As we said last year, although Advent finishes on the 24th, we like to add a bonus piece for Christmas Day.

The ‘Vieux Noël’ of the title is a 15th century French carol called ‘Noël Nouvelet’  to which 19th century English words have been set:
“Now the green blade rises” – which makes this into more of an Easter carol – and also “Sing We Now of Christmas”.

There is even a version of lyrics based on writing by Thomas Aquinas:“Adoro Te Devote, A Meditation on the Blessed Sacrament”.

The French composer Samuel-Rousseau’s version was written in 1916 and published in 1919. He dedicated it to Marcel Tournier, some of whose music you can hear on other days of this Advent calendar. 

To my mind, the style of the writing owes much to Fauré and I realise that my interpretation probably departs somewhat from the more commonly heard bravura display piece for harp, and more on the story and wonder behind it. 

In fact, I believe that the different variations convey the different imagery of each verse, for example, the big chords representing the pomp of the Kings and the cradle song like variation representing the scene at the crib. You may  also perceive other imagery, such as angels.

The French words of the carol are interwoven with an English translation below.