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A Treasury of
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How did all of this get started? What is the purpose of this site? What are your sources of hymns and carols? Do you have the tunes or sheet music on this site? Why I can't get the graphics to print correctly? What is the source of the MIDI files? Why doesn't the Noteworthy Composer browser plug-in work with Internet Explorer? What about carols from the Middle English? Why can't I find "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (or other modern songs)? Are there any other carols you don't have in this collection? How often is this site updated? Can I copy these hymns and carols? Then why is this site copyright? If you have other questions, please me.
How did all of this get started? It all started so innocently. I was playing guitar in a bluegrass trio. The leader of the group, Dick Weber, suggested that we do a mini-concert at a local VA nursing home during the holiday season. I've always loved Christmas carols, and volunteered to get a few together. That was in about 1996, and I've just keep adding and adding to the collection. This page contains additional information about me and the collection. What is the purpose of this site? The purpose of this site is to preserve the rich history of carols and hymns which might otherwise be lost. Since it would be impractical to publish in book form, the collection is published to the World Wide Web (As of October, 2005 the printed collection consisted of 2,300 hymns and carols, and is 5½ feet wide — 18 three-inch binders). The ultimate goal is to have the largest collection of hymns and carols of Christmas ever published in the English language. Carols or hymns in a language other than English are not usually incorporated, as I do not speak any other language than English (more or less). I strongly encourage speakers of other languages to create similar pages, to which I will gladly link! I began the incorporation process of the main collection on January 7, 2002. It was time-consuming process — 8 months and a day before the whole collection (excluding songs under copyright) was added to the site. Additional hymns and carols are being incorporated on a regular basis. Please check back. I'll note my progress on the What's New page to this site. What are your sources of hymns and carols? A primary source for older hymns and carols are old hymnals and collections of carols. I've got dozens of old hymnals or carol collections which form the basis of the collection — and I'm acquiring more on a regular basis. Some other hymns and carols have been collected from more contemporary collections (subject to copyright restrictions) and other web sites; credit is given in the Bibliography. The complete list is in this listing: Hymnal_And_Carol_Collections.pdf. This does not include reference material. I'm always on the lookout for a carol or hymn which would be appropriate for inclusion, or for information about a particular hymn or carol which has heretofore escaped my attention (author, composer, history, etc.). If you know of one, please it to me (lyrics, background, and music in any of several formats: MIDI, scans of the music (in GIF or JPG, etc.), or Noteworthy Composer® files — a free player is available at their site; you'll need the reader to see scores that are saved on this site.). If I use the material you send, I'll give appropriate credit on the Acknowledgements page. Do you have the tunes or sheet music on this site? If I know what tune or tunes are associated with a given carol or hymn, and if I can find a copy on the Internet that isn't copyright, I will include it on the site. The tunes that are included are in the MIDI format. In a few cases, I've sequenced the tune myself, but this is more of a long-term project. On the page of a given hymn or carol, look for a "MIDI" link. This is the link to the tune itself. For more information on MIDI files, see below. There is a little sheet music on the site, but not much. If I have a MIDI file of the tune, I can convert it into a score using Noteworthy Composer® (see below). In a few cases — such as tunes printed in Bramley & Stainer (1871) and Hutchins (1916) — I've scanned the music into a graphics format and included it on the site. Some of these scans of old hymnals and collections is not of the highest quality; age has taken its toll on many of these sources. Due to copyright restrictions, there are no modern copies of sheet music on this site (later than 1923). There are links to sheet music distributors on a special Sheet Music Links page. Where no tune is known (and this is very common, especially among older hymns), feel free to use any tune that matches the meter of the words of the hymn or carol. The Church of God (CG Music) has three good discussions: What Is Metre, Why Should I Care, and How Do I Use It, all of which I recommend. Or, you can take a look at my mini-essay on the topic: What Is Musical Meter?. Why I can't get the graphics to display or print correctly? Display issues are usually a browser problem. Some browsers adjust the size of a graphic to what the program thinks it should be — usually with poor results. You can instruct the browser not to adjust the size of the graphic. Usually, it's under "Options." When I want to print a graphic, I copy the graphic to my computer (Windows users: right-click on the graphic and select "save as."). Then I open a word processing program and "insert" the picture onto a blank page. The graphic can then be appropriately resized and printed. Instead of a word processing program, you could also use a presentation program, publishing program, graphics program, etc. As noted above, much of the scanned sheet music is from old hymnals and collections. The end result is not of the highest quality as age has taken its toll on many of these sources. What is the source of the MIDI files? In most cases, MIDI files have been obtained from other sites on the Internet. I've sequenced only a very few myself, but expect to sequence