The truth sent from above
Encyclopedia
This is the truth sent from above is an English folk
carol of unknown authorship usually performed at Christmas. Collected in the early part of the 20th century by English folk song collectors in Shropshire and Herefordshire, a number of variations on the tune exist, but the text remains broadly similar.
Cecil Sharp
collected an eight stanza version of the carol from a Mr. Seth Vandrell and Mr. Samuel Bradley of Donninglon Wood in Shropshire
, although Sharp notes that a longer version existed in a locally-printed carol book.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
collected a different, Dorian mode
version of the carol at King's Pyon, Herefordshire
in July 1909 from a Mrs Ella Leather, a folk singer who had learnt the carol through the oral tradition
. This version, which contains only four stanzas, is therefore sometimes referred to as the Herefordshire Carol. Vaughan Williams first published the melody in the Folk-Song Society Journal in 1909 (where it is instead credited as being sung by a Mr W. Jenkins of King's Pyon).
Vaughan Williams later used the carol to open his Fantasia on Christmas Carols
of 1912. Gerald Finzi
, with permission from Vaughan Williams and Mrs Leather, also used the melody as the basis of his 1925 choral work The Brightness of This Day, substituting the text for a poem by George Herbert
.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
carol of unknown authorship usually performed at Christmas. Collected in the early part of the 20th century by English folk song collectors in Shropshire and Herefordshire, a number of variations on the tune exist, but the text remains broadly similar.
Cecil Sharp
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...
collected an eight stanza version of the carol from a Mr. Seth Vandrell and Mr. Samuel Bradley of Donninglon Wood in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, although Sharp notes that a longer version existed in a locally-printed carol book.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
collected a different, Dorian mode
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
version of the carol at King's Pyon, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
in July 1909 from a Mrs Ella Leather, a folk singer who had learnt the carol through the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
. This version, which contains only four stanzas, is therefore sometimes referred to as the Herefordshire Carol. Vaughan Williams first published the melody in the Folk-Song Society Journal in 1909 (where it is instead credited as being sung by a Mr W. Jenkins of King's Pyon).
Vaughan Williams later used the carol to open his Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Fantasia on Christmas Carols is a 1912 work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. First performed at the 1912 Three Choirs Festival at Hereford Cathedral, the work is a single movement of roughly twelve minutes which consists of the English folk carols...
of 1912. Gerald Finzi
Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
, with permission from Vaughan Williams and Mrs Leather, also used the melody as the basis of his 1925 choral work The Brightness of This Day, substituting the text for a poem by George Herbert
George Herbert
George Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
.