This carol goes beyond Advent and right to the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28th, but I think it’s worth including here. I think I’ve already demonstrated that Advent isn’t all sweetness and light, and this is quite the opposite.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da6nOl3cXT8?rel=0]
I was up way too late last night, trying to get organised for the week ahead, and failing. It is to weep. And who better to weep with than John Dowland, the author of such cheery works as ‘Weep, O mine Eyes’, ‘Weep ye no more sad fountains’, ‘Lachrimae, or Seven Tears’, ‘I saw my lady weep’, and, of course, ‘Flow, my Tears’?
(I must admit, whenever I read my way down a list of Dowland song titles, I find myself becoming increasingly concerned for the man’s mental health. He wasn’t a happy man, that’s for sure.)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7vLOjzG4no&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]
A bit late today, because WordPress ate my Coventry Carol post, and I only just noticed. I’m afraid I’m too tired to write it all out again, so you may have to settle for beautiful and haunting music with limited commentary…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jIYyPOoEc8?rel=0] Continue reading