The Origin of Christmas Carols & Music

Being musically inclined, of course I have a lot of interest in the music associated with Christmas.

Centuries ago, there was a time when most of the more brilliant composers wrote only sacred music, when the most beautiful art they had to craft was done for the Church. Back then, perhaps it was simply because only the Church could afford to pay them a salary worth that much artistic devotion, but today there is some truly moving music that is Christmas-themed voluntarily. Of course there is some dreck out there as well, but there are certainly enough beautiful songs to overshadow it.

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS

Carols were originally sung to accompany ring dances and were used at other festivals besides Christmas. Some of the oldest carols include “ We Saw Three Ships”, “The Coventry Carol”, “The Boar’s Head Carol”, “The Wassail Song”, and “The Holly and the Ivy”. Most other Christmas carols are of relatively recent origin.

The Apostles sang songs of praise, many based on the Psalms. As founders of the churches, their enthusiasm inspired their new congregations into song. But unfortunately they did not leave us any copies of the musical scores.
One of the earliest known Christmas songs is from the 4th Century, Jesus refulsit omnium, composed by St. Hilary of Poitiers. During the 12th Century, St Francis of Assisi formally introduced Christmas carols to church services. As patron of the arts, he inspired the composers and poets of the day to deliver Christmas music. The lighter joyous Christmas songs were introduced many years later in Renaissance Italy - the 1400s, the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo The earliest known copy of an English carol was written by Ritson about 1410. Throughout the years, monks also contributed significantly in composing music themes from the Bible.
When Johannes Gutenberg started his printing press rolling in 1454 copies of carols could be distributed fairly freely. However, keep in mind that Christmas celebrations were suppressed by puritans at that time; Christmas did not become widely popular until late last century. Thus, many of the Christmas carols that we know today are not quoted directly from the Bible and were composed fairly recently.

Carols are banned but bounce back

Christmas carols were banned between 1649 and 1660 in England by Oliver Cromwell who thought that Christmas should be a solemn day. (Cromwell also abolished the monarchy.) When Protestants, inspired by Martin Luther, took to the joy of Christmas carols, many had to flee Europe under pressure from the Catholic Church. They took the Christmas carols with them to their new homes across the world. In 1649, John de Brebeur wrote the first American Christmas carol, called Jesus is Born.
Fortunately, in Europe, when carols couldn't be sung in Churches, they found a stage elsewhere. The world's most famous religious play, the Passion Play, was staged in Oberammergau, Germany in 1634 (and has been performed every 10 years since). In the 1700s, the music by Mendelssohn and Händel was adapted and used as Christmas carols.

SOURCE: http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmascarols.htm

A carol is a popular hymn, of joyful nature, in celebration of an occasion such as May Day, Easter, or Christmas. The earliest English carols date from the 15th century. The carol is characterized by simplicity of thought and expression. Many are thought to be adaptations of pagan songs. Despite the folk-song character of true carols, many Christmas hymns composed in the 19th century have been called carols. Carols of French origin are called noels. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001)

SOURCE: http://hbd.org/kobb/xmas/carols.htm

A LIST OF WELL-KNOWN CHRISTMAS CAROLS & THEIR ORIGINS:

It is interesting to note that most Carols we feel have been a part of Christmas for ages are really only about 100 or so years old, 200 at the most. It is also interesting how so many of them are either Latin or German in origin.

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) - 1700's: The text to the Carol O Come All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin (Adeste Fideles) and was intended to be a hymn, it is attributed to John Wade, an Englishman. The music to O Come All Ye Faithful was composed by fellow Englishman John Reading in the early 1700s. The tune was first published in a collection known as "Cantus Diversi" in 1751. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley is reputed to have worked on the familiar translation of O Come All Ye Faithful which replaced the older Latin lyrics "Adeste Fideles". (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/o_come_all_ye_faithful.htm)

Angels From the Realms of Glory - 1816: The author of Angels From the Realms of Glory was an Irishman called James Montgomery. He came from a religious family background and sadly his parents, who were missionaries died following their vocation. Angels From the Realms of Glory was written in 1816. The music for Angels From the Realms of Glory was composed by Henry Smart. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/angels_from_the_realms_of_glory.htm)

