This carol dating from the first half of the seventeenth century comes from the time of Rubens (1577 -1640) and like works of that artist, this carol reveals theological imagery in the Flemish version. The words and music were first published together in 1651 in Bruges in a bicinium or duo – i.e. with two vocal lines together. 

The English words are not an exact translation of the Flemish. This version is found in World Carols for Choirs edited by Bob Chilcott and Susan Knight. The Rod of Jesse was what would have been considered the Tree of Jesse, in other words a genealogical family lineage – in this case of Jesus back through the Old Testament to Jesse, the father of King David. In the Bible, the book of Isiah in the Old Testament foretells of the future lineage of Jesse culminating in what Christians believe to be the birth of Jesus. However, it was culturally also a concern from Medieval times to substantiate a person’s genealogical prestige by tracing such trees back for Kings and other important personages such as the Roll Chronicle which was an attempt to trace the lineage of King Henry VI.

Vic Nees spent a lifetime’s work steeped in choral music as composer, conductor, juror and coach although he was also a musicologist. Perhaps this is what gives this music a timeless feeling; one is uncertain whether this is a contemporary work or what was actually written four hundred years ago. An understanding of the style of the latter informs the sensitivity of the newer arrangement and the smudgy harmonies sound like they might have been heard in early versions of this carol. Vic Nees starts with the duo texture of the early printed version and builds up the texture and harmonies as the verses progress.