I’ve saved this carol for last because Christmas Day is all about the big descants (musically speaking, anyway – there is, I understand, also a theological meaning to the day…), and this is a descant I’ve wanted to sing for…
Advent Calendar 24 – The Shepherds’ Farewell
This is an old favourite from my shopping centre carolling days back in the 1990s. We always referred to this piece as ‘carols on acid’, because of the trippy key changes, and perhaps also because Berlioz was a 19th century…
Advent Calendar 23 – Linden Tree Carol
This carol is new to me, but I really like the lilting melody and the slightly archaic lyrics, which seem to suggest gossipy angels with a dubious sense of boundaries. But odd lyrics aside, it’s really very pretty. I hope…
Advent Calendar 22 – Ding Dong Merrily on High
This is a carol that probably needs no introduction – except, perhaps, to note that it really ought not to be sung this fast, but there was a lot of hooning going on on the street outside, and the faster…
Advent Calendar Day 21 – In the Bleak Midwinter
I’ve always loved this carol, mostly for its gorgeous lyrics. I can never decide which tune I love more, but since I’m not a tenor, for one-woman choir purposes it has to be the Holst version. Today is the summer…
Advent Calendar 20 – Away in a Manger (Normandy tune)
I have loved this arrangement of Away in a Manger ever since I first saw it in the old green Oxford Carols Book. Later editions didn’t include it, I suspect because people sing Away in a Manger to please the…