scrap of paper and drew a few staves, on which in a little while an Andantino in four parts for organ makes its appearance.  I find a certain character of naïve, rustic devoutness in it and promptly decide to add some words in the same vein.  The organ piece disappears and becomes the chorus of the shepherds of Bethlehem saying goodbye to the child Jesus at the moment when the Holy Family are setting out on their journey to Egypt

Berlioz introduced the little piece at one of his concerts on November 12, 1850 and as a joke accredited it to a M Ducré, an obscure 17th century Master of Saint Chapelle.  It was an instant success with one lady express the feelings that if only M Berlioz could learn to compose as simply and nobly as M Ducré he would become as popular.  He then added an overture and a tenor solo describing the Holy Family resting at an oasis during their journey.   La fuite en Egypte (The Flight into Egypt) was performed in Leipzig in December of 1853.  Its popularity moved Berlioz, who was quite surprised by how such a simple piece had captured the audience's fancy, to composed L'arrivée à Sais (The Arrival in Sais)  in early 1854.  It was followed later the same year by Le songe d'Hérode (Herod's Dream).  It has taken him four years to complete what had started at that card party in 1850.

The first performance of the complete three part L'Enfance du Christ was given on December 10, 1854 and it became an immediate success.  It was praised by the previous hostile critics and taken to a once reluctant public's heart.  Berlioz was elated by its success but also upset that this "trifle" had outshone his more serious works.

Berlioz once referred to the piece being "in the manner of the old illuminated missals"; so I thought I'd use a few photos I have from our Spanish trip along with the last movement of the piece. 

Mary, Joseph and the Baby have come to the end of their journey and arrived at the town of Sais weary, hungry, thirsty and bruised.  The hustle and bustle of the place frightens Mary and they are turned away by Romans and Egyptians alike as "vil Hébreux!"  But at the lowly dwelling of an Ishmaelite home they are welcomed in by the "Le Père de famille" - a carpenter.   Their wounds are tended to, their hunger fed and their offered a place to live. 

In the epilogue the narrator tells us:

Thus it came to pass that the Saviour was saved by an infidel.
For ten years Mary and Joseph with her,
watched sublime humility flower in him,
infinite love joined to wisdom.
Then at length he returned to the country of his birth,
that he might accomplish the divine sacrifice
which ransomed mankind from eternal torment
and marked out the way of salvation.

The story ended, the narrator and chorus quietly meditate on what we have just heard:

Oh my soul, what remains for you to do
but shatter your pride before so great a mystery?
Oh my heart, be filled with the pure, deep love
which alone can open to us the kingdom of heaven.
Amen

For anyone who would care to hear this wonderful performance it is available until December 21 on the BBC website here.

December 18 -1655: The Whitehall Conference ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.

One Fine Day I Met Upon My Way .....

... Three Great Kings in their bright array.

This rather fanciful, and busy to the point I couldn't get the camera to focus, scene is an Adoration of the Magi cutout that I bought at the Tirolervolks Museum in Innsbruck.  This little "creche in a perspective box" was the work of the Engelbrecht Brothers some time between 1712-1735 and is very like the tradition of the toy theatre.  Prints could be bought plain to be hand-coloured or already coloured and ready to be cut out and assembled.  I also have the Visit of the Shepherds - which is not quite as busy - shepherds bring with them only sheep not a royal entourage.

I remember this from my choral music class in grade 9 and being told by Mr Livingstone that it was based on music from Bizet. Being the smug little bastard I was I probably told him that it was incidental music for a play and based on an old Provençal carol. How he then resisted the urge to jam his baton down my throat I will never know.

Of course the tune, Marcho dei Rei, is known outside Provençe as a theme that runs through Bizet's music for L'Arlésienne. In its best known appearance Bizet combines it with Danse dei chivau-frus a traditional folk-dance melody that may have roots as far back as Le bon roi René.

Can there be anything as exuberant as this lovely pop-up Presepe by the genius that was Emanuele Luzzati?
His jewel-like colours and the lively faces of his people and animals are filled with the joy of Christmas.

King Balthazar's horse seems as pleased as the Kings themselves to arrive at their destination.
And rather ingeniously they are hidden away in a slot and drop down in time to arrive on  January 6th.
One of my great regrets is being with a few feet of the Museo Luzzati in Genoa and not realizing it
because of the pounding rain.