more of them in the future, using Noteworthy Composer®. In all cases, I have retained any internal authorship identification. I have included a MIDI file and Noteworthy Composer file where ever possible. In some cases — especially the most ancient — no such files exist. If I sequence the file, it will usually include only the melody line and the first verse. As time goes by, I'm including the full score (usually SATB). Write if you have a specific need. You will need to have a program on your computer that will play MIDI files in order to access files. Windows® users can use the built-in Media Player® or other similar program. As I don't speak Apple, I can't make any recommendations for users of the Macintosh; the same applies to users of other operating systems, such as *nix. My best advise is to go to CNET; select the "Downloads" section and do a search. Music scores are in the Noteworthy Composer® format, which is a program in which you can view, generate or modify files which can be printed as musical scores (or saved as MIDI files). In order to access these files, you will need to download the free Noteworthy Player® and plug-in, or both. By the way, I do not provide support for Noteworthy Composer® or any other program that is needed to view the files on this site. Please contact the authors of such programs for support. I do not intend to support other formats, such as Finale® or Scorch®. Why doesn't the browser plug-in work with Internet Explorer? According to the publishers of Noteworthy Composer, in 2003, Microsoft has been removing support for Netscape Style Browser Plugins from Internet Explorer. The NWC Browser Plugin will not work with newer versions of Internet Explorer, due to actions taken by Microsoft. You can still install the plugin, but it may not work if you use a newer edition of Internet Explorer where Microsoft has removed Netscape Plugin support. Netscape 7.1 doesn't seem to work, either. I'm pretty bummed out about this, but there's nothing I can do about it. Personally, I've switched to Opera, Mozilla and Firefox Browsers. Being of Scandinavian descent, I'm using the "Bork" version of Opera <grin>, but may upgrade to a newer version. The work-around is that, starting with the "O" carols from the Hutchins collection, I am also saving the scores in the Adobe PDF® format. After the Hutchins collection is complete, I'll go back to create PDF versions of the other scores in NWC format. All new acquisitions will be sequenced in MIDI, Noteworthy Composer, and PDF. What about carols from the Middle English? The earliest carols were written in Middle English, which in some cases bears little resemblance to modern English (or even "American"). In these cases, I have not attempted to translate the original into modern English (as I have no facility with Middle English - or any other "foreign" language). As much as possible, I have retyped the originals as I found them (especially those from William Sandys, for example). Because Middle English contains letters not found in modern English, I've used a special font, "Junius Modern" created by Professor Peter S. Baker, Professor of English, University of Virginia on some pages. I will note on the individual carol's page which ones need this font. You can obtain a copy of this font from his website Old English at the University of Virginia (or right click here, and then select "Save File As" to save a copy of the zipped file to your computer). This font must be downloaded and installed before these pages will display accurately. Some special characters — especially for the letter "s" — are not contained in Dr. Baker's font. When a change to the modern letter has been made, I will italicize the letter. Some other carols, especially those from the 16th century, are reproduced using a font called "Old Blackletter." For some pages, this font must be installed in order to accurately represent the text. You can download this font from that "impecunious antiquarian" Red Henry's Old English Page (or right click here and then select "Save File As" to save a copy of the file to your computer). Again, will note on the individual carol's page which ones need this font. The reader may find the following resource to be helpful: A Concise Dictionary of Middle English Why can't I find "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (or other modern songs)? This is an issue of copyright. Much of what was written in the 20th Century is under copyright, both the words and the music (or contemporary arrangements of older music), and recordings. These songs will not intentionally be included on this web site unless the copyright holder permits it (at this time, I will not be seeking these permissions). In some cases, for example the Alfred Burt carols, the carols are posted on a site of someone who has obtained the rights to post the carols from the copyright holder (the lyrics have been removed from the site since this was originally written). In such cases, I've linked to those sites; all external links will open in a new window. For more information about Copyright law, the U.S. government maintains a copyright site, which I recommend. Also, you might want to read the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Elred v. Ashcroft (537 US ___, 2003), which affirms the validity of the 1998 amendment to US Copyright law and which contains the Court's history and understanding of US copyright law. A copy of this decision is available at the Supreme Court website. Note that this law brings US law into conformance with the European Union term adopted in 1993 A simple explanation is that the 1998 law extends copyright protection to 70 years following the death of a known creator for works created on or after January 1, 1978. For anonymous works, pseudonymous works, and works made for hire, the protection is from creation to 95 years following publication, or 120 years from creation, which ever expires first. For works published between 1923 and 1977, the period will often be 67 years (there are exceptions). Note: I do not hold myself out as an expert in copyright law; please do not rely upon this interpretation. If you have copyright issues, please consult a qualified attorney. For a good summary, see the page Copyright Term and Public Domain in the United States. If I have inadvertently included a carol or hymn which is under copyright, I apologize. If you want that material removed from this site, please me. I'll remove it as quickly as I can (which might take a few days or a couple of weeks if I'm ill, out of town, if the computer is down, etc.; your patience is appreciated). In sum,
