God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
The old English carol in E minor, in the four parts of Bramley and Stainer's Christmas Carols New and Old, for 2 to 4 singers: the first verse and its refrain, brisk and bright. The alto walks under the tune with the sharpened D of the minor key, and on "O tidings of comfort and joy" the harmony turns to the major before the last "joy" comes home to E minor.
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The parts
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The first verse
Words: Traditional English (as printed by Bramley and Stainer, 1867)Tune: Traditional English (as printed by Bramley and Stainer, 1867)
God rest you, merry gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay,Remember Christ our Saviour, Was born on Christmas Day;To save us all from Satan's pow'r When we were gone astray;O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,O tidings of comfort and joy.
About God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is a traditional English carol: nobody knows who first wrote its words or its tune. It is carol number 1 in Christmas Carols New and Old, edited by H. R. Bramley and John Stainer, whose first series came out in 1867; our arrangement is read from Stainer's four parts in a printing of the 1870s, in E minor as printed, with the words as the book gives them, "God rest you, merry gentlemen". This is the first verse and its refrain for 2 to 4 singers: on "O tidings of comfort and joy" the harmony brightens into G major before the last "joy" comes home to E minor.
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