''Carols of All Seasons'' is a 1959 studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American folk singer

Jean Ritchie Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally ...

. It was recorded with two classical musicians, which is not unusual for the late 1950s. The sound anticipates the slightly baroque arrangements that

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

would later use on ''

Anthems in Eden ''Anthems in Eden'' is a 1969 album by Shirley and Dolly Collins, with the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow. The album originally consisted of a 28-minute set of folk songs plus seven other individual pieces performed by t ...

''. As well as some often heard carols, there are some rare ones ("Dame Get up and Bake Your Pies") and four unique ones - carols that Jean had learned while she was a child in the Appalachian mountains. In particular "Cherry Tree of Cumberland" has a haunting quality. "The Flower Carol" (Tempus adest floridum) is the song that originally owned the tune "

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During the ...

" before Rev J.M. Neale substituted new words in 1853. It is very rarely heard. At the time Jean was the only singer to accompany herself on mountain dulcimer. This can heard on "Children Go Where I Send Thee" and "The May Day Carol". The album was reissued in 1997 as ''Carols for All Seasons''.

Track listing

All songs except where noted. #" The Carnal and the Crane" (instrumental) #"

I Saw Three Ships "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is an English Christmas carol, listed as number 700 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by ...

" #"Dame Get Up and Bake Your Pies" #"

Children Go Where I Send Thee "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (alternatively "Children, Go Where I Send You" or variations thereof, also known as "The Holy Baby", "Little Bitty Baby", or "Born in Bethlehem") is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many d ...

" (Appalachian carol) #"

Down in Yon Forest "Down in Yon Forest" (or "Down in Yon Forrest"), also known as "All Bells in Paradise" and "Castleton Carol," is a traditional English Christmas carol dating to the Renaissance era, ultimately deriving from the anonymous Middle English poem known ...

" #"

Brightest and Best "Brightest and Best" (occasionally rendered by its first line, "Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning") is a Christian hymn written in 1811 by the Anglican bishop Reginald Heber to be sung at the feast of Epiphany. It appeared in Heber' ...

" (Appalachian carol) #" Cherry Tree of Cumberlands" (Appalachian carol) #"The Pig Went Out to Dig" #"Christ Church Bells" (Music: Trad, Lyrics: J. Ritchie) #"The Flower Carol" (to the tune "Good King Wenceslas") #"The May Day Carol" #"The Cambridge May Song" #"The Holy Well" #"The Little Family" (Appalachian carol) #"Christ Was Born in Bethlehem" #" The Holly Bears the Berry (Sans Day Carol)" #" Wassail Song" (instrumental)

Personnel

*Jean Ritchie – vocals, lap dulcimer *Robert Abramson – harpsichord *LaNoue Davenport – recorder

References

1959 Christmas albums Tradition Records albums Jean Ritchie albums Christmas albums by American artists Folk Christmas albums {{1950s-folk-album-stub