In the 10th of a series of articles, Revd James Gilder of Wanstead Parish considers the importance of singing during the festive season and invites one and all to join a High Street community carolling session
What’s your favourite Christmas song or carol? Let’s face it, there are more than a few to choose from, and each year radio stations such as Classic FM run a poll to see which is the nation’s favourite. Last year, it was O Holy Night, one that has grown on me recently.
With the demise of – well – lots of things really (and yes, I know that makes me sound old and curmudgeonly), lots of people are perhaps a little less familiar with traditional carols these days. Asked to name a classic Christmas song, many might suggest Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas is You. JS Bach is no doubt slowly turning in his grave at the thought.
Of course, there are lots of lovely modern Christmas songs that we all enjoy, but there is something extremely evocative about traditional Christmas carols being sung, or even perhaps played, by a Salvation Army band. I was talking to one of the local bandmasters recently, and he told me every year, his band plays for 12 hours straight on a day running up to Christmas at Liverpool Street Station, raising £10,000 for the vital work the Salvation Army does with the homeless. He said last year, one commuter, who was about to get on her homeward-bound train, stopped to listen for so long she missed nine trains to her destination.
In comparison with our Scottish and Welsh cousins, we English tend to have a very poor folk memory of the traditional songs that make up our history. This seems a great shame to me, for soon they will be gone forever. And many of our Christmas carols are in fact set to tunes that are more ancient than the words. Those who wrote the words often fitted them to folk tunes people would already know. Others are themselves ancient, Good King Wenceslas, for example, dates from before 1582. Carols even survived the Puritans, who tried their best to take the fun out of everything after beheading Charles I. But it was the Victorians – and particularly one Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) – who really went to town on Christmas carolling, and this is the time from which many of the carols we know and love stem.
Singing is an important part of Christmas for many. The great thing about carolling is that you don’t even have to be very good at singing. The earliest carols would have probably been sung in hostelries, not in churches, and by local people rather than cathedral choirs. Singing is good for the soul, so why not try some this Christmas? You will be very welcome at any of the parish services or at our community carols on the High Street.
Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Christmas, whatever hymn sheet you happen to sing from!
A community carolling session will take place at the war memorial on Wanstead High Street on 11 December from 7pm. To contact Reverend James Gilder, email wansteadparishadmin@uwclub.net
