All and some is a lively carol for SATB. Full of rhythmic vitality, and with a nod to the fifteenth century, this setting is ideal for choirs looking for a new piece to add to their repertoire. 

​

Text (c.1450):

Nowell sing we, both all and some,

now Rex pacificus is ycome.

 

Exortum est in love and lysse.

Now Christ His gree He gan us gysse,

and with his body us bought to bliss.

 

De fructu ventris of Mary bright,

both God and man in her alight,

out of disease He did us dight:

 

Puer natus to us was sent,

to bliss us bought, fro bale us blent,

and else to woe we had ywent:

 

Gloria tibi, ay, and bliss,

God unto his grace he us wysse,

the rent of heaven that we not miss:

​

Nowell sing we, both all and some,

now Rex pacificus is ycome.

​

I was drawn to the text of All and some through studying the inspirational work of scholar Edith Rickert, whose collection, Ancient English Christmas Carols MCCCC to MDCC, brought medieval and renaissance carols to the attention of others in the first decade of the 20th century. The source, a manuscript kept at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, has challenged researchers, and several different attempts have been made to reproduce the text accurately. I have been faithful to the original MS, and have provided both a translation of the Latin phrases and a guide to understanding some of the Middle English words.