138  In the bleak midwinter - Harold Darke

 

This tune is an alternative to the usual Holst melody to Christina Rosetti's words. In Chapel we tended to use this version as it involved two solos.

 

I have a big confession, closeted for 30 years. Choir girls will remember that each time a soloist was chosen for any piece, other girls said quietly (or not so quietly) "Why not me? I can sing this."

 

Well, I used to sing in St Wilfrid's choir when not in College. At Christmas, this setting was used and the first solo went to a treble, and the second to a tenor. I always wanted to sing it but never got asked because an older man "by tradition" sang it every year, with wider warbles every year too! And every year I bit my tongue and thought - just as girls did - "I could do it better!"

 

So when we recorded this carol in Chapel, I couldn't resist the opportunity to sing my favourite Christmas solo. I justified my decision by saying it would add variety to the overall texture. Yes, adults can bend things their way just like you!

 

So there, I've said it. Vanity, vanity, and not even a pretty face.