‘God rest ye merry Gentlemen’ is an ancient English carol. It was first published in 1833 but it can be traced as far back as the 15th century which makes it one of the oldest carols known. ‘God rest ye merry’ is a Middle English salutation. In this manner people wished one another greatness and might. In modern English the first line of this carol would read ‘May God keep you mighty gentlemen’. Andrew R. Mackereth has not kept to the original words in his up-tempo arrangement of the carol. It is still clearly recognizable but the arranger has taken a good many liberties. Sometimes a particular note is held longer at times motifs follow oneanother in various parts. If you listen carefully you may even be able to detect a motif from another well-known song.

John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) a composé la mélodie Nicaea pour accompagner le magnifique texte de louange Holy holy holy! écrit par Reginald Heber. L?hymne connaît un succès universel dès sa publication dans le psautier Hymns Ancient and Modern en 1861. Philip Sparke a repris cette célèbre mélodie pour composer Variants on an English Hymn Tune qui se présente sous la forme traditionnelle d?un air varié dont la structure comporte une introduction un thème et une suite de trois variations sur le thème.

Noel' is based on the famous English Carol 'The First Noel'. The age of this song is not clear.Some scientists argue that tis song is from early thirteenth century others say that it's from the sixteenth century.The first publication was in 'Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern' compiled by William B. Sandys. (London 1833).The exact origin is unknown. By Norman influences on the text with the result that the spelling of the song is not certified (Noel Nowell) an individual will sometimes claim that France is the cradle of this song but in general assumes that 'the First Noel 'for the first time somewhere in England sung.