Sans Day Carol - a Traditional Christmas Carol

Here is a arrangement for piano of Sans Day Carol, a 19th Century tune from Cornwall. It is also known as St Day Carol after the village of St Day between Redruth and Truro (in Cornwall). The village of St Day or St They is named after a Breton Saint whose cult spread across Cornwall, when it had close ties with the Amorican region of ancient Gaul (including what is now Brittany in France). We believe that "Sans" is pronounced like the French word "Saint" which in turn is similar to the Cornish word "Sen". The Carol was originally passed by oral tradition until a local man Thomas Beard sang it to Mr W D Watson who then sang it to the Rev G H Doble. The carol was then published in various forms and included by Ralph Dunstan in his collections of local Cornish songs and carols.

The words are reminiscent of the better known The Holly And The Ivy and are easily looked up. Choral renditions of Sans Day Carol are usually performed with a lively, bright and light feel. In the same key as this arrangement we have a set of PDFs suitable for a range of other instruments: to match We have sheet music for this carol for other instruments Main, High, Bass, Clar, Horn, Sax, Viola and Guitar all of which can use this Accompaniment Part. We also have a special solo arrangement for guitar by regular contributor Glenn Jarrett. Check out our full catalogue of Carols in our article about Christmas Music.