Away in a Manger - 1885: Away in a Manger was originally published in 1885. The publication of Away in a Manger was in a Lutheran Sunday school book and this created the misconception that the lyrics of Away in a Manger were actually written by Martin Luther himself. The author is unknown. The music to Away in a Manger was composed by William J. Kirkpatrick in 1895. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/away_in_a_manger.htm)

Coventry Carol - 1534: The words and lyrics of the' Coventry Carol' were written by Robert Croo in 1534 for the traditional Coventry Plays and included in the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors Guild which depicted Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The composer of the music is unknown but is also believed to date back to the 1500's. Henry Ramsden Bramley (1833-1917) and John Stainer (1840-1901) were the first to attribute the Coventry Carol which they included in 'Christmas Carols New and Old' in 1878.

Deck The Halls - 1881: The music to Deck the Halls is believed to Welsh in origin and was reputed to have come from a tune called "Nos Galan" dating back to the sixteenth century. In the eighteenth century Mozart used the tune to Deck the Halls for a violin and piano duet J.P. McCaskey is sometimes credited with the lyrics of Deck the Halls but he only edited the Franklin Square Song Collection in which the lyrics were first published. The first publication date of Deck the Halls is 1881. The author is unknown but the words are said to originate in America. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/deck_the_halls.htm)

Ding, Dong, Merrily On High - 1588: George Ratcliffe Woodward. Tune: Brane de l'Official, from Thoinot Arbeau's Orchesographie, (1588), harmonized by Charles Wood. This carol is a good example of a carol in the original sense of the word (i.e. a secular dance tune) evolving into a carol as it is understood today (i.e. a song for Christmas). The tune first appeared in the Orchesographie, a dance book written by Johan Tabourot (1519-93), a canon of Langres, under the anagram Thoinot Arbeau. 'Branle l'Officiel' was to be danced by 'lackeys and serving wenches and sometimes by young men and maids of gentle birth masquerading as peasants and shepherd'. The dance title, though sometimes translated as 'The Official Branle' or 'The Officers' Brawl' (Brawl being the appropriate translation of Branle), might better be translated as 'The servants' hall ( l'office) Branle/Brawl'. The very Victorian archaic English lyric was composed early in the 20th century by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848-1934), the author of several carol books - and someone particularly interested in rehabilitating tunes found in the sixteenth century Finnish collection, Piae Cantiones. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/ding_dong_merrily_on_high.htm)

Gabriel's Message (The Angel Gabriel) - 13th Century: Basque carol, paraphrased by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) Originally probably based on Angelus Ad Virginem, Anonymous 13th or 14th Century Latin. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/gabriels_message.htm)

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - 1833: Often mistakenly written "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was first published in 1833 when it appeared in "Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern," a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys. The lyrics of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen are traditional olde English and are reputed to date back to the 15th century although the author is unknown. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/god_rest_ye_merry_gentlemen.htm)

Good King Wenceslas - 1853: The words to the carol "Good King Wenceslas" were written by John Mason Neale and published in 1853, the music originates in Finland 300 years earlier. This Christmas carol is unusual as there is no reference in the lyrics to the nativity. Good King Wenceslas was the king of Bohemia in the 10th century. Good King Wenceslas was a Catholic and was martyred following his assassination by his brother Boleslaw and his supporters, his Saint's Day is September 28th, and he is the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic. St. Stephen's feast day was celebrated on 26th December which is why this song is sung as a Christmas carol. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/good_king_wenceslas.htm)

Go Tell It On the Mountain - 1800's: The words and lyrics of the spiritual Christmas Carol 'Go tell it to the mountain' are by John W. Work, Jr. (1872-1925).

