Adolph ADAM: Cantique de Nõel
January 2014
Voted No.1 in a recent poll of favourite Christmas carols, the Cantique de Noël is rather a song with piano and organ accompaniment. It enjoyed great success throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and later in the USA but its present popularity in this country follows a long period of neglect. We show here a small selection of nineteenth century editions.
1. Cantique de Noël. 2e Édition. Paris, [1852].
2. Cantique de Noël. (No. 125 in the collection L’Aurore). London, [1852]. This first English edition was printed by Schott of Mainz and has texts in French and German only. 1852 is the year this long-established music publishing business (244 years old this year) opened its first London shop.
3. Cantique pour Noël. London, [1858]. This is the first edition with English (as well as French) text.
1. Cantique de Noël. Late nineteenth century reissue of the Schott edition shown previously.
2. Alfred Lefébure-Wély : Celèbre Cantique de Noël … transcrit pour piano, harmonium, etc. Mainz, [1863].
3. J. Charles Hess : Nocturne sur Noël de Ad. Adam pour piano, Op. 36. Schott & Co., London, [c.1900]. Reisssue of an edition first published in 1863.
