Christmas Carols are interesting. In an attempt to keep things as simple as possible, I’ll categorize them into three groups: purely sacred carols, somewhat sacred carols, and secular carols.

It’s easy to identify purely sacred carols like “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” because they actually refer to the Christmas story and have Biblical references. Likewise, secular carols are easy to identity – they tend to be about a general holiday feeling of warmth and love, or mention Santa Claus.

Then there’s that “somewhat sacred” group. “The Holly and the Ivy” is a song about plants, and the only association with religion is that the words make rhymes about Mary. “King Jesus hath a Garden” is also about vegetation, with metaphorical associations to Christ-like virtues. Then there’s the “Cherry Tree Carol” (again about a plant), a totally non-Biblical story which barely has a religious message at all. Some argue that these originated long ago from Pagan solstice celebrations and were adopted and changed into Christian music.

These “somewhat sacred” carols are still sung today in churches, but you’d never hear them at the mall. They mention sacred things, but their theology isn’t exactly rock-solid. Not too long ago, they were considered completely secular, and would never have been sung in a church.

Anyway, today’s piece is a gorgeous German somewhat-sacred carol. And yes, plant life is mentioned.

Mary wandered through a thorny wood, Lord, have mercy,
which was leafless for seven years – Jesus and Mary.

What did Mary carry by her heart? Lord, have mercy.
A little baby without pain – Jesus and Mary.

Throughout history there have been numerous female composers; their place in society prevented nearly all of them to remain obscure and their music unheard. Even with all the progress made in modern society, women composers (living and dead) still are unjustly considered second-class. Just consider this – the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra did not accept female musicians until … ready for it? … 1997.

1997! Seriously?
It took them that long to join the 20th century?!?!

I need not go into great detail on this issue because there are plenty who already have done it far better than I can. What I can do is encourage you to listen to Clara Schumann. (Clara’s husband, by the way, was also a composer. Not surprisingly, his Wikipedia article is longer – but not by much.) In a way, she is the figurehead for the advancement of women composers. Her writing was so good, so much better than most of the schlock that was being pumped out by many of her male contemporaries, that she simply could not be ignored. And since her, things have been steadily improving for female musicians and composers, albeit slowly.

… but it’s no matter if you laugh.

The word Scherzo is Italian for “I joke” or “I jest”. It’s also a very common title for the second or third movement of a symphony. (a movement is a complete musical piece that serves as a part of a larger musical work – for example, you might say “The Fellowship of the Ring” is the first movement of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.) Typically, a scherzo is in a very fast triple meter, which gives a musical character of lighthearted skipping. Perhaps it’s this jolly, carefree, dance feeling that gives these movements their name. I’ve also heard a theory that the “joke” of the scherzo is that it’s actually a minuet played so quickly that nobody could actually dance it (minuet movements were popular in symphonies before they were ultimately replaced by the scherzo.)

Joke or not, they are fun to listen to, and yes, they definitely make you want to skip around.

Ludwig van Beethoven needs no introduction. This Scherzo is from one of his most-loved symphonies, no. 7.