The Christmas Carrolls (The Christmas Carrolls, Book 1)

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The first emotion produced in Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Past is sadness at this own boyhood loneliness, but the second emotion is his joy in the books that consoled him and helped him empathize with others: The Arabian Nights, the old romances ( Valentine and Orson), and realistic fiction ( Robinson Crusoe). In Ebenezer’s coming transformation, the sadness and its memory are of course necessary, but no more necessary than this joy. In 1739 Charles Wesley wrote 'A Hymn for Christmas-Day' with the first line "Hark how all the Welkin Rings". This became "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in 1754 when it was adapted for a 'Collection of Hymns for Social Worship'. However, the tune that we sing it to now was written by the composer Mendelssohn in 1840, which was adapted in 1855 with Wesley's words being set to it. (Wesley had thought his new Christmas hymn would be sung to the same tune as the Easter hymn 'Christ the Lord is Risen Today'.) Many of today’s most popular carols are dignified 19th-century offerings with tuneful melodies, rich harmonies and Christmassy sounds abundant. Another carol which likely had its origins in the medieval Mystery Plays, this carol was ‘collected’ by William Sandys in 1833. This carol is unusual because the text features Jesus speaking in the first person, describing his life, death and resurrection through the analogy of a ‘dance’. This Christmas song tells the story of the Annunciation (the announcement by the angel Gabriel that Mary would conceive a son) to the shepherds with charming simplicity. It was written in 1962 by a husband and wife as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Spagnoletti, Ernesto (12 March 1863). Our Australian Christmas song. Sydney: Alonzo Grocott – via Trove. in Ukrainian) Український пасічник [ uk] [ Ukrainian Beekeeper]. volume VII, no. 1, January 1934, p. С. 1. [ full citation needed] Songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine penned the classic song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” for Judy Garland’s 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. The song, which has subsequently been recorded by stars such as Bob Dylan and James Taylor, began life as Martin’s melodic attempt to emulate a classic carol. “It started as a little madrigal-like tune,” said Martin. At first, Garland, star of The Wizard of Oz, thought the lyrics were too sad, but the film’s producers insisted the audience would love it and told the songwriters to write sentimental words the young actress could sing “smiling through her tears.” Mariah Carey: All I Want for Christmas Is You Silent Night" comes from Austria. The carol was first performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on 24 December 1818. Mohr had composed 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. [16] The first English translation was in 1871 where it was published in a Methodist hymnal.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

The lead-up to Christmas is best seen as being from the start of Advent – the period marked by the first of the four Sundays before Christmas – until Christmas Day. The end of Christmas is usually marked by the feast of Epiphany, the day in Christianity where the revelation of baby Jesus is celebrated (usually 6 January). 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. [3] Christmas carols in English first appear in 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. [4] 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. The third is dark, solemn and scary, reflecting Scrooge’s fears of death and also the sadness that will emanate from him if he does not change, but also with an indistinct face and shape, perhaps suggesting the potential malleability of the future. The words to this carol were written by an American clergyman called Philips Brooks in 1868 following a visit to Bethlehem. His organist, Lewis Redner, wrote a tune for it which is still used in the United States. In the UK, Forest Green, which was adapted by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, is used instead. In the Bleak Mid-winter

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 the accompaniment of his song cycle Weihnachtslieder, Op. 8. Other examples include:The Nadala origins are uncertain but usually cited to be related with 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. Originally written with French words by Adolphe Adam in 1847, O Holy Night has become a timeless favourite covered by countless contemporary artists including Mariah Carey. Adam was actually an opera composer, and he wrote this lilting melody to be sung in his local church to celebrate the renovation of their organ. It has been a decade since I last read this classic, so I decided to look at it again, taking note of what I have forgotten or imperfectly remembered and also garnering any new insights my older (and I hope wiser) self could now find within it. Another carol about the Annunciation, but told in a more traditional way. The tune is from the 13th or 14th century - hundreds of years older than the words, which were adapted from a Basque carol with some poetic additions. Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols Now First Printed, From a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (London: Percy Society, 1847)

Words: Attributed to Rev. Richard Hutchins Tune: various inc. Jeremiah Ingalls, Elizabeth Poston and John Rutter Some carols familiar in English are translations of German Christmas songs ( Weihnachtslieder). Pastoral Weihnachtslieder are sometimes called Hirtenlieder ("shepherd songs"). Martin Luther wrote 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. A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French origin. [1] Christmas carols may be regarded as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music.Good King Wenceslas", based on a legend about Saint Wenceslaus helping a poor man on 26 December (the Feast of Stephen) The words for this carol were written by Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander who also wrote the words to ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. There is nothing quite as Christmassy as hearing the soaring voice of a treble singing the solo at the beginning of this piece. In fact, the tune has been the first carol sung in the annual ‘Carols from King’s’ service in Cambridge for the last 95 years. Similar to ‘The Holly And The Ivy’, Sans Day Carol uses the holly as a symbol for Christ. It hails from Cornwall, and was collected in the 19th century from the singing of Thomas Beard. The most famous setting of the text was published by John Rutter in 1969. Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander was a country schoolmistress who wrote the words to help her pupils understand the mystery of the birth of Jesus and it was never intended to be kept only for Christmas. It was put together with Henry Gauntlett's simple tune Irby and has become a Christmas standard. O Come All ye Faithful