The Carol and Its Context in Twentieth-Century England Sean Vogt
The Carol and Its Context in Twentieth-century England Sean Vogt
loria in excelsis deo, et in terra G pax hominibus (“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all people”), Luke 2:14, was likely the fi rst carol ever heard, sung by the angels over the fi elds of Bethlehem. It would be more than a millennium before the next documented account of carol singing. In this case, it happened in Greccio, Italy, where St. Francis made the fi rst Christ- mas crèche (crib) in 1223, in response to the Manichaeism1 of the eleventh and twelfth centuries—recreating the stable, even obtaining an ox and ass. People from around the village began to gather around St. Francis’s biblical re-creation. As a result, the people “poured out their hearts in praises to God; and the friars sang new canticles…”2 The dawn of the Protestant Reforma- tion brought carol singing—amongst a myriad of other activities—to an abrupt halt. The Reformation during the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries re- sulted in a fragmented church. The Lu- therans viewed the feast of Christmas as a popish abuse. Since the Calvinist Gustav Holst (early 1920s) in front of movement was quite popular, Christmas Queen’s Hall (©Holst Birthplace Museum/ was consequently unpopular in England. Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum) Christmas Day was abolished by Parlia- ment from 1644–1660; The Book of Com- Christmas Carols New and Old (1871) mon Prayer had no seasonal hymns. It being just a few examples. was not until the Supplement to the New From the Piae Cantiones, which itself Version of the Psalms (1700) that interest contained medieval carols, to the Vic- in carols was rekindled. Only one Christ- torian carol books, twentieth-century mas hymn was included in the supple- composers could now build on the carol ment: “While shepherds watched.” tradition that dated back hundreds of years. John Mason Neale, in his preface A brief history of the carol to Carols for Christmas-tide, described Interestingly, Christmas thrived more the method that twentieth-century Eng- in secular society than it did in the lish composers would also follow: church during this time. One of the fi rst examples of music printing in England is It is impossible at one stretch to produce an anthology from c.1530 that contained, a quantity of new carols, of which words and among other things, carols by Ashwell, music shall alike be original. They must be Cowper, Gwynneth, and Richard Py- the gradual accumulation of centuries; the 3 offerings of different epochs, of different gott. Carols were primarily used in the countries, of different minds, to the same home and private chapel. It wasn’t until treasury of the Church.8 later that they became a part of the par- ish church. This is likely why carols from The notion of carol singing was plays (the ‘Coventry’ carol, being one heightened signifi cantly with the service example) and carols for domestic use ap- of Nine Lessons and Carols. Originat- pear to be in constant use. Two domestic ing at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, on A Babe Is Born (Four Old English Carols), Gustav Holst carols from Poor Robin’s Almanac (1700) Christmas Eve (1880), the service retells are as follows: in scripture and song the Redemption One way of preserving several items to carol settings and collecting them, story of Christ—moving from the mys- of importance is to collect them. Choir it was his Four Old English Carols Now that the time has come wherein tery and wonder of Advent to the miracle partbooks and the multiple compilations (1907), for mixed voices and piano, Our Saviour Christ was born, and joy of Christ’s birth. The service was of carol books have accomplished the that embraced the “tender austerity”10 The larder’s full of beef and pork, modifi ed and introduced by Eric Mil- art of preservation. Holst did something inherent in the songs of the English The garner’s fi lled with corn.4 ner-White, the newly appointed Dean similar, but on a smaller scale, when he countryside. Although inspired by folk- of King’s College, Cambridge, in 1918. wrote Christmas Day, a choral fantasy song, these tunes were of Holst’s own And we do hope before we part It is this modifi ed service that has been on old carols with accompaniment for creation. A Babe Is Born, Now Let Us To taste some of your beer, adopted by scores of parishes in England orchestra or organ. Sing, Jesu, Thou the Virgin-Born, and Your beer, your beer, your Christmas and abroad. Since its initial broadcast in Dedicated to the music