Gaudete is a medieval Christmas carol that I first heard by the English folk rock group, Steeleye Span. As it turns out, this is true for a LOT of people in the last few decades. Well we (Ken and Lisa Theriot) decided to put the song on our Christmas Album – The Gifts of Midwinter, and do it a little differently. We added a middle-eastern beat with a tupan, dumbek, and riq (these are types of middle-eastern drums and percussion instruments) and add a bit of a hitch to the melody line, giving it a nice little syncopation. Now you can dance to it if you want to;).
Yesterday I finally finished a music video for this song. Which you can see below. Be warned – it contains scenes of up to four “Kens” on the same screen:).
View Gaudete on YouTube
Enjoy the song on this (ironically) Gaudete Sunday. Traditionally, Gaudete is associated with the 3rd Sunday of Advent in the Christian calendar, and that makes it December 16th, 2012. If you were wondering why you felt especially joyful today, it may be due to the fact that the Latin lyrics of the chorus translate to:
“Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born Of the Virgin Mary — rejoice!”
You can hear this song, as well as all the other songs on The Gifts of Midwinter, as well as download the liner notes, here: www.ravenboymusic.com/christmas-album-the-gifts-of-midwinter-by-ken-and-lisa-theriot
We made an effort to put songs on this album that are not the same songs you hear on every other Christmas album. So although there are a few familiar tunes like Do You Hear What I Hear? and Cantique de Noël (O Holy Night in French), there are two original songs and several medieval and traditional songs, some in Latin, French, and Spanish (Riu, Riu Chiu). We think we struck a pretty good balance. I hope you enjoy the album!
Leave a Reply