#3 "I Wonder As I Wander": Folktune, Pseudo-Folktune, or Stolen Creative Property

I Wonder As I Wander: Folktune, Pseudo-Folktune, or Stolen Creative Property

                Many tunes of Americans carols have not survived the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom, but one that has is “I wonder as I wander” that I would say is recorded more by vocal ensembles in the UK than any other including “Kings of Orient,” “Away in a manger,” “Joy to the world,” “It came upon a Midnight Clear,” and other American carols.

                     However, in the United States, it is not so popular outside of choir circles. In Europe, the number of times it is recorded, probably equals that of “O Little town of Bethlehem,” however across the pond, in regard to “O Little Town,” Ralph Vaughn William’s arrangement is used. In comparison with “I wonder,” I wonder” has kept its "original" settings at least those written by John Jacob Niles.

                   “I wonder as I wander” has not been victim or beneficiary to a new arrangements or put to different tune. Since being published in John Jacob Niles’ Songs of the Hill Folks, the carol has remained a mainstay of the carol tradition. With exception of choir circles, the carol is probably more popular across the pond then in the United States.

                      The issues that I have with Niles is that many of his songs that he “found” were never subsequently found by subsequent folk collectors or ethnomusicologists. But then again, if Vaughn Williams would have not heard the “Sussex Carol” sung by Mrs. Verrall, that carol may have remained buried -- or even subsequently lost. The only difference is that other versions of the “Sussex Carol” can be found, and none can be found of “I wonder as I wander.”

     The editors of the New Oxford Book of Carols state in reference to Niles’ “Lullay, thou tiny little child”:

“Later in his life Niles confessed that his interference with the folk material he had published ranged to alteration to entirely original composition, and it may be that the three excellent carols we have taken from his publication are among his original works rather than genuine survivals from a folk tradition” (the other carols being “I wonder” and “sing we the Virgin Mary”).

Niles claimed he had collected “I wonder” in Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina in 1933. Legend goes that in July of that year, he collected it from a ‘fragment’ he heard at evangelical fundraising meeting. In an unpublished autobiography, he describes a young girl named Annie Morgan, in raggedy clothes, singing the song while standing on a platform on her parent’s automobile. 

 

Murphy, North Carolina, U.S.A.

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She sang only one line and I am unsure if it was Niles or others that gave her a quarter to sing more lines. I'm pretty sure it was Niles. 

Niles came out with one to three lines (75 cents worth; $13.70 today adjusted for inflation), according to which version of events one believes. From there, Niles composed the melody extending it to four lines (that three or one more line depending on which version of the story you take).

Niles first performed the song in December 1933. The trouble is that Niles would later be aggressive in collecting royalties for this song. It’s unknown of Annie Morgan or her family received any compensation for the song above the $13.70 – we think not.

So was a pseudo-folk song? 

I see several possibilities:

• ·              It was a folksong, and Niles took the song from public domain and copyrighted it. This was very popular in the early 20^th Century, done by folk musicians and other musicians. For example, many blues songs taken from the public domain and later copyrighted by more popular and successful musicians;
• Niles got a fragment from Morgan and added on to it, then copyrighted his final product; 
•  The song was a song of the Morgan family and Niles adversely possessed it; and/or 
•  Niles composed the song and made up a “folk” story to disguise its origins.

                              A few weeks a go, I had a conversation with whom I will call Dr. C. a musicologist. He described how recently, he heard of musicians trying to copyright the text of the Psalms. We have had conversation across the years regarding a certain Mexican “sones” that were public domain, but then copyrighted by being the first one to make it to the copyright office.

                    A documentary called “A Lion’s Tale” was released a few years ago. It focused on Soloman Linda, the man who wrote the song “Mbube" which gained worldwide attention as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and even more with the release of the animated film “The Lion King.” Linda would die in the early 1960s in utter poverty with no income gained from his composition. In the documentary, “A Lion’s Tale,” it describes Linda’s daughters living in poverty while his song made millions of dollars. 

                      My purpose here is not to rain on your carol concert, but these are things that come to my mind. Nevertheless, the carol has become famous worldwide regardless whether it is Niles' or Morgan's song. 

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#2 Review: Under the Greenwood Tree: Mellstock Band peforms Carols of Thomas Hardy's Time and Place

#2 Review: Under the Greenwood Tree: Mellstock Band performs Carols of Thomas Hardy's Time and Place

by Ray Rojas

Updated on Jan. 29, 2020 for broken links.

This 1986 issues by the Mellstock Band on Saydiscs explores Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greewood Tree with recordings of carols and dances played on authentic instruments of the period.

An interesting recording with some seldom heard interpretations of tradition carols. The dances bring to light the fun it was to dance in those times. The Mellstock band mixes what would have been heard by church bands as well as by folk choirs of the time.

Dorset, England

Hardy set most of his books in south and south west England, an area he termed Wessex. The Hardys, noted musicians, lived in Puddletown in Dorset and Bockhampton, and this recording recreates what music would have been like in Hardy’s time with dance pieces and four-part carols representing music from around 1820 to 1840. Note that liner notes are by Dave Townsend. Among the Christmas carols played are:

“Arise and hail the joyful day” – mentioned in the novel in which “the tenors sing he air.

