"I Wonder as I Wander" is a

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 ...

folk

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

, typically performed as a

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 ...

, written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933.Pen, Ron. "I Wonder as I Wander". ''A Kentucky Christmas'' (George Ella Lyon, editor). University Press of Kentucky (2003)
p200–201
.Studwell, William E. ''The Christmas Carol Reader''. Haworth Press (1995)
p111
. Emmons, Shirlee & Wilbur Watkin Lewis. ''Researching the Song: A Lexicon''. Oxford University Press (2006)
p242
.Niles, John Jacob. John-Jacob-Niles.com. While in the town of Murphy in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police. In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song: The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance, and Niles left with "three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea". (In various accounts of this story, Niles hears between one and three lines of the song.Stulken, Marilyn K. ''With One Voice: Reference Companion''. Augsburg Fortress (2000)
p25
.) Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas. His composition was completed on October 4, 1933. Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It was originally published in ''Songs of the Hill Folk'' in 1934. Niles's "folk composition" process caused confusion among singers and listeners, many of whom believed this song to be anonymous in origin.Pen, Ron. "Introduction to the New Edition". ''The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles''. University Press of Kentucky (2000)
p''xiv''
.Pegolotti, James A. ''Deems Taylor: A Biography''. UPNE (2003)
p285
. Niles undertook lawsuits to establish its authorship and demanded royalties of other performers of the song. The biography of Niles by Ronald Pen uses the song title: ''I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles'' (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010. ).

Setting and arrangements

"I Wonder as I Wander", since its collection, has always been sung to the melody published by Niles. Bradley, Ian. ''The Penguin Book of Carols''. Penguin (1999), p148. . According to academic and theologian Ian Bradley, the "clean, haunting melody ... maintains the open-air atmosphere and sense of wistful wandering conjured up in the first line." A setting of the tune is part of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's folk song arrangements for both high/medium and medium/low voice. The arrangement was originally published by G. Schirmer in 1934.

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

sang it on the 1967 album '' A Christmas Album''.

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

set it for soprano and ensemble as part of his ''

Folk Songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

'' in 1964: the song cycle was composed for, and recorded by, Cathy Berberian. Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary also covered this song in their PBS Special ''The Holiday Concert'' in 1988. A notable recent choral setting by Swiss composer Carl Rütti, with the original words and an entirely new melody, has been performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Westminster Choir College performs an arrangement by Steve Pilkington annually at its Readings and Carols concert. Singer Vanessa Williams recorded a version in her Christmas album '' Star Bright''. Multi-instrumentalist Joe Weed arranged the song for his 1994 album ''Prairie Christmas''. Wovenhand provides an experimental/ambient folk rendition of the song on the Christian indie folk label Sounds Familyre's first Christmas compilation. Hammered dulcimer artist Joshua Messick provides a version on his 2018 album ''Hammered Dulcimer Christmas Vol. II''. Violinist

Lindsey Stirling Lindsey Stirling (born September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, songwriter and dancer. She presents choreographed violin performances, in live and music videos found on her official YouTube channel, which she created in 2007. Stirling per ...

recorded it for the 2018 deluxe edition of her 2017 Christmas album, '' Warmer in the Winter''. The John Rutter arrangement is performed by iamthemorning on their 2020 EP, ''Counting The Ghosts''. American DJ and electro musician

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, music producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade as "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Magazine, DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-fi ...

released a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

, lo-fi cover version of the hymn for his Christmas album '' Kaskade Christmas Volume 2'', featuring vocals by Canadian singer-songwriter Jamie Fine.

References

{{authority control 1933 songs American Christian hymns American Christmas songs Christmas carols 20th-century hymns

Setting and arrangements

See also

References