“It Came upon a Midnight Clear” is one of the staples of
Christmas pageants. Or it was in the days when they had Christmas pageants. I
have to say that I was never that enthused about it because it, like “O Little
Town of Bethlehem”, it always sounded to me like whoever was singing it was
drunk.
However, it turns out that there are alternative melodies
to both of them, and these, I find, are quite appealing.
In the US, “Midnight Clear” is sung to a tune called
“Carol”, by Richard Storrs Willis, but in the UK it’s to one called “Noel”,
adapted from something older by Arthur Sullivan (yes, that Arthur Sullivan). Here it is, performed by the choir of
Winchester Cathedral (yes, that
Winchester Cathedral):
If you’re interested, the alternative to the Fleet Week
version of “O Little Town” uses an English hymn tune called “Forest Green”. Here
it is from my pals at King’s College, Cambridge:
Turns out it’s actually not at all a bad carol.
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