However, many carols and hymns under copyright are widely available at other sites on the Internet. I've tried to provide links to other major collections on the Links page and in the Bibliography. If you have such a collection that I am unaware of, please me; I'll gladly add a link to your site (especially if you offer a link back to this site ;). If you are collecting carols, let your conscience be your guide. Are there any other carols you don't have in this collection? I have intentionally excluded from this collection humor and parodies of carols in the areas named below. In each case, I feel that the humor is misplaced, usually in a poor attempt to ridicule human conditions which either the individual has little or no control, or where there is simply nothing to celebrate.
If you're interested, such parodies can be readily found on the World Wide Web. Gently. Here's an email link: I would like to take this opportunity to quote from the Introduction of "Ancient Mysteries Described" by William Hone (1823):
Point taken. How often is this site updated? This site is updated regularly, but not on any schedule. This is a "hobby" site; I have a full-time job that pays the bills and usually work 5 1/2 days a week, plus another 7 1/2 hours per week on the freeway. Since it is unlikely that I can live on my good looks, the updates will continue coming -- whenever I have new hymns or carols to contribute, usually about once a week. Please check back often. Please feel free to link to this site. And I'm always happy to link to other Christmas sites. Suggested text: Title: A Treasury of Christmas Carols: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas URL: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com Text: Over 2,300 Christmas carols and hymns, preserving the rich history of Christmas carols and hymns which might otherwise be lost. Or, some code (for those who like to work "under the hood"): <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/">A Treasury of Christmas Carols: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas</a>. Over 2,300 Christmas carols and hymns, preserving the rich history of Christmas carols and hymns which might otherwise be lost. </p> All in one, copy and paste: A Treasury of Christmas Carols: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas. Over 2,300 Christmas carols and hymns, preserving the rich history of Christmas carols and hymns which might otherwise be lost. If you like banners, here's one to consider:
Banner: http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/images/HHC-Logo448.jpg Here are two others; feel free to resize to fit your needs: If you need a custom size, please me. Again, I will gladly link-back to your site if your site is one which relates to Christmas. I only link to sites which relate to Christmas in some manner; it must be a family-safe website. Please email a suggested link text and URL. To keep this site accessible to those with dial-up connections, I do not generally post banners (such as the one above). Can I copy these hymns and carols? You can feel free to copy any and all files that strike your fancy. Downloading the entire site would probably be too time-consuming for those of us (including me) who have a dial-up connection; the current size is over 700 MB and growing. If you have a broadband connection (DSL, cable or a T-x), feel free to knock yourself out. Then why is this site copyright? This site and all its contents are copyright. The only reason for this is to prevent someone else from copying the site, setting up another, slapping a copyright on it, charging a fortune to get copies, and forcing me to close this web site. It's happened to others. The strangest story of all: a private "entrepreneur" copied a public-domain family-support military site, reposted it under another name, and posted a copyright notice! Go figure. However, you can feel free to copy any and all files that strike your fancy. Everything is copyright, but placed in the public domain, although subject to the caveat that no one may copy the contents of this site, or any portion thereof, and charge another to reproduce the contents. Downloading the entire site would probably be too time-consuming for those of us (including me) who have a dial-up connection; the current size is over 660 MB and growing. If you have DSL, cable-access or a T-1, feel free to knock yourself — and your bandwidth — out. I no longer offer a CD of the site. I have neither the equipment nor the time. The only copy I ever sold cost me twice the (then) suggested donation. Way more trouble than its worth. Just download the site using a website downloading program. For some time, I had a link at PayPal, so that interested parties could make a cash donation to me. I've removed that link. The current policy is this: this site is donation-ware. I'd prefer, if you have received a benefit from this site, that you make a donation to a children's hospital, a women's shelter, a soup kitchen or food bank, or a similar charity. Please recall the exhortation to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, greet the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison (Matthew 25:31-46). I don't require any acknowledgement of any gifts given to such a charity. While your faith should shine like a beacon before mankind (Matthew 5:14-16), gifts are best given with less fanfare, recalling the instruction that "when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you....[Let] your alms ... be in secret." (Matthew 6:2-3).
