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Christmas carol
Music Sound
Christmas carol
Singing carols: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
A Christmas carol (also called a
noël) is a
carol (song or
hymn) whose lyrics
are on the theme of
Christmas, or the winter season in general. They are traditionally sung in the
period before and during Christmas. The tradition of Christmas carols hails back
as far as the thirteenth century, although 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. It is also a book which
Charles Dickens wrote in 1843.
Traditional carols have a strong tune and consist of a verse and/or chorus
for group singing. They are often based on
medieval
chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic
musical sound. Some carols like 'Personent hodie' and 'Angels from the Realms of
Glory' can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages, and are amongst the
oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. Carols suffered a decline in
popularity after the Reformation in the countries where Reformation settled, but
survived in their rural communities until the revival of interest in Carols in
the 19th century. Composers like Arthur Sullivan helped to repopularise the
carol, and it is this period that gave rise to such favorites as "Good King
Wenceslas" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear."
Today carols are regularly sung at religious services, including Carol
services.
Some compositions have words which are clearly not of a religious theme, but are
often still referred to as carols.
Secular songs such as "White Christmas" and "Blue Christmas" are clearly not Christmas carols, though they are also popular in
the period before Christmas, and should therefore be considered to be
Christmas songs.
Carols can be sung by individual singers, but are also often sung by larger
groups, including professionally trained choirs. Most churches have special
services at which carols are sung, generally combined with readings from
scripture about the birth of Christ, often this is based on the famous Festival
of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. Some of these services
also include other music written for Christmas, such as Benjamin Britten's
"Ceremony of Carols" (for choir and harp), or excerpts from Handel's "Messiah."
There is also a tradition of performances of serious music relating to
Christmas in the period around Christmas, including Handel's "Messiah," the
"Christmas Oratorio" by J. S. Bach, "Messe de Minuit pour Noël" by Charpentier,
and "L'Enfance du Christ" by Berlioz.
In England, and some other countries (i.e.
Poland (kolędowanie) and Bulgaria (koledari)), there is a tradition of Christmas
carolling (earlier known as wassailing),
in which groups of singers travel from house to house, singing carols, for which
they are often rewarded with money, mince pies, or a glass of an appropriate
drink. Money collected in this way is normally given to charity.
In Australia, where it is the middle of summer at Christmas, there is a
tradition of
Carols by Candlelight concerts which are held outdoors at night in cities
and towns during the weeks leading up to Christmas. In Melbourne, "Carols by
Candlelight" is held each Christmas Eve. Performers at the concerts
including opera
singers and
musical theatre performers and
popular music singers. People in the audience hold lit candles and join in
singing some of the carols in accompaniament with the celebrities.
Christmas carols can also be played on musical instruments, and another
tradition is for
brass bands,
such as the
Salvation Army brass bands, to play carols before Christmas.
Media
External links
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Music Sound, v. 2.0, by MultiMedia
This guide is licensed under the GNU
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