This carol holds a special place in my carol-infested heart, because it’s one of the first carols I sang at Wesley, and also because learning to sing this was, I think, the first time I ever heard the term ‘Advent carol’.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDN5gUgF_OQ&w=560&h=315]

Also, I am just silly enough to enjoy the rather brilliant line ‘Remember how thou art dead I gone, and I did what I can…’, which in my head is always followed immediately by ‘but you wouldn’t listen, would you? No, you just had to know better, and now you come crying to me…’

This is probably not quite what Thomas Ravenscroft had in mind.

Musically, I love this piece for its haunting melody and the harmonies which change from minor to major at the end of each verse.  And the voices in this particular rendition are just lovely. I’ll have to keep an eye out for The Sixteen in future.