The genesis of “The Cherry Tree Carol” is uncertain, but the legend of the cherry tree is very ancient. The lyrics are inconsistent with the canonical gospels, but the story is based on the Coventry Mysteries performed during the Feast of Corpus Christi, which were largely written or recorded in 1468. Those plays incorporated elements based on the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of the Pseudo-Matthew with modifications that reinforce legends and superstitions widely believed in the 15th century. The carol is a popular ballad passed down through an oral tradition so details vary widely among the many different texts, which to varying degrees appear to incorporate content drawn from one or more of three separate stories and carols. Some clearly relate to the flight into Egypt, suggesting that Jesus was no more than two years of age, while others (including the text that will be sung tomorrow) indicate that the unborn child commanded the cherry tree to bow down so his mother could pluck some cherries, presumably en route to Bethlehem. In most texts, Joseph rebuffs Mary’s request but in others it is Joseph or even the Lord who commands the cherry tree to bow to Mary. The earliest documented text dates to 1768. “Joseph was an Old Man” was included in “Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern”, edited by William Sandys and published in 1833. Several versions were included in Volume II of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland and their American variants that was collected and edited by Francis James Child (1825-1896) and published in 10 volumes between 1882 and 1898. Child was a Professor at Harvard and an English scholar who was one of the foremost students of early English as well as ancient ballads in America. Versions of the carol have been found in several regions in each of England, Scotland, Canada and the United States. Different versions of the carol have also been set to different tunes, arranged and recorded by a remarkable variety of musicians, including many folk singers. The arranger of the version that will be sung on Sunday morning is not known. The tune is clearly the one published by Sandys in 1833, but the rhythm and harmony differ. The ten verses conform, to a large extent, with the first nine verses (of 12) published by Sandys but omit the final three. The omitted verses originate from “Mary’s Question”: in them, Mary asks her child to foretell the future and he predicts the Resurrection. The text and tune that will be sung are similar to this recording of an arrangement by Sir David Willcocks for the 1999 CD “The Truth from Above” by The Men and Boys of St. Matthew’s Choir, directed by Matthew Larkin, but the harmonization is different.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 18:51:29 +0000
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