Australian Christmas Carols

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Muttley
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 07:28 PM

Dear Genie

It's gaLAH - emphasis on the second syllable.
A Galah is a native parrot - pink and grey in colour and quite 'chatty' in flocks (noisy would be closer)

We used to get flocks fly over the house up home in the country that were so big, they'd act like a cloud passing across the sun. And at days' end, they'd roost in the gum trees along the creek at the bottom of a paddock across the road and at certain times of the year there would be so many that the pink on breast and head made it appear that the trees were bleeding.

We got huge flocks of sulphur-crested Cockatoo's as well and when THEY congregated in the trees along the creek, you'd swear it had been snowing!

BTW - there are a few versions of the Aussie 12 Days of Christmas - I prefer the one that ends with "And an emu up a gum tree"

Probably because emu's can neither fly nor climb - so getting one up a gum tree would be interesting to say the least.

Muttley

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Kajikit
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 02:31 PM

I grew up in Australia and we sang those Australian carols every year at school, so I grew up with them ingrained on my memory. The first time I ever saw the 'Three Drovers' and 'Out on the plains' I was six and learning to play recorder, and my teacher gave me a bunch of what you'd call 'carols of the world' to learn :) Thanks for helping to keep them alive!

BTW, some of these carols (and others) are performed on the CD 'The Australian Christmas Album' released in 1998 and I'm pretty sure still available. I bought it to get them... :) It has the following songs:
Christmas where the gum trees grow
The three Drovers
Six white boomers
Carol of the birds
Boomerang of flowers
Christmas in the scrub
Off we go the Bethlehem
Mary and Joseph's lullaby
The Five days of christmas
Merry christmas (sun gleams bright)
and then 5 'traditional' christmas songs to round out the album.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Kajikit
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 02:49 PM

I signed up... this site looks really cool! I adore folk music... anyway, if anyone wants me to type out any of the lyrics of the songs on the album, just sing out and I'll email them to you - I had a quick look on Google and it seems that the album is no longer available - shame, because it's quite good. I found it very refreshing to have a real AUSTRALIAN christmas CD that wasn't too twee :)

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Rowan
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 09:15 PM

Welcome to Mudcat, Kajikit! If you typed them up I'm sure your efforts would be welcomed.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 10:09 PM

G'day Kajikit (and Rowan),

Don't bother typing up the Wheeler & James carol lyrics - they have probably all been posted to past threads on Australian Carols. (Plus, I have them all on my hard drive - so I can email them directly to you, if desired, rather than repeating what has already been done.

However, all the ones that are not 'Wheeler & James carols' would be appreciated by many reading this thread.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Kajikit
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 03:35 PM

Here's a link to Christmas Where the Gum Trees Grow... no need for me to type it out again when a quick google search turned up ten different renditions!
Christmas where the gum trees grow

Subject: Lyr Add: BOOMERANG OF FLOWERS (Philip/Newton)
From: Kajikit
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 03:53 PM

BOOMERANG OF FLOWERS
Music: Leigh Newton Words: Mary Philip © Leigh Newton 1983

A child is lying cradled here
beneath the slender gum
God of might has left his home
and to Australia come.
Kookaburra laughs with glee
shy koala peeps
magpie carols blissfully
as little jesus sleeps

CHORUS
What shall we give our infant king?
a boomerang of flowers
and say come back and stay with us
and be forever ours
What shall we give our infant king?
a boomerang of flowers
and say come back and stay with us
and be forever ours

One day a cross will hold him fast
and lest we should forget
above him in the sapphire sky
a cross of stars has set
but there'll be no pain for today
but peace and joy and love
beneath the slender gums he sleeps
and magpies sing above

Chorus

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Kajikit
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 04:00 PM

After I typed in the last lot of lyrics I tried another google search ( the first was unsuccessful) and this time I hit paydirt. Most of the songs I listed above are actually by Leigh Newton from his album 'Christmas in the Scrub' (1983) And he has all the lyrics on his website - Leigh Newton Lyrics and he also has mp3s of some of them.
It looks like he still has his albums and songbooks for sale as well...

