Posted on 12/10/2007 10:37:26 AM PST by NYer
The carol, as a religious song for a particular season, dates back to the 13th century but it hit glory days during the next century gaining widespread popularity. Over the following hundred years the carol developed musically and as a literary form in its own right, but was silenced by the Reformation in England and replaced by the metrical Psalm. A resurgence of carols in the 18th century has helped them become the sine qua non of the Christmas season.
‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ was penned in 1739 by Charles Wesley, whose brother John founded the Methodist church.The original title was “Hark how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings”, welkin meaning ‘the heavens’. Wesley is said to have thought of the hymn while listing to church bells one Christmas day. Originally set to slow and sombre music, Felix Mendelssohn composed the tune sung today in 1840 to commemorate Gutenberg’s printing press. The lyrics were adapted to ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ by William H Cummings in 1855, to fit Mendelssohn’s melody.
O Come All Ye Faithful, is popularly thought to have been written by a 13th-century saint. But the crescendoing carol, originally in Latin and entitled Adeste Fidelis, dates instead to 1743. It was written by John Francis Wade, a Roman Catholic who fled France during the Jacobean rebellion and worked as a music teacher in England. The carol was first translated into English in 1789 for use in the Protestant Church. There are almost 50 different English versions, the most well known was translated in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley an Anglican priest who wrote “Ye faithful, approach ye”. But after his conversion to Catholicism in 1845 Oakeley rewrote the opening lines as ‘O come all ye faithful / Joyfully triumphant.’
O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Rev Phillips Brooks a Philidelphian vicar, after a horseback ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem where he helped at Midnight Mass, in 1867. He wrote the following about the journey in 1865.
"I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with splendid hymns of praise to God, how again and again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the Wonderful Night of the Saviour's birth."
The tune ‘Forest Green’ was adapted for the carol by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Away in a Manger, the Nativity play favourite, was first printed anonymously in the Lutheran book, Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families in 1885. Verse three was added by John T McFarland, and the words were set to music composed by James Murray in Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses in 1887.
Silent Night has a disputed history. Traditionally the tale goes that Mohr and Gruber wrote it on Christmas Eve in Oberndorf, Austria when they found the church organ was eaten away by mice or rust, depending on which story you believe, and had to improvise with voices and a guitar. This charming account has been dispelled as folklore since the discovery of a manuscript that indicates Gruber wrote the score a few years after Mohr wrote the emotive lyrics in 1816. The carol apparently began its journey around the world when master organ builder Karl Mauracher, who had been working on the Oberndorf organ took a copy of it away with him. It is now translated into 150 languages. On Christmas Eve in 1915, from the trenches of World War One, the carol could apparently be heard coming from the German line.
Once in Royal David’s City was written in Hymns for Little Children by Mrs Cecil F. Alexander, the wife of the Bishop of Derry in 1848. The following year, Henry Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music.
While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night has an illustrious origin as the creation of Poet Laureate Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady in 1703 during the reign of Queen Anne. At that time only the Psalms were sung in the Anglican Church and Nahum and Tate were famous for paraphrasing them into rhyme to be sung. The melody of the carol comes from Handel’s opera ‘Siroe’.
In the Bleak Midwinter was written by poet Christina Rossetti for Scribner’s Monthly as their Christmas poem. There are many musical arrangements for the carol the most famous was composed by Gustav Holst in the early 20th century.
See Him Lying in a Bed of Straw is a relatively recent addition to the carol canon. Written by Michael Perry and arranged by Stephen Coates it’s a modern gospel carol that is becoming a classic.
Joy to the World is credited to Isaac Watts in 1719, who is known at the 'Father of English Hymnology'. The rousing music by Lowell Mason is said to have been inspired by Handel’s Messiah, in particular the refrain “And heaven and nature sing”.
Here are the top Carols being sung in churches across the country this year according to our poll.
Methodist
Evangelical
Baptist
Church of England
The Catholic Church in England and Wales Network and the Elim Pentecostal Church were unable to provide any details.
Please post your favorites!
Down with OCP!
Hear, hear!
Where is “O Holy NIght?” This is by far my favorite carol. I am humbled when listening to it.
BUMP!
Gesu Bambino
The Coventry Carol
The Huron Carol
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
I Wonder as I Wander
and Mary’s Boy Child. :)
That doesn't sound right. Why should a Catholic flee a Catholic country like France just because a Catholic Country like Scotland is revolting against England? And why should the fleeing Catholic go to a Protestant country like England?
Joy to the World is always sung as the closing hymn at funerals in my husband’s family.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
“Go Tell It On The Mountain” is a great gospel song we listened to growing up.
And in our Methodist Church we sing “ChristmasTide,” which is so beautiful and peaceful.
I love that!
Some of my favorite Hanukkah songs that didn’t quite make it.
“Oi To The World”
“Come On Baby Light My Menorah”
“Matzo Men” by The Lower East Side Village People
“Enough With The Jingle Bells Already”
“Deck The Halls With Balls Of Challah”
And my favorite: “Silent Night,.... I Should Be So Lucky”
What, no story about “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”—!!
It’s really awesome to see when the carols were written and how they hold up through the years.
LOL! Balls of Challah!
Jesus was born a Savior On a starry winter's eve Born of the virgin, Mary Still there's some who don't believe All those who hated Jesus Nailed Him to a cross All those who truly loved Him Suffered their greatest loss When three days had come and gone Jesus came to say Do no cry for I am here Believe in Me and I'll be near Then the whole world will praise Him As they shout on bended knee, Jesus, you are my Savior You alone have set me freeThe kids love to sing this at Christmas time each year.
My favorite “Do you hear what I hear” did not make the list. UGH!!!!!!
roflol
You know, God Rest Ye Merry GentleFOLKS is not in the running because just maybe it refers to White Men, don’tcha know? And you have to change it to Gentle People or Folks or something, and then the rhythm is off./s
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