"Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known under the title "

Branle A branle (, ), also bransle, brangle, brawl, brawle, brall(e), braul(e), brando (in Italy), bran (in Spain), or brantle (in Scotland), is a type of French dance popular from the early 16th century to the present, danced by couples in either a li ...

de l'Official" in ''Orchésographie'', a dance book written by the French cleric, composer and writer

Thoinot Arbeau Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot (March 17, 1520 – July 23, 1595). Tabourot is most famous for his ''Orchésographie'', a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance. He was bo ...

, pen name of Jehan Tabourot (1519–1593). The words are by the English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934), and the carol was first published in 1924 in his ''The Cambridge Carol-Book: Being Fifty-two Songs for Christmas, Easter, And Other Seasons''. Woodward took an interest in

church bell A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and t ...

ringing, which no doubt aided him in writing it. Woodward was the author of several carol books, including ''

Songs of Syon ''Songs of Syon: A Collection of Hymns and Sacred Poems Mostly Translated from Ancient Greek, Latin and German Sources'' was produced by George Ratcliffe Woodward in 1904. In 1908, a new and enlarged edition was produced, with the title ''Songs of ...

'' and '' The Cowley Carol Book''. The

macaronic Macaronic language uses a mixture of languages, particularly bilingual puns or situations in which the languages are otherwise used in the same context (rather than simply discrete segments of a text being in different languages). Hybrid words ...

style is characteristic of Woodward’s delight in archaic poetry. Charles Wood harmonised the tune when it was published with Woodward's text in ''The Cambridge Carol Book''. More recently, Sir

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambr ...

made an arrangement for the second book of ''

Carols for Choirs ''Carols for Choirs'' is a collection of choral scores, predominantly of Christmas carols and hymns, first published in 1961 by Oxford University Press. It was edited by Sir David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques, and is a widely used source of ...

''.

Text and melody

Ding Dong! merrily on high In heav'n the bells are ringing Ding, dong! verily the sky Is riv'n with angel singing Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis E'en so here below, below Let steeple bells be swungen And i-o, i-o, i-o By priest and people be sungen Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis Pray ye dutifully prime Your matin chime, ye ringers May ye beautifully rime Your evetime song, ye singers Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis."Ding Dong Merrily on High"
hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com

\header \layout global = soprano = \relative c'' alto = \relative c' tenor = \relative c' bass = \relative c verse = \lyricmode \score \score

Recordings

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album ''Tidings of Comfort and Joy'' (1984) *

Maddy Prior Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...

album ''

A Tapestry of Carols ''A Tapestry of Carols'' is an album by Maddy Prior. It is a collection of ancient carols from across Europe, played by The Carnival Band on replicas of medieval instruments. It was recorded at The Quaker Meeting House, Frenchay, near Bristol a ...

'' (1987) *

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album ''

The Bells of Dublin ''The Bells of Dublin'' is a 1991 album of Christmas songs and traditional carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Mar ...

'' (1991) *

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album ''

Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas ''Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas'', released in 1996 by ABC Music distributed by EMI. It is the Wiggles' seventh album and the group's first Christmas album. It was made into a video the following year. Track listing Personnel Credits are taken fr ...

'' (1996) *

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

album ''

Dream a Dream ''Dream a Dream'' is the third album by Welsh soprano Charlotte Church, released in 2000. The album is principally a collection of Christmas carols but also includes the non-Christmas title track "Dream a Dream", Church's first foray into a mor ...

'' (2000) *

Cherish the Ladies Cherish the Ladies is an American female supergroup (music), super group that plays Celtic music. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985. It was the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female ...

album '' On Christmas Night'' (2004) * Blackmore's Night album '' Winter Carols'' (2006) *

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

album '' A Christmas Celebration'' (2006) *

Linda Brava Linda Magdalena Cullberg Lampenius (born 26 February 1970), better known by her maiden name Linda Lampenius and international stage name Linda Brava, is a Finnish classical concert violinist. Named as one of the most versatile and accomplishe ...

album ''Angels'' (2010) *

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Coll ...

album '' 100 Years of Nine Lessons and Carols'' (2018)

References

External links

*
Free sheet music from the Choral Public Domain Library

(with scans of original) * Fre
sheet music
of "Ding Dong Merrily on High" for SATB, Cantorion.org * {{authority control Christmas carols 1924 songs French folk songs

Text and melody

Recordings

See also

References

External links