Friday 24 December 2021
Tune of the Day: Joseph, O Dear Joseph Mine
Traditional Christmas carol
The lyrics for this carol (“Josef, lieber Josef mein”) may well date back to 14th-century Germany. By the late 15th century, they became linked with this very lovely and equally old anonymous tune. The carol appears as a lullaby sung by the Virgin Mary in a manuscript dating from around the year 1500, as part of a mystery play acted in a church around the crib.
Before it was affiliated with “Joseph Dearest”, the tune was attached to a well-known Latin hymn, “Resonet in laudibus”.