While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night

[baroqueman1]

A piece which is always exciting to listen to and perform - although 'Psalmody' do it a pace far quicker than is appropriate. Somehow it it is a musical equivelent of those Dickensian Christmas cards which portray coaching scenes in the snow. There are at least 300 different tunes to WSWTFBN, many splendidly-bucolic, yet all one hears in most churches at Christ-Tide are the dreary strains of this hymn to 'Winchester Old', thanks to the prudish tastes of Victorian reformers.

[TheCrazyCello]

@baroqueman1 I don't think it's quicker than appropriate - quicker than the prudish Victorian reformers would have been comfortably with perhaps - but in terms of the harmonic progressions and rhythmic figures this tempo sits very comfortably. If you took it any slower, you'd never get to the end of it (although I realise Parrott does in his recording but you don't want to be singing the same carol for 10 minutes like some amateur choral societies do when they sing this!)

[DbrynbettwsCF32]

Absolutely S P L E N D I D! A lovely blend of music and voices.

DBJ Bettws South Wales UK

[anglianchannel]

brilliant

[qw3rtydud3]

I haven't heard this composition before, very charming, thanks for sharing

[clarinop]

Excellent interpretations...However, I like the version by Andrew Parott and The taverner Consort and Choir a bit more...a little grandeur. Thanks for posting...

[fynnjamin]

@clarinop I agree, Andrew Parrott's is less breakneck!

[ScurvyOaks]

Probably my favorite of all the Christmas music on the Psalmody recordings. Infectiously cheerful, and hard to listen to just once. Thanks for posting this!!