VAUGHAN WILLIAMS · Since its formation in 1994, The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society – a registered charity with around 1,000 members worldwide – has sought to raise the profile

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Chapel Choir of theRoyal Hospital Chelsea

William Vann directorHugh Rowlands organ

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS ALBION RECORDS

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booklet-paginated:Layout 1 25/06/2018 09:37 Page 1

For further information visit: www.rvwsociety.com/albionrecordsJoin The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society at www.rvwsociety.com

On Christmas DayDerek Welton sings folksongs and fold carols withIain Burnside (piano)

About Albion Records

Directors: John Francis FCA (Chairman), Mark HammettFulfilment: Mark and Sue HammettA & R Manager: Charles PadleyWeb-Master: Tad Kasa

Since its formation in 1994, The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society – a registered charity witharound 1,000 members worldwide – has sought to raise the profile of the composerthrough publications, seminars and sponsorship of recordings.The Society’s recording label, Albion Records, was formed in 2007 and is devoted torecordings of works by Vaughan Williams. Each recording contains at least one worldpremière recording. Two recordings (The Solent and Discoveries) were nominated for aGrammy award, and many recordings have spent some weeks in the UK’s specialistclassical chart.

Previous Vaughan Williams recordings, still available, include:

ALB

CD01

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Where Hope is ShiningPart songs performed byJoyful Company of Singers

ALB

CD00

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Earth and SkyChoral works performedby The Choir of the RoyalHospital Chelsea withWilliam Vann and HughRowlands

ALB

CD03

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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 1872-1958

Eight Traditional English Carols (1919)1 And All in the Morning 3’552 On Christmas Night 1’333 The Twelve Apostles 4’024 Down in Yon Forest 2’405 May Day Carol 2’036 The Truth Sent from Above 2’377 The Birth of the Saviour 3’278 Wassail Song 2’17

Two carols (1945)9 Come Love We God 2’33

10 There is a Flower 2’21

From The Oxford Book of Carols (1928)11 O Little Town of Bethlehem 3’4412 The Golden Carol * 2’0113 Wither's Rocking Hymn * 4’0014 Snow in the Street * 3’3315 Blake’s Cradle Song * 3’08

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS


Production credits Musical Director: William VannExecutive Producer, booklet notes and photography: John FrancisProducer: Andrew Walton of K & A ProductionsEngineer: Deborah Spanton of K & A ProductionsScores editor: Peter ClulowRecorded at St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead, London on 16-18 February 2018Cover image: From the ceiling of St. Jude’s Church, painted by Walter Starmer between 1909 and 1935.

With special thanksPrincipal Sponsors and Gold Supporters: The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust, Chris and Adie Batt,Simon and Laura Coombs, John and Sharon Francis

Silver supporters: Hiro Baba, David Barnard, Stephen Bennetts, Neil Bettridge, The Bevis Foundation, Eric Birznieks and Carol Dean, Caitlin and John Cassidy, Harold Corwin,Martin Cunningham, Marcus DeLoach, Johan Doumont, Kevin and Karen Ellery, Leonard Evans,Robert Field, Michael Gainsford, Alan Gillmor, Michael Godbee, Ronald Grames, William Greenwood, Richard Hall, David James, James Korner, Trevor Lockwood, Barry Menhenett, Martin Murray, Andrew Neill, Benjamin Nossiter, Alison Oliphant, Robert Page, Charles Paterson, Julian Pearcey, Brian Reeve, Thomas Render, Tony Richardson,Philip Robson, Kevin Schutts, Stephen Smith, Roderick Swanston (in memoriam), John and Muriel Treadway, Paul Wakefield, James C. Williams

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Nine Carols for male voices (1941)16 God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen 2’2317 As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol) 1’4818 Mummers’ Carol 2’3019 The First Nowell 3’3020 The Lord at First 3’2721 Coventry Carol 2’2822 I Saw Three Ships 1’2023 A Virgin Most Pure 4’0824 Dives and Lazarus 3’59

70’22

* Tracks 12-15 are original compositions by Vaughan WilliamsTrack 10 is a translation by Ursula Wood with music set by

Michael Praetorius, 1609All other tracks are arrangements of traditional carols by

Vaughan Williams

William Vann ~ directorHugh Rowlands ~ organ (tracks 1-8 and 11-15)

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital ChelseaSoloists: Thomas Stoddart (tracks 3 and 12), Edward Hughes (track 4),

Angus McPhee (tracks 6 and 19), Eloise Irving and Edward Hughes (track 13), Katy Hill and Adrian Horsewood (track 15),

Timothy Murphy (track 22)


performances with some finely focused singing…a fine and highly involvingperformance.” An earlier release with William Vann as Director of Music, SOMMCD0161Carols from Chelsea, earned critical press acclaim, Gramophone commenting on the“first-class personnel” and “tension and subtlety in the performances.”

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea:Soprano: Helen Ashby, Katy Hill, Eloise Irving, Leah JacksonAlto: Emma Ashby, Rosemary Clifford, Roderick MorrisTenor: Ross Buddie, Thomas Herford, Edward Hughes, Tom Kelly, Matthew LongBaritone: Adrian Horsewood, Angus McPhee, Thomas Stoddart, Ben TomlinBass: Nicholas Ashby, Timothy Murphy, Andrew Tipple

Hugh Rowlands ~ OrganHugh is the current (2018) Organ Scholar of theRoyal Hospital, Chelsea. He began his musicalcareer as a chorister at Westminster Abbey wherehe appeared on a number of CDs, and sang atmany special services, most notably the RoyalWedding in 2011. From 2012, he attended TheKing’s School, Canterbury, where he was a music,organ and academic scholar. He regularlyaccompanied the school choirs in their services inCanterbury Cathedral. He was also the pianosoloist in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No.2,Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 and Tchaikovsky’s

Piano Concerto No.1. Hugh has given many recitals in and around London, in particularat St George’s Chapel Windsor. From September 2018, Hugh will be Organ Scholarreading music at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge.

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Christmas, as we all know, is the annual celebration of the birth of the Son of God toa Virgin in a stable at Bethlehem, for there was no room at the inn. No matter howmuch theologians and the cynical combine to dispute what really happened, this2,000-year-old story remains constant at the heart of Christmas, while everythingaround it evolves. Christmas as we might recognise it was invented in 1843, whenCharles Dickens published A Christmas Carol and Sir Henry Cole sold the firstChristmas cards. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria popularised the Christmas tree inthe 1840s, importing a German tradition. Tom Smith of London is credited with theinvention of the Christmas cracker in 1847, although the ‘crackle’ arrived a little later.

A number of collections of carols were published in the early part of that century,often with the observation that they were sung increasingly less frequently and inremote parts of the country. Broadsides (sheets printed on one side only) oftencarried ballads and carols; these are an important source of carol texts from the1830s and 1840s. There was a big step forward in 1880 when Bishop EdwardBenson devised a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols for performance in the stillunfinished Truro Cathedral. In the decades that followed, the search for folk songs inwhich Vaughan Williams and others took part was accompanied by a search for folkcarols, which had survived against all the odds.

In 1928 The Oxford Book of Carols (OBC) was published, edited by Percy Dearmer,with Musical Editors Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw. Its 197 carolsencompass all seasons, though a good many celebrate Christmas – and ChristmasCarols have always had a particular importance. Dearmer, in his Preface, said that‘Carols are songs with a religious impulse that are simple, hilarious, popular, andmodern’. ‘Hilarious’ must mean light-hearted in this context, and ‘modern’ for theirtime: he dates them from the fifteenth century ‘because people wanted somethingless severe than the old Latin office hymns, something more vivacious than theplainsong melodies’. Many early carols survived only as folk songs after thetemporary abolition of Christmas celebrations under the Puritans in 1647. The book

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and City of London Festivals, the Northern Ireland Festival of Voice (broadcast onRadio 3) and abroad in France, Germany (on live ZDF television), Ireland, Nigeria,South Africa (National Arts Festival) and Sweden. His discography includes recordingswith Albion Records, Champs Hill Records, Navona Records and SOMM.

He is the founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival, a Trusteeof the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company ofMusicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, the Chairman of Kensington andChelsea Music Society, the Artistic Director of Bedford Music Club and a conductorand vocal coach on the Dartington and Oxenfoord International Summer Schools. InApril 2019 he will conduct a revival of Parry’s oratorio Judith at Royal Festival Hall, thefirst full London performance since the 19th century, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passionwith the Academy of Ancient Music at Cadogan Hall.

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital ChelseaThe Royal Hospital Chelsea is the home of the iconic Chelsea Pensioners, who are allretired soldiers of the British Army. Founded in 1682 by King Charles II for “the reliefand succour” of veterans, it admitted its first Chelsea Pensioners in 1692, among themsome who were injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren,the Royal Hospital is one of the most visually stunning landmarks in London, sittingbeside the River Thames opposite Battersea Park. The Chapel Choir of the RoyalHospital is one of the finest professional church choirs in the UK, whose primarypurpose is to sing at the Sunday morning Matins service in the Wren Chapel (a serviceopen to the general public). Members regularly sing with many of the world’s leadingconsort groups, such as The Sixteen, Tallis Scholars, Stile Antico and Monteverdi Choirand also work in the fields of opera, conducting, teaching and music journalism. Itstwelve singers, occasionally enlarged for occasions such as this recording, are chosennot only for their skill at choral singing but also for a high standard of solo ability andgeneral musicianship. The choir’s regular concerts both at the Royal Hospital andCadogan Hall have been critically acclaimed for combining “…characterful

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was an attempt to bring together the best of what had survived both at home andabroad, in its original form as far as possible, with a number of new tunes (includingfour by Vaughan Williams).

Vaughan Williams’s biographer Michael Kennedy suggested in 1964 that the modernrevival of carols was in great measure due to this excellent book. The musicalevolution has continued, much of it led from Cambridge (from where the King’sCollege Nine Lessons and Carols has been broadcast since 1928) by musicians such asBoris Ord, Harold Darke, David Willcocks, John Rutter and others. We have becomeused to atmospheric settings, with spectacular last verses, to be enjoyed as aperformance. Vaughan Williams was writing more for carol singers and congregationsthan for cathedrals and choirs, and the settings are straightforward. However, thePreface suggests that variety in the method of singing is important, with a mixture ofharmony and unison verses, and antiphonal effects. The same Preface also endorsesthe abbreviation of longer carols, and we have done so in order to fit a wide range ofcarols into our recording.

