Cornish Carols - a Tradition for the World

It is not universally known that the very first collection of carols published and the worldwide tradition of Christmas carol singing is a Cornish phenomenon. Davies Gilbert of St Erth was the first person to publish a collection of carols in 1822 and this became the basis of many subsequent collections of Christmas Carol collections. A century later the prototype for the world famous Service of Nine Lessons so familiar as it is broadcast each year from Kings College, Cambridge was actually first performed in Truro Cathedral in Bishop Benson's time.

Today many of us know popular Cornish versions of ‘While Shepherds Watched their Flocks' and the ‘St Day Carol' but there are many more which only a few choirs perform.  Cornish Carols mean different things in different parts of the county.  There was a strong oral tradition of ballad carols which formed the basis of Davies Gilbert and William Sandys' collections and these carols, often learnt by ear, are still alive in St Ives, Stratton, Padstow and possibly near you.  In living memory one village or town might have a different version of a carol to the next and, not unnaturally, local communities guard their versions with pride.  The great carol writers, hymnists and collectors of the 19th century like Thomas Merritt and Stephen Nichols built on this tradition and wrote music much loved by the mining choirs which are still maintained in Cornish communities around the world and in many choirs in Cornwall.