A Carol for All Seasons

A Carol for All Seasons by Hugh Levey
Clarinet Quartet

This joyful Carol for All Seasons is an ideal work to be performed at any time of year, with its dance-like melody and interesting harmonies. It is especially suited for concert performances that are associated with festive holidays and celebrations, including Christmas and New Year.

Our Christmas Carol tradition comes to us through a complex web of different sources; both religious and secular. The words ‘carol’ and ‘carolling’ come from 12th Century France, where the “carole” was a song and dance; more particularly a round-dance in which people held hands in a circle and sang as they danced. The carol spread across Europe and by the 14th century it had become quite an art form. Perhaps surprisingly, these early carols had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. They could be sung at any time of year and most were not religious. Even as late as the early 20th Century there were examples of Easter Carols in British folk song collections.

The origin of A Carol for All Seasons is equally complicated. The basic 6/8 theme with its ambiguous major and minor modality came to me many years ago. I never wrote anything down, but it remained lurking at the back of my mind for decades. Its compound time and cheerful nature reminded me of the Sussex Carol, and I even had some ideas for Christmas lyrics about the joy of the nativity. However, it is seeing the light of day here as an instrumental work rather than a carol - and it has no lyrics. Nevertheless, it remains in the carolling tradition because it can be danced to and is joyful. Hence the title is A Carol for All Seasons and its subtitle is A Gentle Jig.

The joyful theme is combined with some gentle, contemplative passages which provide an introduction and interludes between ‘verses’. Verses? Perhaps that indicates that I may yet write it as a Christmas Carol - one day!