Steve Brown looks at how the ancient tradition of villagers creating and singing their very own carols lives on in a few Derbyshire settlements.
FOR MANY PEOPLE, one of the great joys of the Christmas season is the singing of traditional carols, either in church or perhaps in groups going from door to door wrapped up against the cold. The image carried by most though is of the angelic tones of choristers singing in harmony within the soaring interior of a great church or chapel; the festivals of Nine Lessons and Carols are fixtures in many churches and also within the media as the end of December approaches. This is all in the high church choral tradition and is very much a religious occasion…