Oleg Zabluda's blog
Saturday, December 01, 2012
 
"Carol of the Bells" ("Щедрик") is a popular Christmas carol, by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921)...
"Carol of the Bells" ("Щедрик") is a popular Christmas carol, by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921) composed iteratively in 1901-1919. Lyrics is a pagan Ukrainian New Year folk chant щедрiвка. Don't confuse with колядка, which is sung on Christmas.

It was first performed in USA by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on October 5, 1921.

Колядка "Щедрик" Schedryk - "Ukrainian Bell Carol"
Leontovych - "Carol of the Bells"

Щедрик, щедрик, щедрівочка,
Прилетіла ластівочка,
Стала собі щебетати,
Господаря викликати:
«Вийди, вийди, господарю,
Подивися на кошару, -
Там овечки покотились,
А ягнички народились.
[...]

WTF? On a New Year a swallow migrates back from the South and sees sheep giving birth to lambs? What were the pagans smoking? Fly Agaric? Of course not! Like any self-respecting pagans, Ukrainians celebrated New Year in the spring (March-April, around Vernal Equinox), until Eastern Orthodox Church moved it in ~988 to September 1.

Peter J. Wilhousky (1902-1978) created English lyrics in 1936 as a Christmas carol. He had to pervert the lyrics completely to fit the season.

https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Carol+of+the+Bells
Hark how the bells (Carol of the bells)

Of course, by now, lots of covers were performed:

August Burns Red- Carol of the Bells
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Carol+of+the+Bells+remix
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Carol+of+the+Bells+rock
etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_of_the_Bells
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shchedryk_(song)
http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Щедрик_(Леонтович)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HERnFfbcIxY

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