Carols in and out of fashion

[ardcarp]

Just thought of another not done so often. I Sing of a Maiden by Lennox Barkeley. It has a lovely tune with quite straightforward harmony...surprising for a bit of a modernist, and vary effective for a verse-repeating carol.

[MickyD]

John Foster's setting of "While Shepherds" heard all too infrequently, and a welcome antidote to all that Victorian solemnity.

That is from the wonderful Hyperion disc of 18th century English music with the Parley of Instruments and Peter Holman - worth having for the programme notes alone! They also did a follow up disc of late Georgian Christmas music, which to my ears is just as good.

[Pulcinella]

Just thought of another not done so often. I Sing of a Maiden by Lennox Barkeley. It has a lovely tune with quite straightforward harmony...surprising for a bit of a modernist, and vary effective for a verse-repeating carol.

And a canon between the soprano and tenor parts!

[Cockney Sparrow]

That is from the wonderful Hyperion disc of 18th century English music with the Parley of Instruments and Peter Holman - worth having for the programme notes alone! They also did a follow up disc of late Georgian Christmas music, which to my ears is just as good.

I think that the YTube track is more likely from an Andrew Parrott/Taverner Choir recording. I bought the CD years ago; I've checked it out on my streaming service (not sure where I can find the CD!) and their Christmas music seems to have been re-issued all together. Thanks for the recommendation on the Parley of Instruments discs, though......(which I can only sample on the Hyperion website before decide to buy - a download if so....).

[jonfan]

I must admit that I wish carol services were based more on simple carols rather than what I think of as Christmas anthems or overblown arrangements. Carols from the (old) Oxford Book of Carols, for example. So many arrangements seem to me to destroy the melodies rather than enhance them. In particular, I don't like harmonies - however clever -that stray too far from the simple originals. The Nativity story is a very simple one and the point of a carol service is to tell it in readings and music. The music is not an end in itself. I know I'm old-fashioned!

Carol concerts are a different matter, of course.

What is a carol, anyway?

Percy Dearmer makes as good a definition of a carol in the preface to the 1928 OBC. Carols are songs with religious impulse that are simple, hilarious, popular, and modern. They are generally spontaneous and direct in expression, and their simplicity of form causes them to sometimes ramble on like a ballad.Simple arrangements abound but not so much the hilarious as it was left to the NOBC to rectify the omission of the earthy Gallery Carols of the late 18th and early 19th Century. [VW I gather didn't rate them.] An example of a rambling ballad carol is 'This is the truth' which has 10 marvellous verses which sometimes need to be cut. But why stop at 'Be pleased to hear what he did say' without going on to find out what he did say? OBC and Carols for Choirs keep us in the dark.
A book crammed full of riches in the simple format is Erik Routley's University Carol Book with its rich source of Basque carols and much wonderful material by RR Terry.
Another slim volume I treasure is 'Carols of the Nations' edited by Ruth Heller in 1955 America and published here in 1965 by the Blandford Press. It does what it says on the tin with simple harmonies of many carols from Europe and America.

[MickyD]

I think that the YTube track is more likely from an Andrew Parrott/Taverner Choir recording. I bought the CD years ago; I've checked it out on my streaming service (not sure where I can find the CD!) and their Christmas music seems to have been re-issued all together. Thanks for the recommendation on the Parley of Instruments discs, though......(which I can only sample on the Hyperion website before decide to buy - a download if so....).

You're very welcome...both discs are worth getting. I didn't know about the Taverner recording, thanks for that...sounds interesting. It's great to find off the beaten track repertory for Christmas!

[gradus]

'Lullay my Liking' arr. Holst doesn't get much of an outing, or at least I haven't heard it broadcast much. A wonderfully evocative piece especially when performed in a church of similar vintage to the carol.

[ardcarp]

I'm inclined to agree with the preference for simple verse-repeating carols. But not to have all verses the same. Variety can be introduced not only by dynamics, but also by having some verses sung by sops only with ATB umm-ing and aah-ing plus any other combination. Especially if there are 10 verses!

OTOH if I had to choose one choir carol as a favourite, it would be Kenneth Leighton's Lully Lulla. Fabulous piece.

[Sir Velo]

You're very welcome...both discs are worth getting. I didn't know about the Taverner recording, thanks for that...sounds interesting. It's great to find off the beaten track repertory for Christmas!

Cockney Sparrow is correct - the Foster comes from the Taverner Consort's (sic) recording which can be streamed on Qobuz or Spotify. It's certainly my "Go To" recording for an ear cleansing selection of European and rarely heard settings of Carols.

[Simon Biazeck]

Kenneth Leighton's 'Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child' is his Opus 25b; an astonishing bull's eye for one so young. It hasn't been bettered yet. The other two carols in that set are 'Star-song' and 'An Ode on the birth of our Saviour' and are very beautiful. https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA66925

This is also superb - it just gets better the more you sing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6sGbT5bTow

It's in Sing Nowell.

~SBz

[oddoneout]

Seems to me that we could do with revisiting the British 20th century repertoire? So many of the pieces mentioned I remember, but during the 20 or so years I wasn't singing there must have been a shift away from them, as only one or two have featured in choir Christmas concerts since then. That could just be local preference, but they don't seem to feature as much on R3 either.

[Simon Biazeck]

Seems to me that we could do with revisiting the British 20th century repertoire? So many of the pieces mentioned I remember, but during the 20 or so years I wasn't singing there must have been a shift away from them, as only one or two have featured in choir Christmas concerts since then. That could just be local preference, but they don't seem to feature as much on R3 either.

Well, yes - a golden age. Many fine arrangements and carol-anthems disappeared when Oecumuse went *phut*.

[MickyD]

Cockney Sparrow is correct - the Foster comes from the Taverner Consort's (sic) recording which can be streamed on Qobuz or Spotify. It's certainly my "Go To" recording for an ear cleansing selection of European and rarely heard settings of Carols.

Thank you...just ordered a copy of this. Another fascinating Christmas byway to add to my collection!

[mopsus]

I’ve sung Tchaikovsky’s “The Crown of Roses” (Legend) several times recently. It’s in Carol for Choirs 3, though it’s rather gruesome for Christmas inclusion.

I’ve also made two recorder ensemble arrangements of it.

I will be singing it at the Epiphany Carol Service at Bath Abbey next month. It has a complicated history: originally a solo song, the words were translated into Russian from English and then back again. The original words can’t be used though; apart from having a different rhyme scheme, they have a distinctly anti-Semitic tinge.

[MickyD]

Cockney Sparrow is correct - the Foster comes from the Taverner Consort's (sic) recording which can be streamed on Qobuz or Spotify. It's certainly my "Go To" recording for an ear cleansing selection of European and rarely heard settings of Carols.

Help! I found and ordered this 4 CD set recently but to my dismay, the inlay booklet is missing. I have written to Warner asking if they could help me, but rather doubt it I will receive a reply. Is there at least any sort of PDF that can give me details of the pieces? It's infuriating not to know what is what! The back cover of the box is no help at all, with no composers listed.