The words of
Welcome, Yule! date from the fifteenth century and have a lilting rhythm which invites singing. There are several versions, one of which appears in a collection made in about 1430 by John Awdlay, the blind chaplain of Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire. Sir Hubert Parry (1848–1918) obtained his Bachelor of Music degree while still a pupil at Eton but went on to Oxford to study composition. Eventually he became director of the RCM and professor of music at Oxford. He is known for his choral piece
Blest pair of sirens, for the unaccompanied
Songs of Farewell and, of course, for
Jerusalem. The lively setting of
Welcome, Yule! is a minor piece but none the less enjoyable.
from notes by Wadham Sutton © 1993