The recording is of settings or arrangements published by Vaughan Williams between1919 and 1945, thus recapturing the spirit of Christmas just as he saw it and heard it.In presenting some complete sets as they were published, one or two carols in therecording stray away from Christmas – and one of them is rather loosely associatedwith Vaughan Williams, who arranged for its publication – but this programme is acelebration of a great composer’s inspiration.

Eight Traditional English Carols (1919)Vaughan Williams had been collecting folk songs and carols since 1903 and publishedthis selection of arrangements of carols on his return from war service in 1919. Theywere arranged for voice and piano or organ, but also for an unaccompanied four-partchoir. Albion’s earlier recording On Christmas Day (ALBCD013) featuring baritone


William Vann ~ Director and PianoWilliam Vann is the Organist and Director of Music at the Royal Hospital, the sixteenthholder of the post since 1692. His musical education began while a Chorister of King’sCollege, Cambridge and continued as a Music and Organ Scholar at Bedford School; hesubsequently read Law and held a Choral Scholarship at Gonville and Caius College,Cambridge, studying as a pianist at theRoyal Academy of Music with MalcolmMartineau and Colin Stone. Gramophone,reviewing ALBCD029 Purer than Pearl, ourrecording of Vaughan Williams songs andduets, reserved “a special word of praisefor William Vann’s deft pianism”. He hasbeen awarded many prizes for pianoaccompaniment, including the WigmoreSong Competition Jean Meikle Prize for aDuo (with Johnny Herford), the GeraldMoore award, the Royal Overseas LeagueAccompanists’ Award, a Geoffrey ParsonsMemorial Trust award, the Concordia-Serena Nevill Prize, the Association of EnglishSingers and Speakers Accompanist Prize, the Great Elm Awards Accompanist Prize, theSir Henry Richardson Scholarship and the Hodgson Fellowship in pianoaccompaniment at the RAM.

William has collaborated on stage with a vast array of singers and instrumentalists,among them Sir Thomas Allen CBE, Mary Bevan, Katie Bray, Allan Clayton, JamesGilchrist, Thomas Gould, Johnny Herford, Guy Johnston, Jennifer Johnston, AoifeMiskelly, Ann Murray DBE, Brindley Sherratt, Nicky Spence, Andrew Staples, KittyWhately and the Benyounes and Navarra quartets. Recent performances have includedappearances at Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, the ROH Crush Room, Sage, Gatesheadand St John’s, Smith Square, at the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Oxford Lieder, Machynlleth

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Derek Welton and pianist Iain Burnside included the solo version of these carols; thisrecording uses both choir and organ in a mixture of the published unison andharmony settings.

(1) And All in the morning: The melody and text were collected by Vaughan Williamsin Castleton, Derbyshire in 1908. The text follows the story from Christmas through toHoly Week and Easter.

(2) On Christmas Night: Well known as the Sussex Carol, Vaughan Williams collectedthis at Monk’s Gate, Sussex, in 1908 and included it in his Fantasia on Christmas Carolsof 1912.

(3) The Twelve Apostles: This carol was collected in Tipton, Staffordshire. It tells of thebetrayal and crucifixion, but sets out its stall as a Christmas carol in the last verse,whether justified or not!

(4) Down in Yon Forest: This version of the carol was collected in 1908 by Ivor Gattyand Ralph Vaughan Williams from Mr Hall of Castleton, Derbyshire. This mysterioussong is thought to refer to the Grail Legend as well as the sacramental blood of Christ.

(5) May Day Carol: Vaughan Williams collected this version of a Passion or AtonementCarol in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire in 1907, but there are many alternative versions.

(6) The Truth Sent from Above: This is one of the very greatest folk melodies, sung inJuly 1909 to Vaughan Williams and Mrs Ella M Leather by Mr W Jenkins in King’s Pyon,near Hereford. Vaughan Williams had already used it at the beginning of his Fantasiaon Christmas Carols.

(7) The Birth of the Saviour: Another carol noted down by Vaughan Williams from MrHall of Castleton (who only sang one verse, but additional verses were supplied fromRev. Shawcross’s Old Castleton Christmas Carols). It was re-published as The Sinners’Redemption in OBC. This was a popular carol, at least from the mid-1700s, frequentlyprinted in broadside sheets.

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23 A Virgin Most PureA virgin most pure, as the prophets do tell,Hath brought forth a baby, as it hath befell,To be our Redeemer from death, hell and sin,Which Adam’s transgression had wrappèd us in.

Aye, and therefore be merry,Rejoice and be you merry, Set sorrows aside;Christ Jesus our Saviour was born on this tide.

At Bethlehem in Jewry a city there was,Where Joseph and Mary together did pass,And there to be taxèd, with many one mo’,For Caesar commanded the same should be so.

But, when they had entered the city so fair,A number of people so mighty was there,That Joseph and Mary, whose substance was small,Could find in the Inn there no lodging at all.

Then were they constrained in a stable to lie,Where horses and asses they used for to tie;Their lodging so simple they took it no scorn,But against the next morning our Saviour was born.

24 Dives and LazarusAs it fell out upon one day,Rich Diverus he made a feast;And he invited all his friends,And gentry of the best.As it fell out upon one day,Poor Lazarus he was so poor,He came and laid him down and down,Even down at Diverus’ door.

Then Laz’rus laid him down and down,Even down at Diverus’ gate;“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,For Jesus Christ his sake.”“Thou art none of mine brother Lazarus,That lies begging at my gate,No meat, no drink will I give thee,For Jesus Christ his sake.”

As it fell out upon one day,Poor Lazarus he sickened and died,There came two angels out of Heav’n,His soul therein to guide.“Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus,And come along with me;For you’ve a place prepared in Heav’n,For to sit upon an angel’s knee.”

As it fell out upon one day,Rich Diverus he sickened and died,There came two serpents out of Hell,His soul therein to guide.“Rise up, rise up, brother Diverus,And come along with me;There is a place prepared in Hell,For to sit upon a serpent’s knee.”

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(8) Wassail Song: This carol is often usefully known as the Yorkshire Wassail, todistinguish it from many others with a similar name. This melody and text came fromsingers whose names are not known, near Hooton Roberts in Yorkshire. It tells of theneighbours’ poor children who are seeking charity at Christmas whilst wishing one andall a Happy New Year.

Two Carols (1945)Moving now to the most recent settings in our programme enables us to pass swiftlyover the Coca Cola Company’s use of Santa Claus in advertisements from the 1920swith the familiar red-cloaked figure first appearing in 1931 and completing the imageryof Christmas as we now experience it. Two Carols for unaccompanied four-part choirwas one of only two works published by Vaughan Williams in 1945:

(9) Come Love We God is based on a text found in Richard Shann’s ‘Certaine prettysongs’ MS of 1611 and first used, with another tune, in OBC. Ursula Wood (who was tomarry the composer in 1953) slightly adapted the words for Vaughan Williams to setthem to his arrangement of an old German carol. This 1945 setting nearly came to griefwhen the composer found what he described as ‘an awful misprint’ – but it wascorrected so we may never know what it was.

(10) There is a Flower (Es ist ein’ Ros’). Ursula made this free translation of the oldcarol, by an unknown composer but set in four-part harmony (as heard here) byMichael Praetorius in 1609. While this was clearly a joint publishing venture by VaughanWilliams and Ursula, this is a rare example of Vaughan Williams publishing somethingthat he had neither written nor arranged.

The Oxford Book of Carols (1928)Vaughan Williams contributed four original carols to this book and 31 arrangements. Anumber of the latter were originally in an appendix of folk tunes proper to certain carolsin the main body of the book; in later editions the appendix was abolished and the


20 The Lord at FirstThe Lord at first did Adam makeOut of the dust and clay,And in his nostrils breathèd life,E’en as the Scriptures say.And then in Eden’s ParadiseHe placèd him to dwell,That he within it should remainTo dress and keep it well.

Now let good Christians all begin An holier life to live,And to rejoice and merry be,For this is Christmas Eve.

Now mark the goodness of the LordWhich he for mankind bore;His mercy soon he did extend,Lost man for to restore;And then for to redeem our soulsFrom death and hellish thrall,He said his own dear son should beThe Saviour of us all.

Now for the blessings we enjoy,Which are from Heaven above,Let us renounce all wickedness,And live in perfect love.Then shall we do Christ’s own command,E’en his own written word,And when we die, in Heaven shallEnjoy our living Lord.

21 Coventry CarolLullay thou little tiny child,By, by, lullay, lullay.Lullay thou little tiny child.By, by, lullay, lullay.

O brothers too, how may we do,For to preserve this dayThis poor youngling, for whom we sing,By, by, lullay, lullay?

Herod, the king, in his raging,Chargèd he hath this dayHis men of might, in his own sight,All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee!And ever morn and day;For thy parting neither say nor sing,By, by, lullay, lullay.

22 I Saw Three ShipsI saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day, on Christmas DayI saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day in the morning

And what was in those ships all three?Our Saviour Christ and his lady.Pray, whither sailed those ships all three?O they sailed into Bethlehem.And all the bells on earth shall ring.And all the angels in heaven shall sing.And all the souls on earth shall sing.Then let us all rejoice amain!

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tunes brought together with their carols. This recording includes all four original carolsand just one of the arrangements.

(11) O Little Town of Bethlehem is the single arrangement from this group, firstpublished in The English Hymnal of 1906. OBC does not give tunes names, but in TheEnglish Hymnal the tune was called Forest Green. In 1903, Mr Henry Garman (aged 73)sang to Vaughan Williams The Ploughman’s Dream: ‘I am a ploughboy stout and strongas ever drove a team, And three years since as I lay abed I had a dreadful dream’. Thedream seems to have done Mr Garman no harm, since Vaughan Williams thought hewas only 60, but he also thought he lived at Forest Green, just a mile from hischildhood home at Leith Hill Place, Surrey. Recent research suggests that Mr Garmanmay have lived at Sheep Green, which is even closer to Leith Hill Place. In the UK(though not in the US) this tune has largely displaced the original American tune for OLittle Town, the words for which were written in 1868 by Rev Phillips Brooks who endedhis career as Bishop of Massachusetts.