The Second Suite, arranged four years after Bizet's death by Ernest Guiraud, has been recorded many, many times but my favourite is one of the older recordings made by one of the great conductors of the 20th Century - Sir Thomas Beecham.  Behind his facade of English eccentricity lay the ability to reach into music, particularly French music, and bring out colours that allow you to hear old favourites anew.  He was a true "amateur" - one who loves.

Of course what inspired my listening to this piece is the celebration today in the Western Christian Church of The Feast of the Epiphany. The day when tradition says that the word was revealed to the Gentiles:

    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
    Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
    When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
    And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
    And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
    And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
    Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
    And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
    When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
    When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
    And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
    And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Gospel of St Matthew 2: 1-12

KJV

Matthew is the only Gospel where the visit of the Magi or Kings or simply Wise Men is recounted. But out of it came a mythology rich in tradition and symbolism for the Christian Church.

These three Polish glass ornaments have been on our tree for many years:

It is uncertain when the tradition of Balthasar
coming from Africa began as in earlier mythology
he was said to be an Arabian scholar.

Though first accounts say that Melchior was a Persian
wise man over time he came to represent Europe and tradition
said he was the King who came bearing gold.

Gaspar was said to be an Indian sage and he came bearing
frankincense but again in time his origins changed and his
homeland has various been portrayed as China or Mongolia.

Matthew does not tell us how many wise men there were but he does say that they bore three gifts; as early as 500 AD the writer in a Greek document assumed that three gifts meant three kings.  An 8th Irish manuscript not only gave them names but the countries their journeys began in as well. It was said that Melchior was from Persia, Gaspar was from India and Balthasar started his travels in Arabia.  Though their names remained essentially the same as Christianity spread their countries of origin were adapted to reflect an expanding world.   Balthasar was said to come from Africa (perhaps Ethiopia), Gaspar from Asia (Yemen or possibly China or Mongolia) and Melchior from Europe, his origins being either Celtic or Frankish. 

The figures in our Polish creche have a more serious mien but I find the rather weary looks on the 
three royal travellers faces touching.  Their journey has taken them far and having reached their 
destination they gaze onthe object of their search with obvious adoration.

Unlike their birth places the gifts of the Kings (Wise men, Sages) have never changed: gold and frankincense and myrrh.  It has been thought they have a spiritual meaning of Jesus as King and God and Sacrifice: gold - signifying earthly kingship; frankincense - an offering of sweet smelling incense to a deity; and myrrh - an ancient embalming oil symbolizing death.  But it has also been suggested that the gold could stand for virtue, the frankincense for prayer and myrrh for suffering.   What happened to these gifts is never made clear in the gospel but stories developed around them.  One legend said that the gold was stolen by the two thieves who were crucified with Christ; another says that Mary and Joseph used it when they fled to Egypt; a third has it being entrusted to Judas who used it for his own ends. Another story says that Mary kept the myrrh and used it to anoint his body after his crucifixion. 

06 January - 1907: Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome, Italy.

Comfort Ye My People

Like many I grew up with The Messiah as a Christmas tradition - either in its full version as broadcast each year on CBC from Massey Hall with the TSO under Sir Ernest MacMillan or snippets at our local church if the choir master was particularly adventuresome.   Both Handel and Charles Jennens would be puzzled by our tradition of their oratorio being presented in concert halls, town halls, school auditoria and churches at Yuletide.  It was premiered at Eastertide in Dublin in April 1742 and Jennens' text is an extended reflection on Christ as the Messiah; only Part I addresses the Prophetic Coming and Nativity, Part II and II portraits the Passion, Resurrection, Accession, Last Judgment and Final Victory of Christ the Messiah.

For Jennen's it was not a Christmas message but a Christian one (howbeit skewered to his particular beliefs) that he was delivering.  And though at various times his libretto has been denigrated as a mere cobbling together of text from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer it is now recognized as what Watkins Shaw describes as "a meditation of our Lord as Messiah in Christian thought and belief".  And despite his dislike for Jennens as a person, Shaw conceded that the finished text "amounts to little short of a work of genius".  And that literary genius was wedded perfectly to Handel's musical genius.

This copyist's manuscript from 1743 repeats a text error
from the original in the bass aria The Trumpet Shall Sound.
It reads "And the Death shall be raised..." of course it shoud
read "And the dead shall be raise...