students of The Saviour of the World Is Born make beer, 1928, the service of Nine Lessons and Morley College, the work is a compi- up this mini-collection. That seems to be so strong; Carols has been heard by millions of lation of four well-known Christmas The medieval text Jesu, Thou the Vir- And we do wish that Christmas-tide people all over the world. An order for carols: “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” gin-Born, the third carol from Four Old Was twenty times as long!5 the service can be found in the back of “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen,” English Carols, was infused with plain- Oxford’s 100 Carols for Choirs. A look “Come, Ye Lofty, Come, Ye Lowly,” and song and simple polyphony (largely ho- For England, the eighteenth century at this book also reveals a multitude of “The First Noel.” With the exception of morhythmic). The use of both plainsong was the “Golden Age of Hymnody” un- English composers who have made carol two simultaneous carols occurring at the and polyphony in this particular work is der Isaac Watts and the Wesleys. Hymns arrangements. Among the more well same time, the rest of the work is homo- not surprising, given the fact that Holst gained popularity over metrical psalms. known are Holst, Britten, and Rutter. rhythmic throughout. had been spending time copying Vic- The reason for the hymn’s popularity was Much like Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia toria and di Lasso motets for St. Paul’s that the congregation could fi nally have a Gustav Holst on Christmas Carols, this work by Holst Girls’ School. participating role in the worship service. It was the simplest of compositions opens with a soloist who sets the ambi- As evidenced above, Holst seemed Carols became increasingly hymn-like to by Gustav Holst (1874–1934) that ance as if about to tell a story around a drawn to set multiple carols within one fi t the current trend. would become one of his best-known: fi re. The carols provide the form of the work. This mini-collection of carols By the nineteenth century, thanks to In the Bleak Midwinter (1905). Holst composition. Ascribing numbers to the is equally true in his Three Carols for the efforts of the Methodists a century arranged the text by Christina Rosetti carols—1) Good Christian Men Rejoice, unison chorus and ‘ad lib.’ orchestra. earlier, carols began fi nding their way (1830–1894) while staying at a cottage9 2) God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, 3) Holst was clearly thinking of the sym- into many ecumenical books like Hymns in the Cotswold village of Cranham; it is Come, Ye Lofty, Come, Ye Lowly, 4) The biotic relationship between music and Ancient and Modern (1861), the fi rst also the reason why the tune is entitled First Noel—the form is 1, 2, 1, 3 and 4, people with this work. There are scarce universally accepted hymn book of the Cranham. Just one year later, having 1, 2 and 4, and 1. True to rondo form, examples of a signifi cant choral work Anglican Church.6 A renewed interest gained signifi cant popularity, his carol “Good Christian Men Rejoice” always with orchestra that includes a unison in the past, coupled with the Oxford arrangement appeared in the English appears in the tonic key, E-fl at major. chorus and an orchestra that can be Movement,7 provided the opportunity Hymnal (1906). The simultaneous occurrence of two car- made up of as many or few instruments for John Mason Neale, an Anglo-Catho- In the Bleak Midwinter is simplistic ols also provides unique contrast to the as available (‘ad lib.’) and still be a vi- lic cleric, to promote the ancient texts in that it is set like a standard four-part homorhythmic sections. The orchestral able work of art. “Holst was a conduc- and music found in the Piae Cantiones hymn: regular meter (4/4), homorhyth- accompaniment is equally accessible, tor who allowed all genuine amateurs (1582). The Victorian revival of the mic, and functionally tonal harmonic mo- having many of the same attributes of to play in his orchestra ‘if humanly pos- carol produced numerous new books, tion. The choice of F major links Holst the chorus parts, making it appropriate sible’.”11 The three carols include the some devoted solely to the carol: Some with the past, since F major was a com- for amateur ensembles. following: Christmas Song: On This Ancient Christmas Carols (1822), Car- mon key in the Renaissance and Baroque Like many English composers, Holst Day, I Saw Three Ships, and Masters ols for Christmas-tide (1853–54), and eras for themes of a pastoral nature. was infl uenced by folksong. In regard in This Hall.
