Sussex Carol
Encyclopedia
The Sussex Carol is a Christmas carol
popular in Britain
, sometimes referred to by its first line On Christmas night all Christians sing. Its words were first published by Luke Wadding
, a 17th-century Irish bishop, in a work called Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs (1684). It is unclear whether Wadding wrote the song or was recording an earlier composition.
Both the text and the tune to which it is now sung were discovered and written down by Cecil Sharp
in Buckland
, Gloucestershire
and Ralph Vaughan Williams
, who heard it being sung by a Harriet Verrall of Monk's Gate
, near Horsham
, Sussex
(hence "Sussex Carol"). The tune to which it is generally sung today is the one Vaughan Williams took down from Mrs Verrall and published in 1919.
An earlier version using a different tune, and a variation on the first line, On Christmas night true Christians sing, was published as early as 1878 in Henry Ramsden Bramley
and John Stainer
's Christmas Carols New and Old. The carol has been arranged by a number of composers. Vaughan Williams' setting is found in his Eight Traditional English Carols. Several years earlier, Vaughan Williams had included the carol in his Fantasia on Christmas Carols
, first performed at the 1912 Three Choirs Festival
at Hereford Cathedral
. Erik Routley
's arrangement in the 1961 University Carol Book adds a modal inflection to the setting. The carol often appears at the King's College "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols", where it is performed in arrangements by either David Willcocks or Philip Ledger
, both former directors of music at the chapel. Willcock's arrangement appears in the first OUP Carols for Choirs
.
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
popular in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, sometimes referred to by its first line On Christmas night all Christians sing. Its words were first published by Luke Wadding
Luke Wadding
Luke Wadding was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian.-Life:Wadding was born in 16 October 1588 at Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombard . Educated at the school of Mrs...
, a 17th-century Irish bishop, in a work called Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs (1684). It is unclear whether Wadding wrote the song or was recording an earlier composition.
Both the text and the tune to which it is now sung were discovered and written down by Cecil Sharp
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...
in Buckland
Buckland, Gloucestershire
Buckland is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 256. The village is situated near the Worcestershire border and is about 9 miles south of Evesham....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, who heard it being sung by a Harriet Verrall of Monk's Gate
Monk's Gate
Monk's Gate is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A281 road 2.6 miles southeast of Horsham.-Hymn tune:...
, near Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
(hence "Sussex Carol"). The tune to which it is generally sung today is the one Vaughan Williams took down from Mrs Verrall and published in 1919.
An earlier version using a different tune, and a variation on the first line, On Christmas night true Christians sing, was published as early as 1878 in Henry Ramsden Bramley
Henry Ramsden Bramley
Henry Ramsden Bramley was an English clergyman and hymnologist perhaps best known for his collaborations with the composer Sir John Stainer...
and John Stainer
John Stainer
Sir John Stainer was an English composer and organist whose music, though not generally much performed today , was very popular during his lifetime...
's Christmas Carols New and Old. The carol has been arranged by a number of composers. Vaughan Williams' setting is found in his Eight Traditional English Carols. Several years earlier, Vaughan Williams had included the carol in his Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Fantasia on Christmas Carols is a 1912 work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. First performed at the 1912 Three Choirs Festival at Hereford Cathedral, the work is a single movement of roughly twelve minutes which consists of the English folk carols...
, first performed at the 1912 Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
at Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
. Erik Routley
Erik Routley
Erik Routley was an English Congregational minister, composer and musicologist. He was educated at Lancing College and Magdalen and Mansfield Colleges in Oxford...
's arrangement in the 1961 University Carol Book adds a modal inflection to the setting. The carol often appears at the King's College "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols", where it is performed in arrangements by either David Willcocks or Philip Ledger
Philip Ledger
Sir Philip Ledger CBE is a British classical musician and academic. He is best-known for his tenure as director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge between 1973 and 1982 and as director of Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1982 until his retirement in 2001...
, both former directors of music at the chapel. Willcock's arrangement appears in the first OUP Carols for Choirs
Carols for Choirs
Carols for Choirs, published by Oxford University Press, edited by Sir David Willcocks with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter, is the most widely-used source of carols in the British Anglican tradition, and among British choral societies.There are four books in the original series and a portmanteau...
.
Text
A number of variations on the text exist, although all feature the repetition of the first two stanzas. Below is a comparison between the text collected by Cecil Sharp in Gloucestershire, Ralph Vaughan Williams in Sussex (the version used in his Fantasia and both the David Willcocks and Philip Ledger arrangements) and the version printed by Bramley and Stainer in 1878.| Version collected by Cecil Sharp. | Version collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams. | Version in Christmas Carols New and Old (c.1870). |
|---|---|---|
On Christmas night all Christians sing To hear what news those angels bring; News of great joy, news of great mirth, News of our Saviour King's own birth. |
On 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. |
On Christmas night true Christians sing To hear what news the angel bring News of great joy, cause of great mirth Good tidings of the Saviour's birth |
Angels with joy sing in the air, No music may with theirs compare; While prisoners in their chains rejoice To hear the echoes of that voice. |
||
Then why should men on earth be so sad Since our Redeemer made us glad, When from sin He set us free All for to gain our liberty. |
Then why should men on earth be so sad, Since our Redeemer made us glad, When from our sin he set us free, All for to gain our liberty? |
So how on earth can men be sad, When Jesus comes to make us glad; From sin and hell to set us free, And buy for us our liberty? |
Now sin depart, behold His grace, Everlasting life comes in its place, And soon we shall its terror see And poor and rich must conquered be. |
When sin departs before His grace, Then life and health come in its place. Angels and men with joy may sing All for to see the new-born King. |
Let sin depart, while we His grace, And glory see in Jesus' face; For so shall we sure comforts find When thus this day we bear in mind. |
Then out of darkness we see light, Which makes all angels to sing this night Glory to God and peace to men Both now and evermore. Amen. |
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!" |
And from the darkness we have light, Which makes the Angels sing this night: "Glory to God, His peace to men, Both now and evermore." Amen. |