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| Wednesday, 24 December 2003 |
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Artscope | |
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Carol-singing is synonymous with Christmas by Derrick Schokman Although carol-singing is synonymous with the Christmas season today, it developed from something quite different and unrelated to Christmas. The word "Carol" is probably derived from the Greek Khoraules (chorus), and the earliest carols were probably sung by dancers taking part in a chorus or circling dances. The medieval French carol too as a dance-round with no religious connotations. The seasonal link may have 72 come about because of the use of a pattern by refrain and verse as a popular adjunct to the liturgy particularly for special feasts. Popular Whatever the source may have been, carol-singing became a popular feature of Christmas throughout the whole of Europe. Monks in Italy sang carols in celebration of the nativity of the Christ Child from the 5th century onwards. So did minstrels in baronial halls, where they introduced them into medieval mystery plays which were usually performed at Christmas. But it was not until the 13th century that carols were written for church congregations to sing. Distinction Even then a distinction was made of what was sung by the church choir and the church congregation. The former were considered to be carols and the latter hymns.
The King's College Cambridge service of Nine Lessons and carols held on Christmas Eve still adheres to that distinction. The editors of the Oxford Book of Carols also omitted the well-known "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the grounds that they were hymns. A distinction is also made in the subject matter of the carol. There are sacred carols, legendary and secular carols. A good example of a sacred carol is the famous "Silent Night", which was found in manuscript form in an organ in the village of Ausdorf, New Salzburg, where it had lain forgotten for many years. First sung in 1818 this carol remains to date one of the best loved of Christendom. The popular carol "Good King Wencelas" on the other hand is of legendary origin about a Bohemian philantropist in the 10th century. His story was most likely to have been brought to England by King James First's daughter Elisabeth who married the Elector Palatine of Bohemia. The Twelve Days Before Christmas," a song made famous by the American singer Burl Ives, may be classed as a secular carol. Two more Christmas songs made famous by another celebrated American singer, Bing Crosby, namely "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" cannot qualify as carols, rather as Christmas songs, although some American publishers might disagree. Setting Not only are carols diverse in the above stated instances, but they also differ in the settings in which they are sung. There are small carol parties that go from home to home on Christmas Eve and large parties that gather in town squares and parks to sing by candle light. Candlelight carol parties originated in Australia when Norman Banks, a commercial radio announcer, was sitting in the window of his Melbourne flat, watching an old lady across the street listening with wrapt attention to a radio broadcast of Christmas carols, holding a lighted candle in her hand. This little interlude set Banks' imagination leaping ahead of time and place. An idea was born - carols by candlelight! Banks proceeded to arrange for carol - singing by candlelight on Christmas Eve of the following year at the Alexandra Gardens in Melbourne. He had hopes of having a small band of singers to fall in with the idea, but was surprised beyond imagination by the vast host of 10,000 who arrived at the park on that eventful Christmas Eve. The idea spread to other countries, including Sri Lanka where the Police have a session of Carols by Candlelight in Colombo. Carols and to the charm of Christmas, reminding us of the intrinsic message that the angels are reported to have brought on the day the Christ Child was born: "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth Peace and goodwill to men." |
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