“Hail the happy morn” – from Puddletown origins.

“Awake and join the cheerful choir” – from Puddletown manuscripts. The editors of the New Oxford Book of Carols have extensive notes on this carol (#90) and point to it being included in “George Hanford Book, 1830” in the Dorset County Museum, in the carol books in the Thomas Hardy Memorial Collection (more information on his collection below), and in the Anell manuscript in the Dorset County Records Office. The setting in the New Oxford Book of Carols is from the Collection of Dorset Carols (1926) from W.A. Pickard-Cambridge. The editors of NOBC state a very similar version is found in the Wiltshire Folk Songs and Carols 1904.

“See Heaven’s High Portals” – from Puddletown manuscripts - “The 6 time signature and ‘fugueing” passage in the second half of the verse are characteristics found together in many of the carols in these collections.

“Awake, awake ye mortals all” – from Puddletown manuscripts song by female voices with violins, flute, and cello. The liner notes state:

Original key D, sung here in C. The curious harmonic texture of this carol, full of parallel movement and unusual discords, marks it out from all the three upper parts packed closely, as here, as well separate from the bass, which is not sung to avoid overemphasizing the harmonic clashes.”

“While Shepherds Watched” – from an Hardy manuscript. A well-known carol by that time, in this manuscript, “lacks the tenor line” but is reconstructed for this recording. Furthermore, the “splitting of words in the ‘fugueing’ passage was characteristic of west galley music, to the disgust of Victorian church reformers.”

“Behold the morning star” – from Hardy and Pubbletown manuscripts, “The Carol that rouses Farmer Shiner to wrath in Under the Greenwood Tree. As in the novel, and in the Stinsford choir.”

“Arise and Hail the Sacred Day” – from the Hook manuscript entitled “Christmas Piece,” according to the liner notes “represents a transitional stage between the carols of the church bands and the folk carols such as those sung by the Copper family in Sussex. It is sung here as a duet, like the folk carols, but accompanied, like the church band carols.” Note that this carol is #87 in the New Oxford Book of Carols, whose editors say is also found in the carol book in the Thomas Hardy Collection in Dorset County Museum, Dorchester. The editors have more extensive notes on the roots of this carol.

“Rejoice this glorious day is come” from the Puddletown manuscript, “An elaborate setting, with solos and instrumental interludes or ‘symphonies.’ The instrumentation is close to that of the large church band at Puddletown.”

The liner notes state:

                As interpreted by the Puddletown and Stinsford choirs, the carols usually have a bass which rarely goes lower than baritone range, a high tenor, trebles carrying the tune , and a very high descant part called the “counter”. It was not a counter-tenor part nor were the “viols” and “bass-viols” of the Mellstocke Quire anything but violins and cello of the usual kind.”

 

Phil Humphrie with The Serpent, http://www.davetownsendmusic.com

Period instruments used are the boxwood clarinet and the serpent. The boxwood clarinet has 8 keys. The serpent has 3 keys and is a wing instrument of conical bore, made of wood covered with leader, blow with cupped mouthpiece like that of a trombone but with finger holes and keys like a bassoon. The eight-foot tube is curved in a snake –like series of s-bends, whence the name. 

The rest of the recordings are instrumental reels and dances found in Puddletown manuscripts named “Tunes s for Violin.” The liner notes state, “The carols on this album, and others from the same manuscripts can be found in The Mellsock Carols, ed A.D. Townsend, published by The Serpent Press. Many of the manuscripts mention here as well as others, can be found at www.davetownsendmusic.com

 

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#1 Wolcum Yole! - Inaugural Post - Welcome to the Christmas Carols Blog

Who doesn’t like Christmas carols?   

When I was younger, I remember the Christmas spirit always coming early to our house. My dad had some 8-tracks (if you don't know what this is, click here) of Andy Williams and Burl Ives. 

In the 1980s, coming home from school, I’d slip the 8-track cassettes in and they would only excite me more about the coming Christmas season.  I remember one was mislabeled and I’m unsure of it was really Ives, but I do remember it contained many Alfred Burt carols.

Of course, this would be very early in autumn. I was sort of like that kids in the seasonal films Prancer and The Santa Clause, who would play Christmas music all year long, only I was not that bad. An with that, take into account that winter comes very late to far West Texas.

I’m sure I gained the inquisitive eye and ear of my parents. Little would they know, as the years progressed -- it would get worse.

Although there were Christmas carols here and there, most of the music was Christmas songs, many seasonal Christmas pop classics.

The Bells of Dublin

As the 1990s came along, I got my first Christmas compact discs, which I think was my real introduction to carols.  The Chieftain’s 1991 album, “The Bells of Dublin” contained a wealth of carols arranged in the Celtic tradition.  

Among the songs included were “Past Three O’clock,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Ding dong Merrily On High,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” sung by a group called The Renaissance Singers led by Ronnie Lee. 

