Sacred Christmas Chorals-Mixed (SATB+) - Corpus Christi Carol Jonathan Rathbone (SATB Double Choir)

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Corpus Christi Carol

Corpus Christi Carol Jonathan Rathbone (SATB Double Choir)

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Corpus Christi is observed on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, which is celebrated on first Sunday after Pentecost. Though not a Christmas carol, since it refers to the birth of Christ, it's often sung in the Christmas season. The earliest known form of the anonymous text dates back to about 1500. Its haunting lyrics have been thought to concern the grail legend, but recent scholars have suggested that it may have been composed for the grief of the displaced Anne Boleyn (former wife of Henry VIII, whose badge was a falcon). English composers Peter Warlock and Benjamin Britten have both used the carol in composition and applied it to honor those that died at war. Arranger Rathbone suggests in notes in his arrangement that the second choir be slightly smaller than the first and perhaps located at a little distance.