22nd December
Zither Carol
words Sir Malcolm Sargent (1895-1967)
traditional Czech folk melody arranged by Sir Malcolm Sargent
As I write these notes, I notice that the Zither Carol in the arrangement by Sir Malcolm Sargent was first published as a single copy on 23rd November 1961. However, it was copyrighted in 1958 according to Carols for Choirs volume 1.
Sir Malcolm Sargent was known for his conducting chiefly and had a stellar career in the concert halls of the world but he did compose a handful of known works and arrangements of a few others including this carol. We have transcribed this for guitar and harp (plus a few other atmospheric sounds…) in this version.
Girls and boys – Leave your toys – Make no noise
Kneel at his crib and worship him
At thy shrine – Child divine – We are thine
Our Saviour’s here
[Chorus:]
“Hallelujah” the church bells ring
“Hallelujah” the angels sing
“Hallelujah” from everything
All must draw near
On that day – Far away – Jesus lay
Angels were watching ’round his head
Holy Child – Mother mild – Undefiled
We sing thy praise
Repeat 3 lines of [Chorus]
Our hearts we raise
Shepherds came – At the fame – Of thy name
Angels their guide to Bethlehem
In that place – Filled with grace – Saw thy face
Stood at they door
Repeat 3 lines of [Chorus]
Love evermore
Wise men too – Haste to do – Homage new
Gold, myrrh and frankincence they bring
As ’twas said – Starlight led – To thy bed
Bending their knee
Repeat 3 lines of [Chorus]
Worshipping thee
Oh, that we – All might be – Good as he
Spotless, with God in unity
Saviour dear – Ever near – With us here
Since life began
Repeat 3 lines of [Chorus]
God head made man
Cherubim – Seraphim – Worship him
Sun, moon and stars proclaim his power
Every day – On our way – we shall say
Hallelujah
Repeat 3 lines of [Chorus]
Hallelujah
David: There are a number of different styles of zither, as there are of harps and guitars, but the one used by zither player, Antos Karat, in the film “The Third Man” was like the one in the background here with a guitar-like fretboard at one side.
I used a steel string acoustic guitar for this track to emulate, vaguely, the sound of a zither, which has been described as a cross between a guitar and a harp.
Rather than record the acoustic sound with a microphone, it sounded more like what I was looking for by plugging into an acoustic amplifier and plugging that directly into the recording hardware.
Recorded on David Concert Harp
Guitar: Epiphone AJ200-SCE