What do you think?
Rate this book
The New Oxford Book of Carols
Edited by early music experts Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott, this anthology of Christmas carols is the most comprehensive collection ever made, spanning seven centuries of caroling in Britain, continental Europe, and North America. Containing music and text of 201 carols, many in more than one setting, the book is organized in two composed carols, ranging from medieval Gregorian chants to modern compositions, and folk carols, including not only traditional Anglo-American songs but Irish, Welsh, German, Czech, Polish, French, Basque, Catalan, Sicilian, and West Indian songs as well. Each carol is set in four-part harmony, with lyrics in both the original language and English. Accompanying each song are detailed scholarly notes on the history of the carol and on performance of the setting presented. The introduction to the volume offers a general history of carols and caroling, and appendices provide scholarly essays on such topics as fifteenth-century pronunciation, English country and United States primitive traditions, and the revival of the English folk carol. The Oxford Book of Carols , published in 1928, is still one of Oxford's best-loved books among scholars, church choristers, and the vast number of people who enjoy singing carols. This volume is not intended to replace this classic but to supplement it. Reflecting significant developments in musicology over the past sixty years, it embodies a radical reappraisal of the repertory and a fresh approach to it. The wealth of information it contains will make it essential for musicologists and other scholars, while the beauty of the carols themselves will enchant general readers and amateur songsters alike.
744 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 1992
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 31, 2025
The New Oxford Book of Carols (originally published in 1992 and which I am currently reading on Open Library) is edited by early music experts Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott (with Clifford Bartlett as associate editor). And yes, The New Oxford Book of Carols truly and delightfully features an absolutely gloriously comprehensive anthology of Christmas songs with full lyrics as well as musical scores from the United Kingdom, continental Europe and North America (spanning seven centuries, from the Middle Ages to the latter part of the 20th century).
But very much unlike the 1928 The Oxford Book of Carols, The New Oxford Book of Carols thankfully and happily provides for readers a much more interesting and considerably less dated introduction (although sometimes a bit academic in feel and using advanced musicology terms rather freely), features ONLY Yuletide songs, has much more user friendly set-up (as well as easier to read and equally so much more intriguing supplemental details regarding the featured carols), and that The New Oxford Book of Carols also and appreciatively provides the original languages of All (and not just for some) of the non English language songs and does not like is the case in The Oxford Book of Carols ignore both North American Christmas music traditions and some of my favourite German language carols. Therefore and unlike The Oxford Book of Carols, The New Oxford Book of Carols does indeed present and include Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) and O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) and I have to admit that I am more than a bit flabbergasted that in the Introduction to The New Oxford Book of Carols, Keyte, Parrott and Bartlett point out that in both Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht and O Tannenbaum were not included in The Oxford Book of Carols because Percy Drearer, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw supposedly considered them as being vulgar and as such inappropriate for some strange and in my opinion totally incomprehensible reason.
Containing just over two-hundred individual carols (and with many in more than one setting) The New Oxford Book of Carols is divided into two main sections, one of "composed" songs (nicely divided temporally, from Mediaeaval Gregorian Chants to modern compositions) and another section of traditional (in other words folk) carols, featuring not only traditional English and North American songs but Irish, Welsh, German, Czech, Polish, French, Basque, Catalan, and Sicilian ones as well (and as already mentioned above, all the non English language songs also show the original language lyrics and that accompanying each example are detailed scholarly notes on the history of the carol in question and on performances of the settings being presented). And while Hugh Keyte, Andrew Parrott and Clifford Bartlett do claim in the introduction that The New Oxford Book of Carols is not intended to replace The Oxford Book of Carols but to supplement it, I for one tend to think that The New Oxford Book of Carols is indeed hugely superior and for me does as such and therefore kind of replace The Oxford Book of Carols (in many ways). And thus highly recommended is The New Oxford Book of Carols and with everything textually present in The New Oxford Book of Carols (the introduction, the main textual body of the featured songs, the appendices, the biography and indexes) rating as solidly and wonderfully five stars for me.
But very much unlike the 1928 The Oxford Book of Carols, The New Oxford Book of Carols thankfully and happily provides for readers a much more interesting and considerably less dated introduction (although sometimes a bit academic in feel and using advanced musicology terms rather freely), features ONLY Yuletide songs, has much more user friendly set-up (as well as easier to read and equally so much more intriguing supplemental details regarding the featured carols), and that The New Oxford Book of Carols also and appreciatively provides the original languages of All (and not just for some) of the non English language songs and does not like is the case in The Oxford Book of Carols ignore both North American Christmas music traditions and some of my favourite German language carols. Therefore and unlike The Oxford Book of Carols, The New Oxford Book of Carols does indeed present and include Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) and O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) and I have to admit that I am more than a bit flabbergasted that in the Introduction to The New Oxford Book of Carols, Keyte, Parrott and Bartlett point out that in both Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht and O Tannenbaum were not included in The Oxford Book of Carols because Percy Drearer, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw supposedly considered them as being vulgar and as such inappropriate for some strange and in my opinion totally incomprehensible reason.