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 07:47 PM

G'day Kajikit,

I was going to comment, on the first link to the words of Christmas Where the Gum Trees Grow, that the tree is correctly spelled "jacaranda" ... and is really a South American import (if, however, very popular!) ... and I think it's related to the tree that produces the traditional 'pernambuco' timber used for violin bows.

Anyway, the new link to Leigh Newton's site does spell if correctly!

Do you need a PM of the lyrics of the Wheeler & James carols ... or have you tracked those down (here ... or on the web)?

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Kajikit
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 08:27 PM

I'm fine with them... I know most of them by heart. I was looking for Silver Stars and it's already posted to this thread. (I'm tossing up what carol to offer to solo for the church candlelight service...)

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 09:08 PM

G'day again Kajikit,

Fine! I won't bother posting or PMing what is already available.

(Maybe that will leave me time to check the www before getting the timber species confused (see my previous post).

It isn't pernambuco (caesalpina echinata) that the jacaranda tree (dalbergia negra) is related to, but that other rare and threatened Brazilian music wood: Brazilian Redwood (dalbergia retusa). Oops!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Lexie
Date: 11 Dec 06 - 10:21 AM

Please find me the words to the Aussie version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer pleeeeeeaaaaassseeeeeeeeeee.   

I'd be forever so grateful.

XX
Merry Christmas

Lexie

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Kajikit
Date: 11 Dec 06 - 10:25 PM

I'm an Aussie and I didn't know there WAS an 'Aussie Rudolph'. I've never heard of it...

Subject: Lyr Add: SIX WHITE BOOMERS
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Dec 06 - 05:56 AM

could it be 'SIX WHITE BOOMERS'?

Rolf Harris songs

(Harrison - Brown) Ardmore & Beechwood Ltd / EMI (P) 1965
Arr. Johnnie Spence - Produced by George Martin

    Early on one Christmas Day, a Joey Kangaroo
    Was far from home and lost in a great big zoo
    Mummy, where's my mummy, they've taken her away
    We'll help you find your mummy son, hop on the sleigh

    [Verse:]
    Up beside the bag of toys, little Joey hopped
    But they had'nt gone far when Santa stopped
    Unharnessed all the reindeer and Joey wondered why
    Then he heard a far off booming in the sky

    [Chorus:]
    Six white boomers, snow white boomers
    Racing Santa Claus through the blazing sun
    Six white boomers, snow white boomers
    .. On his Australian run

    Pretty soon old Santa began to feel the heat
    Took his fur-lined boots off to cool his feet
    Into one popped Joey, feeling quite OK
    While those old man kangaroos kept pulling on the sleigh

    Joey said to Santa, Santa, what about the toys
    Aren't you giving some to these girls and boys
    They've all got their presents son, we were here last night
    This trip is an extra trip, Joey's special flight

    Soon the sleigh was flashing past, right over Marble Bar
    Slow down there, cried Santa, it can't be far
    Come up on my lap son, and have a look around
    There she is, that's mummy, bounding up and down

    Well that's the bestest Christmas treat that Joey ever had
    Curled up in mother's pouch all snug and glad
    The last they saw was Santa headed northward from the sun
    The only year the boomers worked a double run

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Muttley
Date: 14 Dec 06 - 07:32 AM

The only "Aussie Version" of Rudolph I've ever heard was the one we used to sing at carolling time or school concerts (or both) up in the bush where I grew up.

