Pronunciation- Israel in The First Nowell
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 414
    I’m listening to an older recording from Christmas Eve of a choir I used to sing in. I noticed that each chorus of The First Nowell “Israel” is pronounced differently. It sounds like we either couldn’t decide which was correct and just alternated between the two, or this was a compromise between two stubborn men.

    Can anyone tell me what the correct pronunciation of Israel is when singing The First Nowell? We’re alternating between Is-rye-el and Is-ray-el. Which one is it?
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,424
    Your choirmaster is the final authority for you.
    And it is his or her job to see that all sing the same vowel.
    I have always sung 'Is-ray-el or Is-rah-el - - but never Is-rye-el
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 414
    This is more for congregational singing.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,115
    I suspect Is-rye-el is by far the most common in the pews. For a choral-only performance, I'd avoid that because the diphthong of the long-I encourages flatness on a descending line.

    The other pronunciation issue is the nature of the S: a pure S, or a Z?
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