Old Christmas Hymns or Carols
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 716
    Many years ago when I sang in St. Mary's choir there were several Christmas carols/hymns we sang as preludes. I haven't really decided if they are hymns or carols. I have been trying over the years to locate where they came from be it a hymnal or a collection of Christmas carols. A couple are by the same authors.

    The first is "Christmas Bells" by Lester Price
    The second is "The Song That Will Never Cease" by James Rowe & Howard E. Smith
    The third is "Tidings of His Birth" by S.K. Best & Thoro Harris
    The fourth is "Christmas Bells, Ring On" by James Rowe & Howard E. Smith

    A clue might be "Meyer & Bros.", from what I can find they were from Chicago. I did a search on Hymnary.org but I could not find these particular ones.

    Any suggestions or clues for where else to look?


    OldChristmasHymns.pdf
    686K
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Carols are usually medi-eval English in origin. These pieces are clearly of a more modern vintage, and they appear to be American in origin. (Yes, I know there are some French carols, but the genre is heavily English.)

    I wouldn't call them hymns either, since they seem more narrative than adulatory.

    If I were looking for a place to start as a physically printed source, the type set looks a bit like the Hymnal 1940, or the 1928 Prayerbook.


  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    The publisher "Meyer and Brother" issued a numbered series of booklets with material for children's Christmas programs: songs, recitations, poems, etc. The title for the series was "Paramount Christmas Books", and a search on the net shows several of the numbered editions offered for sale: 2, 17, etc.

    It isn't clear to me whether the materials in the PDF file are all from the same "Paramount Christmas Book" or more than one.

    "The Tidings Came At Midnight" was already being sung in 1921, according to this newspaper account.
    Thanked by 1Don9of11
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