(12) The Golden Carol (Now is Christemas y-come). The words of this 15th centurycarol survive in several versions, but without a tune. Vaughan Williams composed thischeerful setting of the text published by Frank Sidgwick in 1908. Just to confuse, othercarols lay claim to the name – which derives from the gold, frankincense and myrrh ofthe Epiphany (generally celebrated on 6 January).

(13) Wither’s Rocking Hymn (Sweet baby, sleep). The words are by the PuritanGeorge Wither (1588-1667) from his 1641 three-volume publication: Hallelujah: or,Britain’s second remembrancer, bringing to remembrance (in praiseful and penitentialhymns, spiritual songs, and moral odes,) meditations, advancing the glory of God, in thepractice of piety and virtue. Wither wrote: ‘Nurses usually sing their children asleep, andthrough want of pertinent matter they oft make use of unprofitable, if not worse,songs; this was therefore prepared that it might help acquaint them and their nursechildren with the loving care and kindness of their heavenly Father.’ Vaughan Williamsrose to the challenge and wrote a tune as beautiful as anything that he ever

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Now to the Lord sing praises,All you within this place,And with true love and brotherhoodEach other now embrace;The holy tide of ChristmasIs drawing on apace.

17 As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol)As Joseph was a-walkingHe heard an Angel sing:“This night there shall be bornOn earth our Heavenly King;

He neither shall be bornIn housen nor in hall,Nor in the place of Paradise,But in an ox’s stall.

He neither shall be clothèdIn purple nor in pall;But all in fair linenAs wear the babies all.

He neither shall be rockèd,In silver nor in gold,But in a wooden cradleThat rocks upon the mould.

He neither shall be christenedIn white wine nor red;But with fair spring water,As we were christenèd.”

18 Mummers’ CarolO mortal man, remember well,When Christ our Lord was born,He was crucified between two thieves,And crownèd with the thorn.

O mortal man, remember well,When Christ was wrapped in clay,He was taken to a sepulchreWhere no man ever lay.

God bless your house, your children too,Your cattle and your store;The Lord increase you day by day,And send you more and more.

19 The First NowellThe first Nowell the angel did sayWas to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,In a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a starShining in the East beyond them far,And to the earth it gave great light,And so it continued both day and night.

And by the light of that same star,Three wise men came from country far;To seek for a king was their intent,And to follow the star wheresoever it went.

Then let us all with one accordSing praises to our heavenly Lord,That hath made Heaven and Earth of naught,And with his blood mankind hath bought.

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composed. Six of Wither’s twelve verses were used in OBC and we have recorded fourof them. This carol is a testament, not only to the composer’s imagination but also tohis wide reading and love of poetry.

(14) Snow in the Street (From far away we come to you). William Morris’s epicpoem The Earthly Paradise was published between 1868 and 1870 and has been heldto have established Morris’s reputation as a poet. It tells of mediaeval travellers whomeet a surviving colony of ancient Greeks, with whom they exchange stories. John,the central character of the poem The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon,remembers the song of ‘Outlanders’ with news of the Christmas story. Each verse hasa refrain both in the middle and at the end, and Vaughan Williams extended theclosing refrain in order to enhance the poem’s character as a carol, composingsomething rather like a folk song to accompany it.

(15) Blake’s Cradle Song (Sweet dreams form a shade O’er my lovely infant’shead). The final carol composed for OBC by Vaughan Williams is another lullaby,setting six of the eight verses of William Blake’s A Cradle Song, drawn from his ‘Songsof Innocence’ (1789) in which he explores the clash between the corruption of theworld and the innocence of the young child. The song is about a mother’s love for herchild, and inevitably we see an image from the nativity story – but, like the RockingHymn, OBC treats this as a ‘general’ rather than a ‘Christmas’ carol. Vaughan Williams’smusic is gentle, beautiful, not at all folk-like, perhaps anticipating the Ten Blake Songsthat he was to compose at Christmas 1957, for Guy Brenton’s film The Vision of WilliamBlake (1958).

Nine Carols for Male Voices (1941, published in 1942)Vaughan Williams famously spoke up for his fellow composer Michael Tippett eventhough he profoundly disagreed with his ‘pacifist principles’. He wrote to him inDecember 1941 to express the need to act because ‘There is a great danger now ofour spiritual music paper being burnt - we must save it now so that creative art may

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14 Snow in the StreetFrom far away we come to you,The snow in the street and the wind on the door.To tell of great tidings strange and true.

Minstrels and maids stand forth on the floor:From far away we come to you,To tell of great tidings, strange and true.

For as we wandered far and wide,What hap do you deem there should us betide?

Under a bent when the night was deep,There lay three shepherds tending their sheep.

“O ye shepherds what have you seen,To slay your sorrow and heal your teen?”

“In an ox-stall this night we sawA babe and a maid without a flaw.”

News of a fair and marvellous thing,Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, we sing!

William Morris

15 Blake’s Cradle SongSweet dreams form a shade,O’er my lovely infant’s head.Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,By happy, silent, moony beams.

Sleep, sleep, happy child,All creation slept and smiled;Sleep, sleep, happy sleep,While o’er thee thy mother weep.

Sweet babe, in thy faceHoly image I can trace.Sweet babe, once like thee,Thy maker lay and wept for me.

Wept for me, for thee, for all,When he was an infant small.Thou his image ever see,Heav’nly face that smiles on thee.

Smiles on thee, on me, on all;Who became an infant small.Infant smiles are his own smiles;Heav’n and earth to peace beguiles.

William Blake

NINE CAROLS FOR MALE VOICES (1942)16 God Rest you Merry, Gentlemen

God rest you merry, Gentlemen,Let nothing you dismay;Remember Christ, our Saviour,Was born on Christmas day,To save our souls from Satan’s powerWhen we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.

From God our heavenly Father,A blessèd angel came;And unto certain ShepherdsBrought tidings of the same:How that in Bethlehem was bornThe Son of God by Name:

The shepherds at those tidingsRejoicèd much in mind,And left their flocks a-feeding,In tempest, storm, and wind,And went to Bethlehem straightway,This blessèd babe to find:

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flourish later. This does not apply, of course, to using one’s craft for a definite usefulpurpose (e.g. arranging Xmas carols for the troops in Iceland which I did the other day).’

There were twelve such arrangements for unaccompanied male voices (TTBB),commissioned for troops in Iceland by the British Council, of which nine were publishedby OUP, thus excluding three carols in which publishing rights were held by Stainer andBell (The Truth Sent from Above, On Christmas Night and Yorkshire Wassail). My father EricFrancis served with the Royal Artillery in Iceland for 18 months from October 1940, and Ilike to think that he would have heard these settings.

One or two writers have associated the settings with WW1. Vaughan Williams began achoir of fellow soldiers at Saffron Walden in 1915 and continued to do so on activeservice at Écoivres close to the river Somme; on Christmas Eve 1916 he conducted acarol service on the slopes of Mount Olympus with his choir ‘singing carols of Herefordand Sussex’. Did the 1941 settings draw on arrangements made earlier on?

British troops in Suðurgata in Reykjavik during WW2 (Ó Lafur K. Magnússon)

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O Holy Child of Bethlehem,Descend to us, we pray;Cast out our sin and enter in;Be born in us today!We hear the Christmas angelsThe great glad tidings tell;O come to us, abide with us,Our Lord Emmanuel!

Phillips Brooks

12 The Golden CarolNow is Christmas y-come,Father and Son together in one,Holy Ghost, as ye be one, in fere-a,God send us good New Year-a!

I will you sing with all my might,Of a Child so fair in sight,A maiden bare on Christmas night, so still-a,As it was His will-a.

Three king-es came fro GalileeTo Bethlehem, that fair city,For to offer and to see, by night-a,It was a full fair sight-a

As they came forth with their offering,They met with Herod, that moody king,He ask-ed them of their coming, that tide-a,And thus to them he said-a:

“From whence come ye, you king-es three?”“Out of the East, as ye may see,To seek Him that ever should be, by right-a,Lord and king and knight-a.”

They took their leave, both eld and ying,Of Herod, that moody king;And forth they went with their offering, by light-a,By the star that shone so bright-a.

When they came into the placeWhere Jesus with His mother was,Offered they up with great solace, in fere-aGold, incense, and myrrh-a.

Kneel we now here a-down;Pray we in good devoti-ounTo that King of great renown, of grace-a,In heav’n to have a place-a.

13 Wither’s Rocking HymnSweet baby, sleep! What ails my dear?What ails my darling thus to cry?Be still, my child, and lend thine earTo hear me sing thy lullaby.My pretty lamb, forbear to weep;Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep!

Whilst thus thy lullaby I sing,For thee great blessings ripening be;Thine eldest brother is a king,And hath a kingdom bought for thee.Sweet baby, then, forebear to weep,Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

When God with us was dwelling here,In little babes he took delight:Such innocents as thou, my dear,Are ever precious in his sight.Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

A little infant once was he,And Strength-in-Weakness then was laidUpon his virgin-mother’s knee,That power to thee might be conveyed.Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

George Wither

18

(16) God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen. Dating to the sixteenth century, perhapsearlier, this carol features in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. It is astraightforward telling of the nativity story, with angels and shepherds.

(17) As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol). This setting is of verses 11 to 15of the text in OBC, the final section ascribed to Christmas Eve. An angel tells Josephhow our heavenly King shall be born in humility, in an ox’s stall, and shall wear fairlinen like all other babies. The carol is thought to date from Coventry Plays performedaround 1400. The tune (the fourth tune in OBC) is described there merely as‘traditional’.

(18) Mummers’ Carol (O mortal man, remember well). Named in OBC as the SussexMummers’ Carol, this was collected by Lucy Broadwood in or around Horsham between1876 and 1881. The carol tells the story of Christ from birth to death, ending withmummers offering the traditional blessing to the master, his household and family.‘The Lord increase you day by day and send you more and more.’

(19) The First Nowell is of Cornish origin, first published in the 1823 Carols Ancient andModern, but presumed to date from the 16th or 17th century – there has beenspeculation that it goes back to the 13th century. While Stainer’s harmonisation from1871 is still sung today, that in OBC is by Martin Shaw. Vaughan Williams’s setting formale voices begins with a baritone solo, develops with tenors singing ‘nowell’ oververses sung by baritones and basses, and ends with all voices together in full cry.

