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"Joy to the World"
Early New England Christmas Carol
"Joy to the World" is the earliest New England Christmas carol still popular today. Some confusion still persists about this popular carol which has the tune title of ANTIOCH.
Many Christmas songbooks still credit the music to G.F. Handel, when actually it should be credited to Lowell Nason (born in Medfield, Massachusetts, 1792/ died in Orange, New Jersey, 1872).
The confusion began because Mason wrote "Arranged from Handel" at the top of the music since he had selected two passages from Handel's oratorio, MESSIAH, as the basis for his own tune.
Both passages are from Part One of Handel's MESSIAH.
The first passage is from the Chorus which sings:
Glory to God in the highest [Luke II, 14]
This corresponds to the opening line of Mason's carol:
Joy to the world the Lord is come
The second passage is from the accompaniment to the opening Tenor solo recitative from Handel's MESSIAH on the words:
Comfort ye my people [Isaiah XL, 1-3]
That accompaniment is similar to the second part Mason's carol on the words:
And heav'n and nature sing
"Joy to the World" (tune name: ANTIOCH) was written by Lowell Mason and published in The Modern Psalmist in 1839.
The carol was later revised for a tunebook titled, The National Psalmist; A Collection of the Most Popular and Useful Psalm and Hymn Tunes; Together with a Great Variety of New Tunes, Anthems, Sentences, and Chants, by Lowell Mason and George James Webb (Boston, 1848). It is this revised 1848 version [shown above] of the New England carol that has become the standard version today.
This Christmas carol was not immediately popular during the 19th century but was reprinted in later music collections. It is one of the few American Christmas carols included in the massive collection of music contributed by 20,000 people titled, Heart Songs (Boston: Chapple Publishing Co., 1909). In this collection "Joy To The World" is credited to only Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason.
It has been reported that "Joy to the World" was the most published American Christmas hymn in North America during the late 20th century.
It seems many people were following one of the lines in the second verse of "Joy to the World" --
Repeat the sounding joy!
"Joy To The World" is featured on of this CD and a copy of the original printed music will be included when ordering...
Christmas Music From New England
AMRC No. 14
See the music for ANTIOCH at
Anthology of American Hymn Tunes
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Additional CDs
Here are a few other recommended CDs with
New England Christmas music:
Joy of Angels:
Shaker Music for Christmas and the New Year
Christmas Music in America
(Two centuries of Christmas carols and songs)
Christmas in Early America: 18th Century Carols and Anthems
(The Columbus Consort)
Carols From the Old & New Worlds, Vol. 1
- Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier, director
Christmas Caroling Through The Ages -
with The Gregg Smith Singers & Friends
A few CDs that include popular New England Christmas carols:
One of the most beautiful popular Christmas albums was recorded in the 1950s by the sublime voice of Harry Belafonte.
To order this soothing and serene CD, click this link:
RED, WHITE and BLUE: Christmas Hit Songs by Gene, Bing, and Elvis
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American Music Preservation.com
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Joy of Angels: Shaker Spirituals for Christmas and The New Year
New England Music Archive [NEMA]
Society for Earlier American Music [SEAM]
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