Telling news of great joy

Okay, from music dealing with present-day holiday overload, let’s move back a few centuries for some seasonal sounds. The British Isles, in the days when “streaming” meant processing through a church and singing.

First off,  the “Coventry Carol”, dating from the 16^th Century as part of a mystery play. Mystery plays, children, were a type of amateur theatre that gave the general public an understanding of the mysteries of faith. These days we have all-religion-all-the-time cable TV channels and, of course, the Internet, to accomplish that.

At any rate, “Coventry Carol” is from a Nativity play, and I love the the lullaby elements (plus that surprise in the Picardy third). I always think that quality is best conveyed by a women’s choir, but it’s not that easy to find one on the Webs, so here’s one from Celtic Christmas.

Second up, down to another area of England for the “Sussex Carol”. This one first started appearing around the late 17^th Century. I think the perfect way to render this is with a Church of England men-and-boys choir, so here we have the King’s College, Cambridge, performing it as part of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

I’m not from the Anglican tradition; I first discovered this service when driving from Virginia up to New Jersey as it was broadcast on Christmas Eve from King’s College. It was magical to listen to the purity of the music, the r-r-r-round vowels of the lectors, even the flutter of the pages being turned between lessons and carols. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to participate in one of these services.

But in the meantime, let’s hop over to Ireland for the “Wexford Carol” (“Carúl Loch Garman” in Irish). This is the oldest of today’s triad, originating in what’s now County Wexford in the 12^th Century.

I must have a dozen versions of this from all my Celtic CDs, but I rather like this one from Libera. It’s slightly overproduced, but there’s an ethereal quality at the beginning that sets a good tone for me.