(20) The Lord at First begins at the very beginning with the making of Adam, butmakes rapid progress: ‘And now the tide is nigh at hand, in which our Saviour came’and all Christians are urged to ‘begin an holier life to live, and to rejoice and merry be,For this is Christmas Eve’. This carol, OBC number 1 with four verses, is known withseven verses from 1822 but is probably much older.

(21) Coventry Carol (Lullay thou little tiny child). OBC offers the original (1591)version of the tune and a ‘modern’ version – the latter with a firmer three beats in a bar

11


The herdsmen came with their off’ringFor to present that pretty thing.They gave their gifts that child untilThey were received with full goodwill:Quam grata sunt haec munera

Three Kings came from the east country,Which knew they by astronomy,They offered him gold, myrrh, incense;He took them with great diligence:Quam digna est infantia

They turned again full merrily,Each came unto his own country.They had heaven’s bliss at their ending,The which God grant us old and young:Deo patri sit gloria

Adapted by Ursula Wood from the Shann MS

10 There is a FlowerThere is a flower springing; from tender roots it grows.From Eden beauty bringing from Jesse’s stem a rose,On his green branch it blows:A bud that in cold winter at midnight will unclose.

Pure Mary, maiden holy, the dream by prophets seen,Who in a stable lowly above her child did lean,so gentle and serene:This was Esaias’ vision, the tree of living green.

To Mary, rose of heaven, with loving hearts we sayLet our sins be forgiven, and grief be turned awayupon this Christmas Day:To Jesus child of winter, for grace and hope we pray.

Freely translated by Ursula Wood

FROM THE OXFORD BOOK OF CAROLS (1928)11 O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,How still we see thee lie.Above thy deep and dreamless sleepThe silent stars go by;Yet in thy dark streets shinethThe everlasting Light;The hopes and fears of all the yearsAre met in thee tonight.

O morning stars, togetherProclaim the holy birth.And praises sing to God the King.And peace to men on earth.For Christ is born of Mary,And, gathered all aboveWhile mortals sleep, the angels keepTheir watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silentlyThe wondrous gift is given!So God imparts to human heartsThe blessings of His heaven.No ear may hear His coming;But in this world of sin,Where meek souls will receive Him stillThe dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy,Pray to the Blessed Child;Where misery cries out to thee,Son of the Mother mild;Where charity stands watching,And faith holds wide the door,The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,And Christmas comes once more.

17

than the more flexible original. Vaughan Williams’s new setting, again in triple time, isbased on a different variant, with a longer version of the refrain making the first verse.‘Sisters’ in the verse that follows becomes ‘brothers’ – no doubt out of consideration forthe 1941 singers and audience in wartime Iceland. The text is probably 15th century,written for the Pageant of the Guild of the Shearmen and Tailors for the CoventryMystery Plays, to be sung as a dirge in response to Herod’s slaughter of the ‘HolyInnocents’ who are remembered by the church on 28 December.

(22) I Saw Three Ships was another very popular carol in the early nineteenth centurybroadsides but it is claimed, variously, to come from both the 15th and the 17thcentury. Joshua Sylvester remarked, when publishing it in his A Garland of ChristmasCarols, Ancient and Modern, 1861, that ‘It has always been a great favourite with theilliterate’. The legend about sailing into landlocked Bethlehem can be traced back to the12th century when three ships brought the relics of the purported Wise Men toCologne, Germany. So the words are not to be taken too seriously, and VaughanWilliams makes the most of a jolly tune.

(23) A Virgin Most Pure. This is an arrangement of the first tune for this carol in OBC,which is much as printed in Some Ancient Christmas Carols in 1822. Most of the text wasprinted in 1661 and of course there are many variants. The carol tells of the journey toBethlehem, of finding no room at the inn and Christ’s birth. We shortened this carol byleaving out the shepherds and angels that were to follow.

(24) Dives and Lazarus (As it fell out upon one Day). Our collection saves the best tilllast, for this folk carol tune was dear to Vaughan Williams’s heart. He gave it the nameKingsfold in the 1906 English Hymnal, quoted it in his English Folk Song Suite of 1923 andcomposed Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus in 1939. However, he arranged two othertunes for a version of this text in OBC (number 57), leaving Martin Shaw to arrange thisbetter-known tune for Come all you worthy Christian men at number 60. For this malevoice setting he returns to the song known to folk singers as Dives and Lazarus (though

12


And they did eat, which was a sin,And thus their ruin did begin;Ruined themselves, both you and me,And all of their posterity.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes,Till God the Lord did interpose,And so a promise soon did runThat He would redeem us by His son.

7 The Birth of the SaviourAll you that are to mirth inclined,Consider well and bear in mindWhat our good God for us hath doneIn sending His beloved Son.

Let all your songs and praises beUnto His heavenly Majesty,And evermore among your mirthRemember Christ our Saviour’s birth.

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keepTheir herds and flocks of feeding sheep,To whom God’s angel did appear,Which put the shepherds in great fear.

With thankful hearts and joyful mind,The shepherds went this Babe to find,And as the heavenly angel told,They did our Saviour Christ behold.

No costly robes nor rich attireDid Jesus Christ our Lord desire;No music nor sweet harmony,Till glorious angels from on high

Did in a melodious manner singPraises unto our Heavenly King.All honour, glory, might and praise,They did to Christ our Saviour raise.

8 Wassail SongWe’ve been awhile a-wanderingAmongst the leaves so green,But now we come a-wassailing,So plainly to be seen;

For it’s Christmas time, when we travel far and near;May God bless you and send you a happy New Year.

We are not daily beggarsThat beg from door to door;We are your neighbour’s children,For we’ve been here before;

Call up the butler of this house,Likewise the mistress too,And all the little childrenThat round the table go:

Bring us out a tableAnd spread it with a cloth,Bring us out a mouldy cheeseAnd some of your Christmas loaf;

Good master and good mistress,While you’re sitting by the fire,Pray think of us poor childrenThat’s wandered in the mire.

TWO CAROLS (1945)9 Come Love We God

Come, love we God! Of might is mostThe Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,The which made man, both more and less,And create him to His likeness:O quanta sunt haec opera.

16

References: I consulted too many sources for these notes to list them all. The key reference work isMichael Kennedy’s Catalogue of the Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams (OUP, 2nd edition, 1996). Inaddition, more than 4,600 letters to and from Vaughan Williams can be found atwww.vaughanwilliams.uk, a website set up by the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust in 2017.

the tune has several other names including The Star of the County Down and even TheMurder of Maria Martin in the Red Barn), telling the story from St. Luke’s gospel of howrich Dives (Diverus) refuses charity to the poor man Lazarus; the latter finds his rewardin Heaven, the former somewhere much less comfortable.

This recording epitomises what Vaughan Williams broadcast via the Home Service to awar-torn Britain on 3 December 1939: ‘I should like to think of our musicalCommonwealth as a great pyramid with its apex in the clouds among the great namesof the art and its base firmly fixed on the groundwork of our amateur music making.And below that again the sure foundation of those melodies which our forefathersmade and which still live for us to hear, to love and above all to sing.’

John Francis

13


EIGHT TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CAROLS (1919)1 And All in the Morning

It was on Christmas Day,And all in the morning,Our Saviour was born,And our Heavenly King;

And was not this a joyful thing,And sweet Jesus they called Him by name.

It was on the Twelfth Day,And all in the morning,The Wise Men were ledTo our Heavenly King;

It was on Candlemas dayAnd all in the morning,They visited the Temple,With our Heavenly King;

It was on Holy Wednesday,And all in the morning,That Judas betrayedOur dear Heavenly King;

And was not this a woeful thing,And sweet Jesus they called Him by name.

It was on Good Friday,And all in the morning,They crucified our Saviour,And our Heavenly King;

It was on Easter Day,And all in the morning,Our Saviour arose,Our own Heavenly King.

The sun and the moon they did both rise with Him,And sweet Jesus we’ll call Him by name.

2 On Christmas NightOn Christmas night all Christians sing,To hear the news the angels bring.News of great joy, news of great mirth,News of our merciful King’s birth.

When sin departs before Thy grace,Then life and health come in its place;Angels and men with joy may sing,All for to see the new-born King.

All out of darkness we have light,Which made the angels sing this night;“Glory to God and peace to men,Now and for evermore. Amen”.

3 The Twelve ApostlesWhen Jesus Christ had livedFor thirty years or more,He workèd many wondrous worksWith the twelve apostles pure.

Then Judas with the priestsOur Saviour did betray,And unto them, for thirty penceJesus was sold away.

Then Judas sought a placeWith a tribe of armèd men,He bound his master fast in bandsIn whom there was no sin.

They led Him on straightway,Unto a Judgement place;Without God’s leave He was condemnedTo die in vile disgrace.

They nailed His hands and feetAnd crowned His head with thorns,They gave Him vinegar to drinkBut He the spongeful scorns.

Now all things seemed to mourn,When our blessèd Saviour died;The hills and rocks did rend in twainAnd the mountains did divide.

The heavens themselves grew dim,The moon forsook her light;And for three hours in one dayIt was a dismal sight.

At any Christmas time,Amongst good Christians all,This Christmas carol may be sungIn any house or hall.

4 Down in Yon ForestDown in yon forest there stands a hall,

The bells of Paradise, I heard them ring,It’s covered all over with purple and pall,

And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

In that hall there stands a bed,It’s covered all over with scarlet so red.

In that bed there lies a knight,Whose wounds do bleed by day and night.

At the bed-side there lies a stone,Which the sweet Virgin Mary knelt upon.

Over that bed the moon shines bright,Denoting our Saviour was born this night.

5 May Day CarolAwake, awake good people all,Awake and you shall hearThat Christ has died for our sins,For He lovèd us so dear.

So dearly, so dearly has Christ lovèd usAnd for our sins was slain;Christ bids us leave off our wickednessAnd turn to the Lord again

A branch of May I have brought to you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.

Now my song, that is done, and I must be gone,No longer can I stay,So God bless you all, both great and small,And I wish you a joyful May.

6 The Truth Sent from AboveThis is the truth sent from above,The truth of God, the God of love;Therefore don’t turn me from your door,But hearken all both rich and poor.

The first thing which I do relateIs that God did man create,The next thing which to you I’ll tell:Woman was made with man to dwell.

Then after this was God’s own choice,To place them both in Paradise,There to remain from evil free,Except they ate of such a tree.