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John Rutter It is this latter trait that has brought Perhaps the most frequently per- Rutter fame and fortune. In this music formed carol arrangements are those of one can hear the infl uence of Fauré- John Rutter. Born in London in 1945, like orchestration, Vaughan Williams- Rutter is arguably the most prolifi c and inspired melodies, and the often-used published composer of carols in the fl attened seventh that is so common in twentieth century, not only in England popular music. but also around the world. In Oxford’s Many of the above-listed carols are 100 Carols for Choirs, nearly thirty car- Rutter originals. As in Shepherd’s Pipe ols are by him. There are simply far too Carol, for example, both the music and many carols by Rutter to discuss here. the text are by Rutter. The same is true However, some examples show his con- of Jesus Child, Donkey Carol, Angel’s nection to the past while writing in a Carol, Nativity Carol, Star Carol, and modern romantic language. Candlelight Carol. Of the composers “Joy to the World” is one of the most discussed thus far, none wrote as many common carols in the Western hemi- original texts and tunes as Rutter. His sphere. Rutter could not have chosen a contributions to the carol genre alone carol with more links to England’s past have brought signifi cant attention to the than this one. The text is by Isaac Watts choral world. (1674–1748) and the original tune by Lowell Mason (1792–1872). Rutter mod- Herbert Howells Lullay my Liking, Gustav Holst eled the accompaniment for the carol No discussion of the English carol from the orchestral writing of Handel. would seem complete without mention- There is one carol by Holst that does major). The piece ends on the dominant Complete with descant, the Handelian ing A Spotless Rose by Herbert Howells not exist in a set: Lullay my Liking for F-fl at, minus the third—a common me- orchestration to Lowell Mason’s tune on (1892–1983). Herbert Howells wrote the unaccompanied chorus. Like other dieval device. John Wesley’s text is one of Oxford Uni- piece, carols, the text is medieval. Changing A fi nal aspect of simplicity is the versity Press’s most rented carols during meters help accommodate natural text choice of voices and the way they are set. the Christmas season. After idly watching some shunting from stress. With the exception of the chorus’s The sound of a child’s voice, and their Rutter wrote several other carols for the window of a cottage…in Gloucester fourth verse, the other verses are sung as presence on stage, can create a sense of chorus with orchestra or organ: Wex- which overlooked the Midland Railway. In an upstairs room I looked out on iron a solo, and the choir answers with the re- innocence and purity synonymous with ford Carol, Jesus Child, Donkey Carol, railings and the main Bristol-Gloucester frain “Lullay my liking, my dear Son…” simplicity. Musically, Britten was always Angel’s Carol, Nativity Carol, Star Car- railway line, with shunting trucks bumping This piece is also very accessible for an careful when he wrote for children. Al- ol, Candlelight Carol, Shepherd’s Pipe and banging. I wrote it for and dedicated it amateur chorus, as the refrain remains though the music often sounds complex, Carol, and others. It is arrangements to my Mother—it always moves me when I unchanged throughout the work. Britten generally used the technique of like Candlelight Carol, which can be hear it, just as if it were written by someone canon as a way to produce polyphony. classifi ed as both a carol and an anthem, else.14 Benjamin Britten What better way to produce the feeling that have made Rutter a wealthy man. It was during the 1942 wartime of timelessness than with canon—where They contain the qualities necessary for With its parallel thirds and fourths, the months of March and April that Britten a melody could continue ad infi nitum if any carol—a verse followed by a refrain, piece evokes a sort of impressionistic (1913–1976) wrote, while on board the need be? The most oft-performed ex- or burden. quality. The irregular meters (3/4, 7/8, ship that was taking him from America tracted movement is This Little Babe, In addition, the melodies and their 5/4, 5/8, etc.) give the piece a fl uidity of back home to England, A Ceremony of a perfect example of Britten’s canonic respective accompaniments tend to be plainsong-like phrases not found in other Carols.12 Scored for treble voices—three writing for children’s voices. very sweet-sounding and melodious. carols. The fourteenth-century text also parts to be exact—and harp, the work is powerful in its simplicity. One aspect of simplicity