Though Jennen's text has been little changed, if at all, over the years the same cannot be said for the musical settings around it.  Shortly after its premiere Handel himself was busy at work adapting the work to the changing vocal and instrumental forces at his disposal.  And he was to make further changes, additions and deletions until the last performances he attended eight days before his death in April of 1759.  After his death other hands began to "adapt" and even "improve" upon Handel's work - on the Continent Hiller in Berlin expanded the orchestration, and in 1789 Mozart in Vienna re-orchestrated the oratorio to bring it more in line with modern tastes.  Larger forces came into play both in Europe and North American but nowhere more than in the United Kingdom.  Larger and larger choruses and orchestras were employed until in 1857 at the Chrystal Palace a chorus of 2,000 sang their Hallelujahs with the backing of an orchestra 500 players strong.  This tradition of the "grand" Messiah was carried on - though with fewer numbers - by British conductors well into the later part of the 20th century.  Certainly the versions I first heard where with full 19th century symphony orchestra and a larger chorus backing singers such as Lois Marshall, Maureen Forrester and Jon Vickers.  The performances that conductors like Sir Ernest MacMillan, Sir Malcom Sargent and Sir Thomas Beecham led were full blown affairs with nary a whiff of "period practice" about them.  By the last quarter of the 20th century tastes had changed and Bernard Shaw's desire to hear a performance in a small venue "with chorus of twenty capable artists" was being fulfilled and more and more presentations reflected the desire for "historically informed performances".  It has now come to the point that no one would dare go for the Beecham style.

The Messiah during the Great Handel Festival of 1857 at the Crystal Palace in London
- a chorus of 2,000 and 500 musicians made sure that the Hallelujahs were well and truly heard.

 Though I have several versions of The Messiah - including Der Messias, the Mozart arrangement in German and several period instrument performances - for some reason every year I go back to my old Sir Thomas Beecham recording on RCA Victor.  It uses the very "unauthentic" and apparently contested arrangement Sir Eugene Goossens made for Beecham in 1959 for performances at the Lucerne Festival.  It is grand perhaps even grandiose, the forces are large - Beecham's Royal Philharmonic and the Huddersfield Choral Society at full throttle.  The four soloists come no where near giving us "authentic performances" - a phrase which always brings to mind Anna Russell's comment: "terribly pure if a trifle bloodless".  There is nothing period or bloodless about the young Jon Vickers and I dare anyone not to be thrilled when his voice cries out in the wilderness. 

In a letter in May of 1959 Beecham admonished Goossens: "You will not forget, I am sure, that Hallelujah must lead off with the most glorious and crashing noise, everybody going all out - hell for leather!"  Fulfilling Sir Thomas's wish Goossens uses cymbals to start of the thing with a big bang.  When challenged about his arrangement by Records and Recordings in 1960 Sir Eugene turned the question around.  "And why not?" he asked the interviewer: "Aren't we exhorted in the Bible to 'praise the Lord with the sound of cymbals'?"  And praise the Lord Sir Thomas and his forces certainly do.  It may lack a certain subtlety but its is joyous and guaranteed to bring an audience to its feet hoary old tradition or not.

Now this is not The Messiah as I always want to hear it - at some point this week the Gabrielli Consort CD will go on the player or the Charles Mackerras Mozart will be clicked on iTunes. The wonder is that Jennen's and Handel's glorious work can take all those interpretations and still move us to tears, joy and contemplation.

23 December - 1823: A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, is published anonymously.

A Carol for Christmas III - The Watchman's Cry

Before the creation of the unified Metropolitan Police in 1829 the twisting alleyways and dark streets of London were guarded at night by watchmen. In medieval times the watch fell to local householders who, as part of their civic duty, were required to serve a watch, patrolling the streets from 8 or 9 o'clock at night until sunrise. Unpaid and unarmed they were expected to challenge any villainous characters lurking in the boundaries of their parish.  As the city grew so did the problems of urban unrest and the task of patrolling the streets and seeing to the disreputable and unruly fell to a salaried force of watchmen.  The rising merchant class saw an advantage to get a full night's sleep and in paying a small tax to have their homes and boundaries guarded by a paid force.

The Watchmen at St Marylebone prepare for their nightly duties.
The Microcosm of London published 1808-1810.

The watchmen were employed by parish and city councils and armed with little more than their lantern, a staff and their dogs their duty was to apprehend loose women, drunks, armed thugs and, perhaps worse, gentlemen out on a rout and take them to the local watchhouse.  They would then be turned over to the authorities to be seen to and punished - often harshly - for their criminal deeds or unseemly behavior.   The watchmen were often ridiculed in the playhouse and literature  - Shakespeare takes the mickey in Much Ado About Nothing with bumbling Dogberry and his coherts - but still to the average householder the watchman's cry of the clock and assurance that all was well - if indeed it had not disturbed them from their sleep - allowed them to rest easier. 

