Not the Nine Lessons and Carols 5

Following yesterday's stirring performance by the Taverner Consort I've been inundated by a request to play another of their carols, so here they are with a version of 'Wild Shepherds' that you won't be hearing at King's College, Cambridge this Christmas - or indeed in any church anywhere, more's the pity.

This is what carols are, or should be, or once were - brought-and-ready folk melodies to be bawled out with gusto in the pub of an evening. It's only in relatively recent times that the Church has got hold of them and cleaned them up a bit. So here's carol number five. And what a Carol!

And for the lesson, we'll have some more about carol singing from my favourite Christmas author Laurie Lee. This is from Cider with Rosie, describing the annual ritual of 'carol barking' for the boys of the village church choir.