The memory of an event celebrated and revered for millennia has been the practice of ages past. Goodwill, harmony, hope and joy abound in every direction one sees. The scent of the bakeries, the beloved tinsel and baubles and ever present snow (real or otherwise) has cheered the hearts of one and all. Watching reruns of Home Alone (who hasn't loved and aspired to be McCaulay Culkin?) or the Grinch (even the supernatural love Christmas!) with family and friends has probably served as some of the finest recollections of childhood. Yet,one of the significant and often elided parts of the festive spirit happens to be the carols of the season.
The history of carols would be a long and sometimes tedious process if one is unaware of the context of the song. Yet, that remains the case with quite a few of the carols lost to time with the obscurity of their history.
The Wassail Song
A folk song from the Yorkshire region of England, the wassail is a drinking custom, and the basic purpose of the song is to describe carolers going from door to door (no doubt encouraged by an occasional wassail). One can hardly think of the heartiness of winter without the toast and harmony of good company and caroling cheers spreading the Christmas message to one and all.
Image Courtesy: National Library of the Netherlands
One of the best such carols is the seventeenth-century folk song from the Besan~on area in eastern France, "Berger, secoue ton sommeil profound!" or "Chantons, bergers noel, noel." Its anonymous English translation is "Shepherd, Shake off Your Drowsy Sleep,” . Proceeding from the rousing call of the carolers, it’s a little wonder that the context of sleep would be so prolific in the multiplicity of carols sung. However,the coldness of that night in Bethlehem as well the slumber of the cattle and the shepherds and the infant Christ-child hearkens the Nativity Scene of any Christmas performance one may have observed with some hilarity when the performers (mostly the kids),with the ambient lighting and lilting music,may have well identified across the ages.
Coventry Carol
During the Middle Ages, the community of Coventry, England there was the creation of the beloved old song, "Coventry Carol," during the fifteenth century. The mournful lyrics, "Lully, luna, you little tiny child" (which have several variations), were written for the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors in Coventry (the pageant was a medieval-style mystery play based on Biblical stories.) The negative theme of this carol dealt with the slaughter of the innocents by Herod.
Popularised in recent times by the Pentatonix choir, the origins of this Carol may have by the intonation clued into the brutality and harshness of the Roman rule of the time,not the Gladiator glory but rather the darker, seemingly forgotten killings of the time, a fact that propelled the birth in the manger of the infant Jesus, owing to the prophecy concerning his birth and destiny.
Susani
This attractive, upbeat, fourteenth-century German folk song has title similarities with two other Christmas pieces. “Susani" is even more closely affiliated in name with the fifteenth-century English folk carol "Susanni" or "A Little Child There Is Ybore.”Apparently, the English were so taken with the German song that they developed their own domestic version about a century later.
The global union achieved by a simple song of worship can be transposed to variant tempos and arrangements and even lyrics to be enjoyed to the same purpose of welcoming the Christ child, surrounded by the Heavenly host of angels often makes one wonder to the causes of strife begun in the first place.
Image Courtesy: Falco
The music for the very popular holiday song, "Carol of the Bells," was created by the Ukraine's most popular composer, Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych (1877-1921). Only 20 years after its composition, the music from Shchedryk was converted into a carol halfway around the world. Peter J. Wilhousky (1902-1978), a composer, lyricist, and conductor who worked with Arturo Toscanini on NBC radio, adapted Leontovych’s title chosen by New Jerseyite Wilhousky was ideal, for "Carol of the Bells" is not only extremely suitable as a characterization of the melody, but also is completely harmonious with the old Slavic legend on which Shchedryk is based. At midnight on the night Jesus was born, the legend claims, every bell in the world rang out in his honor.
Yet, another traditional carol that stuns with its sheer tempo and lack of any caesura so to speak makes the song renowned for its performance ability,while preaching the message from the inanimate bells that are brought to life to bring the message of Christmas home,on Christmas with family far and near.
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
Both the sixteenth century and the West Country come together in the case of "My Dancing Day." From first glance it would seem that "My Dancing Day" is a jolly secular carol. However, in spite of the romantic lightheadedness and frivolity of the first verse and chorus, most of the piece is essentially religious. In fact, sections two and three are not even about Christmas but deal with the more serious occasions of Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and Ascension. The purpose,joy and love of this carol may well entice one to join in the revelry with their dancing shoes on.
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
“Here Comes Santa Claus” was written by Texan Orvon Gene Autry (1907 - 1998), movie actor, singer, composer, media executive, and baseball team owner, in collaboration with Oakley Haldeman (1909 - 1986), a composer and music publisher from California. The highlight for every child on Christmas morn, is to await the presents of Santa Claus. This particular carol,with its laidback tones would appeal to the kids (Pentatonix version) and adults alike (Elvis Presley and LeAnn Rimes version).
So,comes the closure of a hopefully interesting sleigh ride. Even as the end of a difficult year approaches, here’s hoping that the light always manages to diminish the darkness and that hope,like the original characters of the Christmas tale, is never lost.
The spirit of the year with Yuletide cheer comes beckoning with new and yore
Listen to the jolly, the well loved holly, beckon the ivy as before
Nothing has changed, the joy is the same,whatever the year may have wrought
Anxious with classes, or bedecked with losses
Loving one another through trials together, Christmas,the present is brought!
Merry Christmas and Happy New to All!