Pacem Noel: A Song History

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"Pacem Noel" is a dulcimer duet from Larry Conger, sold on DulcimerDownloads as a single three-page piece of sheet music published by Dulcimerican Music.[1] One purchase is priced to cover two licenses, so a pair of players can share the PDF, and larger groups are asked to buy one copy for every two performers.[1]

Engraving of angels in swirling clouds above shepherds, cattle and a sleeping herdsman

Jan Saenredam and Abraham Bloemaert, The Annunciation to the Shepherds, engraving, 1599. Shown for its Christmas subject; it has no connection to this duet.

The piece is not built on a new melody: Conger's own website describes it as a joining of two older tunes, the round "Dona Nobis Pacem" and the carol "The First Noel."[2] The round's Latin words mean "give us peace," and The United Methodist Hymnal credits both its text and its tune simply as traditional.[3] The earliest known source for "The First Noel" is a manuscript transcribed around 1816 or 1817 for Davies Gilbert, who printed its words in 1823; William Sandys published words and a melody together in 1833, and John Stainer's 1868 setting remains the most widely used harmonization.[4]

Our book that contains the song "Pacem Noel"

Browse more tunes like this: Christmas Dulcimer Tab

Sources

  1. Larry Conger: "Pacem Noel (Duet Version)".
  2. Larry Conger: "Pacem Noel".
  3. Hymnary.org: "The United Methodist Hymnal 376. Dona nobis pacem, pacem".
  4. Hymnology Archive: "The First Nowell".
  5. Image: Jan Saenredam and Abraham Bloemaert, The Annunciation to the Shepherds, engraving, 1599. The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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