I buy lots of old carol books as part of my research and had the odd experience recently of ordering a book through the internet from USA only to find that it had an inscription of Annie S Laurie, Dunscore … Read more »
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An A-Z of Forgotten Carols
Aunt Mary’s Tree
I found the text of this lovely carol by the Rev Robert Stephen Hawker in an old carol book dating from 1886. Evidently the terms 'Uncle' and 'Aunt' were used in old Cornwall as a kindly greeting of respect, thus … Read more »
Heire Bannag
This song is from the outer Hebrides of Scotland and is one of the very few surviving pieces of Scottish music related to Christmas. It was sung as part of a house visiting ceremony by crofters and is in praise … Read more »
St Stephen
This is a little gem of a ballad carol telling the story of St Stephen, the servant to Herod. This version was collected by Helen Hartness Flanders in Vermont, USA, in 1934, from Mr George Edwards. It's unusual as so … Read more »
The Angels Sang
A lovely carol also called The Prince of Peace. I originally found this in the library at Cecil Sharp House in London - home to Britian's archive of folksongs - written in the late Bob Copper's hand writing. Subsequently I've … Read more »