Music and texts of 201 carols for the Christmas season (many in more than one setting), each with copious notes on historical background and performance. An extensive general introduction gives an overview of the history of the carol, and there are a number of appendices dealing with specific areas of the repertory. The book's approach is an attempt to rediscover the native vitality of material that has sometimes been debased and sentimentalized, by means of `authentic' period settings and a concern for historically informed performance.

PART 1: COMPOSED CAROLS, THE MIDDLE AGES, Verbum supernum, prodiens/High Word of God, Eternal Light, Veni, Redemptor gencium/Come, thou Redeemer of the earth, Christe, Redemptor omnium/O Christ, the Father's only son, A solis ortus cardine/From lands that see the sun arise, Letabundus/Come rejoicing, Festa dies agitur, Dieus soit en cheste maison, Angelus ad Virginem/Gabriel, fram Heven-King, Procedenti Puero-Eya!/Verbum caro factum est-Eya! novus annus est, Ad cantus leticie, Laudemus cum armonia, Verbum caro factum est: Dies est leticie, Verbum caro factum est: In hoc anni circulo, Verbum Patris hodie, Verbum Patris umanatur, Veni, veni, Emanuel/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!, Qui creavit celum/He who made the earth so fair (Song of the Nuns of Chester), Dies est laeticiae/Earth with joy this day doth ring, Corde natus ex Parentis/Of the Father's heart begotten, Personent hodie/On this day earth shall ring, Puer nobis nascitur/Unto us is born a Son, Omnis mundus iucundetur, ENGLISH CAROLS 1400-1700, Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis Night, Lullay, Lullow: I Saw a Swete Semly Syght, Nova! nova!, Nowell: Tydynges trew ther be cum new, Hayl, Mary, ful of grace, Ther is no rose of swych vertu, Alleluya pro Virgine Maria, Alleluya: A nywe werk is come on honde, Make we joye nowe in this fest, What tydynges bryngest thou, Messangere?, Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse, Nowel syng we bothe al and som, Synge we to this mery cumpane, Nowell: Dieus wous garde, byewsser, Nowell: The borys hede (The Exeter Boar's Head Carol), Marvele noght, Josep, Thys endere nyghth I saw a syghth, Lully, lulla, thow littel tyne child (The Coventry Carol), As I out rode this enderes night (The Coventry Shepherds' Carol), We happy hirdes men, Come, love we God!, Swete was the song the Virgine soong, Thus angels sung (The Angels' Song), While shepherds watched their flocks by night, O remember Adam's fall/Remember, O thou man, EUROPEAN CAROLS 1550-1700, Riu, riu, chiu, Verbum caro factum est: Y la Virgen le dezia, E la don, don Verges Maria, Gaudete!, Psallite Unigenito, En! Natus est Emanuel - Lo! born is our Emmanuel, Puer natus in Bethlehem - A Boy is born in Bethlehem - Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem, Resonet in laudibus - Let the voice of praise resound - Joseph, lieber Joseph mein - Joseph, dearest Joseph mine, Magnum Nomen Domini Emanuel - O proclaim the mighty Name Emmanuel!, Quem pastores laudavere - Shepherds sang their praises o'er him, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland - Saviour of the Gentiles, come!, In dulci jubilo - Good Christian men, rejoice!, Vom Himmel hoch, da komm'ich her - From highest heaven I come to tell, Christum wir sollen loben schon - From lands that see the sun arise, Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht' - While by my sheep I watched at night, Es steht ein'Lind' im Himmelreich - There stood in heaven a linden tree, Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt! - Come, angels, come! from heaven, appear, Ein Kindlein in der Wiegen - He smiles within his cradle, Es ist ein Roess entsprungen - Of Jesse's line descended - Es ist ein Reis entsprungen - A great and mighty wonder, O Jesulein Suss! o Jesulein Mild! - O Little One Sweet! O Little One Mild, Wachet Auf! - Wake, O Wake!, Wie Schon leuchtet der Morgenstern - How fair the Morning Star doth shine, EUROPE AND AMERICA 1700-1830, Adeste, fideles/O come, all ye faithful, Christians, awake!, Lo! he comes, with clouds descending - Lo! he comes, an infant stranger, Lift up your heads in joyful hope, Hark! hear you not a chearful noise, Hark! hark what news the angels bring, Joy to the world!, Come, let us all with heart and voice, As shepherds in Jewry, Shepherds, rejoice!, A virgin unspotted, The Lord descended from above, Ye nations all, on you I call, Glory to God on high, Hail the blest morn!, Hark! hark! glad tidings charm our ears, Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht! - Silent night! holy night!, Arise, and hail the sacred day!, Rejoice, ye tenants of the earth, Rouse, rouse from your slumbers!, Awake, and join the cheerful choir, Sound, sound your instruments of joy! ( Seraphic Minstrels), THE LATER NINETEENTH CENTURY, Hark! the herald angels sing, Once, in royal