The Boar's Head Carol - Saxophone Quartet (SATB or AATB) - Intermediate

Digital Sheet Music

By Traditional English Carol

Item Number: S0.743591

The Boar's Head Carol
This Christmas carol talks about a feast during midwinter in which a wild boar was served as the main dish and its head placed in a situated position to symbolize bravery and abundance. Closely related to the Norse tradition of boar sacrifice to their goddess Freyja during the feast of Winter Solstice, this song originated from an urban legend in Queen's College, Oxford back in the 15th century which tells of how a scholar from Queen’s College managed to kill an attacking boar and offered it at dinner.

The song was first published in English during the 1520’s in a book entitled Christmase Carolles Newly Emprynted at London in the flete street, which was written by Jan van Wynken de Worde. It is also said to be the very 1st Christmas carol to ever be publish in English because it dates back that early.

Although the modern versions of the song makes no mention of Christmas, the original verses does so in “The boar's head we bring with song, in worship of Him that thus sprung, of a Virgin to redress all wrong; Noel”

This Intermediate Level arrangement starts out in Ab Major and modulates to  Bb Major for the final chorus.

 Performance time approx. 1 minute 45 seconds.  .

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