14 15


EIGHT TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CAROLS (1919)1 And All in the Morning

It was on Christmas Day,And all in the morning,Our Saviour was born,And our Heavenly King;

And was not this a joyful thing,And sweet Jesus they called Him by name.

It was on the Twelfth Day,And all in the morning,The Wise Men were ledTo our Heavenly King;

It was on Candlemas dayAnd all in the morning,They visited the Temple,With our Heavenly King;

It was on Holy Wednesday,And all in the morning,That Judas betrayedOur dear Heavenly King;

And was not this a woeful thing,And sweet Jesus they called Him by name.

It was on Good Friday,And all in the morning,They crucified our Saviour,And our Heavenly King;

It was on Easter Day,And all in the morning,Our Saviour arose,Our own Heavenly King.

The sun and the moon they did both rise with Him,And sweet Jesus we’ll call Him by name.

2 On Christmas NightOn Christmas night all Christians sing,To hear the news the angels bring.News of great joy, news of great mirth,News of our merciful King’s birth.

When sin departs before Thy grace,Then life and health come in its place;Angels and men with joy may sing,All for to see the new-born King.

All out of darkness we have light,Which made the angels sing this night;“Glory to God and peace to men,Now and for evermore. Amen”.

3 The Twelve ApostlesWhen Jesus Christ had livedFor thirty years or more,He workèd many wondrous worksWith the twelve apostles pure.

Then Judas with the priestsOur Saviour did betray,And unto them, for thirty penceJesus was sold away.

Then Judas sought a placeWith a tribe of armèd men,He bound his master fast in bandsIn whom there was no sin.

They led Him on straightway,Unto a Judgement place;Without God’s leave He was condemnedTo die in vile disgrace.

They nailed His hands and feetAnd crowned His head with thorns,They gave Him vinegar to drinkBut He the spongeful scorns.

Now all things seemed to mourn,When our blessèd Saviour died;The hills and rocks did rend in twainAnd the mountains did divide.

The heavens themselves grew dim,The moon forsook her light;And for three hours in one dayIt was a dismal sight.

At any Christmas time,Amongst good Christians all,This Christmas carol may be sungIn any house or hall.

4 Down in Yon ForestDown in yon forest there stands a hall,

The bells of Paradise, I heard them ring,It’s covered all over with purple and pall,

And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

In that hall there stands a bed,It’s covered all over with scarlet so red.

In that bed there lies a knight,Whose wounds do bleed by day and night.

At the bed-side there lies a stone,Which the sweet Virgin Mary knelt upon.

Over that bed the moon shines bright,Denoting our Saviour was born this night.

5 May Day CarolAwake, awake good people all,Awake and you shall hearThat Christ has died for our sins,For He lovèd us so dear.

So dearly, so dearly has Christ lovèd usAnd for our sins was slain;Christ bids us leave off our wickednessAnd turn to the Lord again

A branch of May I have brought to you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.

Now my song, that is done, and I must be gone,No longer can I stay,So God bless you all, both great and small,And I wish you a joyful May.

6 The Truth Sent from AboveThis is the truth sent from above,The truth of God, the God of love;Therefore don’t turn me from your door,But hearken all both rich and poor.

The first thing which I do relateIs that God did man create,The next thing which to you I’ll tell:Woman was made with man to dwell.

Then after this was God’s own choice,To place them both in Paradise,There to remain from evil free,Except they ate of such a tree.

14 15


And they did eat, which was a sin,And thus their ruin did begin;Ruined themselves, both you and me,And all of their posterity.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes,Till God the Lord did interpose,And so a promise soon did runThat He would redeem us by His son.

7 The Birth of the SaviourAll you that are to mirth inclined,Consider well and bear in mindWhat our good God for us hath doneIn sending His beloved Son.

Let all your songs and praises beUnto His heavenly Majesty,And evermore among your mirthRemember Christ our Saviour’s birth.

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keepTheir herds and flocks of feeding sheep,To whom God’s angel did appear,Which put the shepherds in great fear.

With thankful hearts and joyful mind,The shepherds went this Babe to find,And as the heavenly angel told,They did our Saviour Christ behold.

No costly robes nor rich attireDid Jesus Christ our Lord desire;No music nor sweet harmony,Till glorious angels from on high

Did in a melodious manner singPraises unto our Heavenly King.All honour, glory, might and praise,They did to Christ our Saviour raise.

8 Wassail SongWe’ve been awhile a-wanderingAmongst the leaves so green,But now we come a-wassailing,So plainly to be seen;

For it’s Christmas time, when we travel far and near;May God bless you and send you a happy New Year.

We are not daily beggarsThat beg from door to door;We are your neighbour’s children,For we’ve been here before;

Call up the butler of this house,Likewise the mistress too,And all the little childrenThat round the table go:

Bring us out a tableAnd spread it with a cloth,Bring us out a mouldy cheeseAnd some of your Christmas loaf;

Good master and good mistress,While you’re sitting by the fire,Pray think of us poor childrenThat’s wandered in the mire.

TWO CAROLS (1945)9 Come Love We God

Come, love we God! Of might is mostThe Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,The which made man, both more and less,And create him to His likeness:O quanta sunt haec opera.

16

References: I consulted too many sources for these notes to list them all. The key reference work isMichael Kennedy’s Catalogue of the Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams (OUP, 2nd edition, 1996). Inaddition, more than 4,600 letters to and from Vaughan Williams can be found atwww.vaughanwilliams.uk, a website set up by the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust in 2017.

the tune has several other names including The Star of the County Down and even TheMurder of Maria Martin in the Red Barn), telling the story from St. Luke’s gospel of howrich Dives (Diverus) refuses charity to the poor man Lazarus; the latter finds his rewardin Heaven, the former somewhere much less comfortable.

This recording epitomises what Vaughan Williams broadcast via the Home Service to awar-torn Britain on 3 December 1939: ‘I should like to think of our musicalCommonwealth as a great pyramid with its apex in the clouds among the great namesof the art and its base firmly fixed on the groundwork of our amateur music making.And below that again the sure foundation of those melodies which our forefathersmade and which still live for us to hear, to love and above all to sing.’

John Francis

13


The herdsmen came with their off’ringFor to present that pretty thing.They gave their gifts that child untilThey were received with full goodwill:Quam grata sunt haec munera

Three Kings came from the east country,Which knew they by astronomy,They offered him gold, myrrh, incense;He took them with great diligence:Quam digna est infantia

They turned again full merrily,Each came unto his own country.They had heaven’s bliss at their ending,The which God grant us old and young:Deo patri sit gloria

Adapted by Ursula Wood from the Shann MS

10 There is a FlowerThere is a flower springing; from tender roots it grows.From Eden beauty bringing from Jesse’s stem a rose,On his green branch it blows:A bud that in cold winter at midnight will unclose.

Pure Mary, maiden holy, the dream by prophets seen,Who in a stable lowly above her child did lean,so gentle and serene:This was Esaias’ vision, the tree of living green.

To Mary, rose of heaven, with loving hearts we sayLet our sins be forgiven, and grief be turned awayupon this Christmas Day:To Jesus child of winter, for grace and hope we pray.

Freely translated by Ursula Wood

FROM THE OXFORD BOOK OF CAROLS (1928)11 O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,How still we see thee lie.Above thy deep and dreamless sleepThe silent stars go by;Yet in thy dark streets shinethThe everlasting Light;The hopes and fears of all the yearsAre met in thee tonight.

O morning stars, togetherProclaim the holy birth.And praises sing to God the King.And peace to men on earth.For Christ is born of Mary,And, gathered all aboveWhile mortals sleep, the angels keepTheir watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silentlyThe wondrous gift is given!So God imparts to human heartsThe blessings of His heaven.No ear may hear His coming;But in this world of sin,Where meek souls will receive Him stillThe dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy,Pray to the Blessed Child;Where misery cries out to thee,Son of the Mother mild;Where charity stands watching,And faith holds wide the door,The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,And Christmas comes once more.

17

than the more flexible original. Vaughan Williams’s new setting, again in triple time, isbased on a different variant, with a longer version of the refrain making the first verse.‘Sisters’ in the verse that follows becomes ‘brothers’ – no doubt out of consideration forthe 1941 singers and audience in wartime Iceland. The text is probably 15th century,written for the Pageant of the Guild of the Shearmen and Tailors for the CoventryMystery Plays, to be sung as a dirge in response to Herod’s slaughter of the ‘HolyInnocents’ who are remembered by the church on 28 December.

(22) I Saw Three Ships was another very popular carol in the early nineteenth centurybroadsides but it is claimed, variously, to come from both the 15th and the 17thcentury. Joshua Sylvester remarked, when publishing it in his A Garland of ChristmasCarols, Ancient and Modern, 1861, that ‘It has always been a great favourite with theilliterate’. The legend about sailing into landlocked Bethlehem can be traced back to the12th century when three ships brought the relics of the purported Wise Men toCologne, Germany. So the words are not to be taken too seriously, and VaughanWilliams makes the most of a jolly tune.

(23) A Virgin Most Pure. This is an arrangement of the first tune for this carol in OBC,which is much as printed in Some Ancient Christmas Carols in 1822. Most of the text wasprinted in 1661 and of course there are many variants. The carol tells of the journey toBethlehem, of finding no room at the inn and Christ’s birth. We shortened this carol byleaving out the shepherds and angels that were to follow.

(24) Dives and Lazarus (As it fell out upon one Day). Our collection saves the best tilllast, for this folk carol tune was dear to Vaughan Williams’s heart. He gave it the nameKingsfold in the 1906 English Hymnal, quoted it in his English Folk Song Suite of 1923 andcomposed Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus in 1939. However, he arranged two othertunes for a version of this text in OBC (number 57), leaving Martin Shaw to arrange thisbetter-known tune for Come all you worthy Christian men at number 60. For this malevoice setting he returns to the song known to folk singers as Dives and Lazarus (though

12


O Holy Child of Bethlehem,Descend to us, we pray;Cast out our sin and enter in;Be born in us today!We hear the Christmas angelsThe great glad tidings tell;O come to us, abide with us,Our Lord Emmanuel!

Phillips Brooks

12 The Golden CarolNow is Christmas y-come,Father and Son together in one,Holy Ghost, as ye be one, in fere-a,God send us good New Year-a!