Containing just over two-hundred individual carols (and with many in more than one setting) The New Oxford Book of Carols is divided into two main sections, one of "composed" songs (nicely divided temporally, from Mediaeaval Gregorian Chants to modern compositions) and another section of traditional (in other words folk) carols, featuring not only traditional English and North American songs but Irish, Welsh, German, Czech, Polish, French, Basque, Catalan, and Sicilian ones as well (and as already mentioned above, all the non English language songs also show the original language lyrics and that accompanying each example are detailed scholarly notes on the history of the carol in question and on performances of the settings being presented). And while Hugh Keyte, Andrew Parrott and Clifford Bartlett do claim in the introduction that The New Oxford Book of Carols is not intended to replace The Oxford Book of Carols but to supplement it, I for one tend to think that The New Oxford Book of Carols is indeed hugely superior and for me does as such and therefore kind of replace The Oxford Book of Carols (in many ways). And thus highly recommended is The New Oxford Book of Carols and with everything textually present in The New Oxford Book of Carols (the introduction, the main textual body of the featured songs, the appendices, the biography and indexes) rating as solidly and wonderfully five stars for me.
November 26, 2010
For those interested in Christmas carols (especially those carols outside the standard, late 20th Century, popular, American canon), The New Oxford Book of Carols is an excellent resource. And although this book is a product of the music department at Oxford University and contains a fair amount of musical arrangements and notations, it is still accessible to people who aren't well versed in music.
The New Oxford Book of Carols presents an authoritative anthology. It contains a handy table of contents, a lengthy introduction, a thorough bibliography, indexes of feasts, seasons, sources, first lines, and titles, and several appendices. It is divided into two parts: composed carols and traditional carols. This distinction roughly translates to historical/ancient (composed) and contemporary (traditional).
Part I groups carols by date of composition and loose geographic region: Middle Ages, English Carols 1400 -- 1700, European Carols 1550 -- 1700, Europe and America 1700 -- 1830, Later Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth Century.
Part II groups carols by ethnicity: English, Irish, Welsh, American, Trinidadian, German, Czech, Polish, Provencal French, French, Basque, Spanish, and Neapolitan.
Entries for each carol provide the title and any title variations, approximate date of composition, basic musical arrangement, lyrics, and explanatory notes from the members of Oxford University's music department as to date of creation, sources used, various/traditional musical arrangements, similarities to and variations of other carols, etc . . .. The date provided for each carol is based on the first appearance of the words and music together, so older melodies set to lyrics composed decades to centuries later are categorized by the date that the music is first known to have been arranged with the text.
The New Oxford Book of Carols presents an authoritative anthology. It contains a handy table of contents, a lengthy introduction, a thorough bibliography, indexes of feasts, seasons, sources, first lines, and titles, and several appendices. It is divided into two parts: composed carols and traditional carols. This distinction roughly translates to historical/ancient (composed) and contemporary (traditional).
Part I groups carols by date of composition and loose geographic region: Middle Ages, English Carols 1400 -- 1700, European Carols 1550 -- 1700, Europe and America 1700 -- 1830, Later Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth Century.
Part II groups carols by ethnicity: English, Irish, Welsh, American, Trinidadian, German, Czech, Polish, Provencal French, French, Basque, Spanish, and Neapolitan.
Entries for each carol provide the title and any title variations, approximate date of composition, basic musical arrangement, lyrics, and explanatory notes from the members of Oxford University's music department as to date of creation, sources used, various/traditional musical arrangements, similarities to and variations of other carols, etc . . .. The date provided for each carol is based on the first appearance of the words and music together, so older melodies set to lyrics composed decades to centuries later are categorized by the date that the music is first known to have been arranged with the text.
November 28, 2014
Well, if you love the origins of Christmas carols, or enjoy playing original historical tunes as a musician, or are just simply curious about where some carols came from--go to the source, and read this hugely comprehensive volume. Who knew so many early Christmas carols were anti-Semitic, for instance? Or that cradle rocking was trendy in 14th - 16th century Germany? Well, you would know this if you read this book.
March 9, 2017
A beautiful, endless historical dig through the minute details of hundred of Christmas carols. I can sit and read this thing for hours. The book that turned me on to Personent Hodie.
November 28, 2023
This is a fantastic resource for anyone spending time learning about Christmas Carols this holiday season.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews