# 136 “The First Nowell” W: English traditional, 17th century M: English traditional carol It’s hard to believe but true Christmas carols dwindled in popularity through the 18th century and on the brink of extinction. It isn’t a coincidence that this ran parallel to the industrialization and urbanization of Europe; carols, folk songs, et al were considered rural and ‘hokey’. Thankfully, some of the landed gentry in the UK became interested in documenting traditional culture before it disappeared – and that’s how we still have “The First Nowell”. “The First Nowell” first appeared in print in a collection of ‘ballad carols’ by Cornishman William Sandys. It’s an odd tune; the first and second lines are the same, and the ‘Nowells’ vary just a wee bit. People who know about these things think that means that this tune is just a fragment of a longer, much older tune. There’s some disagreement about whether or not it originally came over from France, based on the central word, ‘Noel/Nowell’. Well, given the historical connections between Cornwall and Brittany … maybe. Ah – but IS it ‘Nowell’??? Because there’s a Cornish source which gives the first verse as, O well, O well, the Angels did say To shepherds there in the fields did lay; Late in the night a-folding their sheep, A winters night, both cold and bleak. O well, O well, O well, O well, Born is the King o Israel. Hmmm. Let’s stick with the one in our hymn book, eh? https://youtube/watch?v=dVtNXp56kiQ
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 01:12:44 +0000
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