Sandy at Maple Grove wrote about Madrigal Memories, which brought up my own memories of madrigal singing in high school. A madrigal is Renaissance music about love sung in parts. My audition madrigal, Come Again, has permanent residency status in my brain.
Sandy asked about a favorite rare Christmas Carol. No hesitation on my part: Gaudete fits the bill. Sung by a boys choir called Libera, this carol captures the joy of the Incarnation.
Gaudete! Gaudete! = Rejoice! Rejoice!
Christus est natus = Christ is born,
ex Maria Virgine = of the Virgin Mary.
Christus est natus = Christ is born,
ex Maria Virgine = of the Virgin Mary.
Do you have a favorite out-of-the-mainstream carol?
A Living Pencil 
Wow, that was wonderful! Thanks! I just like Christmas Carols…all of them…I guess it comes with the name! My daughters are harpists…Christmas music takes very well to the harp!
@toomanyhats – Yes, Carol! Two years ago (yesterday) my middle son got married in the evening. Two sisters did the music on harp and violin. It was exquisite. I’ll never forget my daughter-in-law walking down the aisle to the harp playing “O Holy Night.” Perfect!
The Coventry Carol. . . A love song/lullaby to the Christ child.
I *loved* singing in madrigals as a teen. My favorite song is “Here to They Cradle, Lord, I Come” by Bach. Its two part harmony… not sure if its officially a madrigal, but we loved singing it. I can still sing most of both parts, but I can never find it anywhere. I hadn’t thought about looking on youtube!
Remember, O Thou Man is a fantastic early English Carol that is unlike most other songs of the season. Check out the The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers in the CD called Christus Natus Est. Here is a shortened URL for the Amazon page where you can listen to 30 second clips.http://tinyurl.com/4pv5egEnjoy!!
@dharperino – Danny, I have that song in the King’s College singers set. I love it. Also, Tomorrow is My Dancing Day, and Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. Thanks for leaving a comment! =) » (that’s me smiling)
I love non-mainstream carols probably best. My favorites are either Luly, Luly or Il Est Ne.
Of the Father’s Love Begotten and Vaughan William’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols are favorites, but there are so many to love . . . Gaudete is another favorite. The Oxford Book of Carols is positively stuffed with so many wonderful old carols.I just found your blog and am really enjoying it!womanofthehouse
@womanofthehouse1 – Might we be related? (smile) I adore Vaughn William’s music (I just learned this year that his first name is pronounced Rafe…did you know that?) and his Fantasia on Greensleeves is beyond lovely. We just sang “Of the Father’s Love Begotton” at church yesterday. It is a treasure I became familiar with in the last six or seven years.Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
@magistramater – Not related but maybe kindred spirits? Have you tried Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis? Absolutely gorgeous! Yes, I did know his name is pronounced “Rafe.” That seems to be the British pronunciation as far as I can tell.Here is a link to a radio interview with Dr. Arthur Just regarding Of the Father’s Love Begotten, in case you are interested: http://www.issuesetc.org/ondemand.html . Scroll down to Dec. 25. You’ll find it there.I’m curious~~you’ve mentioned the Lutheran Prayer Book in a couple of your posts that I’ve read. Are you Lutheran? My husband and I have very recently (as in the past month) begun attending a Lutheran church. I don’t know very many Lutherans on-line, so I was just wondering.
@womanofthehouse1 – yes, kindred spirits! The Tallis theme makes me speechless. We had started singing that tune to Psalm 63 a few months before we first heard Vaughn William’s Fantasia. Then my brother (Dan, he plays a big part in my life) introduced it to us. We played it and played it. A few months later, we went to see Master and Commander in the theater. When that music came up, we felt we owned it and sat and wept. In September I discovered Vaughn William’s Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus, another familiar tune and so masterfully embroidered by VW. I am not Lutheran (we’re Presbyterian after being Plymouth Brethren, Evangelical Free, and Baptist), but my husband was raised in the Lutheran church and we occasionally join his parents at a service there. But I must direct you to my favorite Lutheran friend who also blogs (off and on): Brenda at Tanabu Girl. She is very connected with Lutherans online. If you send her a message, you might be able to get links from her. The Lutheran Book of Prayer has been a huge blessing to me. It was a find at a book sale.
@womanofthehouse1 – I forgot to thank you for the link. I’m going to check it out now!
I was actually disappointed that VW’s music was used in Master and Commander, at least at such a heartwrenching place in the movie. Now I can’t listen to it without thinking of that scene, but it’s too beautiful to ignore despite that. I haven’t heard the other piece you mentioned, but I will keep my ears open. Here’s another similarity!~~We just left an Evangelical Free church, though it really is much more Reformed Baptist in theology and practice. We also had a brief stint as Southern Baptists a long time ago. Sadly, we’ve done almost no psalm singing since we got a new pastor three and a half years ago. I’ve missed it so much! In our new Lutheran church (Missouri Synod), we chant psalms. I love it! I am very much enjoying the liturgy. It’s so rich and historical and edifying and objective and . . .I want to try to find a copy of the Lutheran Book of Prayer. Those you posted have been terrific! For Christmas I received The Treasury of Daily Prayer that has just been published by Concordia. There are prayers in it, but I don’t know if they come from the LBP. I haven’t had time to read the introduction yet.Thank you for directing me to Brenda. I’ll check her out! And I hope you enjoyed the link!Hope I’m not talking too much . . .