Celebrate with this beautiful version of another beloved Christmas carol! Then, join us at classicalrush.org/ for more of your Christmas favorites. This song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year, which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of spring in April. With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became Malanka. The songs sung for this celebration are known as Shchedrivky. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its concert tour of Europe and the Americas, where it premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. A copyrighted English text was created by Peter Wilhousky in the 1930s, and since then it has been performed and sung during the Christmas season. Its initial popularity stemmed largely from Wilhouskys ability to perform it to a wide audience in his role as arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, trained especially for Arturo Toscanini. The song would later be assisted to further popularity by featuring in television advertisements for champagne. An alternate English version (Ring, Christmas Bells) featuring more Nativity-based lyrics, written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947, is also common. The original work was intended to be sung a Capella by mixed four-voice choir. Two other settings of the composition were also created by Leontovych: one for womens choir (unaccompanied) and another for childrens choir with piano accompaniment. These are rarely performed or recorded. (Quoted from Wikipedia) https://youtube/watch?v=dWgtJhbVOAI&index=5&list=PL7h4CanFm_N7XtARF3GKWUnm3ddTl8AuL
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:00:00 +0000