We hear many Christmas songs here in the States, but unless you are actively singing in a choir, you are not going to hear “Past Three O’Clock,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” or “Ding dong Merrily on High” very much.  “Once in Royal David’s City” is one I particularly became fond.

This album also contained recordings of the close-harmony group called The Voice Squad singing a carol medley that included “O the Holly She Bears a Berry,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” and one of my favorites, “The Boar’s Head” carol. This ensemble, I did find as well as their Christmas recording “HollyWood.” 

This album was very magical with me and remains one of my favorites. I have search high and low for The Renaissance Singers and they remain elusive. A few years ago, thinking I found them in Seattle, I ordered a recording, which was very good. 

However, I found out this was not the same ensemble, but on the good side, discovered the Seattle-based Renaissance Singers, now singing under the name: The Byrd Ensemble.

I had heard of all the carols The Voice Squad performed, but there were other gems on the album like “Ill est né/CaBerger” by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, "Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil" by Kevin Conneff, “The Brenton Carol,” performed by Nolwen Monjarret, “I saw three ships a Sailing” sung by Marianne Faithful, “The Wexford Carol” sung by Nanci Griffith, and a wonderful Wren Day-themed set with The Voice Squad. Lest we forget, The Chieftains were backing up these musicians.

In the last years of my grandfather’s life, he gave me some of his Christmas LP records. Mostly compilations with pop musicians with pop standards although occasionally you’d find an opera star (Jon Pierce), or symphony orchestra, or the Robert Shaw Chorale. My grandfather had several albums of the St. Olaf College Choir, which I played a few times, but they did not spark my interest as they included many carols, which I was not familiar. 

New carols were not on my radar.

St. Olaf, King's College, all the same thing no?

 

King's College, Cambridge, UK

Mentioning the St. Olaf Choir, it reminds me that the photos of King’s College chapel always remained in my head during those years.  The vision was the photo of the chapel with snow covering the field in front of the chapel. However, not really thinking it out, I had always thought the chapel in the photo from King’s was St. Olaf College. I had much to learn.

Sir Malcolm Sargent and the Royal Choral Society

Sir. Malcolm Sargent

The other album that expanded my musical reach was “Olde English Christmas” by The Royal Choral Society under Sir. Malcolm Sargent. I admit that at first I did not like this too much. “The Boar’s Head Carol” stood out because it was one of my favorites. Slowly this British style became to grow on me. Although this Royal Choral Society (official page)was a reissue on a cheap Laserlight label, it remains one of my favorites. Even with the inclusion of in my collection of Christmas music recently-recorded carols, many from the world's greatest vocal ensembles, The Royal Choral Society's (also among the world's greatest) recording with Sargent’s arrangements, is still spectacular.

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Several things happened in the first decade of this century. One is that I caught the “Carols from Kings” radio broadcast one Christmas Eve as I drove home from work.

The announcer said, as I remember, “…from King’s College, Cambridge” and even though the broadcast was not live, it still excites me to hear a broadcasts from across the pond. 

In the present day, the “live” broadcast is a Christmas Eve tradition at my house. The “do not disturb” sign goes up, and with a  cup of coffee (it's morning in West Texas when the live show if fed) and the bulletin of “The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” on my coffee table, I wait to hear the new carol specially composes for that year’s service.

John Rutter with the Cambridge Singers

John Rutter,  Christmas Carols, and "dares to write new ones"
 

In 2008, I caught a National Public Radio interview with John Rutter: "John Rutter: The Art of the Christmas Carol." 

I’m ashamed to say it but I had not heard of Rutter. Nevertheless, what struck me is that the interviewer said Rutter composes carols. Wow! 

I decided to give new carols a chance and that was where it really took off. Also around that time, I began catching the yearly broadcasts on PBS of the Christmas choral concerts at Lutheran colleges like St. Olaf, Luther, and Concordia. I learned that not every Christmas song is a carol. 

I purchase of the New Oxford Book of Carols, edited by Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott. This book rarely is out of my presence during the holidays.

In 2012, I started the Christmas Carols Facebook community group. Since the Christmas spirit fades somewhat post Candlemas, I added “and Sacred Music” to the title of the Facebook group so we can fill in the gaps when Christmas spirit is not so strong. 

The Facebook page includes posts we share from the worlds’ greatest vocal ensembles, early music ensembles, and more. A few weeks ago (c. Nov. 8, 2014), we posted new Christmas recordings that were released in 2013 including gems from the Choir of Trinity College,Cambridge; the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, the Concordia College Choirs, and more. Although we will share and post a pop tunes or cinematic Christmas post, we remain focused on the classical genre.

 What is the Christmas Carol?

What is a Christmas Carol? For some of our readers, we will preach to the choir, but for novices looking at Christmas carols for the first time with a microscope, we will shortly entertain you.

Meanwhile, check out our Facebook group , congratulate us for our inaugural post, and Wolcum Yule!

Wolcum Yule! - E. Rojas 

 

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