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - 1739: “Hark the herald angels sing” was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A somber man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald angels sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing” already written by Wesley. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/hark_the_herald_angels_sing.htm)

Here We Come A-Wassailing - 12th Century: The Wassail Song celebrates the New Year! "Wassail" is an olde English word for a toast similar to "Good Health" and the wassail is the content of the glass or goblet ( spiced or mulled wine or ale) The author of the lyrics is unknown but the tradition of going wassailing dates back to 12th century England.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - 1872: Words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1864; Original title from the poem "Christmas Bells". Music: "Waltham," John Baptiste Calkin, 1872. In spite of the mentions of bells and Christmas in the title, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is as much an antiwar song as it is a pro-Christmas song. The poetry of this renowned carol was crafted by the great American literary figure, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), in the midst of the American Civil War. On Christmas Day in 1863, Longfellow wrote the familiar lines in response to the horror of the bloody fratricidal conflict in general and to the personal tragedy of his son, Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, who was severely wounded in November 1862. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/i_heard_the_bells_caulkin.htm)

I Saw Three Ships - 1666: Words: Traditional; First Publication Date: John Forbes' Cantus, 2nd. ed. (1666), Music: Traditional English.

I Wonder As I Wander - 1933: This carol was collected in Murphy, North Carolina in July 1933 by John Jacob Niles (1892-1980), a leading American folksong collector, who, it is said, paid a young traveling evangelist Annie Morgan 25c an hour to sing it until he had memorized it. Niles published it in his 1934 Songs of the Hill-Folk. It is often referred to as a traditional Appalachian carol, but just how far back it goes is not clear. Some believe it was only a generation old when collected. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/i_wonder_as_i_wander.htm)

Il Est Né, Le Divin Enfant - 1862: The tune for this carol can be found in R. Grosjean's Airs des noêl lorrain (1862), where it is called 'Ancien air de chasse', and it is indeed the case that an old Normandy hunting tune 'Tête bizarde', though in 6/8, is melodically very similar. The Shorter New Oxford Book of Carols editors postulated that the tune is an 18th century composition in a rustic style. The text of this carol was first published in Dom G. Legeay's Noêls anciens (1875-6).

In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men, Rejoice) - Mid-1800's: Good Christian Men Rejoice is thought to have originated in Germany. It was originally a very old Latin Christmas song, or carol, called In Dulci Jubilo. John Mason Neale translated the words around the middle of the 1800s. The words were translated by John Mason Neale in the late eighteenth century. The composer of the music to Good Christian men rejoice is unknown. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/good_christian_men_rejoice.htm)

In the Bleak Midwinter - 1906:  Words: Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894), 1872; appeared posthumously in The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, Poem #426, 1904. Music: "Cranham," Gustav Theodore Holst, 1906 (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/in_the_bleak_midwinter.htm)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - 1859: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for It Came Upon A Midnight Clear was composed by American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/it_came_upon_a_midnight_clear.htm)

Joy To the World - 1719: The words and lyrics of the old Christmas carol 'Joy to the World' were written in 1719 by Isaac Watts (1674-1748). The music to the carol is by George Frederick Handel (1685-1759). (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/a27-joy-to-the-world.htm)  Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, Psalm 98, 1719. Music: "Antioch," Lowell Mason, 1848. Mason's original score said "from George Frederick Handel." However, scholars who have studied the issue state that none of the music actually comes from Handel's work. The tune is named after the city of Antioch, Syria, where believers were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26). (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/joy_to_the_world-1.htm)

O Holy Night - 1847: The words and lyrics of the old carol 'O Holy Night' were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He then realized that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams (1803-1856). It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893). |  Minuit, Chrétiens ("Midnight, Christians") or Cantique de Noel. Words: Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), 1847; translated from French to English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893). Music: Adolphe-Charles Adam (1803-1856). (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/o_holy_night.htm)

O Little Town of Bethlehem - 1868: Rector Phillips Brooks (1835-1903) of Philadelphia, wrote the words to O Little Town of Bethlehem in 1868, following a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was inspired by the view of Bethlehem from the hills of Palestine especially at night time hence the lyrics of O Little Town of Bethlehem. His church organist Lewis Redner (1831-1908) wrote the melody to O Little Town of Bethlehem for the Sunday school children's choir.

