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 Gloucestershire Wassail - Ralph Vaughan Williams
​But most definitely a fun and festive secular piece of music with a long past and (one hopes) a longer future.

It's entitled 'Gloucestershire Wassail'. As with so many folk songs, its ultimate roots are lost in the mists of time. It was published in various arrangements over the course of the 19th-century, but clearly its roots go back--possibly way back into the 16th-century.


Our specific arrangement is by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), first published in 1913, but then again with the lyrics commonly sung today in the 'Oxford Book of Carols' of 1928.

The song recounts the activities of a group of carolers, and in its many verses invokes various characters--the master of the house, the butler, the maid, the cow, the ox and so forth--and proposes a toast to each. It's exactly the kind of song which accrues additional verses over time, which it has done rather voluminously over the many years it's been sung in Gloucestershire and elsewhere.

Vaughan Williams' arrangement adopts a rather clever dynamic scheme which creates the impression that the carolers are approaching from afar--from way down the street--and gradually draw nearer, eventually barging cheerily through the door demanding libations, liberally spreading holiday cheer, and raising toasts to one and all. They eventually move on, their voices receding as they move off to the next lucky household.

Over the course of many verses, the composer distributes the catchy melody democratically throughout the choir, as each section gets its chance to shine. 


I'm attaching a score to this message for your reading pleasure. Here are some performances I liked on YouTube:

An excellent recording by the London Madrigal Singers;

An endearing performance by the UC Davis Chamber Choir;

A jolly Covid-time virtual rendition by alumni of the University of Illinois Laboratory High School;

And, unexpectedly, a very nice instrumental version by Solid Brass.

Enjoy! And if you'd like to hear the piece locally and live, please join us for one of Circa 1600's Early Music Christmas concerts this coming weekend, featuring Jenni Samuelson, Phebe Craig and the wonderful early brass ensemble The Whole Noyse.
Click here to download the score
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