Since the last several Christmas song posts have not exactly been the cheeriest of songs, I thought it was about time I included something a bit more upbeat. You are therefore, being treated to an old 16th century carol of German origin. In English it is known as How Great Our Joy, or While by the Sheep-- and occasionally, as The Echo Carol, because of the repeated lines in the refrain. Hymns and Carols of Christmas has a short article about this carol, though it is rather vague as to what the original tune was, and how closely this version sticks to it, and if the echoes were original to the carol, or added in later. This website provides a little more information, and includes the tantalising fact that it was originally a macaronic (i.e. sung in two languages, generally the vernacular and Latin) carol, and the refrain included the lines: Benedicamus Domino".
This carol is not so well known as it probably should be-- I am rather ashamed that I have not properly listened to it before now. It tends to cycle through on Choirs of Christmas sorts of albums-- lovely things to be sure, but choir singing in recording, tends to be the sort of the thing that is easy to leave on in the background for atmosphere, and, due to the layers of harmony, and the sheer number of singers, its not always so easy to actually catch the lyrics of their songs, unless one is already familiar with them, which has not been the case for me with this particular carol. A fact of which I am now something abashed, as it is beautiful and charming, and the context makes the "Joy! Joy! Joy!" of the refrain far more poignant than it is is when that is merely the one lyric you hear clearly.
The version I am presenting may not be the best version out there, and it does not (alas) feature the "benedicamus domino" bits, but I appreciate how very seriously they take the echo idea, and I have a soft spot for all male choirs, so this version it is:
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