It went something like:

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer       (Reindeer)
Had a very shiny nose                (Like a light globe)
And if you ever saw it                (Saw it)
(You would even say it glows          (Like a light globe)
All of the other Reindeer             (Reindeer)
Used to laugh and call him names      (Like Pinocchio)
They never let poor Rudolph;          (Rudoplph)
Join in any Reindeer Games            (Like Monopoly)

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came top say                   (Ho, ho, ho)
Rudolph, with your nose so bright: Won't you guide my sleigh tonight

Then all the other Reindeer          (Reindeer)
Laughed and shouted out with glee    (Yipp - ee!)
Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer       (Reindeer)
You'll go down in his-tor-y          (Like Captain Cook)

All the bits in parentheses are "echoes" to the verse lines and are spoken (or called out en masse) with energy - not sung. Almost like each little 'addition' was a sudden inspiration or 'bright idea'

Muttley

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Scrump
Date: 14 Dec 06 - 07:59 AM

Saw UK-based Aussie duo Mundy-Turner last night - they did a few seasonal Aussie songs (great fun!), and they have a CD "Bonzer Aussie Christmas". Here's the track listing:

1. Wayne Wants A Surfboard For Christmas
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Aussie Jingle Bells
4. Deck The Sheds
5. Christmas Road
6. Gunumeleng
7. Aussie Twelve Days Of Christmas
8. Homefires
9. Peace Is All We Need
10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Their version of the 12 days was different from the one posted above - there was lots of audience participation!
You can get the CD from them by mail order - details on their website here

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,bid
Date: 22 Dec 06 - 12:06 AM

g'day everyone,
i was wondering if any of you could possibly either send me some lyrics to some aussie songs or the music itself? me email is [e-mail]
thanks

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: JennieG
Date: 22 Dec 06 - 12:25 AM

The other day at our local Salvos shop, I was fortunate enough to find Set One of the Wheeler and James carols - couldn't believe my luck! Only $2.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 22 Dec 06 - 07:51 PM

bid above is of course just looking for suckers to put themselves on spam lists... a genuine person would have just read the thread.

The Fooleish Grinch...

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 22 Dec 06 - 08:37 PM

G'day JennieG,

That first collection is definitely the pick of the crop. Roughly half of the 15 Australian carols Wheeler & James published are reasonably well known ... and that includes every one from the first book!

I know that I do own a full set of the three piano arrangement Wheeler & James books - as well as a single book of all 15, arranged for (chord~?) organ - and a few copies of the little booklets of words (which we used for the Bush Music Club's "Carols By Slushlamp" carolling sessions, years ago). Unfortunately ... what I don't know is: "where in the 2 or 3 thousand books on double-height bookshelves (almost up to the 11-foot ceilings) ... or the sundry boxes of overflow ... did I carefully store them!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: JennieG
Date: 22 Dec 06 - 11:42 PM

Bob,

Your bookshelves sound like my sewing/music room - I know there are things in there, in a Very Safe Place - I just haven't found them yet!

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: Christmas in Australia (ATTN: BILL EGAN)
From: GUEST,Cam
Date: 11 Jan 07 - 02:38 AM

Hi there

Couldn't help stumbilng accross your request for the Irish Drovers recording of 'Christmas in Australia'. I happen to be a good friend of members of the Drovers and I have that recording so if you want it drop me a line on [e-mail] and I'll send it through.

Thanks

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Malcolm
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 05:05 AM

I've lost my original copy of "Four Australian Carols" by Wheeler & James, containing the piano music for "The Silver Stars are in the Sky". I did send a photocopy to Chappell's Music in London, many years ago, as they didn't have an archive copy. However, I've been unable to get hold of them.
I would be very grateful if you could offer any assitance in helping me to obtain the sheet music for this lovely carol.
Many thanks
Malcolm Vivyan
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,angeline
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 07:40 PM

Hi there,
was looking for a particular Australian Christmas Carol
"Christmas in the Scrub" and I found it at
www.leighnewton.com
Leigh has two Christmas CDs with Australian Christmas Carols on them,
plus he has songbooks so you can play along, cool huh
just thought I'd share what I'd found

also Colin Buchanan has a kids Christmas album with Australian ones on found at
www.colinbuchanan.com.au

Hope next Christmas you can look forward to singing Aussie Christmas carols as well as
the traditional ones from around the world that you love.
God Bless

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,kiri
Date: 08 Nov 07 - 10:39 AM

Hi There,

    Just wondering if anybody has the words to the song Everyone It's Christmas, and It's Christmas time.

