Wassail song - Vaughan Williams (arr.), John Rutter, Cambridge Singers
‘Wassail song' from the album 'The Sprig of Thyme' by John Rutter.
24. Wassail song
(Five English Folk Songs)
Arranger Ralph Vaughan Williams
Conductor John Rutter
Choir The Cambridge Singers
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LYRICS:
Wassail, Wassail, all over the town,
Our bread it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the green maple tree;
In the Wassail bowl we’ll drink unto thee.
Here’s a health to the ox and to his right eye,
Pray God send our master a good Christmas pie,
A good Christmas pie as e’er I did see.
In the Wassail bowl we’ll drink unto thee.
Here’s a health to the ox and to his right horn,
Pray God send our master a good crop of corn,
A good crop of corn as e’er I did see.
In the Wassail bowl we’ll drink unto thee.
Here’s a health to the ox and to his long tail,
Pray God send our master a good cask of ale,
A good cask of ale as e’er I did see.
In the Wassail bowl we’ll drink unto thee.
Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best;
Then I pray that your soul in heaven may rest;
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
May the Devil take butler, bowl and all!
Then here’s to the maid in the lily white smock,
Who tripp’d to the door and slipp’d back the lock;
Who tripp’d to the door and pull’d back the pin,
For to let these jolly Wassailers walk in.
The Sprig of Thyme
The Sprig of Thyme offers a selection of traditional songs of the British Isles, drawing together long-standing favourites as Willow Song and The Miller of Dee with lesser known gems as O Can Ye Sew Cushions and The Sprig of Thyme. Many new settings for choir and small instrumental group have been created by John Rutter especially for this album. Rutter’s suite of eleven traditional songs, The Sprig of Thyme (all of which can be heard on this album) is published by Oxford University Press.
‘This is a lovely disc; one to head my list of Christmas presents for musical friends…’ Gramophone
“This superb collection of traditional English songs, arranged by R. Vaughan Williams and John Rutter, is drawn from nursery rhymes, scout camps, and hymns from High Church assemblies. Sung in the peerless tones of The Cambridge Singers, these humble songs echo the gentility and cultural nationalism of postwar England. Included are bold drinking songs, tender lullabies, and love songs of fragile beauty. They bring delight and pleasure from a vanished age.” AllMusic
John Rutter, English composer and conductor, is associated with choral music throughout the world. His recordings with the Cambridge Singers (the professional chamber choir he set up in 1983) have reached a wide global audience, many of them featuring his own music in definitive versions. Among John’s best-known choral works are Gloria, Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, and Visions, together with many church anthems, choral songs and Christmas carols.
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