Coventry Carol

Coventry Carol ( Coventry Carol ) is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The text comes from the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, a mystery play from Coventry from the 15th century.

The song has the Innocents in Bethlehem, the traditional Gospel of Matthew murder of all boys of Bethlehem on the orders of King Herod the Great. It is sung in the game by the women of Bethlehem, before running the events.

A well-known choral version of the work comes from the English composer Martin Shaw ( 1875-1958 ).

There are slightly different versions of the text.

Text

Miscellaneous

The English composer Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) has set to music the text.