I will you sing with all my might,Of a Child so fair in sight,A maiden bare on Christmas night, so still-a,As it was His will-a.

Three king-es came fro GalileeTo Bethlehem, that fair city,For to offer and to see, by night-a,It was a full fair sight-a

As they came forth with their offering,They met with Herod, that moody king,He ask-ed them of their coming, that tide-a,And thus to them he said-a:

“From whence come ye, you king-es three?”“Out of the East, as ye may see,To seek Him that ever should be, by right-a,Lord and king and knight-a.”

They took their leave, both eld and ying,Of Herod, that moody king;And forth they went with their offering, by light-a,By the star that shone so bright-a.

When they came into the placeWhere Jesus with His mother was,Offered they up with great solace, in fere-aGold, incense, and myrrh-a.

Kneel we now here a-down;Pray we in good devoti-ounTo that King of great renown, of grace-a,In heav’n to have a place-a.

13 Wither’s Rocking HymnSweet baby, sleep! What ails my dear?What ails my darling thus to cry?Be still, my child, and lend thine earTo hear me sing thy lullaby.My pretty lamb, forbear to weep;Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep!

Whilst thus thy lullaby I sing,For thee great blessings ripening be;Thine eldest brother is a king,And hath a kingdom bought for thee.Sweet baby, then, forebear to weep,Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

When God with us was dwelling here,In little babes he took delight:Such innocents as thou, my dear,Are ever precious in his sight.Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

A little infant once was he,And Strength-in-Weakness then was laidUpon his virgin-mother’s knee,That power to thee might be conveyed.Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.

George Wither

18

(16) God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen. Dating to the sixteenth century, perhapsearlier, this carol features in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. It is astraightforward telling of the nativity story, with angels and shepherds.

(17) As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol). This setting is of verses 11 to 15of the text in OBC, the final section ascribed to Christmas Eve. An angel tells Josephhow our heavenly King shall be born in humility, in an ox’s stall, and shall wear fairlinen like all other babies. The carol is thought to date from Coventry Plays performedaround 1400. The tune (the fourth tune in OBC) is described there merely as‘traditional’.

(18) Mummers’ Carol (O mortal man, remember well). Named in OBC as the SussexMummers’ Carol, this was collected by Lucy Broadwood in or around Horsham between1876 and 1881. The carol tells the story of Christ from birth to death, ending withmummers offering the traditional blessing to the master, his household and family.‘The Lord increase you day by day and send you more and more.’

(19) The First Nowell is of Cornish origin, first published in the 1823 Carols Ancient andModern, but presumed to date from the 16th or 17th century – there has beenspeculation that it goes back to the 13th century. While Stainer’s harmonisation from1871 is still sung today, that in OBC is by Martin Shaw. Vaughan Williams’s setting formale voices begins with a baritone solo, develops with tenors singing ‘nowell’ oververses sung by baritones and basses, and ends with all voices together in full cry.

(20) The Lord at First begins at the very beginning with the making of Adam, butmakes rapid progress: ‘And now the tide is nigh at hand, in which our Saviour came’and all Christians are urged to ‘begin an holier life to live, and to rejoice and merry be,For this is Christmas Eve’. This carol, OBC number 1 with four verses, is known withseven verses from 1822 but is probably much older.

(21) Coventry Carol (Lullay thou little tiny child). OBC offers the original (1591)version of the tune and a ‘modern’ version – the latter with a firmer three beats in a bar

11


14 Snow in the StreetFrom far away we come to you,The snow in the street and the wind on the door.To tell of great tidings strange and true.

Minstrels and maids stand forth on the floor:From far away we come to you,To tell of great tidings, strange and true.

For as we wandered far and wide,What hap do you deem there should us betide?

Under a bent when the night was deep,There lay three shepherds tending their sheep.

“O ye shepherds what have you seen,To slay your sorrow and heal your teen?”

“In an ox-stall this night we sawA babe and a maid without a flaw.”

News of a fair and marvellous thing,Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, we sing!

William Morris

15 Blake’s Cradle SongSweet dreams form a shade,O’er my lovely infant’s head.Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,By happy, silent, moony beams.

Sleep, sleep, happy child,All creation slept and smiled;Sleep, sleep, happy sleep,While o’er thee thy mother weep.

Sweet babe, in thy faceHoly image I can trace.Sweet babe, once like thee,Thy maker lay and wept for me.

Wept for me, for thee, for all,When he was an infant small.Thou his image ever see,Heav’nly face that smiles on thee.

Smiles on thee, on me, on all;Who became an infant small.Infant smiles are his own smiles;Heav’n and earth to peace beguiles.

William Blake

NINE CAROLS FOR MALE VOICES (1942)16 God Rest you Merry, Gentlemen

God rest you merry, Gentlemen,Let nothing you dismay;Remember Christ, our Saviour,Was born on Christmas day,To save our souls from Satan’s powerWhen we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.

From God our heavenly Father,A blessèd angel came;And unto certain ShepherdsBrought tidings of the same:How that in Bethlehem was bornThe Son of God by Name:

The shepherds at those tidingsRejoicèd much in mind,And left their flocks a-feeding,In tempest, storm, and wind,And went to Bethlehem straightway,This blessèd babe to find:

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flourish later. This does not apply, of course, to using one’s craft for a definite usefulpurpose (e.g. arranging Xmas carols for the troops in Iceland which I did the other day).’

There were twelve such arrangements for unaccompanied male voices (TTBB),commissioned for troops in Iceland by the British Council, of which nine were publishedby OUP, thus excluding three carols in which publishing rights were held by Stainer andBell (The Truth Sent from Above, On Christmas Night and Yorkshire Wassail). My father EricFrancis served with the Royal Artillery in Iceland for 18 months from October 1940, and Ilike to think that he would have heard these settings.

One or two writers have associated the settings with WW1. Vaughan Williams began achoir of fellow soldiers at Saffron Walden in 1915 and continued to do so on activeservice at Écoivres close to the river Somme; on Christmas Eve 1916 he conducted acarol service on the slopes of Mount Olympus with his choir ‘singing carols of Herefordand Sussex’. Did the 1941 settings draw on arrangements made earlier on?

British troops in Suðurgata in Reykjavik during WW2 (Ó Lafur K. Magnússon)

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Now to the Lord sing praises,All you within this place,And with true love and brotherhoodEach other now embrace;The holy tide of ChristmasIs drawing on apace.

17 As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol)As Joseph was a-walkingHe heard an Angel sing:“This night there shall be bornOn earth our Heavenly King;

He neither shall be bornIn housen nor in hall,Nor in the place of Paradise,But in an ox’s stall.

He neither shall be clothèdIn purple nor in pall;But all in fair linenAs wear the babies all.

He neither shall be rockèd,In silver nor in gold,But in a wooden cradleThat rocks upon the mould.

He neither shall be christenedIn white wine nor red;But with fair spring water,As we were christenèd.”

18 Mummers’ CarolO mortal man, remember well,When Christ our Lord was born,He was crucified between two thieves,And crownèd with the thorn.

O mortal man, remember well,When Christ was wrapped in clay,He was taken to a sepulchreWhere no man ever lay.

God bless your house, your children too,Your cattle and your store;The Lord increase you day by day,And send you more and more.

19 The First NowellThe first Nowell the angel did sayWas to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,In a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a starShining in the East beyond them far,And to the earth it gave great light,And so it continued both day and night.

And by the light of that same star,Three wise men came from country far;To seek for a king was their intent,And to follow the star wheresoever it went.

Then let us all with one accordSing praises to our heavenly Lord,That hath made Heaven and Earth of naught,And with his blood mankind hath bought.

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composed. Six of Wither’s twelve verses were used in OBC and we have recorded fourof them. This carol is a testament, not only to the composer’s imagination but also tohis wide reading and love of poetry.

(14) Snow in the Street (From far away we come to you). William Morris’s epicpoem The Earthly Paradise was published between 1868 and 1870 and has been heldto have established Morris’s reputation as a poet. It tells of mediaeval travellers whomeet a surviving colony of ancient Greeks, with whom they exchange stories. John,the central character of the poem The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon,remembers the song of ‘Outlanders’ with news of the Christmas story. Each verse hasa refrain both in the middle and at the end, and Vaughan Williams extended theclosing refrain in order to enhance the poem’s character as a carol, composingsomething rather like a folk song to accompany it.

(15) Blake’s Cradle Song (Sweet dreams form a shade O’er my lovely infant’shead). The final carol composed for OBC by Vaughan Williams is another lullaby,setting six of the eight verses of William Blake’s A Cradle Song, drawn from his ‘Songsof Innocence’ (1789) in which he explores the clash between the corruption of theworld and the innocence of the young child. The song is about a mother’s love for herchild, and inevitably we see an image from the nativity story – but, like the RockingHymn, OBC treats this as a ‘general’ rather than a ‘Christmas’ carol. Vaughan Williams’smusic is gentle, beautiful, not at all folk-like, perhaps anticipating the Ten Blake Songsthat he was to compose at Christmas 1957, for Guy Brenton’s film The Vision of WilliamBlake (1958).

Nine Carols for Male Voices (1941, published in 1942)Vaughan Williams famously spoke up for his fellow composer Michael Tippett eventhough he profoundly disagreed with his ‘pacifist principles’. He wrote to him inDecember 1941 to express the need to act because ‘There is a great danger now ofour spiritual music paper being burnt - we must save it now so that creative art may

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20 The Lord at FirstThe Lord at first did Adam makeOut of the dust and clay,And in his nostrils breathèd life,E’en as the Scriptures say.And then in Eden’s ParadiseHe placèd him to dwell,That he within it should remainTo dress and keep it well.

Now let good Christians all begin An holier life to live,And to rejoice and merry be,For this is Christmas Eve.

Now mark the goodness of the LordWhich he for mankind bore;His mercy soon he did extend,Lost man for to restore;And then for to redeem our soulsFrom death and hellish thrall,He said his own dear son should beThe Saviour of us all.

Now for the blessings we enjoy,Which are from Heaven above,Let us renounce all wickedness,And live in perfect love.Then shall we do Christ’s own command,E’en his own written word,And when we die, in Heaven shallEnjoy our living Lord.

21 Coventry CarolLullay thou little tiny child,By, by, lullay, lullay.Lullay thou little tiny child.By, by, lullay, lullay.

O brothers too, how may we do,For to preserve this dayThis poor youngling, for whom we sing,By, by, lullay, lullay?

