Donovan Phillips Leitch, known simply as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world music (notably calypso). He has lived in Scotland, London, California, and—since at least 2008—in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British […]
Coventry Carol
The “Coventry Carol” is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors originally performed by the city’s guilds. The play depicts the Christmas story from Matthew chapter 2: the carol itself refers to […]
In The Bleak Midwinter
“In the Bleak Midwinter” is a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, commonly performed as a Christmas carol. The poem was published, under the title “A Christmas Carol” in the January 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly and was first collected in book form in Goblin Market, The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems (Macmillan, 1875). […]
Sussex Carol
The “Sussex Carol” is a Christmas carol popular in Britain, sometimes referred to by its first line “On Christmas night all Christians sing”. Its words were first published by Luke Wadding, a 17th-century Irish bishop, in a work called Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs (1684). It is unclear whether Wadding wrote the song […]
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear“, sometimes rendered as “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear“, is an 1849 poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, a Unitarian pastor. It first appeared on December 29, 1849, in The Christian Register in Boston. In 1850, Sears’ lyrics were set to “Carol”, a tune written for the […]
Fairytale of New York
“Fairytale of New York” is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues’ singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and […]
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
“God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” is an English traditional Christmas carol. It is in the Roxburghe Collection (iii. 452), and is listed as no. 394 in the Roux Folk Song Index. It is also known as “Tidings of Comfort and Joy“, and by other variant incipits. An early version of this carol is found in […]
The Wexford Carol
The Wexford Carol or the Enniscorthy Carol is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from Enniscorthy in County Wexford. The Wexford Carol”, sometimes known by its first verse “Good people all this Christmas time”, is of uncertain origins, and, while it is occasionally claimed to be from the early Middle Ages, it likely was […]
Myrkur
Myrkur is a solo black metal project by Danish singer Amalie Bruun. Initially, the real-life identity of the person behind the project was kept unknown. Her identity has since been made public. Myrkur has released three full-length studio albums to significant critical acclaim, as well as a live album and two EP. Her album Folkesange […]
Reina del Cid
Elle Cordova, also known by the former stage name Reina del Cid, is an American singer-songwriter and lead of the folk/rock band Reina del Cid formerly based in Minneapolis, now based in Los Angeles. Elle is a nickname of her birth name, Rachelle. Cordova was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in March 1988, and earned […]