The week between Christmas and New Year's always makes me think of this song in Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols", which we sang in both high school and college during the holiday season:
The Lyrics:Wolcum, Wolcum
Wolcum be thou hevenè king
Wolcum Yole!
Wolcum, born in one morning
Wolcum for whom we sall sing!
Wolcum be ye Stevene and Jon
Wolcum Innocentes every one
Wolcum, Thomas marter one
Wolcum, be ye, Good Newe Yere
Wolcum Twelfth Day both in fere
Wolcum, seintes lefe and dere
Wolcum Yole!
Candelmesse, Quene of bliss
Wolcum bothe to more and lesse
Wolcum be ye that are here
Wolcum Yole!
Wolcum alle and make good cheer
Wolcum alle another yere
Wolcum Yole! Wolcum!
The saints on the liturgical calendar this week are Stephen (Dec. 26), John the Evangelist (the 27th), the Holy Innocents (the 28th), and Thomas a Beckett (the 29th, an optional memorial).
Of course yesterday (the 26th) we listened to "Good King Wenceslaus", because it was the "Eve of Stephen". and the frost was cruel where we are!
Wikipedia had this to say about Britten's choral composition:
"A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 is an extended choral composition for Christmas by Benjamin Britten scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. The text, structured in eleven movements, is taken from The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, edited by Gerald Bullett. It is principally in Middle English, with some Latin and Early Modern English. It was composed in 1942 on Britten's sea voyage from the United States to England."
"Britten composed the music at the same time as the Hymn to St. Cecilia and in similar style. Originally conceived as a series of unrelated songs, it was later unified into one piece with the framing processional and recessional chant in unison based on the Gregorian antiphon "Hodie Christus natus est". A harp solo based on the chant, along with a few other motifs from "Wolcum Yole", also serves to unify the composition. In addition, the movements "This Little Babe" and "Deo Gracias" have the choir reflecting harp-like effects by employing a canon at the first in stretto."
"The original 1942 publication was written for SSA (soprano, soprano, alto) children's choir. In 1943, a SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) arrangement was published for a mixed choir. Many of the movements are written as rounds or call-and-response pieces – lyrically simple for the sake of the children performing. There are three-part divisi in both the tenor and bass parts. Each of these lines individually mirrors a line in either the soprano or alto parts, as though the tenor and bass sections are a men's choir singing the original SSA composition with an SSA choir.[1]"
Anglicans have a season of Epiphany from Jan 6 to Candlemas. Once in a while, the Episcopal priest would bless candles on Feb 2 to keep the light of Christ burning for the coming year. Kids enjoyed taking their candles to the altar, and somebody always dropped and busted at least one. I don't think Catholics have that tradition any longer. Short return to ordinary time until Ash Wednesday. But I assume this was Catholic custom in medieval Catholic England, even tho it has been dropped in the modern RC.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that it has been dropped; the feast of the Presentation is still on Feb. 2. Some priests bless candles on that day. It would be nice to have the kids bring their candles to the altar.
DeleteI can remember pre-Vatican II that we called them the Sundays after the Epiphany rather than Ordinary time, until Septuagesima Sunday, which was 70 days until Easter. Then the following two Sundays were Sexagesima and Quinquagesima kind of practicing for Lent.
This year Lent and Easter are early. Ash Wednesday is Feb. 14th. I like it to be later. We could still have snow on the ground by March 31st.
I hear there is a lot of snow out your way! Nothing but rain here in Michigan except in the UP. Seems to be the new climate pattern: Great Lakes heat up higher in summer and retain heat thru December. That means winter drags on later. We have a lot of cool days in May and June, them high 80s and 90s July thru early October.
DeletePoland and Germany seemed rather warm but I have no referent. It was 52°F in Zakopane, a ski resort among other things. I have a picture of myself on the room's balcony in a shirt, totally comfortable. Here in the Poconos now, heavy rain, also in the 50's. Can't call it the new normal. Still pumping CO2 into the atmosphere. My flights to Europe added two tons or so. Not sure I'll repeat this hypocrisy.
DeleteListening to music like Britten's score helped me recover from my European immersion in American Christmas Pop. It seems to me there are two Christmases now. One really noisy.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the middle English poetry of Briiten's score more than I like his music.
DeleteBTW don't feel like your trip was hypocrisy. It's one of those bucket list things you always wanted to do. And you helped airline pilots and employees, and hospitality workers, make a living. Besides travel helps promote understanding of different cultures. Says the person whose travel anxiety has prevented her from doing very much of it!
Noisy Christmas that wants your money won out a long-time ago.
DeleteI do birthday gifts for Raber and The Boy on Xmas, but whatever extra I have goes to the baby pantry. I try to make the effort to go to Mass during Advent and Christmas, but illness prevented celebrations this year.
My best present was a photo from my uncle's step-daughter. She lives near the family cemetery two hours away and put evergreen arrangements on the graves of my uncle, aunt, parents, and grandparents. It was very nice to know they were remembered in that way.
My correspondent in Iceland sent me photos of the cemetery in her town where people put candle lanterns on graves. It was just beautiful!
We sang (most of) "A Ceremony of Carols" in high school. It really sticks in one's memory. It's this interesting contrast between medieval lyrics and 20th century music.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's true that the 29th, the day for St. Thomas Becket, is an optional memorial - at least it's listed as such on the USCCB website - but it's listed in the one-volume Christian Prayer as a commemoration. Not sure whether that's a distinction worth making. Its being a commemoration dictates a few choices for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Not sure whether it matters for Mass. The same is true of St. Sylvester on Dec. 31st (except this year, it gets superseded this year by the Feast of the Holy Family. The church calendar is not for the faint of heart.)