This popular Christmas Carol is thought to be partly based
on excerpts of a melody composed by George Frideric Handel that can be
heard three times in his Messiah, namely "Comfort Ye", "Lift Up Your
Heads" and "Glory to God".The
American composer Lowell Mason then took this particular melody in 1836 and
arranged and adapted it, and is the probable composer of the additional music,
to make it the song we know today.The words for the carol were written by the English hymn-writer Isaac
Watts and were published in his The Psalms of David Imitated in the
Language of the New Testament in 1719 under the title "The Messiah's Coming
and Kingdom".A favourite to
appear in Christmas recordings, either as a vocal or instrumental piece, it
has been recorded by countless artists, choirs and orchestras including
Percy Faith, John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers, and the Boston Pops
Orchestra and the composer Leroy Anderson used it in his A Christmas
Festival.The Allman
Brothers used part of the carol in their song "You Don't Love Me" and the parody
sung by children "Joy to the World, Our Teacher's Dead" was brought to the
fore in the animated series The Simpsons.
Black Dyke Mills Band recordings
Chandos 4541 (CD: A Christmas Fantasy)
Boston Pops recordings
Philips 416 287 - 2 (CD:We Wish You a Merry Christmas)
Conductor - John
Williams
DG 419 414-2 (CD: White Christmas)
Conductor - Arthur
Fiedler
RCA 09026-61685-2 (CD: Pops Christmas Party)
Conductor - Arthur
Fiedler
Sony SK 48232 (CD: Joy to the World)
Conductor - John
Williams
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra recordings
Naxos 8.990005 (CD: Joy to the World)
Conductor - Richard Hayman
Rochester Pops Orchestra
Koch CHD 1531 (CD: Joy to the World - Carols for
Orchestra and Chorus)
St Louis Philharmonic Orchestra recordings
Sonari records - 7 55724 00272 3 (CD: Christmas with
the Philharmonic)
