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Coventry Carol: the melody (soprano)

The melody of Coventry Carol, sung by the soprano, in Gm, from F4 to D5. Hear it on its own or with the others, then sing it and watch each note light up.

Carries the 1591 tune, most often on G, then A, up to its top D only on the first word of each verse's third line ("This", "His" and "For"), and down to its low F only on "yonge" in verse 2's "All yonge children to slay".

Range
F4 to D5
Key
Gm
Guide voice
The app's own voice

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How to learn the soprano part

  1. 01 · Your part

    Hear your part on its own until the tune of it is in your ear.

  2. 02 · With the others

    Hear it with the others, so you know where it sits in the chord.

  3. 03 · Sing it

    Sing it with the others under you and watch each note light up as you land it. The mic listens only while it plays, and nothing is recorded.

About Coventry Carol

Words: The women's song from the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, Coventry (as printed by Thomas Sharp, 1825)

Tune: The anonymous setting of 1591 (as printed by Thomas Sharp, 1825)

The Coventry Carol is the women's song from the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, one of the plays once performed at Coventry, a lullaby for the young children Herod has ordered killed. Its words and its three-part setting, on a leaf dated 13 May 1591, survive because Thomas Sharp printed them in 1825, the music as an engraving of the old leaf; the manuscripts were later lost. Our arrangement is read from Sharp's plates, in G minor as printed: the soprano sings the 1591 treble, the tune, the alto the 1591 tenor and the bass the 1591 bass, all adapted for beginners, and the tenor is our own, so each chord keeps its third with 2 or 3 singers too. This is the refrain, in the short form sung today, the three verses and the refrain again, for 2 to 4 singers, with the words in their old spellings.

All about Coventry Carol More Christmas carols, part by part

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Stackapella recording a part: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording a part: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording a part: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording a part: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up.
  • A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
  • Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
  • Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
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