Recording

Merry Christmas Tonight The Isles of Rhythm

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Listen to a sample of Angels We Have Heard on High / Jingle Bells

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This carol is actually made up of three different parts from three different times: the lyrics to the Latin chorus “Gloria In Excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the Highest), are from the second century, the English verses are based on a French carol probably written in the 1700s, and the music is from another French carol that could have been written around the same time. The chorus dates back to 130 A.D. when the Pope issued a decree that it be sung at all masses on Christmas. The simplicity of the melody would indicate that it was used by monks as an early chant. It is not known who put these three pieces together, but it was first published that way in 1855.

One of the earliest secular Christmas songs written in the United States, Jingle Bells is still one of the most popular Christmas songs today. Pierpont, from Boston, wrote the song for his father’s Sunday school class on Thanksgiving 1857. Some musicologists believe that he may have borrowed a few of the lines from a Stephen Foster song. The original sheet music cover describes it as a “Grand Galop De Concert.” Pierpont was the uncle of financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan. Bing Crosby’s recording with the Andrews Sisters (1943) is a popular and Jazzy version.

This medley of these two pieces is played in a Ragtime style. Although today, Ragtime is thought of as primarily piano music, there is actually a long tradition of Ragtime played by string bands. Ragtime was the popular music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States and all over the world. Ragtime consists of a syncopated melody played over a steady or un-syncopated accompaniment and includes songs and instrumental rags. The instrumental rags follow a set thematic form (AABBACCDD), the themes consisting of 16 measures each. The “C” theme, or trio, often changes keys, usually to the subdominant. In many rags, the fourth theme is the same as the second theme, only in the new key, however, with the classic rag style of Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb, the fourth theme is usually entirely new. Ragtime is highly danceable and popular dances of the era included the Cakewalk, the Two-Step, the Turkey Trot, the Grizzly Bear and later, the One-Step.

— Kevin Sanders, April, 2009