Introduction
The Sussex Carol is a popular British Christmas carol, sometimes referred to as “On Christmas night all Christians sing” which is the first line.
Its words were first published by Luke Wadding, a late 17th-century poet and bishop of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
There are alternative versions of this carol, with variations in lyrics and sometimes melody. Here we provide a simple arrangement based on the most common ones we’ve seen.
This is part of our mastering carols on the piano and keyboard series.
Format
Here we present the Sussex Carol written in 6/8 time. It would be possible to notate it in 2/4 or 4/4 time but would likely involve the use of many triplets in order to make the timing correct. In 6/8 time, it’s far simpler to use quarter and eighth notes (crotchets and quavers).
The only change is in bar/measure 15 where the time signature changes to 3/8 for one measure. The only reason this is done is to aid with the slight emphasis at the start of each bar. It doesn’t alter the basic counting or the tempo of the piece.
We’ve written it in G major, which means you just have the F# to remember. There are no accidentals (sharps or flats not in the key signature or naturals cancelling out the F#) and we have used simple chords.
The x/y notation for chords means to play the given chord in an alternative inversion and/or with the bass note specified after the slash.
In this piece we have C/G, D/F# and C/E — all major chords in an inversion.
As seen above, C/G is in second inversion, D/F# and C/E are in first inversion. The basic chord is the same as the root C major and D major.
Sussex Carol melody
The melody can be broken into four parts, with part two being a repeat of part one.
- Part one is bars one to beginning of bar five
- Part two is end of bar five to bar nine
- Part three is bars 10 to 12
- Part four is bars 13-16
Much of the rhythm ‘bounces’ to a quarter note followed by an eighth note. As the piece is in 6/8, an eighth note lasts for one beat and an quarter note for two.
So in bar 2, we count the D for two beats, then the B for one beat, the C for two beats and the D for one beat.
Alternatively, we have several runs of three quarter notes which come in the first or second half of the bar. There’s also a run of six eighth notes filling the whole of bar 11.
We also have a few dotted quarter notes, which means holding the note for three beats.
Sussex Carol bass line
Here we add a simple bass line to the carol, comprising primarily of dotted quarter notes. Each note has a duration of three beats, with two notes per measure. The exceptions are in bar 12, which has a dotted half note (lasts the entire bar, six beats) and bar 16 which has two tied dotted half notes. Of course bar 15 is in 3/8 so has a single dotted quarter note.
Sussex Carol chords
Finally we add left hand chords to the score. They follow the chord names already printed above the staff. Generally there are not too many large jumps, with the exception of measure 14 which is a bit of a step down from the G major to C major chords.
We hope you found this a useful guide to playing the Sussex Carol.
