I did a little research into one of our carols on the December program which by the blog title you could probably figure out is Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day. Its language suggests that it was written in the 1700's although no one knows when it was penned exactly. The carol actually has eleven stanzas encompassing the entire life of Christ from birth to death with Christ himself referring to his own birth as his "dancing day." You can find the complete carol at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow_Shall_Be_My_Dancing_Day. It is thought by some that the dance imagery is used by the carol author in reference to the old Germanic tradition of dancing around the creche or manger to the music of those carols written in 3/4 time, like "Away in a Manger." The version we are singing is one of the most well-known choral settings of the carol which uses dance rhythms to effectively evoke the meaning of the text. What other setting of this text have you sung?
Speaking of singing, my agenda for the rehearsal tonight includes the above mentioned piece as well as:
Personent Hodie
Silent Night
Out of the Orient
E'en So Lord Jesus
Bogoroditse Devo
Betelehemu
Hear the Bells Ring
See you tonight!
Clair
