Christmas Carol

With Christmas around the corner, here’s a post which will hopefully put you in good cheer – a “Christmas special”, if you will. 

It has been a tradition of mine to write a yearly poem or carol to send to friends far and near.  Unfortunately, all inspiration seems to have dried up this year,  and so I am sharing one of my older poems.  It is inspired by medieval carols, and particularly their curious mix of the sacred and profane.    There follows a review of a work of non-fiction published earlier this year on Vintage, in which Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke reveal interesting and, sometimes obscure, details about Christmas in Tudor times.  It’s a lovely book which would make for a great stocking filler.

***

Christmas Carol

It is that time of year

when thinning calendars

shed their leaves,

like trees coyly undressing

in the snowlit glare.

These are the days which taste

of hot mince pies and wine,

which bear

the scent of incense,

of cinnamon and pine.

Come, hold my hand,

your touch as warm as winter fires.

Let us make haste

to see the Holy Child

swaddled in a blaze of light,

whilst angel choirs,

voices bright

as solstice bells

announce in all the land...

Make we joy now in this fest

In quo Christus natus est.

***

"A Tudor Christmas" by Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke  

A book review

Up to some years ago, I used to keep to an annual Christmas ritual. Come end September, or at the latest, early October, as soon as the first rains announced the end of a gloriously long Mediterranean summer, I would uncover my collection of festive CDs and start giving them an airing. Growing older, I’ve lost some of my enthusiasm, but I still love Christmas. And so it didn’t seem strange at all for me to be reading “A Tudor Christmas” three months before December.

 
I read this book electronically, but even without its physical feel, it looked beautifully presented, with vintage-style line drawings to set the mood. It is divided into chapters based on each of the “Twelve days of Christmas”, each of which serves as the departure point for an article addressing some particular aspect of the Christmas in Tudor times – whether it be festive recipes, carol-singing, present-giving as well as the changes brought about by the various religious upheavals of the time – be it the Reformation with its banning of “popish” traditions or the more extreme Puritanical banning of Christmas. In actual fact, in order to give context to the central theme of the book (celebrations at the time of the Tudors, chiefly Henry VIII and Elizabeth I), Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke also include information about earlier periods (such as Medieval traditions which were retained by the Tudors) and later ones (particularly Christmas under the Stuarts). The text is complemented by festive poetry by the likes of Robert Herrick (he of "What Sweeter Music Fame", memorably set to music by John Rutter).

I read the book in a couple of sittings, but its style invites dipping into, perhaps in front of a crackling fire (though there’s little chance of that in my place of the world).

***

My poem “Christmas Carol” is partly inspired by early ‘macaronic’ carols: festive songs which combined Latin text with lyrics in the vernacular.  The most famous example is probably In Dulci Jubilo.   Legend states that it was composed by the mystic Heinrich Seuse in 1328, after he heard angels singing the words and joined them in a celebratory cosmic dance.   The carol now exists in different guises, including full choral arrangements by Michael Praetorius and organ versions by J.S. Bach.  It later became popular in England, especially following its translation by Robert Pearsall.  It is here sung by the King's Singers, in suitably festive attire.

There are, however, other examples of ‘macaronic’ carols, including the medieval English Make we joy now in this fest, which I quote in the very last verse.   Here’s the original medieval version performed by The Sixteen followed by a contemporary setting by composer Steve Martland (1954-2013)

As a soundtrack to “A Tudor Christmas”, the listener is spoilt for choice, as there are several cds – especially of choral music – which explore festive music by Tudor composers.  I suggest two albums.  The first one features the Choir of Christ Church, Oxford.  Christ Church College was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, one of the protagonists of Weir’s and Clarke’s book.   The other cd was issued in 2010 by one of Britain’s foremost early music choral ensembles – Stile Antico.  Puer Natus Est, Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas, includes music by Tudor greats such as Byrd and Tallis. 

And since we’re speaking of Henry VIII – it’s often stated that he is the composer of Greensleeves, later adapted into a Christmas carol known by the name What Child is This.  He’s (probably) not, but it’s a good excuse to end with the best-known work (not) written by the portly monarch.