Feast of the Holy Innocents

Its an Irish carol that you are getting for today's feast day-- a carol I had never heard of before, and I would be surprised if you had heard if it either: The Angel Said to Joseph Mild is part of a collection of old Irish carols in English, from which we get the well known Wexford Carol (also known as the Enniscorthy Carol). I am very familiar with that carol-- indeed, it is one of my favourite's-- and I was very passingly aware that it was from a larger body of of obscure songs. I was under the impression that the rest of them were more or less lost, and that the Wexford Carol was a relic.

I came across a song or two from an album called The Wexford Carols (note the plural) by Caitriona O'Leary last year, but didn't think too much of it-- I am not particularly fond of the trap set drums being used in these recordings, as I find them anachronistic and intrusive, so while I liked the tunes and the songs themselves well enough, it didn't occur to me to look any farther into them.... However, when I went looking for a carol that was not the Coventry Carol to post for today, The Angel Said to Joseph Mild popped up-- clearly an old song, as nothing within the last hundred years or so would ever use this sort of word order or the phrase "Joseph Mild". This time I was definitely intrigued and when looking for more information on the Wexford Carols collection. Apparently, this album was the product of a good deal of research, recovery and reconstruction of that nearly lost collection if Irish carols. The fact that Caitriona O'Leary was able to resurrect these tunes delights me to no end, as does the fact that they are recorded and out on the wide world now, for people to hear... but I still adhere to my opinion about the drums-- anachronistic and intrusive. And the songs would benefit from a bit more of a sèan nos style of singing, and minimal accompaniment. Still, The Angel Said to Joseph Mild is a fine song for all of that, and one that deserves to have an audience, and therefore, I present it here: