Included in the Oxford Book of Ballads and ascribed to an anonymous 15th-century author, the tale of Joly Joly Wat the shepherd who offers the infant Christ his ‘pipe, skirt, tarbox and scripe’ is among the best-loved of traditional Christmas verses. Its musical reference offers an obvious attraction to composers, and in Bryan Kelly’s new setting a sprightly ritornello embellished with trills is the musical counterpart to the young herdsman’s musical instrument on which ‘he made such joy.’

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