John Rutter - I wonder as I wander (Cambridge Singers)

Details

Description

★★★ My playlist with English choral pieces:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCby7t-aPVUlH5zVHPG2w8xO437TCVf1j

Cambridge Singers (dir. John Rutter):
I WONDER AS I WANDER

"I Wonder As I Wander" is a Christmas carol written by folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The carol has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933. While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police. In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song:

"A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins ... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song".

The girl, named Annie Morgan, repeated the fragment seven times in exchange for a quarter per performance, and Niles left with "three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material — and a magnificent idea" (In various accounts of this story, Niles hears between one and three lines of the song). Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas. His composition was completed on October 4, 1933. Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It was first published in his collection "Songs of the Hill Folk" in 1934 and soon became widely known in North America, both from his own solo performances and in choral arrangements. More recently it has gained a place in the English carol repertory. The present Rutter setting, for unaccompanied choir with baritone solo, dates from 1981.

The Cambridge Singers (1987)
The City of London Sinfonia
Conducted by John Rutter

♥♥♥♥♥
I put a lot of efforts into my videos.
If you like my work, consider supporting me with a small donation.
You can use this link (my "real" name is Niels Brandt):
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stigekalder
♥♥♥♥♥

★★★ Check out my Bach site:
BACH Quotes - Delve into Bach, his music and vast influences
Powered by quotations by prominent people from past to present
https://bach-quotes.net/