David's city, The Shepherds' Farewell to the Holy Family, See, amid the winter's snow, Angels, from the realms of glory, Good King Wenceslas looked out, What child is this, Three Kings of Orient, Away in a manger, O little town of Bethlehem, Drei Kon'ge wandern aus Morgenland - Three kings from Persian lands afar (Die Konige), It came upon the midnight clear, THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, Ding-dong ding!, Past three o'clock, Blessed be that maid Marie, Hail, blessed Virgin Mary!, Ding! dong! merrily on high, Lullay, my liking - I saw a maiden - Myn Lyking, Love came down at Christmas, In the bleak mid-winter, Bethlehem Down, Dormi, Jesu! - Sleep, sweet babe! (The Virgin's Cradle Hymn), Wither's Rocking Hymn, Watts's Cradle Hymn, A Boy was born in Bethlehem, A Hymn to the Virgin, Torches, Make we joy now in this fest, There is no rose of such virtue, Adam lay ybounden, The Fader of heven, When Christ was born of Mary free, PART TWO: TRADITIONAL CAROLS, ENGLISH TRADITIONAL, The Boar's Head Carol, Come all you faithful Christians, The holly and the ivy, Now the holly bears a berry (The St Day Carol), The Cherry Tree Carol, When righteous Joseph wedded was, O Joseph, being an old man truly/Joseph, being an aged man truly, The Seven Joys of Mary - The Seven Rejoices of Mary - The Blessings of Mary, Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, The Twelve Days of Christmas, In those twelve days, The old yeare now away is fled, Rejoice and be merry, The first 'Nowell!' - 'Nowell and nowell!', All hayle to the dayes, On Christmas Night all Christians sing (The Sussex Carol), Let all that are to mirth inclined, The Lord at first did Adam make, When God at first created man, A virgin unspotted/A virgin most pure, The angel Gabriel from God was sent, God's dear Son, without beginning, A Child this day is born, Shepherds, arise!, I saw three ships comes sailing in, As I sat on a sunny bank, LUCK-VISIT SONGS, This is the truth sent from above, God rest you merry, gentlemen, Come all you worthy gentlemen, We wish you a merry Christmas, Christemas hath made an end/Well-a-day! (The Gooding Carol), Wassail! wassail all over the town! (The Gloucestershire Wassail), A wassail, a wassail throughout all this town!, We've been a while a-wandering (The Yorkshire Wassail Song), Wassail, o wassail all over the town! (The Somerset Wassail), Here we come a-wassailing (Wassail Song), IRISH TRADITIONAL, The darkest midnight in December, Ye sons of men, with me Rejoice, Good people all, this Christmastime, Christmas Day is come!, WELSH TRADITIONAL, Oer y'wr gwr sy'n methu caru/Soon the hoar old year will leave us/Deck the hall with boughs of holly (Nos Galan), O deued pob Cristion/Come all Christians, singing, Wel, dyma'r borau gorau i gyd, AMERICAN TRADITIONAL, O Mary and the baby, sweet lamb!, Mary had a baby, Go tell it on the mountain, Rise up, shepherd, and follow!, Lullay, thou tiny little child, I wonder as I wander, Sing we the Virgin Mary, TRINIDADIAN TRADITIONAL, The Virgin Mary had a baby boy, GERMAN TRADITIONAL, Es sungen drei Engel/'Te Deum laudamus!' three angels sang, Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging/Blest Mary wanders through the thorn, Kommet, ihr Hirten/Come, all ye shepherds, Schlaf wohl, du Himmelsknabe du/O sleep, thou heaven-born Treasure, thou, Es kommt ein Schiff geladen/A ship there comes, a-laden/Uns kompt ein Schiff gefahren/There comes a ship a-sailing, O du frohliche! O du selige!/O most wonderful! O most merciful!, O Tannenbaum/O Christmas tree/O Dannebom, CZECH TRADITIONAL, Zezulka z lesa vylitla/Out of the forest a cuckoo flew, Hajej, nynej, Jezisku/Jesu, Jesu, baby dear, POLISH TRADITIONAL, W zlobie lezy/Infant holy, Infant lowly, PROVENCAL TRADITIONAL, Guillo, pran ton tamborin!/Guillo, come, and Robin too, De matin ai rescountra lou trin/Ce matin j'ai rencontree le train/Far away, what splendour comes this way? (Marcho di Rei), Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle!/Come with torches, Jeanette, Isabella!, FRENCH TRADITIONAL, Noel nouvelet!, Dans cette etable/Cradled all lowly, Entre le boeuf et l'ane gris/Oxen and asses stand around, Quelle est cette odeur agreable/Shepherds, what fragrance, all-perfuming, Quittez, pasteurs/O leave your sheep, Il est ne, le divin Enfant!/Christ is born a Child on earth!, Berger, secoue ton sommeil profond!/Shepherd, shake off your drowsy sleep!, Les anges dans nos campagnes/Angels we have heard on high/Angels, we have heard your voices, BASQUE TRADITIONAL, Birjina gaztettobat zegoen/The angel Gabriel from heaven came, Oi Betleem!/Sing lullaby! l Christmas, SPANISH TRADITIONAL, El desembre congelat/Cold December's winds were stilled, Veinticinco de diciembre/Twenty-fifth day of December, El Noi de la Mare/The Son of the Virgin, NEOPOLITAN TRADITIONAL, Quando nascette Ninno/When Christ, the Son of Mary