Though by 1924 the watchman's cry had long disappeared from the streets of London it was to reappear in the carol "Past Three A Clock and A Cold Frosty Morning" in The Cambridge Carol-Book, Being Fifty-Two Songs for Christmas, Easter and Other Seasons, published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.  George Ratcliffe Woodward wrote the text and the music was arranged by Charles Wood.  An Anglican clergyman, Woodward was fascinated by old carols and  known for his ability to write verse in a pseudo-Renaissance style and frequently Wood collaborated with him,  adapted his lyrics to old melodies or composed new tunes in the old style.  A teacher at the Royal College of Music Wood counted Ralph Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells amongst his students.  His settings of the Anglican mass and various canticles and anthems can still be heard in many churches with traditional choirs in England and Canada.

The refrain that gives the carol its title is based on the actual cry of the watchman and appears as a refrain to a song in Playford's Dancing Master in 1665.  The tune itself is based on an old  melody used by Waites.  Like the watchmen the Waites or town pipers were paid by their local civic or parish council to play on special occasions and to awaken people on dark winter mornings with the shrill sound of their pipes and shawms.    

This version of Woodward and Woods' carol is performed by the Stairwell Carollers, an a cappella choir from here in Ottawa. 

Throughout the year the Stairwell Carollers raise money for local charities with concerts and the sale of CDs.  As the name suggests they specialize in "carols" in the old sense of the word - music for secular and sacred feasts.


18 dicembre/December - San Malachia Profeta

A Carol for Christmas - Prologue

"Well what other sort of carols are there?" you may ask?  Well there are all sorts of carols - Advent, Easter or just for general rejoicing.  The word carol appears to have been derived from the French "carole" or possibly the latin "carula" but in either case it meant music to be played and sung during a circular dance at a festive time.   During the 1100s they were particularly popular as dance melodies but were gradually incorporated in to processions of a religious nature or as an accompaniment to the Mystery Plays that were popular throughout Europe.

After having heard the news the Shepherds carol the birth
of the Christ Child in this 12th century manuscript.

In France they became the folk-like noels heard in Provence and the countryside eventually finding their way in the 16th century into the music of Charpentier, Campra and other courtly composers.  In Germany the Lutheran church encouraged music at Christmas and Luther himself wrote several carols for use at Christmastide.  In England many of the carols were written to be sung outside the church as bands of carollers went awassailing from house to house, a tradition which reached back to the pagan times and accounts for the secular sound of so many of the carols that are popular today.

Brady and Tate's New Version of the Psalms of David
included "While Shepherds Watched",
the first Christmas carol in an Anglican hymnal.

In the 17th century carols were banned in England by the Puritans as frivolous and an unsuccessful attempt was made to turn December 25th into a fast day.  It was revived as a feast day with  the Restoration of the Monarchy and the reestablishment of the Church of England however it didn't regain its full significance until the 19th century.  Though many carols and Christmas songs were written the only hymn accepted at Yuletide in the Anglican church in 1700 was "While shepherds watched" when it appeared in a supplement to the New Version of the Psalms of David by Nicholas Brady and Nahum Tate.  It was to be joined by two other carols in 1782 - Wesley's "Hark the Herald Angels" being one of them.  More carols were introduced in English country churches and by the 1870s had become a part of Christmas services throughout England and the colonies.

A wealth of Christmas text and music was added to Hymns Ancient and Modern in the period from 1850s onward and many of the popular carols we know and love today were composed at that time.  It was also a time when many of the earlier carols were arranged or reset to new tunes often having been translated from the Latin.

A band of children in Yorkshire, carrying greenery as symbols of rebirth, go from house to house singing carols in the tradition of wassail.  In exchange for their song and blessings on the house they would receive food, drink and sometimes small coins.

As I was growing up in the 50s and 60s a few popular standards - Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels and While Shepherds et al - seemed to be the only ones heard.  But during the 70s  I had the good fortune to be introduced to a treasury of Christmas music every week day afternoon by Bob Kerr on his programme Off the Record.  Much of what I enjoy today as music at Christmas I can trace back to his incredible eclectic mix of music for the season that encompassed so many periods, cultures and languages.  At the same time I became involved at St Thomas Anglican Church in Toronto and there discovered  Christmas carols that were part of a vital music tradition in the parish.  