Herod, the king, in his raging,Chargèd he hath this dayHis men of might, in his own sight,All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child, for thee!And ever morn and day;For thy parting neither say nor sing,By, by, lullay, lullay.

22 I Saw Three ShipsI saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day, on Christmas DayI saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day in the morning

And what was in those ships all three?Our Saviour Christ and his lady.Pray, whither sailed those ships all three?O they sailed into Bethlehem.And all the bells on earth shall ring.And all the angels in heaven shall sing.And all the souls on earth shall sing.Then let us all rejoice amain!

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tunes brought together with their carols. This recording includes all four original carolsand just one of the arrangements.

(11) O Little Town of Bethlehem is the single arrangement from this group, firstpublished in The English Hymnal of 1906. OBC does not give tunes names, but in TheEnglish Hymnal the tune was called Forest Green. In 1903, Mr Henry Garman (aged 73)sang to Vaughan Williams The Ploughman’s Dream: ‘I am a ploughboy stout and strongas ever drove a team, And three years since as I lay abed I had a dreadful dream’. Thedream seems to have done Mr Garman no harm, since Vaughan Williams thought hewas only 60, but he also thought he lived at Forest Green, just a mile from hischildhood home at Leith Hill Place, Surrey. Recent research suggests that Mr Garmanmay have lived at Sheep Green, which is even closer to Leith Hill Place. In the UK(though not in the US) this tune has largely displaced the original American tune for OLittle Town, the words for which were written in 1868 by Rev Phillips Brooks who endedhis career as Bishop of Massachusetts.

(12) The Golden Carol (Now is Christemas y-come). The words of this 15th centurycarol survive in several versions, but without a tune. Vaughan Williams composed thischeerful setting of the text published by Frank Sidgwick in 1908. Just to confuse, othercarols lay claim to the name – which derives from the gold, frankincense and myrrh ofthe Epiphany (generally celebrated on 6 January).

(13) Wither’s Rocking Hymn (Sweet baby, sleep). The words are by the PuritanGeorge Wither (1588-1667) from his 1641 three-volume publication: Hallelujah: or,Britain’s second remembrancer, bringing to remembrance (in praiseful and penitentialhymns, spiritual songs, and moral odes,) meditations, advancing the glory of God, in thepractice of piety and virtue. Wither wrote: ‘Nurses usually sing their children asleep, andthrough want of pertinent matter they oft make use of unprofitable, if not worse,songs; this was therefore prepared that it might help acquaint them and their nursechildren with the loving care and kindness of their heavenly Father.’ Vaughan Williamsrose to the challenge and wrote a tune as beautiful as anything that he ever

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23 A Virgin Most PureA virgin most pure, as the prophets do tell,Hath brought forth a baby, as it hath befell,To be our Redeemer from death, hell and sin,Which Adam’s transgression had wrappèd us in.

Aye, and therefore be merry,Rejoice and be you merry, Set sorrows aside;Christ Jesus our Saviour was born on this tide.

At Bethlehem in Jewry a city there was,Where Joseph and Mary together did pass,And there to be taxèd, with many one mo’,For Caesar commanded the same should be so.

But, when they had entered the city so fair,A number of people so mighty was there,That Joseph and Mary, whose substance was small,Could find in the Inn there no lodging at all.

Then were they constrained in a stable to lie,Where horses and asses they used for to tie;Their lodging so simple they took it no scorn,But against the next morning our Saviour was born.

24 Dives and LazarusAs it fell out upon one day,Rich Diverus he made a feast;And he invited all his friends,And gentry of the best.As it fell out upon one day,Poor Lazarus he was so poor,He came and laid him down and down,Even down at Diverus’ door.

Then Laz’rus laid him down and down,Even down at Diverus’ gate;“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,For Jesus Christ his sake.”“Thou art none of mine brother Lazarus,That lies begging at my gate,No meat, no drink will I give thee,For Jesus Christ his sake.”

As it fell out upon one day,Poor Lazarus he sickened and died,There came two angels out of Heav’n,His soul therein to guide.“Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus,And come along with me;For you’ve a place prepared in Heav’n,For to sit upon an angel’s knee.”

As it fell out upon one day,Rich Diverus he sickened and died,There came two serpents out of Hell,His soul therein to guide.“Rise up, rise up, brother Diverus,And come along with me;There is a place prepared in Hell,For to sit upon a serpent’s knee.”

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(8) Wassail Song: This carol is often usefully known as the Yorkshire Wassail, todistinguish it from many others with a similar name. This melody and text came fromsingers whose names are not known, near Hooton Roberts in Yorkshire. It tells of theneighbours’ poor children who are seeking charity at Christmas whilst wishing one andall a Happy New Year.

Two Carols (1945)Moving now to the most recent settings in our programme enables us to pass swiftlyover the Coca Cola Company’s use of Santa Claus in advertisements from the 1920swith the familiar red-cloaked figure first appearing in 1931 and completing the imageryof Christmas as we now experience it. Two Carols for unaccompanied four-part choirwas one of only two works published by Vaughan Williams in 1945:

(9) Come Love We God is based on a text found in Richard Shann’s ‘Certaine prettysongs’ MS of 1611 and first used, with another tune, in OBC. Ursula Wood (who was tomarry the composer in 1953) slightly adapted the words for Vaughan Williams to setthem to his arrangement of an old German carol. This 1945 setting nearly came to griefwhen the composer found what he described as ‘an awful misprint’ – but it wascorrected so we may never know what it was.

(10) There is a Flower (Es ist ein’ Ros’). Ursula made this free translation of the oldcarol, by an unknown composer but set in four-part harmony (as heard here) byMichael Praetorius in 1609. While this was clearly a joint publishing venture by VaughanWilliams and Ursula, this is a rare example of Vaughan Williams publishing somethingthat he had neither written nor arranged.

The Oxford Book of Carols (1928)Vaughan Williams contributed four original carols to this book and 31 arrangements. Anumber of the latter were originally in an appendix of folk tunes proper to certain carolsin the main body of the book; in later editions the appendix was abolished and the


William Vann ~ Director and PianoWilliam Vann is the Organist and Director of Music at the Royal Hospital, the sixteenthholder of the post since 1692. His musical education began while a Chorister of King’sCollege, Cambridge and continued as a Music and Organ Scholar at Bedford School; hesubsequently read Law and held a Choral Scholarship at Gonville and Caius College,Cambridge, studying as a pianist at theRoyal Academy of Music with MalcolmMartineau and Colin Stone. Gramophone,reviewing ALBCD029 Purer than Pearl, ourrecording of Vaughan Williams songs andduets, reserved “a special word of praisefor William Vann’s deft pianism”. He hasbeen awarded many prizes for pianoaccompaniment, including the WigmoreSong Competition Jean Meikle Prize for aDuo (with Johnny Herford), the GeraldMoore award, the Royal Overseas LeagueAccompanists’ Award, a Geoffrey ParsonsMemorial Trust award, the Concordia-Serena Nevill Prize, the Association of EnglishSingers and Speakers Accompanist Prize, the Great Elm Awards Accompanist Prize, theSir Henry Richardson Scholarship and the Hodgson Fellowship in pianoaccompaniment at the RAM.

William has collaborated on stage with a vast array of singers and instrumentalists,among them Sir Thomas Allen CBE, Mary Bevan, Katie Bray, Allan Clayton, JamesGilchrist, Thomas Gould, Johnny Herford, Guy Johnston, Jennifer Johnston, AoifeMiskelly, Ann Murray DBE, Brindley Sherratt, Nicky Spence, Andrew Staples, KittyWhately and the Benyounes and Navarra quartets. Recent performances have includedappearances at Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, the ROH Crush Room, Sage, Gatesheadand St John’s, Smith Square, at the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Oxford Lieder, Machynlleth

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Derek Welton and pianist Iain Burnside included the solo version of these carols; thisrecording uses both choir and organ in a mixture of the published unison andharmony settings.

(1) And All in the morning: The melody and text were collected by Vaughan Williamsin Castleton, Derbyshire in 1908. The text follows the story from Christmas through toHoly Week and Easter.

(2) On Christmas Night: Well known as the Sussex Carol, Vaughan Williams collectedthis at Monk’s Gate, Sussex, in 1908 and included it in his Fantasia on Christmas Carolsof 1912.

(3) The Twelve Apostles: This carol was collected in Tipton, Staffordshire. It tells of thebetrayal and crucifixion, but sets out its stall as a Christmas carol in the last verse,whether justified or not!

(4) Down in Yon Forest: This version of the carol was collected in 1908 by Ivor Gattyand Ralph Vaughan Williams from Mr Hall of Castleton, Derbyshire. This mysterioussong is thought to refer to the Grail Legend as well as the sacramental blood of Christ.

(5) May Day Carol: Vaughan Williams collected this version of a Passion or AtonementCarol in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire in 1907, but there are many alternative versions.

(6) The Truth Sent from Above: This is one of the very greatest folk melodies, sung inJuly 1909 to Vaughan Williams and Mrs Ella M Leather by Mr W Jenkins in King’s Pyon,near Hereford. Vaughan Williams had already used it at the beginning of his Fantasiaon Christmas Carols.

(7) The Birth of the Saviour: Another carol noted down by Vaughan Williams from MrHall of Castleton (who only sang one verse, but additional verses were supplied fromRev. Shawcross’s Old Castleton Christmas Carols). It was re-published as The Sinners’Redemption in OBC. This was a popular carol, at least from the mid-1700s, frequentlyprinted in broadside sheets.

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and City of London Festivals, the Northern Ireland Festival of Voice (broadcast onRadio 3) and abroad in France, Germany (on live ZDF television), Ireland, Nigeria,South Africa (National Arts Festival) and Sweden. His discography includes recordingswith Albion Records, Champs Hill Records, Navona Records and SOMM.

He is the founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival, a Trusteeof the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company ofMusicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, the Chairman of Kensington andChelsea Music Society, the Artistic Director of Bedford Music Club and a conductorand vocal coach on the Dartington and Oxenfoord International Summer Schools. InApril 2019 he will conduct a revival of Parry’s oratorio Judith at Royal Festival Hall, thefirst full London performance since the 19th century, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passionwith the Academy of Ancient Music at Cadogan Hall.

