4. Or: 'High' (Wartburg Hymnal) Return

5. Then 'they did' know assuredly Return

5b. Or: Now let us all ... Return

6. One source omits the word 'shall' Return

2. They looked above, and there saw a star,
As it shone in the east but beyond them afar:
And to the earth it gave forth great light,
And continued so both day and night.

3. And by the light of that same bright star
There were three wise men came from the east country far;
To seek the King it was their intent,
And to follow the star where ever it went.

4. The star drew nigh unto the north-west;
Over Bethlehem paused, and there it did rest;
And there did shine most bright, and did stay
Over where the young Child and His mother lay.

5. Then entered in those wise men all three
Very reverently upon bended knee,
And offered there in His presence
gifts of gold and of myrrh and of frankincense.

Sheet Music from Rev. Henry Ramsden Bramley and Sir John Stainer, eds., "Christmas Carols New and Old." First, Second and Third Series. London: Novello Ewer & Co., ca. 1878, #6.
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Sheet Music from Martin Shaw and Percy Dearmer, The English Carol Book, First Series. London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., 1913, Carol #9
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Sheet Music "Noël" from O. Hardwig, ed., The Wartburg Hymnal (Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House, 1918), #111
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Sheet Music by H. J. Gauntlett from Charles L. Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New. Boston: Parish Choir, 1916, Carol #643. [The First Noel]
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See Version 2

Carol #266, Rev. Charles Lewis Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New.
Boston: Parish Choir, 1916.
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See Version 3

Sheet Music from Ralph Dunstan, The Cornish Song Book. London: Reid Bros., Ltd., 1929, p. 126, under the title "O Well! O Well!"
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See Version 4

Sheet Music from Sir Richard Runciman Terry, Two Hundred Folk Carols (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited, 1933), Carol #9, pp. 18-19.
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Dr. Dunstan adds this note: "'On Christmas Eve, in former days, the small people, or the Spriggans, would meet at the bottom of the deepest mines, and have a midnight mass. Then those who were in the mine would hear voices, melodious beyond all earthly voices, singing: 'O well, O well!' and the strains of some deep-toned organ would shake the rocks.' (Hunt: Romances of the West of England.)"

Public Domain Recordings:

• LibriVox Christmas Carol Collection 2006 (Recording by Claire Goget)

• A Garritan Community Christmas for MP3s:
      The First Noel, Stephanie Pray-Urech
      The First Noel, Daniel Kury

Sir Richard Runciman Terry, in Two Hundred Folk Carols, also included a carol from Fyfe's Collection, which Fyfe had titled "The First Noel. - (An older composure)." See: Fyfe's Noel.

Sandys' Note concerning the reference to "three poor Shepherds" in the 1st verse:

According to some legends, the number [of shepherds] was four, called Misael, Achael, Cyriacus, and Stephanus, and these, with the names of the three Kings, were used as a charm to cure the biting of serpents, and other venomous reptiles and beasts. In the seventh of the Chester Mysteries, the Shepherds, who there are but three, have the more homely names of Harvey, Tudd, and Trowle, and are Cheshire or Lancashire boors by birth and habits. Trowle's gift to our Saviour is "a pair of his wife's old hose."

Also found in Joshua Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: John Camden Hotten, 1861), who notes:

This is the popular English version of the The Golden Carol just given, and details the wanderings of the Magi, or Three Kings. In the original, Noel, the French word for Christmas, or Christmas-carol, is corrupted to "Nowell." I have not hesitated to restore the correct rendering. With regard to the three poor Shepherds, alluded to in the second line, Mr. Sandys remarks that according to some legends the number was four, called Misael, Achael, Cyriacus, and Stephanus, and these with the names of the Three Kings, were used as a charm to cure the biting of serpents, and other venomous reptiles and beasts. In the seventh of the Chester Mysteries, the Shepherds, who are three but three, have the more homely names of Harvey, Tudd and Trowle, and are Cheshire or Lancashire boors by birth and habits. Trowle's gift to our Saviour is "a pair of his wife's old hose."

The following note is found at the bottom of the carol:

In some old broadside copies two additional, but very foolish verses are occasionally found [verses 7 and 9 above]. They were probably inserted by a local printer when passing his sheet off for "A New Carol."

Note that Hugh Keyte, an editor of The New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) believes that "Joshua Sylvester" is a pseudonym for a collaboration between William Sandys (1792-1874) and William Henry Husk (1814-1887). See Appendix 4.

William Henry Husk, Songs of the Nativity. London: John Camden Hotten, 1868.:

This is a well-known, although it cannot be styled a popular carol, since although it is included in every collection of carols, it is not found in any broadside that has fallen under notice, nor is it contained in Hone's list of such productions [see: Christmas Carols now annually Printed]. It probably first appeared in Davies Gilbert's collection of Carols sung in the West of England [1822 & 1823]; and next in Mr. Sandys's collection [1833], where it is also given as a West-country carol, "for Christmas day in the morning. Mr. Sandys observes, in reference to the number of shepherds, that 'according to some legends the number was four, — called Misael, Achael, Cyriacus, and Stephanus, and these, with the names of the three kings, were used as a charm to cure the biting of serpents and other venomous reptiles and beasts. In the seventh of the Chester Mysteries, the shepherds, who are there but three, have the more homely names of Harvey, Trowle, and Tudd, and are Cheshire or Lancashire boors by birth and habits." Mr. Sandys is not quite accurate in the latter part of this statement. The shepherds in the Chester play to which he refers — "The Play of the Shepherds" — are four in number, who are severally designated as Primus, Secundus, and Tercius Pastor; but whose names appear from the dialogue to be Hancken, Harvey, and Tudd; and Trowle, who is a distinct person, always mentioned by name.