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Indices of the Hymns and Carols of Christmas:
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On many pages, you will see links to
"Noteworthy Composer files" and "XML files."
For more information about these two formats, see:
NWC & XML.
Full
Index
Caution: Will Open Slowly On A Dial-up Connection
Table of
Contents
Non-English Carols and Hymns
Bibliography
Includes links to other sites and to Amazon.com for
printed collections, histories, etc.
Calendars
of Carols
November, December and January
Some Feast Days During the Christmas-Tide
St. Nicholas
Feast Day: December 6
From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus: A History
St Stephen
(December 26)
St. John The Evangelist
(December 27)
The Holy Innocents
(December 28)
Tables of Contents
Joseph Ritson, ed., Ancient Songs and Ballads From The Reign of King Henry
the Second To The Revolution. 1790.
W. Carew Hazlitt, ed., Third Edition.
London: Reeves And Turner, 1877.
Repr. Detroit, MI: Singing Tree Press, 1968.
Table of
Contents
Davies Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols
London: John Nichols And Son, 1822
London: John Nichols And Son, Second Edition, 1823
Preface
Table Of Contents
William Sandys, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern
London:
Richard Beckley, 1833
Introduction
Christmas Play of Saint George
Table
of Contents
Thomas Wright, Specimens of Old Christmas Carols
The Percy Society, 1841
Table of Contents
Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols
The Percy Society, 1847
Table of
Contents
William Sandys, Christmas-tide, Its History,
Festivities and Carols, With Their Music
London: John Russell Smith, 1852
A Mock Play
Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon
Table of Contents
Rev. J. (John)
Freeman Young, ed., Carols For
Christmas Tide
New York: Daniel Dana, Jr., 1859
Earth Today
Rejoices
Earthly
Friends Will Change And Falter
Good
Christian Men Rejoice
Good
King Wenceslas
Here
Is Joy For Every Age
Royal
Day That Chasest Gloom
Silent Night, Holy Night
Also see additional notes in
Hymns and Music For The Young - Parts One & Two - J. F. Young.
John Clark Hollister, ed., The Sunday-School
Service and Tune Book
New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1863, 1865.
Table of Contents
John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Carols, Hymns and Songs
New York: Church Book Depository, 1863
The Angel
Chorus
Evergreen,
Holly And Laurel
The Christmas Tree
The
Shepherds of Bethlehem
Three Kings Of Orient
Joshua Sylvestre, A Garland of Christmas Carols, Ancient and
Modern
London: 1861, reprinted by A. Wessels Company, New York, 1901
Table of Contents
and Introduction
Edward F. Rimbault, A Little Book
Of Christmas Carols.
London: Cramer, Beale & Co., 201, Regent Street, No Date (circa
1863).
Preface
Table Of Contents
William Henry Husk, Songs of the Nativity
London: John
Camden Hotten, 1868, reprinted by Norwood Editions, Norwood, PA, 1873
Introduction
Table of
Contents
Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer,
Christmas Carols
New and Old
London: Novello, Ewer & Co., ca 1871, 1878
Introduction To The First Series
Introduction To The Second Series
Introduction To A Combined Volume 1871 (First and Second Series)
Introduction To A Combined Volume
(First, Second & Third Series)
Table
of Contents
A. H. Bullen, A Christmas Garland: Carols and Poems
From
The Fifteenth Century To
The Present Time
London: John C. Nimmo,
1885
Preface
Table of Contents
J. H. Hopkins,
Great Hymns of the Church
Compiled
By The Late
Right Reverend
John Freeman Young
New York: James Pott & Company, 1887
Preface
Table of Contents
J. A. Fuller Maitland, English Carols of the Fifteenth
Century
London: The Leadenhall Press, E.C., ca. 1891.
