We Wish You a Merry Christmas Mp3 Download. The Bristol-based composer, conductor and organist Arthur Warrell (1883-1939) is responsible for the popularity of the carol.
Warrell, a lecturer at the University of Bristol from 1909, arranged the tune for his own University of Bristol Madrigal Singers as an elaborate four-part arrangement, which he performed with them in concert on December 6, 1935.
His composition was published by Oxford University Press the same year under the title “A Merry Christmas: West Country traditional song”.
It’s however important to know that Warrell’s arrangement is notable for using “I” instead of “we” in the words; the first line is “I wish you a Merry Christmas”.
It was subsequently republished in the collection Carols for Choirs (1961), and remains widely performed.
However, many traditional versions of the song have been recorded, some of which replace the last line with “Good tidings for Christmas and a happy new year”.
Want to know more about the history of this song? See it Here….
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