Six Christmas Carols With Alternate Tunes
Have you ever noticed that some Christmas texts are sung on two (or more) different tunes? If you are a church musician, or even a regular attender, you may have been surprised at times to turn the hymnal to a certain page only to find the melody be entirely different than what you had expected!
In this blog post I will list six such examples, all from our Christmas repertoire.
1 – IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
Last night I was listening to the radio and I heard a beautiful rendition of Christina Rossetti’s text “In the Bleak Midwinter.” But it wasn’t the same melody that I knew prior… so I had to dig up some information!
Gustav Holst wrote the tune that we have in most of our hymnals.
hymn tune: CRANHAM
And Harold Drake wrote this other tune that I heard on the radio the other day.
2 – It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Literally as I was writing this blog post, a new surprise came on the radio (I’m currently listening to the annual Lessons & Carols program from the Choir of King’s College in Cambridge).
This version is probably the one most of us are familiar with, written by Richard Storrs Willis.
hymn tune: CAROL
And here’s what was on the BBC radio this morning – a traditional English melody adapted by Arthur Seymour Sullivan.
hymn tune: NOEL
3 – Away In a Manger
Perhaps the most popular example of a Christmas carol having two separate tunes – the Murray version is more common in the US while the Kirkpatrick version is more common in the UK.
Here is the one that’s more popular in the US, written by James R. Murray.
hymn tune: MUELLER
And here’s the Kirkpatrick version, which is more common in the UK
hymn tune: CRADLE SONG
4 – I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day
Henry W. Longfellow’s text rings true at any moment in history – true, right now "there is no peace on earth” however, "God is not dead… the wrong shall fail, the right prevail!” It is a hymn of hope, anticipating Jesus’s glorious second coming.
This is the version that is found in our hymnals, with the melody written by John Calkin.
hymn tune: WALTHAM
And this version was written by Johnny Marks in the mid twentieth century. Fun fact: he’s the same guy who wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.
5 – O Little Town of Bethlehem
Here’s another example where your preferred tune depends on which country you grew up in:
This one is based on an English folk tune and is more popular in the UK.
hymn tune: FOREST GREEN
And this one, written by Lewis Henry Redner, is more common in the US.
hymn tune: ST LOUIS
6 – While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Lastly, here’s one more example where a Christmas text is set to two different tunes in our hymnals:
This version is set to a sixteenth-century melody!
hymn tune: WINCHESTER OLD
And this version was written by George F. Händel, the same composer who wrote the Messiah oratorio.
hymn tune: CHRISTMAS
Alright, that’s all for now. I wish you all a very merry Christmas filled with God’s presence!
Take care,
Raluca :)