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital ChelseaThe Royal Hospital Chelsea is the home of the iconic Chelsea Pensioners, who are allretired soldiers of the British Army. Founded in 1682 by King Charles II for “the reliefand succour” of veterans, it admitted its first Chelsea Pensioners in 1692, among themsome who were injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren,the Royal Hospital is one of the most visually stunning landmarks in London, sittingbeside the River Thames opposite Battersea Park. The Chapel Choir of the RoyalHospital is one of the finest professional church choirs in the UK, whose primarypurpose is to sing at the Sunday morning Matins service in the Wren Chapel (a serviceopen to the general public). Members regularly sing with many of the world’s leadingconsort groups, such as The Sixteen, Tallis Scholars, Stile Antico and Monteverdi Choirand also work in the fields of opera, conducting, teaching and music journalism. Itstwelve singers, occasionally enlarged for occasions such as this recording, are chosennot only for their skill at choral singing but also for a high standard of solo ability andgeneral musicianship. The choir’s regular concerts both at the Royal Hospital andCadogan Hall have been critically acclaimed for combining “…characterful

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was an attempt to bring together the best of what had survived both at home andabroad, in its original form as far as possible, with a number of new tunes (includingfour by Vaughan Williams).

Vaughan Williams’s biographer Michael Kennedy suggested in 1964 that the modernrevival of carols was in great measure due to this excellent book. The musicalevolution has continued, much of it led from Cambridge (from where the King’sCollege Nine Lessons and Carols has been broadcast since 1928) by musicians such asBoris Ord, Harold Darke, David Willcocks, John Rutter and others. We have becomeused to atmospheric settings, with spectacular last verses, to be enjoyed as aperformance. Vaughan Williams was writing more for carol singers and congregationsthan for cathedrals and choirs, and the settings are straightforward. However, thePreface suggests that variety in the method of singing is important, with a mixture ofharmony and unison verses, and antiphonal effects. The same Preface also endorsesthe abbreviation of longer carols, and we have done so in order to fit a wide range ofcarols into our recording.

The recording is of settings or arrangements published by Vaughan Williams between1919 and 1945, thus recapturing the spirit of Christmas just as he saw it and heard it.In presenting some complete sets as they were published, one or two carols in therecording stray away from Christmas – and one of them is rather loosely associatedwith Vaughan Williams, who arranged for its publication – but this programme is acelebration of a great composer’s inspiration.

Eight Traditional English Carols (1919)Vaughan Williams had been collecting folk songs and carols since 1903 and publishedthis selection of arrangements of carols on his return from war service in 1919. Theywere arranged for voice and piano or organ, but also for an unaccompanied four-partchoir. Albion’s earlier recording On Christmas Day (ALBCD013) featuring baritone


performances with some finely focused singing…a fine and highly involvingperformance.” An earlier release with William Vann as Director of Music, SOMMCD0161Carols from Chelsea, earned critical press acclaim, Gramophone commenting on the“first-class personnel” and “tension and subtlety in the performances.”

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea:Soprano: Helen Ashby, Katy Hill, Eloise Irving, Leah JacksonAlto: Emma Ashby, Rosemary Clifford, Roderick MorrisTenor: Ross Buddie, Thomas Herford, Edward Hughes, Tom Kelly, Matthew LongBaritone: Adrian Horsewood, Angus McPhee, Thomas Stoddart, Ben TomlinBass: Nicholas Ashby, Timothy Murphy, Andrew Tipple

Hugh Rowlands ~ OrganHugh is the current (2018) Organ Scholar of theRoyal Hospital, Chelsea. He began his musicalcareer as a chorister at Westminster Abbey wherehe appeared on a number of CDs, and sang atmany special services, most notably the RoyalWedding in 2011. From 2012, he attended TheKing’s School, Canterbury, where he was a music,organ and academic scholar. He regularlyaccompanied the school choirs in their services inCanterbury Cathedral. He was also the pianosoloist in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No.2,Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 and Tchaikovsky’s

Piano Concerto No.1. Hugh has given many recitals in and around London, in particularat St George’s Chapel Windsor. From September 2018, Hugh will be Organ Scholarreading music at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge.

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Christmas, as we all know, is the annual celebration of the birth of the Son of God toa Virgin in a stable at Bethlehem, for there was no room at the inn. No matter howmuch theologians and the cynical combine to dispute what really happened, this2,000-year-old story remains constant at the heart of Christmas, while everythingaround it evolves. Christmas as we might recognise it was invented in 1843, whenCharles Dickens published A Christmas Carol and Sir Henry Cole sold the firstChristmas cards. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria popularised the Christmas tree inthe 1840s, importing a German tradition. Tom Smith of London is credited with theinvention of the Christmas cracker in 1847, although the ‘crackle’ arrived a little later.

A number of collections of carols were published in the early part of that century,often with the observation that they were sung increasingly less frequently and inremote parts of the country. Broadsides (sheets printed on one side only) oftencarried ballads and carols; these are an important source of carol texts from the1830s and 1840s. There was a big step forward in 1880 when Bishop EdwardBenson devised a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols for performance in the stillunfinished Truro Cathedral. In the decades that followed, the search for folk songs inwhich Vaughan Williams and others took part was accompanied by a search for folkcarols, which had survived against all the odds.

In 1928 The Oxford Book of Carols (OBC) was published, edited by Percy Dearmer,with Musical Editors Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw. Its 197 carolsencompass all seasons, though a good many celebrate Christmas – and ChristmasCarols have always had a particular importance. Dearmer, in his Preface, said that‘Carols are songs with a religious impulse that are simple, hilarious, popular, andmodern’. ‘Hilarious’ must mean light-hearted in this context, and ‘modern’ for theirtime: he dates them from the fifteenth century ‘because people wanted somethingless severe than the old Latin office hymns, something more vivacious than theplainsong melodies’. Many early carols survived only as folk songs after thetemporary abolition of Christmas celebrations under the Puritans in 1647. The book

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Production credits Musical Director: William VannExecutive Producer, booklet notes and photography: John FrancisProducer: Andrew Walton of K & A ProductionsEngineer: Deborah Spanton of K & A ProductionsScores editor: Peter ClulowRecorded at St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead, London on 16-18 February 2018Cover image: From the ceiling of St. Jude’s Church, painted by Walter Starmer between 1909 and 1935.

With special thanksPrincipal Sponsors and Gold Supporters: The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust, Chris and Adie Batt,Simon and Laura Coombs, John and Sharon Francis

Silver supporters: Hiro Baba, David Barnard, Stephen Bennetts, Neil Bettridge, The Bevis Foundation, Eric Birznieks and Carol Dean, Caitlin and John Cassidy, Harold Corwin,Martin Cunningham, Marcus DeLoach, Johan Doumont, Kevin and Karen Ellery, Leonard Evans,Robert Field, Michael Gainsford, Alan Gillmor, Michael Godbee, Ronald Grames, William Greenwood, Richard Hall, David James, James Korner, Trevor Lockwood, Barry Menhenett, Martin Murray, Andrew Neill, Benjamin Nossiter, Alison Oliphant, Robert Page, Charles Paterson, Julian Pearcey, Brian Reeve, Thomas Render, Tony Richardson,Philip Robson, Kevin Schutts, Stephen Smith, Roderick Swanston (in memoriam), John and Muriel Treadway, Paul Wakefield, James C. Williams

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Nine Carols for male voices (1941)16 God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen 2’2317 As Joseph Was A-Walking (Cherry Tree Carol) 1’4818 Mummers’ Carol 2’3019 The First Nowell 3’3020 The Lord at First 3’2721 Coventry Carol 2’2822 I Saw Three Ships 1’2023 A Virgin Most Pure 4’0824 Dives and Lazarus 3’59

70’22

* Tracks 12-15 are original compositions by Vaughan WilliamsTrack 10 is a translation by Ursula Wood with music set by

Michael Praetorius, 1609All other tracks are arrangements of traditional carols by

Vaughan Williams

William Vann ~ directorHugh Rowlands ~ organ (tracks 1-8 and 11-15)

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital ChelseaSoloists: Thomas Stoddart (tracks 3 and 12), Edward Hughes (track 4),

Angus McPhee (tracks 6 and 19), Eloise Irving and Edward Hughes (track 13), Katy Hill and Adrian Horsewood (track 15),

Timothy Murphy (track 22)


For further information visit: www.rvwsociety.com/albionrecordsJoin The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society at www.rvwsociety.com

On Christmas DayDerek Welton sings folksongs and fold carols withIain Burnside (piano)

About Albion Records

Directors: John Francis FCA (Chairman), Mark HammettFulfilment: Mark and Sue HammettA & R Manager: Charles PadleyWeb-Master: Tad Kasa

Since its formation in 1994, The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society – a registered charity witharound 1,000 members worldwide – has sought to raise the profile of the composerthrough publications, seminars and sponsorship of recordings.The Society’s recording label, Albion Records, was formed in 2007 and is devoted torecordings of works by Vaughan Williams. Each recording contains at least one worldpremière recording. Two recordings (The Solent and Discoveries) were nominated for aGrammy award, and many recordings have spent some weeks in the UK’s specialistclassical chart.

Previous Vaughan Williams recordings, still available, include:

ALB

CD01

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Where Hope is ShiningPart songs performed byJoyful Company of Singers

ALB

CD00

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Earth and SkyChoral works performedby The Choir of the RoyalHospital Chelsea withWilliam Vann and HughRowlands

ALB

CD03

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272

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 1872-1958

Eight Traditional English Carols (1919)1 And All in the Morning 3’552 On Christmas Night 1’333 The Twelve Apostles 4’024 Down in Yon Forest 2’405 May Day Carol 2’036 The Truth Sent from Above 2’377 The Birth of the Saviour 3’278 Wassail Song 2’17

Two carols (1945)9 Come Love We God 2’33

10 There is a Flower 2’21

From The Oxford Book of Carols (1928)11 O Little Town of Bethlehem 3’4412 The Golden Carol * 2’0113 Wither's Rocking Hymn * 4’0014 Snow in the Street * 3’3315 Blake’s Cradle Song * 3’08

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS


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Chapel Choir of theRoyal Hospital Chelsea

William Vann directorHugh Rowlands organ

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS ALBION RECORDS

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Documents

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS · Since its formation in 1994, The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society – a registered charity with around 1,000 members worldwide – has sought to raise the profile