         Thanks,

               Kiri

Subject: Lyr Add: CHRISTMAS TIME FOR EVERYONE
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 08 Nov 07 - 10:52 AM

Honoured, Ms Te Kanawa!
You didn't mean this, perhaps?

I'm leaving for the ferry, that's going to take me home
In just a few more hours now I'll see the light of dawn
And as I cross the water blue and the cold wind seems to say
You're coming home for christmas, you're coming home to stay

Surrounded by the water and the outport along the shore
Home is where my heart is, I'm going home once more
Home to see the waters blue and a old-fashioned christmas tree
Yes home is where my heart is, it's christmas time again

Christmas time for everyone, it's christmas time again
Tree lights flashing everywhere and the welcome at the door
This time of year brings happiness and a ringing in my ear
It's christmas time for everyone, I'm going home this year

In just a few more hours I'll see the window pane
And everyone will look to me as if I'm in a picture frame
The picture of the christmas tree and the flashing light so bright
Yes home is where my heart is, I'm going home tonight

Christmas time for everyone it's christmas time again
Tree lights flashing everywhere and a welcome at my door
This time of year brings happiness and a ringing in my ear
It's christmas time for everyone, I'm going home this year
It's christmas time for everyone, I'm going home this year

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Lyn
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 07:38 PM

Hi all,

I'm after the lyrics for a song that used to play on the radio years ago around Christmas time. You couldn't really call it a Christmas carol but it's definitely connected to Christmas.

It's based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and was called "The Twelve Strikes of Christmas." It was written, so far as I know, around the late '70s at a time that NSW was suffering from repeated strikes by transport, post, wharfies, petrol companies, etc. and was quite popular for a while.

I've looked in vain for the lyrics and since there seem to be quite a few knowledgable Aussies here I'm hoping someone will have the answer. Maybe someone also has details on who wrote/sung it and perhaps even a recording of it. I'd love to get hold of a copy but I have no idea who to approach to see if I could buy one.

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 11:23 PM

probably by Mike Carlton & I have a scribbly list of the strikes, now all I gotta do is find it.

Easy - it was near the top of my very overcrowded 2" Ring Binder collection of songs, poems & other stuff.

Bit of background -
For those who don't know him Mike is a journalist, columnist & humourist & cartoonist too (I have a sticker he made years ago when Joh wanted to run for Prime Minister!) I love his sense of humour/satire - another scrap of paper lists the Advertising agency he (alleged) worked for the liberal party - Batbrain, Wingnut, Dandruff & Mousepoo. Years/decades ago I used to tape his Friday news report(??), I must have a listen to those tapes again one, day - if they have survived, some were very cheap tapes.

some years back I transcribed my scribble for a friend looking for 12 Days songs.

Mike Carlton created & sang it one Christmas in the early 80s. I scribbled down the strikes, but not the connecting words, so you will have to work them out yourself. He played it again the following year, causing great confusion to a senior citizen who was worried about his pension!.

....................

Mike Carlton's 12 Strikes of Christmas - intro might be "The Union gave to me" - but I'm not sure.


12 - Power supplies
11 - Plumbers working
10 - Builders building
9 - Beer for drinking
8 - Trains running
7 - Ships unloading
6 - Airlines
5 - Sewerage work
4 - Telephones
3 - Telex
2 - Pension payments
1 - Mail
....................

anyway, why not contact him - he writes a column for the Weekend Sydney Morning Herald - columns & contact details here

sandra

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Lyn
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:28 AM

Thanks heaps Sandra! Sorry to take so long to say thanks but I've only just figured out where my favourite back to here ended up - must have had a case of the mouse-butter-fingers that night. :D

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:16 AM

mouseibutter-fingers! I also have 'em, along with butterfly mind (thoughts flitter away ...)

the Mike Carllton tapes (dated 1988!) are now placed next to the player & I'll soon see (hear) if they work.

sandra

Subject: What treatment is good for psoriasis?
From: GUEST,Swersremo
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 09:05 PM

Hi!
I have psoriasis on my legs and have seen a dermatologist who prescribed two expensive creams. They help a little but it never goes away. I've been tanning for a short time in a tanning bed every other day and have seen a drastic improvement but am a little worried about skin cancer from UVA rays. Any home remedies out there? Any advice?