Also found in

Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols New and Old. London: Novello, Ewer & Co., ca. 1878, #6, omitting verses 5, 7, and 9. Sir John Stainer's setting has become the standard. See above.

A. H. Bullen, A Christmas Garland. London: John C. Nimmo, 1885), p. 7, who notes that this carol is found in Sandys' Christmas Carols, and other collections.

Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols: 1400-1700. London: Chatto & Windus, 1914, p. 55, who adds the note "This traditional carol, apparently first printed by Sandys in 1833, is yet quite in the old spirit."

Thomas Wright, ed., Specimens of Old Christmas Carols Selected from Manuscripts and Printed Books (The Percy Society, 1841).

Also found in A Selection of Carols, Pieces, and Anthems, Suitable for Christmas. (London: W. Kent and Co.; Penzance: F. Rodda, ca. 1872), pp. 46-47, with the first three verses. The text has this footnote to the word "Nowell:"

Old Norman-French word, “Good Tidings.” Ancient word of rejoicing.

It was first found in the "Hutchens manuscript," according to the editors of The New Oxford Book of Carols, and then found its way into the hands of Davies Gilbert, who included the 9 stanzas of the carol into Some Ancient Christmas Carols, 1823. That manuscript is now in the County Record Office, Truro. Ten years later, William Sandys would included the carol, virtually unchanged, in Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: Richard Beckley, 1833), but would add some music for the carol.

The words themselves were published on broadsides in the Cornwall region in southwest England, and some suspect a sixteenth century origin. While Sandys indicated that the carol was "for Christmas Day in the morning," many believe that the song is better suited as an Epiphany processional. According to Ian Bradley, when used in "Nine Lessons And Carols" in 1918, it was used as the final hymn while the choir moved to the alter to sing the final Magnificat.

The music, however, is more problematic. In short, Sandys' tune appears to be an amalgam of tune parts; in particular, because of its repetitive nature, it probably began as a descant to another melody or possibly as parts of other tunes. I would recommend the analysis given by the editors of The New Oxford Book of Carols (pp. 482-83). Their second setting is a conjectural setting of what they believe an original gallery setting would have sounded like, adapted from a setting published in the Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Volume 5. The words are similar to those captured by Cecil Sharp and by Ralph Dunstan; see Version 4.

The setting given by Sir John Stainer (1840-1901) is the most familiar, and links are given above (a link to the sheet music is also found above).

Instrumental sheet music to this and 12 other carols may be downloaded from Sally DeFord Music, http://www.defordmusic.com/carolsforpiano.htm (site accessed September 30, 2006). An MP3 of this arrangement is also available at that page.

Sources:

• A. H. Bullen, A Christmas Garland. London: John C. Nimmo, 1885, p. 7, who notes that this carol is found in Sandys' Christmas Carols, and other collections.

• Ian Bradley, The Penguin Book of Carols. London: Penguin, 1999.
• Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols New and Old. London: Novello, Ewer & Co., 1871.
• Percy Dearmer, R. Vaughan Williams, Martin Shaw, eds., The Oxford Book of Carols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1928.
• Ralph Dunstan, The Cornish Song Book. London: Reid Bros., Ltd., 1929.
• Earthly Delights: Xmas Carols
• William C. Egan, The History of Carols
• William Henry Husk, Songs of the Nativity. London: John Camden Hotten, 1868.
• Charles L. Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New. Boston: Parish Choir, 1916.
• Notes from the Hymnuts
• Robert Joseph, The Christmas Book. New York: McAfee Books, 1978.
• Larry Marietta's Music Notes, Sunday Morning Services at FCCB (First Congregational Church of Berkeley), http://www.fccb.org/index.shtml December 14, 1997
• Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott, eds., The New Oxford Book of Carols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Elizabeth Poston, The Penguin Book of Christmas Carols. London: Penguin, 1965.
• Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols: 1400-1700. London: Chatto & Windus, 1914), p. 55.
• Edward F. Rimbault, A Little Book of Christmas Carols. London: Cramer, Beale & Co., 201, Regent Street, No Date, circa 18473.
• William Sandys, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern. London: Richard Beckley, 1833), p. 74
• William Sandys, Christmas-tide, Its History, Festivities and Carols, With Their Music. London: John Russell Smith, 1852, pp. 261-2.
• Martin Shaw and Percy Dearmer, The English Carol Book, First Series. London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., 1913.
• William L. Simon, ed., The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (1981)
• William Studwell, The Christmas Carol Reader. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1995.
• Joshua Sylvester, Christmas Carols - Ancient and Modern. Circa 1861, reprinted A. Wessels Company, New York, 1901.
• Richard R. Terry, Gilbert and Sandys' Christmas Carols. London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, Ltd., 1931.

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