is the ac- companiment of a single instrument, the harp. One of the fi rst instruments men- tioned in the Bible, the harp has been the symbol of the psalmists, the heav- enly host of angels, and serenity. Britten was planning on a harp concerto around this time; harp manuals were just a few of the books he had on his nautical voy- age. However, despite the pleasurable sonorities from the harp that audiences have enjoyed for decades, this was not the case initially. “The use of the harp as an accompanying instrument in this con- text was considered radical at the time of the première.”13 The simplicity is also instantly audible from the fi rst and last movement. Plain- song settings form the musical pillars to the eleven movements. Here, Britten chose Hodie Christus natus est from the Christmas Eve Vespers to serve as a mu- sical processional and recessional. The processional and recessional are both in A major, a key Bach often used for its Trini- tarian symbolism in the key signature. With such careful musical architec- ture, it is not surprising that the middle movement be solely devoted to the harp. In true pastoral fashion, the rhythm is a compound (12/8) meter. More interest- ing is the choice of key. Where the tra- ditional pastoral key would be F major, Britten chooses the equidistant enhar- monic equivalent, the tri-tone (C-fl at
DECEMBER, 2010 25
Dec 2010 pp. 24-26.indd 25 11/11/10 10:31:54 AM meant that nearly every amateur could 10. Imogen Holst, The Music of Gustav be an integral part of the carol tradition. Holst and Holst’s Music Revisited, 3rd ed. Through simplicity of text, voicing, and (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 14. accompaniment, Britten created his 11. Ibid., 45. 12. Britten also wrote the Hymn to St. Ceci- own form of simplicity. Rutter’s simplic- lia during this fi ve-week voyage. ity is in the way the music sounds. It is 13. Mervyn Cooke, ed., The Cambridge so very easy to listen to (the same can- Companion to Benjamin Britten (Cambridge: not necessarily be said about singing or Cambridge University Press, 1999), 281. playing them!). 14. Paul Spicer, Herbert Howells (Bridgend, Following the Victorian rediscovery Wales: Poetry Wales Press Ltd, 1998), 67. (and regimentation) of the English carol 15. Christopher Palmer, Herbert Howells dating from the Middle Ages, the carol (Kent: Novello, 1978), 74. tradition in England remained strong Bibliography and thrived under several great compos- Evans, Peter. The Music of Benjamin Britten. ers: Holst, Britten, and Rutter among the London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1979. more well-known. Through their carols, Greene, Richard. Gustav Holst and a Rheto- they presented the carol through use of ric of Musical Character: Language and traditional qualities (plainsong, medieval Method in Selected Orchestral Works. New texts, and the like) while infusing their York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994. own musical language, aligning them- Greene, Richard Leighton, ed. The Early English Carols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, selves in the great carol tradition. With 1977. the carol’s multiple characteristics, it was ______. A Selection of English Carols. Ox- and remains an enigmatic genre that is ford: Clarendon Press, 1962. social, devotional, and art music, sepa- Holst, Imogen. Gustav Holst: A Biography. rately and all in one. With the inception London: Oxford University Press, 1969. Herbert Howells (Reproduced by kind per- Ralph Vaughan Williams (© The Vaughan of what is perhaps the greatest advocate ______, ed. Henry Purcell (1659–1695): mission of the Herbert Howells Society) Williams Charitable Trust) of the carol, the Service of Nine Lessons Essays on his Music. London: Oxford Uni- and Carols, English composers have versity Press, 1959. ______. Holst. In The Great Composers se- provides a subtly respectful timelessness Carols were also devotional. For those provided the means for the carol genre ries. London: Faber & Faber, 1981. to the piece. A Spotless Rose is mostly in who had their own private chapel, one to thrive, all over the world, for centuries ______. The Music of Gustav Holst. Oxford: four parts except at cadences where it could fi nd them being sung there. In the and millennia to come. ■ Oxford University Press, 1986. breaks into fi ve or, in the case of the final parish church, it would take the efforts of Hymnal 1982, The: according to the use of The cadence, six parts. It is this fi nal cadence the Victorians to regiment them as part Notes Episcopal Church. New York: The Church that was much beloved by Vaughan of the liturgical service. It would