Corpus Christi Carol
The Corpus Christi Carol or Falcon Carol
While a number of different interpretations have been offered over time, Eamon Duffy writes that "there can be no question whatever" that the carol's "strange cluster of images" are derived "directly from the cult of the Easter sepulchre, with its Crucifix, Host, and embroidered hangings, and the watchers kneeling around it day and night."[3]
One theory about the meaning of the carol is that it is concerned with the legend of the Holy Grail. In Arthurian traditions of the Grail story, the Fisher King is the knight who is the Grail's protector, and whose legs are perpetually wounded.[4] When he is wounded his kingdom suffers and becomes a wasteland. This would explain the reference to "an orchard brown".
The text may be an allegory in which the crucified is described as a wounded knight. The bleeding knight could be Christ who bleeds for the sins of humanity endlessly. Christ is most probably represented as a knight as he is battling sin and evil by his continual pain. The "orchard brown" to which the knight was conveyed becomes, in this reading, the "orchard" of wooden crosses that covered the hill of Golgotha/Calvary where Christ - along with many others - was crucified, while the "hall... hanged with purpill and pall" could be a representation of the tomb in which Christ was placed after Crucifixion. This allegorical interpretation would tie in with the seven stanzas possibly representing the Seven Deadly Sins. The maiden who is by the knight's side could be Mary. There is religious symbolism throughout the carol. The falcon may have several possible meanings. It may be that, as a bird of prey, it represents those who killed Christ and sent him to heaven. It may also represent a new beginning and freedom, which Christ gained on his death. The colours in the carol are also significant. The purple and gold are signs of wealth, although these were also colours that referred to the Church due to its wealth. The pall (black velvet) probably refers to death.
Richard Greene theorized in 1960 that the song refers "to the displacement of Queen Catherine of Aragon by Anne Boleyn in the affections of King Henry VIII", because the falcon was Anne's heraldic badge.[5]
Britten setting
Recordings of the Britten setting (or adaptations of it) include:
- Janet Baker recorded Britten's arrangement for high voice on her 1967 album "A Pageant of English Song: 1597-1961" with pianist Gerald Moore.
- Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, inspired[6] by Baker's version, included his interpretation on his debut 1994 album, Grace. About his version Buckley said, "The 'Carol' is a fairytale about a falcon who takes the beloved of the singer to an orchard. The singer goes looking for her and arrives at a chamber where his beloved lies next to a bleeding knight and a tomb with Christ's body in it."[7]
- Jeff Beck performs his (in turn) Buckley-inspired interpretation on his 2010 album, Emotion & Commotion. In the album liner notes, the English guitarist states: "When I heard Jeff Buckley's album, the simplicity and the beauty of the way he sounded amazed me."[8]
- Fire + Ice, on their 1992 album Gilded by the Sun.
- The Chapel choir of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge on their 2009 album, Ave Virgo.[9]
- New Zealand soprano Winter Magic.[10]
- The Christmas Album.[11]
- "Of Kings and Angels" by Mediaeval Baebes.
- The Choirboys' 2005 album, The Choirboys.
- Voces8's 2014 album, Eventide.
Other settings
- As World War I came to an end in 1919, Peter Warlock set the text for soprano and tenor accompanied by a wordless chorus; he rescored it for voices and string quartet in 1927.
- John Gerrish wrote a setting for it in 1957, titled "The Falcon".
- Ramiro Cortés wrote a setting for soprano and piano in 1956, titled "The Falcon", published by Edition Peters No. 6062.[12]
- James, John and Robert Wedderburn in his "Monody for Corpus Christi", for soprano, flute, violin and horn, in 1959.
- Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter, adapted and released the song on 1994 album "Grace".
- It was set for unaccompanied choir by Norwegian composer Trond Kverno in 1995.
- Judith Bingham set the words for choir and organ in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee.
- In 2015 the Chapel choir of Corpus Christi College, Oxford recorded a choral version, with a setting written by the then senior organ scholar Peter Ladd.
- Scottish singer-songwriter Archie Fisher recorded poet Robert Graves' adaptation (as "passed to him by Robin Hill"), combining elements of this text and "Down in yon forest" and entitled "Looly, Looly", on his album Will Ye Gang, Love (1976).[13]
In 2007 it[clarification needed] was sung in Season 1, Episode 2 of the drama on Showtime, The Tudors.
Lyrics
Original Middle English lyrics | Modern English gloss |
---|---|
He bare hym vp, he bare hym down, |
He bore him up, he bore him down, |
References
- ^ "The Falcon Carol: Earliest Version of The Corpus Christi Carol".
- ^ Bob Waltz. "Remembering The Old Songs:THE CORPUS CHRISTI CAROL".
- ISBN 0300108281.
- ^ Brown, Arthur (1910). "The Bleeding Lance". PMLA
- JSTOR 43626838.
- ^ Kingdom For A Kiss – The JB F.A.Q.: Grace Archived 8 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jeff Buckley FAQ Archived 8 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Rhino Records(523695).
- ^ "Review".
- ^ http://hayleywestenra.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/10-Winter-Magic.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Libera: The Christmas Album (Standard Edition)".
- ^ "Ramiro Cortés music recordings - Archives West". archiveswest.orbiscascade.org. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Archie Fisher - Will Ye Gang, Love".
- ^ Ed. Dyboski, Roman, PhD. Songs, Carols, and other Miscellaneous Poems, from the Balliol MS. 354, Richard Hill’s Commonplace-Book. 1907.