“DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH” – 11 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

This song has a dual origin. The melody was written in the 16th century by French composer Thoinot Arbeau – it was the rave of its time, used for secular dancing events when they were finished making mustard in his birthplace, Dijon.

But the lyrics – the “Ding Dong Merrily on High” part – were written in the 1920s by one of those three-name British guys, George Ratcliffe Woodward. He specialized in taking old Renaissance melodies and giving them a modern – for the time, anyway – spin.

It’s a festive song and seems as though it should be performed by choirs. Here’s a version by the Atlanta Master Chorale.