Here is my brand new recording of Cherry Tree Carol and my first release in a while.
This is a traditional Christmas carol that I developed a few years ago and which Gerry and I performed for BBC4’s Christmas Session: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pcnsp.
What I love about this story is its humanity, that it is both earthly and celestial, supernatural, cosmic and yet human: Joseph with his jealousy, his temper and still-in-the-womb baby Jesus precociously demanding the cherry trees to bend so that his mother, weary from travel and heavily pregnant (in the song though not in the original tale), may quench her thirst.
The story is first found in 9th century apocryphal manuscript, Pseudo Matthew, where Mary asks Joseph to pick her some dates as she is tired. In years of telling the story has been modified and changed. It turns up next in a nativity mystery play in 15th century England, (called the N-Town plays) the fruit changing from Mediterranean dates to the more Northern European cherry.
The actual ballad was first collected in England in the 17th century with the added drama of Mary being pregnant and Jesus commanding the trees from within. This particular text is Appalachian and the music is from a beautiful version of 'Mistress' Health' which I heard Shirley Collins sing.
What I love about the story is its humanity, and that it is both earthly and celestial, magical, supernatural, cosmic and yet human: Joseph with his jealousy, his temper and still-in-the-womb baby Jesus precociously commanding the cherry trees to bend so that his mother, weary from travel and heavily pregnant (in the song though not in the original tale) may quench her thirst. How wonderfully stories mould and change yet something essential has remained here over vast amounts of time.
I hope to put this onto a new solo album in the new year.
Available from https://lisaknapp.bandcamp.com/track/cherry-tree-carol
Merry Christmas all
Lx
