Coventry Carol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th Century. The carol was performed in Coventry as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from the Gospel of Matthew. This carol presents the Massacre of the Innocents in which Herod orders all male infants in Bethlehem killed. The lyrics of this haunting carol represent a mother's lament for her doomed child. It is the only carol that has survived from this play.

On one occasion this carol was deliberately sung in a cheery, rather upbeat, tempo, with only the first verse performed, thus eliminating any hint of doom or sorrow. This was on the Harry Simeone Chorale's famous 1958 album Sing We Now of Christmas, later reissued as The Little Drummer Boy (it was Simeone's chorale who first made that song famous).

It is notable as a well-known example of a Picardy third. The author is unknown; the oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534, and the oldest known printing of the melody dates from 1591. There is an alternate setting of the carol by Kenneth Leighton.

Contents

[edit] Lyrics

Lully, lullay,* Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and say,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

* Sometimes rendered "Lully, lulla".

[edit] Recordings

 This article or section seems to contain embedded lists that may require cleanup.
To meet Wikipedia's style guidelines, please help improve this article by: removing items which are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful from the list(s); incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article; and discussing this issue on the talk page.

[edit] Media

MIDI-file with a choral arrangement of the song (help·info)

[edit] External links

  • Coventry Carol at Hymns and Carols of Christmas, quoting various sources
  • Easybyte - free easy piano music for Coventry Carol