Though I still love the old familiar carols there are so many beautiful songs that sing to the heart of the season and that make my Christmas a rich and happy time.  Over the next few days I'm planning to post a few of my favourites from those less well-known carols.  Hopefully they will bring you as much joy as they do me.

15 dicembre/December - Santa Maria Crocifissa di Rosa

The Music of the Holidays

I must admit after almost a week and a half of the various Christmas albums (we have 48 at last count - everything from Medieval to Ella) on random play I am starting to feel the way I did the year we spent Christmas in Vietnam. Okay that calls for a bit of an explanation: from Saigon to Sapa, in every bloody hotel lobby we had Celine Dion (Canada's gift to music?????) destroying "Oh Holy Night" in the David Foster over arrangement. I offered one Hotel Manager money to take it off - he accepted and we got Celine Dion singing "Silent Night" in a David Foster over arrangement.

Here is one of my favourite theatre troupes - the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre doing Gruber's immortal carol and bringing our attention to a slight problem in the traditional English translation.



Once again this year they have nailed it - to the wall!

26 decembre - San Stefano protomartire

Natività del Signore - 2010

Buon Natale e auguri

A left click on this terra cotta bas relief of the Madonna and Child will take you to a special musical greeting for all my dear friends as we celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noël

25 dicembre - Natale di Gesù

Sounds at Christmas

Back in the days when CBC radio was listenable - a subject I could but won't go into a rant on - there was an afternoon programme called Off the Record with Bob Kerr. Kerr was a record collector - he reputedly had 20,000 records in his collection - and the programme was made up of things which he brought into the studio every day. For 40 years every weekday afternoon from one until three he played records that reflected his varied taste from the ancient to the moderns. He could be a trifle schoolmarmish at times as he went into tirades against bad liner notes or poorly produced recordings but just when you want to slap him he'd play something wonderful.

The few weeks before Christmas were always a treasure trove and he introduced me to many of the recordings I now have in my Christmas collection. He tended to favour the slightly off-beat when it came to seasonal music and back in 1978 he played a new recording by the Boston Camerata of Christmas Music from England and Early America . Sing We Noel became a holiday standard on my turntable and then my CD player.

I always loved this particular piece, though it has no real connection with Christmas it seems appropriate when thinking of the many works created during the Renaissance showing the Madonna, Child and Holy Family. I've coupled it with a few remarkable pieces from the Bode Museum in Berlin.




The rest of the recording is just as lovely and I highly recommend it as a Christmas addition to anyone's library.

17 decembre - San Giovanni de Matha

The Traditions of Christmas - Sharing II

So many memories of Christmas - good and bad - are being posted on some of my favorite blogs this week that I once again must share them. If they aren't on your regular blog visits here are some wonderful additions to your Christmas reading and listening:

• Tony, our own EG, explains why "the worst Christmas ever" is really "the best Xmas Ever."


• Auld Hat both remembers and provides a gift of music.


• Lorraine and I find we are kindred spirits when it comes to wrapping gifts and she shares a recipe for Egg Nog Pound Cake.


• Over at World o'Jeff the Del Rubio triplets contrive to delight us and a request is made to share the season with Milly.


• Sticky Crows has some great shots of Montreal after last week's storm that almost, notice I said almost, make me homesick.


• Eric at Secrets of the Red Seven addresses envelopes and the sending of Christmas cards.


• Speck remembers a once unwanted gift that became a treasured tradition.

Thank you all for sharing.

20 decembre - San Macario

The Traditions of Christmas - Sharing

Sharing can take many forms and that is what blogs are about. We can share memories, stories, music, thoughts, opinions and observations. A few of my blog favorites have been sharing some great stuff the past few days:

• On his Jukebox Friday Eric over at Secrets of the Red Seven has a great version of the worlds most popular chorus by a group called the Roches - not roaches.
• Doralong's music choice is a bit more rock inclined with Brian Setzer giving Rudolph a run for his money.
• Elizabeth has two things to share: one a musical bombshell from the London Gay Men's Chorus and the other a personal memory and her thoughts as she looks back on it.
• And though it is not exactly Christmas, Lorraine speaks eloquently of sharing a meal at special times - happy and sad.

Thank you, my friends, for sharing.

16 decembre - 111a Domenica di Avvento