Ralph Vaughan Williams: Wassail Song

Every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember, my mom has played the Leroy Anderson Christmas album she owns (for a very long time it was the LP, which she still has) and, with the sound of his Christmas Festival, the festivities officially begin (unless she's playing the CD, in which case you have to get past the first track before getting down to business). That album, in its entirety, is one of the things that absolutely takes me right to my family Christmas.

One of the pieces on it is the "Wassail Song", a delightful English carol. The tune is more properly called Gloucestershire Wassail, named after the county in England where it originated, though no one is certain how old it is as it was passed along orally for probably more than a century before it was officially published in the version most well-known today. According to the good folks at gloschristmas.com (a group of self-described "Gloucestershire folk song enthusiasts"), Ralph Vaughan Williams first published his version (the one we all know) in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols after collecting the tune from a Gloucester native, though he'd earlier published the tune with slightly different lyrics in 1913.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First of all, who was Ralph Vaughan Williams, and why was he collecting folk songs?

Ralph Vaughan Williams (whose first name is pronounced "Rafe") was an English composer who lived from 1872--1958. He wrote basically everything---operas, symphonies, ballets, and on and on. But what was so notable about him (besides that he's pretty great) is that his music really broke away from the very German style that had been dominating British music. Consider the fact that Beethoven had died only 50 years before Vaughan Williams was born, and Brahms was still alive (he died in 1897). German music was the thing. But Vaughan Williams found his bliss in English Renaissance music (such as Thomas Tallis and William Byrd) and English folk songs.

By the time Vaughan Williams was about 30 years old, he had started collecting folk songs and, in fact, ended up collecting more than 800 tunes that were being passed down largely orally. Many of these would likely have been lost were it not for the efforts of him and others like him---though he did often neglect to write down the texts that went with them. (Well, you can't win 'em all, I guess.) The version on Leroy Anderson's Christmas album is obviously heavily influenced by Vaughan William's arrangement (the opening is the giveaway), and so when I hear the Vaughan Williams sung, I'm again immediately transported home.

It's great, right? Energetic and fun and so very Vaughan Williams. (Just take a listen to his "Fantasia on Christmas Carols" if you don't believe me.)

But what even is wassail? Let's check in with the Gloucestershire Christmas folks again. According to their research, it's a pretty old word, deriving from an Old English word that means "Be Healthy," often used as a toast or greeting. There's evidence of it being used for many centuries and it even shows up in Shakespeare more than once.

By the time the 17th century rolled around, people were wassailing---wishing good health---to everything from crops to oxen to people. By the 19th century, according to gloschristmas.com, folklorists became aware of local wassail songs. Some people would go sing to their orchards, wassail (bless) the trees, and pour cider into their roots. Other people would go from house to house carrying a decorated bowl (that sometimes held drink or money, but was usually just for decoration) and singing. In some places, this tradition still takes place.

Now, you may be like me, thinking, "Wait, I thought wassail was a drink? I'm sure I had some at my aunt's house just last year." You're not wrong. (Well, you might be about your aunt. I wasn't there, I don't know.) Wassail is a drink, often made from mulled cider or wine, and usually included when people are---you guessed it---wassailing.

So, now you know these things about the "Wassail Song": it's a centuries-old folk tune, and when you sing it you can wassail someone by wishing them good health, and you can go wassailing by singing this tune from house to house, and you can drink wassail at the same time. It's a very multi-purpose carol.

You can get a bundle of the score, practice tracks, and recordings here.