Carols in and out of fashion

[ardcarp]

Strange how certain choir carols come to prominence (e.g. A Tender Shoot by Otto Goldschmidt) while others, fashionable in days past, seem to have been forgotten (e.g. On This Day Earth Shall Ring by H.C. Stewart).

Do others have thoughts about the popular ones and the forgotten ones?

P.S. E'en so Lord Jesus by Paul Manz is so often done these days...done to death one might say. Pleasant enough except for the high shriek on 'for Christ is coming'. It seems un-necessary, and even done by the best choirs sounds terrible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdWN5DQ77Wk

[jonfan]

Strange indeed; even in Carols for Choirs of 1961 there are many which were always in carol concerts and have now languished somewhat. 'Torches' of Joubert and 'Zither Carol' by Sargent [his 'Cowboy Carol', when was that last heard?) Willcocks' Blessed be that maid Mary' was fun to get stuck into but ignored now.

[Simon Biazeck]

The high note is unnecessary - a lapse in taste and a lack of understanding about singing. *tut-tut*

This is superb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqK1TKQmBx0 and was a staple in my days in Melbourne with the Tudor Choristers, dir. by the genius Prof. John O'Donnell who produced many of his own arrangements - Noel nouvelet, Quittez Pasteurs, and many others; superb classics all. They inspired me in all my carols, now mostly on cpdl. Days were when when the fabulous choir at the Brompton Oratory sang them - 'Wessex Carol', 'Dormi, Jesu' and 'I sing of a maiden'. Alas, no more.

Happy Yule-log Festive Seasonings when it comes!

~SBz.

[oddoneout]

I think Rutter has rather taken over in many cases. I don't especially dislike his carols but I do find it all gets a bit "samey" after a while. They are popular with audiences so do tend to get trotted out for concerts, often despite the choir's lack of enthusiasm. I'm glad that when I was involved with intensive carol singing in the 70s there was more of the likes of those in #2 and#3, and the Rutter came much later with non-church singing.

[Guest]

George Guest's arrangement of "Zion at thy shining gates" was an Advent choir favourite at my last gaff

[smittims]

I suppose the time taken to learn and perfect an unfamiliar carol tends to kep it in the repertoire for a few years at least. And local loyalties naturally come into play, so Boris Ord's 'Adam lay ybounden' will always be preferred at Cambridge to Warlock's, which I think better.

I do think there are too many new carols, too much of the desire to see how modern a composer can be without alienating the congregation. And so often they turn out to be turkeys, at least in my not-so humble opinion.

[Pulcinella]

...
Do others have thoughts about the popular ones and the forgotten ones?
...

I sometimes wish that some of the more popular overworked ones would become forgotten ones.

[ardcarp]

Carols for Choirs (Green and Orange) seem to be the go-to books for most choirs these days. They're very useful, so I'm not knocking them. However there was a little blue book, Sing Nowell, published by Novello, that had some fabulous stuff. The first item was A Babe is Born by Peter Racine Fricker and it also contains Peter Aston's Dormi Jesu which someone mentioned above. Novello also recently produced its Book of Carols (parts one and two, both red in colour)) edited by my old friend Bill Llewellyn. These books are definitely worth mining for some new ideas (not necessarily new carols) for 2023!

[Pulcinella]

Carols for Choirs (Green and Orange) seem to be the go-to books for most choirs these days. They're very useful, so I'm not knocking them. However there was a little blue book, Sing Nowell, published by Novello, that had some fabulous stuff. The first item was A Babe is Born by Peter Racine Fricker and it also contains Peter Aston's Dormi Jesu which someone mentioned above. Novello also recently produced its Book of Carols (parts one and two, both red in colour)) edited by my old friend Bill Llewellyn. These books are definitely worth mining for some new ideas (not necessarily new carols) for 2023!

The choir I'm in has 100 Carols for choirs, not as useful as the green and orange originals, imho, as there are some rather fussy arrangements in it; it's certainly not as good for unaccompanied busking (last stint tonight!).

[Alison]

George Guest's arrangement of "Zion at thy shining gates" was an Advent choir favourite at my last gaff

And so rarely heard.

[Petrushka]

Strange indeed; even in Carols for Choirs of 1961 there are many which were always in carol concerts and have now languished somewhat. 'Torches' of Joubert and 'Zither Carol' by Sargent [his 'Cowboy Carol', when was that last heard?) Willcocks' Blessed be that maid Mary' was fun to get stuck into but ignored now.

I'm glad 'Torches' gets a mention. It was a popular choice at our carol services in my choir days (1960s/70s) on account of the fact that our choirmaster was a friend of John Joubert and knew him well. We used to love it because it's a good sing. 'The Zither Carol' is one I remember well from my early schooldays. Can still sing it now!

[ardcarp]

And so often they turn out to be turkeys

But not Tavener's The Lamb. It caught on, no doubt, because the main words "Little Lamb who made thee", etc are set repeatedly to traditional harmony which, despite the two-part invertible and dissonant middle section, gives it popular appeal.

BTW I agree wholly about What Sweeter Music (RRB) and Torches (Joubert...who taught me!)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Carols for Choirs (Green and Orange) seem to be the go-to books for most choirs these days. They're very useful, so I'm not knocking them.

I wish more choirs would use C for C 3 (the Blue book) and C for C 5 (the Bronze book). The former has some excellent but quite easy arrangements, while the latter is more challenging than any of the others, but well worth investigating.

[Petrushka]

But not Tavener's The Lamb.

Not a carol, as such, but the other night I replayed the 2014 Carols from King's and was blown away by Tavener's 'God is With Us' (A Christmas Proclamation). The entry of the organ is absolutely stunning and, if you don't know the piece, will blow your socks off. I enjoyed it so much I played it four times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkckDyba-U&list=RDxIkckDyba-U&index=1

[mopsus]

George Guest's arrangement of "Zion at thy shining gates" was an Advent choir favourite at my last gaff

We sang that at our church this year, although as an anthem during Advent, not in a carol service. Our copies are in a old Bath and Wells diocesan choral festival book.