daily English life, the Victorians introduced a wide variety of new carols – nor are
they strictly for Christmas, come to think of it. Nor are they always religious: think of
the famous settings of “Wassail, Wassail all Over the Town” or “Deck the Halls with
Boughs of Holly” that we know and sing.
Sir Malcolm Sargent’s (1895-1967) 1960 setting of this Philippine “Plantation Carol”
is only Christian in passing and could just as easily be sung as a tribute to any God
of the Harvest as it could be to the newly born King of Heaven. With a melody easy
enough for any school child to learn and harmonies that are right out of the simplest
textbook, this little song praises the gifts of the sea: coral, pearls and shells. Praised,
too, are the jewels which might make a crown: ruby, onyx and amber. Trees and hills
are instructed to laugh and sing, wind and waves to shout out love. Sargent, widely
regarded in his day as Britain’s leading conductor of choral works, arranged Nature
Carol for an a cappella choir, but there are many instances of its being sung by a
single voice, accompanied by a ukulele or guitar. Throughout, the simple rhythmic
sway in gentle 2/4 time conjures up the gentle lapping of waves on the shores and
winds in the trees. As always with a carol, the refrain is easy to remember and full of
Coral, amber, pearl and shell,
Gifts we gather from summer seas,
Find and bind, make love the spell,
Take our gifts if they charm and please.
(Greetings, dear little one)
Ruby, onyx, rain and dew,
Weave a crown with your jewelled light,
Show and know whose world is new,
Who is Prince of the day and night.
Melon, grape and maize are here,
Leaf and sheaf with tendrils twine,
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