O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) - 1820: A European favorite, the origins of this song are shrouded in considerable obscurity. Words: First verse is traditional German, and sometimes attributed to August Zarnack, 1820; second and third verses by Ernst Gebhard Anschutz, 1824. Music: O Tannenbaum, German Folk Song. The tune was first published in 1799 in Melodien zum Mildheimischen Liederbuch, likely based on a Westphalian folk song and possibly a borrowing from a traditional students' song Lauriger Horatius quam dixisti verum. The tune was there matched to the words ‘Es lebe hock’. The tune also appeared without words in Deutsche Volkslieder in the same year. The first verse appeared in 1820 in August Zarnack’s Weisenbuch zu den Volksliedern fur Volkschulehn. Zarnack is sometimes given the credit, although this is not certain. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/o_christmas_tree-notes.htm)

Pat-A-Pan - 1700's: Words and Music: Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin, Bernard de la Monnoye, c. 1700 (1641-1728)

Puer Nobis Nascitur (Unto Us A Child Is Born) - 15th Century: Words: "Puer Nobis Nascitur," Authorship Unknown, Trier MS, 15th Century, Translator: J. Fulton, Music: Puer Nobis Nascitur, Anonymous, 15th Century.

Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) - 1818: On Christmas Eve in 1818, in a small village church (St. Nicholas' Church) of Oberndorf in the Austrian Alps, 26-year old assistant pastor, Joseph Mohr, wanted to have a special service to honor his Lord. Thus, he got together with the church organist and teacher, Franz Gruber, to create a special new song for guitar and voices, Stille Nacht! Hilige Nacht! Mohr and Gruber were never to know how popular their little song would become. They wouldn't even be discovered to be the composers until 1854. The true authorship of this hymn was confirmed in 1997 by a recent discovery of an 1820 Mohr manuscript, showing Gruber as the tune's composer to a poem that Mohr had written in 1816...before he was ever pastor of St. Nicholas' Church. (SOURCE: http://www.cvc.org/christmas/sinite.htm)

The First Noël (Nowell) - 13th Century/1800's: Traditional English carol of the 16th or 17th century, but possibly dating from as early as the 13th Century. This combination of tune and lyrics first appeared in the early 1800s. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/first_nowell.htm)

The Holly & the Ivy

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Trad. English (Medieval): According to an "urban legend," when the Church was driven underground by Cromwell in England, the song was used as an "underground catechism" with each day having another meaning: one God; two Testaments, three in the Trinity, etc. This is a myth, however, and has been debunked (SOURCE: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/12days.asp )
Some see this carol originating in the coded-check-list of Christian doctrines popular in Renaissance times. As there are, however, many versions of the text (a French one having a gastronomic flavour) and as the tune is a similar to a 12th century French troubadour one, the carol might actually go back to Medieval games in which players have to recite all the items mentioned by others or forfeit. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/twelve_days_of_christmas-1.htm)

Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabella (Bring A Torch)

Veni, Veni Emmanuel (O Come, O Come Emmanuel) - 12th Century: O Come, O Come Emmanuel carol was originally written in Latin text in the 12th Century. The author of the words and composer to the music of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is unknown. It is , however believed that the melody was of French origin and added to the text a hundred years later. The Latin was translated into English by John Mason Neale in 1851. (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/o_come_come_emmanuel.htm)

Wassail, Wassail (aka The Gloucestershire Wassail) - Medieval: The carol was first published in the Oxford Book of Carols in 1928.

We Three Kings - 1857: The famous American carol We Three Kings of Orient Are was written in 1857 by Rev. John Henry Hopkins. The minister is reputed to have written the carol for the General Theological Seminary in New York City as part of their Christmas pageant.

What Child Is This - 1865:Words: William Chatterton Dix, 1865; Music: "Greensleeves," 16th Century English melody, Arranged by Sir John Stainer. There is a misconception that the words to the tune "Greensleeves" -- which is the tune used in this carol -- was written by King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547). The song is a product of the sixteenth century, and was mentioned in Act Two, Scene One of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. The lyrics for "What Child is This?" were written around 1865 by Englishman William Chatterton Dix. (SOURCE: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/what_child_is_this_version_1.htm)