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Heidi
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 03:18 PM

I live in the U.S. and have found it very hard to find sheet music for Wheeler's Australian Christmas Carols (Vol.1). Luckily a local organist is from Australia and helped me out. I like Six White Drovers and want to know, what are drovers (cowboys?)?

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Heidi
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 03:21 PM

Sorry, goofed in the title in previous message; I mean't Three Drovers (listened to Six White Boomers and mixed the titles up!)

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Tangledwood
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 07:50 PM

G'day Heidi, traditionally drovers herded stock in search of fertile grazing plains, water, or to take the fattened cattle or sheep to sale yards.
The journey to a stock yard could be many hundreds of miles, even over a thousand. I'm not sure if that equates to your cowboys.

Even today, in periods of drought when the grazing on farms is depleted, in some areas stock will be herded along roadsides to feed on whatever remains there. That's known as "the long paddock" and I think the stockmen are still referred to as drovers in this situation.

You might find something interesting here Folklore

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Rowan
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 10:29 PM

Even today, in periods of drought when the grazing on farms is depleted, in some areas stock will be herded along roadsides to feed on whatever remains there. That's known as "the long paddock" and I think the stockmen are still referred to as drovers in this situation.

They are indeed. The "roadsides" are usually part of the system of "Travelling Stock Reserves" (TSRs) that connect as a network across much of the three easternmost states. In the western areas of these states the width of the TSR "road" (ie, the distance between the fences) can be up to 1/2 mile but in the more densely settled areas the term TSR usually refers to a fenced paddock, up to a few acres in area, alongside the road and in which the stock are to be kept overnight so that they don't interfere with traffic in the dark.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Tangledwood
Date: 16 Nov 09 - 03:21 AM

Thanks for the confirmation and additional detail Rowan, it's a long while since I've spent time in farming communities.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Alicia
Date: 23 Dec 09 - 09:02 PM

The three Wheeler & James collections of Christmas carols are some of the best carols full stop. With Australian themes, they capture the joys of Christmas in Australia. Though the best known is the 'Carol of the Birds', my personal favourites are 'Christmas Day' and 'Christmas Night', with their wonderful imagery and tunes.
Does ANYONE know of a recording? I have the music sheets, but cannot do justice to the gorgeous piano accompaniment for 'Christmas Day'.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Tangledwood
Date: 23 Dec 09 - 09:28 PM

PM sent Alicia, don't know if where the link takes you is at all similar to the version you're looking for.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Annique
Date: 30 Dec 09 - 03:51 AM

Hi Alicia,
I have a CD recording of the Australian Christmas songs you were looking for. It's called 'An Australian Christmas' and is published by the ABC Classics (Under Capricorn?). It is by the Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, Antony Walker conductor. The number on the back is ABC 446 975-2. It has 15 William James/John Wheeler songs grouped in three sets, and also has Five Carols from Quem Quaeritis (?) Then there are 5 more Christmas songs, possibly by Aus. composers as one is Peter Sculthorpe; then it ends with twelve 'Wassails and Lullabies' by Andrew Ford (b. 1957). The booklet has comprehensive notes on the origin of the songs, the director, and the choir, as well as all the lyrics. It was produced in early 1995 but I think I only found it a few years ago, probably in an ABC shop in Melbourne. You may find a copy by contacting the ABC shops. Good luck!

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Haggis
Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:24 AM

Um I have midi files for all of the "Five Australian Christmas Carols" by Wheeler & James - all classics, in 4 part harmony - "Carol of the birds", "Christmas Bush For His Adorning", "The Silver Stars are in the Sky", "Christmas Day", and "The Three Drovers".

They should be widely available but I don't have a website. Can anyone put 'em up? leave a message here with an email address and I'll send them over.

cheers!