not be 1. “Manichaeism is the largest and most Hymnal Corporation, c.1985. Williams and Patrick Hadley. Since the until 1918 that the entire world would be important example of Gnosticism. Central in Kennedy, Michael. Britten. In The Master work’s creation (1919), Howells received affected by the Nine Lessons and Car- the Manichaean teaching was dualism, that Musicians series. Oxford: Oxford Univer- the world itself, and all creatures, was part sity Press, 2001. a postcard every Christmas thereafter ols service at King’s College, Cambridge, Keyte, Hugh and Andrew Parrott, eds. The from Patrick Hadley that contained the which is perhaps the most infl uential rea- of a battle between the good, represented by God, and the bad, the darkness, represented New Oxford Book of Carols. Oxford: Ox- cadence and these words, “Oh Herbert! son for the popularity of the carol today. ford University Press, 1992. 15 by a power driven by envy and lust. These two That cadence!” Besides being both social and devo- powers were independent from each other, Long, Kenneth R. The Music of the English tional, carols have served as sparkling but in the world they were mixed. Most hu- Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton, Summary gems in choral concerts. Carols are “art man beings were built from material from the 1972. Holst, Britten, and Rutter represent music.” Like many things throughout bad power, but in everyone there was a divine Mitchell, Jon C. A Comprehensive Biography the carol in their own unique way. Each history, it is the way in which something light, which needed to be released from the of Composer Gustav Holst with Correspon- had a distinct musical vocabulary that can is used that gives it defi nition. It does not dark material of the body. In Manichaeism dence and Diary Excerpts, Including His creation is regarded as a cosmic catastrophe, American Years. In Studies in the History be heard in their music. Some used the seem out of place when a carol is sung and Interpretation of Music, volume 73. traditional approach of setting plainsong in a secular location or by a secular en- this even applies to man”
Sean Vogt attended Central College, Pella, /44/ (%533 /2'!. 0!243 Iowa, where he was a winner of Central’s Concerto/Aria competition, and named a Cox-Snow distinguished scholar. He also 4RADITION AND 0ROGRESS studied in London, serving as assistant organ- ist/choirmaster at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Woodgreen. He holds master’s and doctoral &OR MORE THAN YEARS WE HAVE BEEN DESIGNING AND BUILDING ORGAN degrees in choral conducting from the Mead- CONSOLES CHASSIS AND PARTS AS WELL AS COMPLETE MECHANICAL AND ows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and Michigan State respectively. ELECTRICAL TRACKER AND REGISTRATION SYSTEMS FOR PIPE ORGANS While at Michigan State, he was the director of the 100-voice Men’s Glee Club, assistant UR ENTHUSIASM n COUPLED WITH THE OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY conductor of the MSU Chorale, artistic direc- / tor and conductor of the Steiner Chorale—a MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND FUELLED BY OUR GENUINE EXCITEMENT FOR semi-professional choir based in Lansing— EXPERIMENTS n l NDS EXPRESSION IN THE CONTINUOUS FURTHER DEVELOP and was music director at St. Jude’s Catholic MENT OF THE /44/ (%533 RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Church. He was also one of the featured con- ductors at the Oregon Bach Festival. In addition to degrees in choral conducting, 7HATEVER YOU TOUCH AND HEAR IN ORGAN BUILDING Vogt worked on a doctorate in organ at the 9OULL ALWAYS COME ACROSS ONE OF OUR IDEAS University of Iowa, holds a diploma in organ from the Haarlem Internationale Zomeracad- emie voor Organisten (The Netherlands) and %VERYWHERE AND AROUND THE WORLD a master’s degree in organ from SMU. He has /44/ (%533 n 9OUR CREATIVE PARTNER IN ORGAN BUILDING given solo recitals at the National Cathedral (Washington, D.C.), St. Philip’s Cathedral (At- lanta), and Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chi- cago), and has performed for the American Guild of Organists’ education video series. Dr. Vogt has served on the faculty for the Leadership Program for Musicians serving /44/ (%533 'MB( n 'ERMANY small congregations, and as the American Cho- 0HONE n s &AX n ral Directors Association’s Repertoire and Stan- E -AIL HALLO OTTOHEUSSDE s )NTERNET WWWOTTOHEUSSDE dards Chair for Music and Worship for the state of Iowa. He is currently Department Chair and Director of Choral Activities at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota.
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