Introduction
Table of Contents
Appendix
Richard R. Chope, Carols For Use In Church
London: William Clowes & Sons, The Complete Edition, 1894
Introduction
Table of
Contents
Carol Services
George Ratcliffe Woodward, The Cowley Carol Book
First Series, Expanded and Enlarged,
Preface To First
Series
London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., ca. 1902
Second Series,
Preface To Second Series
London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., ca. 1912
Table Of
Contents
Phillips Brooks, Christmas Songs and Easter Carols
New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1903
Table of Contents
George Ratcliffe Woodward, ed., Songs of Syon
London: Schott & Co., Third Edition, 1908
Table
of Contents
Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols
London: Chatto & Windus, 1910
Introduction
Table of Contents
Glossary
Illustrations
Cecil J. Sharp, English Folk-Carols
London: Novello & Co., 1911
Table of Content, Preface, and Introduction
Richard R. Terry,
Twelve Christmas Carols
London:
J. Curwen & Sons, Ltd., 1912
Table Of Contents
Martin Shaw and Percy Dearmer, The English Carol Book
London: Mowbray & Co., Ltd.
First
Series, 1913
Second
Series, 1919
Complete
Edition, 1938
Carol Service, 1947
Charles
L. Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New
Boston: Parish Choir, 1916
Table of Contents
Charles Wood and George Ratcliffe Woodward, eds., An Italian Carol Book
London: The Faith Press, Ltd., 1920
Table of Contents and Preface
George Ratcliffe Woodward,
The Babe Of Bethlehem
Being Some Christmas Carols
Hillsgate Village, 1923
Table Of Contents
Charles Wood and George
Ratcliffe Woodward, The Cambridge Carol-Book
Being Fifty-Two
Songs For Christmas, Easter, And Other Seasons
London: Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1924
Table of Contents
W. A. Pickard-Cambridge, A
Collection of Dorset Carols
London: A. W. Ridley & Co., 1926
Preface
Table of Contents
This significant collection has been overlooked;
I would recommend this volume to the serious student of carols.
Ralph Dunstan, The Cornish Song Book (Lyver Canow
Kernewek)
London: Reid Bros., Ltd., 1929
Introduction To Cornish Carols
Cornish Carols
Richard R. Terry,
Gilbert and Sandys' Christmas Carols
London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, Ltd., 1931
Preface
Table of Contents
Roy Ringwald, Book Of American Carols
Penn State University, 2004
Index
William Hone, The
Every Day Book
2 Vols.
London: William Tegg, 1825, 1827.
Brand's Popular
Antiquities Of Great Britain
Selections from Hazlitt's Edition of 1905
Coming Soon Are Excerpts From the Ellis Edition of 1888
Other Christmas Literature and Reference Works
A Little Book for Christmas - Cyrus Townsend Brady (1917)
A Righte Merrie Christmasse!!! - John Ashton (1894)
Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of England - Robert Bell (1857) (Text)
Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England - Robert Bell (PDF)
Another Easy Christmas Book - Ruth Putnam Kimball (PDF, Illustrated; Source: Internet Archive)
The Children's Book of Christmas Stories - Asa Don Dickinson and Ada M. Skinner
Christmas: Its Origin and Associations - William Francis Dawson (1902)
Christmas: Its Origin, Celebration and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse - Robert Haven Schauffler (1907; from the Our American Holidays series; PDF, Illustrated; Source: Internet Archive)
Christmas Entertainments - Alice Maude Kellogg (Text)
Christmas In Legend And Story - Elva S. Smith and Alice I. Hazeltine (1915)
Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan - Clement A. Miles (1912)
Christmas Stories And Legends - Phebe A. Curtiss (1916) (Text)
The Doré Gallery of Bible Illustrations - Gustave Doré (1891)
Folk Lore of East Yorkshire - John Nicholson (1890)
The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints - Alban
Butler
January-February-March (1895)
Holiday Stories for Young People - Margaret E. Sangster
The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories For Children - Anonymous
Our Holidays: Their Meaning and Spirit - from St. Nicholas Magazine
Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore - Charles Hardwick (1872)
Yule-Tide in Many Lands - Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann (1916)
Latin for Beginners - Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge (1911)
New Latin Grammar - Charles E. Bennett (1895, 1908, 1918)
Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles - A First Latin Reader - John Kirtland (1903)
The Roman Pronunciation of Latin - Frances Ellen Lord
A_Latin_English_Dictionary-Thomas Hewitt Key (1888)
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Advent - Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B. (ca. 1841)
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Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
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