A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). Today the carol is represented almost exclusively by the Advent carol, the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

, and to a lesser extent by the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

carol; however, despite their present association with religion, this has not always been the case.

History

The word ''carol'' is derived from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

circle dance Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of Partne ...

accompanied by singers (in turn derived from the Latin ''choraula''). Carols were very popular as dance songs from the 1150s to the 1350s, after which their use expanded as processional songs sung during festivals, while others were written to accompany religious mystery plays (such as the " Coventry Carol", written before 1534). Sacred music was traditionally sung in Latin by clergy or appointed cantors of the Catholic church. Following the Protestant

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, reformers aimed to bring music "back to the people". To enable the common person to sing church music, great efforts were made to translate musical texts from Latin into the native languages that people spoke.

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, the father of Lutheran Christianity, encouraged congregational singing during the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, in addition to spreading the practice of caroling outside the liturgy. Composers such as

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

composed

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

-like works for Christmas that they termed carols; and folk-carols continued to be sung in rural areas. Nonetheless, some famous carols were written in this period, and they were more strongly revived from the nineteenth century and began to be written and adapted by eminent composers. William Emmett Studwell, ''The Christmas Carol Reader'' (Routledge, 1995), p. 3.

Modern carols

In modern times, songs that may once have been regarded as carols are now no longer classified as such (especially Christmas songs), even those that retain the traditional attributes of a carol – celebrating a seasonal topic, alternating verses and chorus, and danceable music. Some writers of carols, such as George Ratcliffe Woodward who wrote " Ding Dong Merrily on High" and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

who wrote " Masters in This Hall", reverted to a quasi-mediaeval style; this became a feature of the early twentieth-century revival in Christmas Carols. Some composers have written extended works based on carols. Examples include Benjamin Britten ('' A Ceremony of Carols''), Ralph Vaughan Williams ('' Fantasia on Christmas Carols'') and Victor Hely-Hutchinson ('' Carol Symphony'').

Bibliography

Important anthologies of carols include: *''The Carol Book'' ed. David Iliff and John Barnard, published RSCM (2005) *'' Carols for Choirs'' ed. David Willcocks, Reginald Jacques and John Rutter (1961–1988) *''Christmas Carols New and Old'' ed. H. R. Bramley and John Stainer (1871) *'' The Cowley Carol Book'' ed. George Ratcliffe Woodward (1901–19) *'' The New Oxford Book of Carols'' ed. Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott (1992) *'' The Oxford Book of Carols'' ed. Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1928) *''The Penguin Book of Carols'' ed. Ian Bradley (1999) *''The University Carol Book'' ed. Erik Routley (1961)

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control Medieval music genres 16th-century music genres 19th-century music genres Song forms Christian music genres Medieval dance Circle dances Choral music genres

History

Modern carols

Bibliography

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links