Christmas Carols

Older readers of this blog might think back to their childhood Christmases and remember church services, particularly the Christingle service, carolling in the local area, singing in the school carol concert and hearing them on radio and television at regular intervals during December. For example, on Blue Peter, the final programme before Christmas used to finish with a choir and the presenters singing Christmas carols. Although they may not be so common now, Christmas carols are for many, young and old, still the real sound of Christmas.

Where do carols come from?

Originally, carols were simply religious songs that could be attached to any time of the year. They started to become specifically associated with Christmas sometime around the 17th or 18th century. At least that’s the best guess, but to be honest nobody knows exactly when that happened. Many carols have been completely lost to the mists of history, and some have had earlier words set to later tunes, for example ‘While Shepherd’s Watched Their Flocks By Night’. Perhaps the earliest carol with both tune and words intact is ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ or ‘Adeste Fideles’ in Latin. ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ may have a much earlier history than any of the others given the fact that both plants played important roles in the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice in pre-Christian times. The verses reflect the appropriation of pagan culture by associating the Nativity to those two plants. Clearly, then, the apparently simple songs of praise are the result of a long and complex history.

Favourite Christmas carols

Everyone will have favourite carols, but I will introduce you to my Top 5. They are my favourites for a variety of reasons, but what they have in common is that hearing them is like hearing a distillation of the whole season.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

This was the carol that became inextricably linked with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, mainly due to a small incident in the first stave of the book where a young carol singer starts to sing at the door of Scrooge’s office, only to be chased off by an irate Scrooge with a ruler! In the first version I saw, the Richard Williams cartoon, the tune of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen was a powerful motif that captured my imagination. It’s a marvellous tune with evocative words and a regularly misunderstood title. You may have noticed the important comma. That is because it means God make you mighty, gentlemen in old English. It is a prayer for determination and an exhortation to keep the faith. Perhaps the best version is the instrumental treatment in Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony.

Once in Royal David’s City

For many people, me included, the sound of the single chorister singing the first verse of this carol on Christmas Eve in Carols from King’s is the real start of Christmas itself. An interesting fact about the soloist is that there is a choice of three boys who are told to be ready to sing. Just before the choir enter the chapel the musical director points to one of the three boys who then delivers the solo. When the whole congregation joins in, it is a marvellous communal experience, one that definitely benefits from the hushed congregation listening to one voice singing that first verse beforehand.

In The Bleak Midwinter

As a child, this was one of the carols I loved to sing because of the beautiful words. The descriptive power of ‘Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone’ always struck me as particularly resonant. I suppose it fits in with my love of lyrics that I have had from my earliest days of listening to music. The other important aspect was the tune, which I just loved. When I first heard it with the alternative tune, seemingly more popular these days, it didn’t have anything like the same appeal, and to this day I only sing along with the version I first heard and loved. Here is a gorgeous version from the fantastic Christmas album sung by the Canterbury Cathedral Girls’ Choir.

I Saw Three Ships

For anyone who loves the sea, this carol is definitely a favourite. I feel as though it has a sea shanty style tune, albeit more muted, but is believed to have originated in landlocked Derbyshire! It dates from the 17th Century, but the familiar words weren’t added until 1833 by William Sandys. There are nine verses in the full version and they follow the journey of Christ and Mary as they sail into Bethlehem – 20 miles away from any body of water! However, the ships of the title may refer to camels, known as ‘ships of the desert’. Whatever the truth of the matter, it is an eminently singable carol, but one that is very different from the other carols that we are familiar with. For that reason it is a very welcome addition to any carol service.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Leaving the best till last is the way to go, and Hark The Herald Angels is the best carol of the lot. Why? It has the fantastic tune by Mendelssohn and marvellous lyrics by Charles Wesley, updated by George Whitefield, but the other four I’ve mentioned also have great tunes and strong lyrics. It is the best because it is the carol that you can really ‘belt out’! The enthusiasm of a congregation in any carol service definitely goes up a notch as soon as this carol is announced. It is a carol that rewards enthusiasm, not just ability, which puts it above other carols like O Come All Ye Faithful for me. I know many of you might disagree, but I will never be dissuaded from that point of view.

I hope you have enjoyed my choices. If you have a favourite Carol I haven’t mentioned, then why not tell me in the comments. Happy listening and singing!