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:59 AM

gidday, Haggis, you can send midis to [e-mail] with subject - Midis for Australian Christmas Carols

Joe receives a lot of email & might delete yours unless the subject is clear.

sandra

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Haggis
Date: 20 Oct 10 - 06:21 PM

No worries Sandra, it's done.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Artful Codger
Date: 20 Oct 10 - 08:38 PM

He'd probably appreciate it if you include the thread link, too. Less searching for him to do. (I send him the message link, when applicable--you can copy it from any of the blue clickies for your post in the message history list at the top of the page.)

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 10 - 09:27 PM

I forgot to ask Haggis not to have spaces in the titles of his MIDI files, but I got it fixed. Four of the five files are actually Karaoke files, but they should play on MIDI players. Let me know if there's a problem. Here's the message from Haggis:

Hi Joe,

I've attached some midi files of these wonderful tunes.

.Kar files are just midi files with words, which I'm sure you've come across before.
Van Basco's excellent player from http://www.vanbasco.com/ works well and you can turn tracks on/off etc

The midis are a straight copy of the sheet music, excepting Carol of the birds which has the W/J stuff on top of a catchy arrangement I found somewhere on the net, and there's a tiny clarinet line added in one verse of "Silver Stars".

cheers mate

---

Click to play (Carol of the Birds (Orana!))

Click to play (Christmas Day (The North Wind)

Click to play (Christmas Bush for His Adorning)

Click to play (The Silver Stars Are In The Sky)

Click to play (The Three Drovers)

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Haggis
Date: 21 Oct 10 - 12:00 AM

Excellent, thanks Joe.

I forgot to mention the van Basco player is free, and you can do other great stuff with it like transposing (if you want it played higher or lower), and speeding up or slowing down (if you prefer a different tempo) just by moving a slider.

There are other excellent free midi tools about too, one of my favourites is synthfont (www.synthfont.com) with which you can do even more stuff - change soundfonts and instruments, change the mix (bring up some instruments, make others quieter), and most importantly output the tracks to separate .WAV files. Then if you want you can load it all into the excellent, free multi-track "recording studio" audacity (www.audacity.sourceforge.net/) , add voice (however many tracks you desire - do your own harmonies!), add effects, remix if desired, and output to stereo mp3.

If you want to edit the actual midis other free tools are better suited e.g. Quartz Audiomaster, Anvil Studio (refer google).

So you can do high-quality multi-track recording now for the cost of a decent microphone, or for free if you've already got a mic. Incredible!

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Haruo
Date: 21 Oct 10 - 04:36 AM

Thanks, Haggis and Joe! I've had simple midis of a couple of these in my online hymnal for a number of years, but it's nice to have slightly better ones, and to have the words play along with the music.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,Haggis
Date: 21 Oct 10 - 05:57 AM

Actually Haruo, I have a funny feeling that Carol of the Birds midi might have originally come from your site...if so, thanks! It was so long ago I can't remember for sure, and now I can't find your site - where is it please? Anyway it's a really excellent arrangement - great work whoever did it! (maybe Dave Ferguson,down the page, in 2004?) - which I hardly changed, just added the 3 extra voice parts from the sheet music so people wanting to add vocals can use those as guide tracks. Unfortunately the voice parts come out well down in the mix in van basco's player; you can hear them by using the blue "solo" buttons, or use a different player such as synthfont where you can set up the levels just how you want them.

Actually if you go all the way to Audacity there's even a very cool "envelopes" feature which allows you to vary the volume of each track exactly as you want through the song, so you can, say, bring up different parts of the voices or accompaniment in each verse.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: GUEST,bautism
Date: 12 Dec 10 - 03:22 PM

Does anybody know then name of this song and who wrote it? The only lyrics I know from the song are:

Little wendy wombat hung her head
Little Wendy wombat sighed and said
I know im rather chubby
And my legs are rather stubby
And I know that there are animals prettier than me
But I want to be the fairy
Light and airy
I want to be the fairy on the christmas tree!

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: Haruo
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 10:07 PM

I don't have any idea, but it's cute, "cuter'n a little wombat girl" as they say.

Subject: RE: Australian Christmas Carols
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 10:29 PM

What fun to sing along with them. Thanks!!